The New York Jets are likely to be in a nasty frame of mind after getting their butts kicked by the Raiders last weekend.  The Ravens are coming off a demolition of the Rams on the road last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets would love to get the running game going this weekend, but it’s not likely to happen against Ray Lewis and his gang as they are only allowing 84.0 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry.  That is going to put a lot of pressure on Mark Sanchez to beat the Ravens through the air.  The Ravens are giving up 245.3 yards passing per game, so if Sanchez has time to throw the ball, he should be able to make some plays down the field.  The Jets must keep OLB/DE Terrell Suggs (4 sacks this year) out of Sanchez’ face this Sunday Night.  At some point, the Ravens are going to try to get the ball down the field to Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress in this game.  I suspect though that LaDainian Tomlinson and Dustin Keller will be the guys Sanchez looks the most for.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are going to likely try to repeat the Raiders’ success of last week on the ground, with Ray Rice and Ricky Williams banging away.  The Jets’ front seven needs to step up in this game, or the Ravens are going to have a really good game offensively.  The Jets are going to have to blitz Joe Flacco, because he can be forced into making mistakes.  CB Darrelle Revis will probably be locked up with Anquan Boldin.  That means the rookie WR Torrey Smith is going to be on Antonio Cromartie’s side of the field, and that has to be scary for the Jets as Smith caught 5 passes for 152 yards (30.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs last weekend.

PREDICITON:  RAVENS 24, JETS 16

27-year old TE Dustin Keller has been the go-t0 man for the Jets so far this year in the passing game.  Keller has played in 3 games for the Jets so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 249 yards (15.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Coming into this season, Keller played in 48 games in his first three years with the Jets and he caught 148 passes for 1,744 yards (11.8 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  At some point the Jets are probably going to try to throw the ball to the receivers a little bit more, but it’s good to see Keller really stepping up his game.  Heck, he might even be a Pro Bowler for the Jets this year.

The Jets have placed 27-year old G/T Robert Turner on the Injured Reserve List, ending his 2011 season with a broken leg.  He didn’t get into any games for the Jets this year.  He has played in 41 games (2 starts) in his five years with the Jets.  The Jets should be able to find someone to replace Turner, as they won’t miss him too much.

The Jets have lost 24-year old backup TE Jeff Cumberland for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.  Cumberland played in all 3 games this year for the Jets and he caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg).  He has now played in 4 games in his first two years with the Jets and he has caught 3 passes for 38 yards (12.7 avg).  This is a bad break for Cumberland as he was starting to get some P.T. this year behind Dustin Keller.  The Jets should be o.k. without him though.

The New York Jets got pushed around by the Raiders yesterday at the Black Hole.  Mark Sanchez was pretty sharp as he completed 27 of 43 passes for 369 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 2 yards with 1 TD run.  Shonn Greene led the way on the ground for the Jets with 59 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.9 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 47 yards (6.7 avg) in this game.  LaDainian Tomlinson carried the ball 6 times for 38 yards (6.3 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 116 yards (23.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  TE Dustin Keller (5 rec, 87 yards), WR Plaxico Burress (3 rec, 55 yards, TD) and Derrick Mason (6 rec, 45 yards) also had decent games for the Jets.  The Jets finished up with 100 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 43 passes (62.8%) for 339 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:14.

The defense got pushed around by the Raiders in this game, plain and simple.  Safety Eric Smith (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), CB Antonio Cromartie (8 tackles), LB Bryan Thomas (7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and OLB Calvin Pace (7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Jets on D.  The Raiders finished up with 234 yards rushing on 32 carries (7.3 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 27 passes (66.7%) for 149 yards.  The Jets are now 2-1 on the year.

