The Buffalo Bills have lost three games in a row as they have been outscored 71-20 in those games.  The Jets are also on a losing streak but they have not been getting drilled.  The Bills need to try to keep the ball on the ground with Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch against the Jets who got pushed around by the Dolphins last week.  Because if the Bills don’t establish a running game then the Jets will probably blitz Trent Edwards a lot as he has already been sacked 18 times this season.  If Edwards gets time to throw the ball he could have some success getting the ball downfield to Lee Evans and Terrell Owens in this game.

The Jets have to be worried about Mark Sanchez who has really looked like the rookie that he is the last two weeks.  To protect him this week look for the Jets to run the football a lot with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington against a Bills’ D that is allowing 154.6 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  After the Jets establish the running game look for Sanchez to use some play action passes to get the ball deep to Braylon Edwards and David Clowney.

PREDICTION:  JETS 20, BILLS 6

With the New York Jets’ wide-receivers Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith most likely out this week against the Buffalo Bills, there is a possibility that the Jets may move one of their practice squad players to the 53-man roster.  That player would be Danny Woodhead, who is actually a running back.  The Jets moved him to wide-reciever this week though and he switched his number from 22 to 83.  Woodhead has gained a lot of praise for his good hands and athleticism, as well has his ability to learn on the fly.  Head coach Rex Ryan was very impressed with Woodhead in the preseason and really liked what he saw out of him when he was on their scout team in week 2 against the Patriots.  He played the role of Wes Welker that week, and apparently did an excellent job of it.  If Woodhead is able to get a good enough grasp of the offense from a slot-receiver position, then you may see him on the field Sunday against the Bills.  A player would have to be dropped to make room for Woodhead though, so it may not happen.

The Jets were winning this game 13-10 going into the 4th quarter in what appeared to be a defensive battle.  But in the 4th quarter both teams kept going right down the field.  The Jets scored a TD with 5:12 left in the game to take a 27-24 lead and they felt confident that the defense would be able to hold the Dolphins scoreless the rest of the game.  But, they were wrong as the Dolphins embarked on a long drive that was culminated with a back breaking 2-yard TD run by the Dolphins’ Ronnie Brown.  Jets’ QB Mark Sanchez was efficient in this game as he completed 12 of 24 passes for 172 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  Leon Washington led the Jets in rushing yards last night with 44 yards on 10 carries (4.4 ypc).  Thomas Jones pitched in with 42 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Little used David Clowney stepped up for the Jets in this game due to Jerricho Cotchery’s injury and he caught 4 passes for 72 yards (18.0 avg).  Newly acquired WR Braylon Edwards made his Jets’ debut and it was a good one as he caught 5 passes for 64 yards (12.8 avg) with a TD.  The Jets finished up with 309 total yards on offense (138 rushing, 171 passing).

The Jets’ D appeared to get wore out in the 4th quarter as the Dolphins just kept pounding on them with both the Wildcat Formation and the basic offense.  Bart Scott (10 tackles) and David Harris (7 tackles) led the way for the Jets on defense but they both also had issues dealing with the power running game of the Dolphins which is impressive.  The Dolphins finished up with 413 total yards of offense in this game (151 rushing, 262 passing).  The Jets are now tied with the Patriots atop the AFC East with a 3-2 record.

This game pits to very young QBs against each other on Monday Night Football as Mark Sanchez (Jets) takes on Chad Henne (Dolphins).  The Jets will try to move the ball on the ground with Thomas Jones (229 yards rushing) and Leon Washington (181 yards rushing) but it will be hard to do against a Dolphins’ D that has allowed only 61.0 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry.  The Dolphins will likely play the run on the way to the QB as they have 11 sacks this season.  The Jets must keep OLBs Jason Taylor, Joey Porter and Cameron Wake out the backfield or Mark Sanchez will look like he did last week.  The Dolphins do give up 238.5 yards passing per game so if Sanchez has time to throw he should have some success hooking up with Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller.

The Dolphins will come out of the locker room running the football as usual with Ronnie Brown (369 yards rushing, 5.1 ypc) and Ricky Williams (248 yards rushing, 5.0 ypc) against a Jets’ D allowing 100.3 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  Henne was sacked six times last week and his receiving corps isn’t exactly top notch so the Dolphins can’t win this game without running the ball effectively.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 16, JETS 13

The Jets have acquired 26-year old WR Braylon Edwards from the Cleveland Browns for WR Chansi Stuckey, LB Jason Trusnick and 2 undisclosed draft picks.  Edwards was off to a slow start with the Browns playing in 4 games in which he caught 10 passes for 139 yards (13.9 avg).  But he has a huge upside and the Jets were smart to trade for him shortly after he punched one of LeBron James’ friends at a night club in Cleveland likely lowering the asking price of the Browns.  Edwards has now played in 62 games in his five year NFL career and he has caught 238 passes for 3,697 yards (15.5 avg) with 28 TD grabs.  This was steal for the Jets as Edwards is in his free agent walk year so he should be motivated to excel.

