Sarcastiholic

2010 NFL Season – Divisional Round – Jets at Chargers

The final game of the Divisional Round is another game that leaves me with nobody to root for as the Jets travel to America’s Finest City and take on the Chargers.

I really hate the Jets. And, to be honest, I am not very fond of the Chargers (specifically Philip Rivers and Ladanian Tomlinson) either.

I’m kind of disappointed in this matchup but I guess that the silver lining is that at least one of these teams will lose.

The Chargers’ high-flying offense will be taking on the Jets’ numero uno pass defense with a trip to Reevis Island. This probably was not the matchup that the Chargers were hoping for. Their strength has been their passing game and the Jets’ defensive strength is against the pass.

Well, I guess that the Chargers can rely on their explosive running game to help carry the day for them. Wait… what running game?

Ladanian Tomlison is averaging 52 yards rushing per game. Overall, the Chargers have the 31st ranked rushing attack in the NFL. For those of you not paying attention, that’s the second worst in the league. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

I think it’s awesome, by the way.

Meanwhile, the Jets have the number one rushing game in the NFL and will be using it against the Chargers’ defense which ranks 20th in the league. That’s a pretty good matchup for the Jets. Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene should be able to put up some good numbers against them.

But the key to the Jets victory on offense will be whether or not Mark Sanchez can make plays down the field. The Jets should be able to control the clock against the Chargers but it will be the passing game that keeps them in a position to win.

Meanwhile, Reevis Island is ready for its next guest when Vincent Jackson steps off the boat and onto shore. If Darrelle Revis shuts down Jackson, then the bulk of the passing game will fall on Antonio Gate’s shoulders. But that might not be enough, so Malcolm Floyd will have to have a solid game.

Philip Rivers is a cocky S.O.B. though, so I expect him to challenge Revis early. I think the Chargers pull off the best game against Revis that anybody has had to date this season, although I can’t expect the numbers to be phenomenal.

I also expect Norv Turner to make some boneheaded decisions on the sidelines and put his team in a position to lose the game. And I expect Rex Ryan to somehow actually continue to gain weight while he is standing on the sidelines thus enabling him to substitute for the Charlie Brown balloon in next year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And that will be the only parade that he goes to this year.

Chargers pull off the win in what I am guessing is going to be the lowest scoring game of the weekend.

2010 NFL Season - Wild Card - Jets at Bengals

The first game of Wild Card Weekend will be a repeat a Week 17 game (3 of 4 are, actually) when the Jets travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals.

The Bengals came out of apparently nowhere this year to win the AFC North title over the reigning Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Baltimore Ravens who were in close contention for the Super Bowl last year after making it to the conference championship. The bottom line on the Bengals is that they won a very competitive division by sweeping both of these teams. That is no small task, and not to be taken lightly.

Now they have a rematch against the New York Jets who managed to slide into a Wild Card spot. To be fair, the Jets did do what they needed to do by winning games at the end of the season. But, to be truly honest, they had a light schedule at the end of the season and one of those key wins was against an Indianapolis Colts team that sat all of their starters. If the Colts had played to win that game, the Jets would have lost and they would have missed the playoffs.

That being said, the Jets ARE in the playoffs. How they got there isn’t that important. Anything can happen once you get there and the Jets have the number one running game, and the number one defense in the NFL. That makes for a very dangerous combination. What they don’t have is a proven QB and passing game.

The key to this game is going to be Cedric Benson and Thomas Jones (both former Bears, I might add). The only other weapon that the Bengals have is Chad OchoCinco but the Jets have Darrelle Reevis to counter their passing game. The only way to free up the passing game for the Bengals is going to be pounding the ball with Cedric Benson. He has proven he can do it all year, but he has yet to do it in the playoffs.

And the Jets are going to be very confident that Reevis can shut out OchoCinco. So much so, they should be able to stack the box against the run and leave their cornerbacks out alone in coverage. Cedric Benson is going to have a rough day.

The Jets have Thomas Jones who might be the most underrated running back in the NFL. The Bears never should have let him go and most of the fans were screaming from the mountain tops when it happened. Expect him to have a big day despite the fact that the Bengals will also be stacking the box in an effort to force Mark Sanchez to beat them with the passing game.

I expect Thomas Jones to have a better day stat-wise than Cedric Benson but this game will come down to key plays in the passing game. Which side makes them, and which side turns the ball over?

This game is actually a tough call. Both teams are very similar in a lot of respects. But quarterback is the big difference between these two teams and I have to back the veteran over the rookie. I’m taking the Bengals in a tight game over the Jets.

Oh, yeah… Did I mention I really hate the Jets?