The New York Jets are in for a challenge this weekend as the Raiders look like a decent football team.  Playing in the Black Hole is never easy, so the Jets must protect the football.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Raiders are giving up 127.5 yards rushing per game and a stunning 6.7 yards per carry, so look for the Jets to try to get their running game going.  I have a feeling that the Jets are going to run the ball more than they pass it this weekend.  Shonn Greene will likely get around 20 carries in this game with L.T. getting 10-15, and they should have success.  If the Jets get the running game going, Mark Sanchez is going to be deadly on play action passes down the field to Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress.  TE Dustin Keller is also likely going to have a big game as he has developed into Sanchez’ favorite target so far this year.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Jets are going to key on Darren McFadden as he is the main man for the Raiders.  He has rushed for 222 yards (5.3 ypc) so far this year for the Raiders.  The Jets are only giving up 88 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry, so something is going to give this Sunday.  The Jets have to be wary of the longball too in this game as that is a Raiders’ specialty.  The corners better be ready as Jason Campbell has only been sacked one time so far this year, as the Raiders’ O-Line has looked solid.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, RAIDERS 17

24-year old QB Mark Sanchez is really stepping up for the Jets so far this year.  The Jets have not been able to run the ball too well this year, so the offense has been carried by Sanchez’ right arm.  Sanchez has played in both of the Jets games so far this year and he has completed 43 of 68 passes (63.2%) for 517 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (87.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 4 times for 32 yards (8.0 ypc) so far this year.  The Jets need Sanchez to keep up the good work at least until the Jets can fix their running game.

The New York Jets will be without 27-year old center Nick Mangold for the next 2-3 weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  This is really going to hurt the offense as the Jets only have undrafted rookies Colin Baxter (Arizona) and Taylor Boggs (Humboldt State) behind Mangold on the depth chart.  They might look to bring in a free agent.  No matter which way they go, they are going to miss Mangold who is one of the best centers in all of football.  The Jets are only averaging 73.0 yards rushing per game and 3.0 yards per carry, and I think that’s where they are going to miss Mangold the most.

The Jets totally kicked the Jaguars butt all day long yesterday in New Jersey.  Mark Sanchez had another solid game for the Jets as he completed 17 of 24 passes for 182 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 29 yards (9.7 ypc) in this game.  Shonn Greene led the way on the ground for the Jets in this game with 49 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Joe McKnight (6 carries, 14 yards) and LaDainian Tomlinson (6 carries for 8 yards) didn’t look too good in this game.  TE Dustin Keller led the way for the Jets in the passing game as he caught 6 passes for 101 yards (16.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Santonio Holmes also pitched in with 3 grabs for 42 yards (14.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Jets finished up with 101 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 24 passes (70.8%) for 182 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:23.

The defense was flat out incredible for the Jets yesterday.  DE Mike DeVito (5 tackles), safety Eric Smith (5 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) and LB Calvin Pace (5 tackles) led the way for the Jets on defense in this game.  LB Josh Mauga (3 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and DE Muhammad Wilkerson (2 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit and a safety) also made some huge plays for the Jets.  CB Antonio Cromartie was a standout both on defense and special teams for the Jets yesterday.  He had 3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (63 yards in returns) on D.  Cromartie also returned 2 kickoffs for 85 yards (42.5 avg) for the Jets as he gave the offense good starting field position.  The Jaguars only finished up with 112 yards on 27 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 25 passes (44%) for 91 yards in this game.  The Jets are now off to a 2-0 start.

The Jets are going to tighten up the chinstraps this weekend, because this game might look more like a boxing match than a football game.  Both teams are going to try to impose their wills with the running game on offense.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets threw the ball 44 times last week, while only running the ball 16 times.  The Jets want that balance to be around 50/50 between the run and the pass this weekend against the Jaguars.  It won’t be easy to stick to that though, as the Jaguars only gave up 43 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.3 ypc).  Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson are going to fight for every yard they get against the new linebacking crew of the Jaguars which included Paul Poslusny and Clint Session now.  If the O-Line gives Mark Sanchez time to throw the ball, he should have some success.  CB Rashean Mathis is the only real thief in the Jags’ secondary, so Sanchez will have to be careful when throwing in his direction.  WRs Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes will get their fair share of looks this weekend, but look for TE Dustin Keller to be heavily involved in the passing game as well as veteran WR Derrick Mason.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Jaguars are a run first team and that’s the way they are going to roll this weekend against the Jets.  Bart Scott and David Harris are going to have to be on their toes to deal with Maurice Jones-Drew and Deji Karim.  WRs Mike Thomas and Jason Hill should be no problem for CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.  Jags’ QB Luke McCown doesn’t have a lot of experience, so look for the Jets to blitz him a little more than they ususally would.

PREDICTION:  JETS 20, JAGUARS 9