26-year old WR Chansi Stuckey was starting opposite of Jerricho Cotchery with the Jets.  He played in 4 games this season for the Jets and he caught 11 passes for 120 yards (10.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stuckey played in 19 games in his two years with the Jets and he caught 43 passes for 479 yards (11.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  25-year old linebacker Jason Trusnick was a special teams ace for the Jets this season playing in all 4 games in which he made 6 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  He played three years with the Jets covering 17 games in which he made 24 tackles and forced 1 fumble.  This was not much to give up for Edwards unless the picks were high ones.

The talented veteran linebacker Calvin Pace returned to the New York Jets this week after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy.  Pace found out about his positive test results at the end of last season and appealed his suspension, sending in the supplement from GNC that apparently triggered the positive test, but the NFL denied his appeal forcing him to sit out the first four games of this season.

This is a great addition to an already outstanding Jets defense, as Pace is a very good pass rushing linebacker who loves to pressure quarterbacks.  Pace is highly motivated to play well after the embarrassing suspension and head coach Rex Ryan is very happy to have him back.  The Jets are looking for Pace to bring the same thing to the table that he did last year when he lead the team in fumbles forced (4) and fumbles recovered (5).  Pace also had 67 tackles, seven sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, three pass deflections and nine quarterback hurries.

The New York Jets (3-1) and their offense could not get anything going today against the New Orleans Saints (4-0).  Mark Sanchez finally played like a rookie, as he failed to throw a touchdown and was picked three times by the Saints defense.  He was also sacked four times, including once in the end-zone where he fumbled the ball and the Saints recovered it for a touchdown.  Sanchez looked very frustrated and finished the game with only 138 yards on 14/27 pass attempts (52%).

The Saints’ Darren Sharper had a huge day for them, as he had two of the three interceptions for the Saints.  Sharper turned his second quarter interception into a 99- yard touchdown.  The Saints got 14 of their points from the defense today, so the Jets defense did a good job of containing the Saints’ dynamic offense.  Drew Brees had no touchdowns and only finished with 190 yards passing.  The Saints were able to wear down the Jets defense with the run though, as Pierre Thomas had a touchdown and 86 yards on 19 carries(4.5 avg).  They were able to get one turnover, as they forced Reggie Bush into a fumble and recovered it.  The Jets just did not get enough out of their offense today.  They are on the road next week as they take on the Miami Dolphins in Monday Night Football.

The New York Jets (3-0) are looking to stay undefeated as they head down south to take on the New Orleans Saints (3-0) and their highly powered offense.  The Jets and their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez have done what it takes to win games, getting two close victories the past two weeks.  They will have a big challenge traveling to the Superdome though, as the Saints have yet to trail in a game so far this season.

The Saints offense has looked unstoppable this season, especially in the first two weeks.  Their quarterback Drew Brees threw nine touchdowns in those first two games, but failed to reach the end-zone last week against the Bills.  That didn’t matter though, as the Saints have a dangerous running game to go along with their explosive passing game and they racked up 222 yards on the ground last week.  The Saints defense isn’t bad either, and with the offense getting early leads and controlling the time of possession, they’ve been able to limit teams to and average of only 67 rushing yards per game.

The Jets need to make sure the Saints don’t get out to a big early lead, or they will not have much of a chance.  The Jets defense should be able to prevent that from happening, so I am expecting a close game.  They are limiting teams to only 185 passing yards per game this season, so they should be able to keep Drew Brees from having one of his monster games.  Saints’ RB Pierre Thomas did a fantastic job filling in for the still injured Mike Bell, and will look to build off his huge second half last week where he ran for 126 yards with two touchdowns on 14 carries (9.0 avg).  The Jets should be able to slow Thomas down though, as their defense is one of the best in the league and are limiting teams to only 82 rushing yards per game.

This will be a big challenge for rookie quarterback Sanchez.  Sanchez has not really played like a rookie, but he still doesn’t have the abilities that Drew Brees brings to the table.  He will need a lot of production out of the running back duo of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, but neither has had that strong of a start this year (Houston and their pathetic run defense doesn’t count).  The Jets really do need to prevent the Saints from building an early lead, or they will be forced to rely on their rookie quarterback too much.  The Jets will put up a strong effort and their defense should limit the Saints offense, but I think the Saints will pull this one out.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Jets 20, Saints 28

Jerricho Cotchery has always been a good receiver for the Jets but he was always the #2 guy behind Laveranues Coles who is now with the Cincinnati Bengals.  Now he is the #1 guy for the Jets and he has been excellent this season.  Cotchery has caught 18 passes for 285 yards (15.8 avg) with 1 TD grab already this season.  He has developed a good rapport with rookie QB Mark Sanchez as he has earned his trust.  Look for Cotchery to turn in a huge season for the Jets in 2009.

When the Jets were kicking the tires around on WR Brandon Marshall the Broncos said that they wanted linebacker David Harris for him.  The Jets were smart and told them to pound salt.  Harris has made 21 tackles, has 2 sacks, had defensed 2 passes and he has a interception already this season.  He is a run stuffer who can also make big plays on the edges of the defense.  A Pro Bowl could be in order for Harris if he keeps playing like he is right now.