I'm just going by the patterns each year. I know one year has nothing to do with the other, but there are some constants in football. Last year 10 of 12 teams won their season opener. It has no bearing on this year, but its shit like that stuck in my head that puts up a guideline for this season. Although, beating three divisional opponents back to back to back would nullify this thought. Considering those teams aren't as good as the Ravens, there's a chance.
The problem is at 0-3 the wheels might fall off, with this team expected to make a step forward especially the playere believing it confidence will begin to disapeer and throw in that games against the Vikings and Packers are no sure wins. The Texans are much better then the team we crushed last year so by starting out 0-3 games against quality teams all of a sudden become must wins and there is no room for error. With our last 7 against teams that will likely be fighting for a playoff spot (except the Bills in week 17) these next two are must wins as far as I'm concerned.
we all knew we needed to come out of the first 4 at least 2-2 to be in good shape. so starting in a hole at 0-1, isn't going to kill us, it just means we have to play better. and frankly this next 3 games is far more important to us in the long run than the Ravens were anyways. If we want to win our division we need to go 2-1 in this stretch or better. The ravens were about showing we were for real. We played like ass, time to move on and prove we can win this division.
This team has proven it has intestinal fortitude by coming back from those two 3-game losing streaks last season. I don't think the wheels would fall off the bus. The media and the fans would be circling like vultures and going nuts, but I believe the team could weather the storm. Unless you believe a 13-3 record is required to make the playoffs, every game wouldn't be a must win at that point.
The lovely part about going 2-1 in the next three games is that the one loss better be to the Bills. That sounds so wierd.
I'm looking at it from the realistic standpoint that we split with both Miami and NE. Throw in losses to Green Bay and at Pitt and those 3 losses now become 5. Obviously 11-5 should be good enough but a slip up against Houston or getting swept by Miami or NE and all of a sudden we could be in big trouble. I think the D is dam good but I don't think it's fair to assume with our offense playing the way they did in preseason and carrying over into the opener that all of a sudden they're going to start putting up 25- 30 points a agame.
Lots of posters take such an either or approach. The team either sucks or doing great. Right now, it's probably somewhere in the middle. Good points: - Revis is back and played well. Given some of the problems elsewhere among the corners, that is huge. - The D held what I think we will see is a transforming Ravens squad with a very capable passing attack to ten points. (Now we have to remember the Ravens turned the ball over three times, which is why they were limited, but some of that certainly had to do with the Jets.) Ellis was solid, as was the linebacking play of Harris and Scott. DeVito continues to improve. - OL might not be the best in the league, but Mangold continues to be the league's best center and holds down the line. Ravens are a top tier D, and got their pressure on MS, but it coulda been far woise. - LT played quite well, and looks like the rejuvenation we thought we saw in pre-season might well be for real. I may have left something out, but... Onto the bad: - MS. Let me just say he is scaring me. Leave it at that. - Overall sloppiness and penalties. These guys need to play more efficiently and cut down significantly on penalties. They were killing the team, especiallyh plays like PI by Wilson on 3rd and 28. - Wilson and Cro. I think Cro just had a mediocre game, and did get that int. But Wilson showedd himself very much to be a work in progress. See first positive above. - Jenks done. Wow, this is really bad. I know the Jets played well without him last year, but it's also true that there were no other major injuries to the front seven after he went down. The roster's margin for surviving more injuries is now very thin. Lack of depth. It's a problem. Going Forward: The schedule right now works against the Jets. I agree with WSW that on paper the team should be able to weather early season beat downs. The guy who scares me, though, is Sanchez. Part of his problem is mental, self confidence. We all saw him have it in the playoffs. We all saw him not have it in mid season last year. We all saw what a difference it makes. What would starting the season 0-3 do to him? I don't think it would be a positive. Playoff seeding is also an issue. Yeah, a team can go 10-6 or even 9-7 and maybe get in the race. But the odds of securing that SB berth go down. Right now, the smart move is probably to forget all the SB talk and go about righting the ship. Forgetting about the SB for now... I just did it.
I agree with doing that as well. What I hold on to is the damn home playoff game. This team is too good not to have one.
I have to agree with the OP. We played a game against who most, if not all, would say are super bowl contenders. In said game: 60 Passing Yards all game. ALL GAME. 6 First Downs (Tied worst in Franchise History) 14 Penalties for 125 yards. (Worst since 1988) 1-11 On Third Downs The only touchdown of the game came off of Braylon's bullsht roughing the kicker. Otherwise, we're looking at 6-3 Jets going into the half. The penalties were 5 yards more than the back of one endzone, to the back of the other. We lost by 1 point. If we play like that on an off day, Holmes' return, weaker opponents and hopefully a rising confidence will help us to get to a rather satisfying record by December.
