By Cormac Eklof

What was Homer Simpson’s title bout against Drederick Tatum called? The bout to knock the other guy out? This is very much the bout to knock the other guy out, with the winner potentially taking all the marbles in the AFC East. Potentially explosive game. Clear out your Monday night schedule, put on the popcorn and sit back and enjoy. You know, it’s interesting, the Jets a couple of years ago called this game their Superbowl. This year they are openly calling it their biggest game of the year. The Patriots are instead calling it a big game, and noting it is no bigger than their recent win over the Colts. The Patriots coaching staff always urge their team to take one game at a time. The Jets noisy coaching staff are openly and publicly calling this their biggest game of the year. 

There is no doubt the Jets have a healthy, hard earned record, and when they fire on all cylinders, on both sides of the ball, they are a very good team. However, they have really had to work for that 9-2 record. They narrowly beat ‘lesser’ teams in overtime in consecutive weeks in Detroit and Cleveland , and then needed a touchdown with 10 seconds left Sunday beat Houston . They were behind at half time to The Bungles before winning. 

Their defence is upper echelon, but can you say the same about their offence? Their biggest question mark is the often under-whelming QB Mark Sanchez. Realistically, what do you call Sanchez other than a third-tier QB, way behind Brady, Manning and Brees, and considerably behind Matt Ryan and the rest of the tier-two crowd. Put it this way, 16 of 28 for 166 yards with a touchdown and an interception against The Bungles is probably not going to get it done at The Razor. 

The Patriots are continuing to look like a young, well coached team, which makes mistakes but also makes some spectacular plays on both sides of the ball. They are 5-0 at home this season and protect The Razor well. The Patriots have won 25 straight home games with Tom Brady at the helm.

Often these highly touted and much hyped showdowns can fall flat. Hopefully this game lives up to the enormous hype. The Patriots should have enough diversity on offence and enough momentum playing at home on defence to squeak out a win in what could be a tight, hard fought game.

The pick: Patriots 30-27

http://irishbaseballseason.blogspot.com/

Go back to Patriots Fan Spot