Eagles-Jets Predictions
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Eagles-Jets Predictions
Jonathan Tamari
JEFF MCLANE
Record, 5-8
The Jets are by no means unbeatable. Take away Tony Romo's collapse, a late tipped pass from Philip Rivers and Stevie Johnson's drop of a sure touchdown and New York is 5-8 and not 8-5. But you can't erase those moments, of course, just as the Eagles can't delete Jeremy Maclin's drop, Alex Henery's fourth quarter misses and Nnamdi Asomugha's neutral zone infraction. The Eagles are 5-8 and the Jets their opposite for good reason. New York could have packed it in at 5-5, but they won three in a row and are still in the playoff hunt. The Eagles did the el foldo weeks back. Wins over the Giants and the Dolphins were a case of too little, too late.
While the Jets still have a Wild Card berth to fight for, the Eagles have only wild playoffs hopes to cling to. There's a strong chance that they'll be out of the NFC East mix by the time they kick it off at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday. Even if the Cowboys or Giants or both lose by then, giving the Eagles more incentive, I'm not sure it'll matter.
Here's why: Michael Vick is not playing the quarterback position well at this point and he's still not 100 percent healthy. His footwork and drops were atrocious last week. He just wasn't comfortable in the pocket. Some of that had to do with him missing so much time. Some of it had to do with line play. But a great deal was just Vick. He needs all the reps he can get at this point and not practicing Wednesday isn't going to help his or the Eagles' cause against New York.
The other reason why I see an Eagles loss is Jets running back Shonn Greene. He's playing perhaps his best football these last three weeks and when has the Eagles defense stopped a better than average tailback this season? They haven't, unless you want to say they kept Beanie Wells in check. Michael Turner, Frank Gore, Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, DeMarco Murray, Stephen Jackson, Reggie Bush -- the list is long. Greene will be added in a few days. Jets, 23-17.
What goes right: DeSean Jackson burns Darrelle Revis for a long touchdown.
What goes wrong: Mark Sanchez's red zone magic continues with another TD pass to Plaxico Burress, reminding the Eagles that they signed the wrong ex-Giants receiver.
JONATHAN TAMARI
Record, 4-9
If there were playoffs for sports predictions, I’d have been mathematically eliminated long ago, or at least relegated to picking the winner of the Beef O’ Brady Bowl. As it stands, I’m still here calling these games, and the Eagles are still technically alive for a playoff spot. Technically.
But at 5-8, there’s not much reason for hope for the Birds while the 8-5 Jets, also disappointing this year, still have a Wild Card in their sights. Each team likes to beat up on weaker foes. The Eagles have only beaten two teams with winning records (the Cowboys and Giants) while the Jets have just one such victory (also over the Cowboys, week 1).
The Jets have rallied late in the season each year under Rex Ryan and appear to be following that same pattern this year. Running back Shonn Greene isn’t in Marshawn Lynch’s class, but he is a big, powerful runner who will challenge the Eagles to tackle better than they did against Seattle’s bruiser two weeks ago. The Eagles showed some pride last week against Miami, turning in their best defensive performance of the year. The problem is the offense was stagnant, scoring mostly because the defense gave them great field position. I’m still concerned about Mike Vick’s health and ability to move his team. His last two performances have been awfully shaky.
In the end, I’m guessing the running games of each team prove to be their best weapons, which plays to the Jets’ style. Of course, my guesses have been pretty awful, so maybe Eagles fans should consider this an early holiday present: I’m taking the Jets. Jets: 24-20.
What goes right: The Eagles pass rush continues to feast and makes life hard on quarterback Mark Sanchez.
What goes wrong: The Jets’ cornerback tandem causes trouble for the Eagles passing game and takes away Andy Reid’s favorite toy.
Whoa Whoa Whoa, stop the clock. These Eagles beat writers are wrong twice as often as they are right (combined record 9-17). It goes to show that you can spend 60 hours a week doing something and still can't get it right.— tgray83- Scores man got a tattoo — rizbik
- The writers have losing records in their predictions because they've mostly picked the Eagles to win. Hometown bias is working against them this year. As long as they get smart and pick the Eagles to lose, they'll improve their records to a respectable level.
— SteveS11 - Has nothing to do with bias. Has to do with 5 leads blown in the 4th quarter. — srf466
- Red's favorite "toy" is a guy whose only pass pattern is running fast. Great receivers actually know how to elude DBs.— jjthree
Looks like the game plan should be for Celek and Avant to have a big day. Jets starting safety is out for this game. If the line plays the way it did against Miami, we will see another home loss. Defense will have a tough day. Jets have good receivers and a good running back.- run the ball! run the ball and then run it again! when they aren’t looking run,, PASS the ball! wow how effen methodical is that!— With all this talent who needs a real defensive coordinator 2011
- Good RB kills the Eagles as usual. Jets 24 Birds 17.— mknphotos
- y'all are too generous. i think it is a laugher for the other green team: Jets 35 Eagles 10— coloradoeagle
- at least the defficient o-line was pointed out.....what a draft Valet Boy.....you selection at center, guard, linebacker, and safety are the major reason this team stinks......Good job Joe, you have created the organizaion that makes the team a joke.......— nuggett
- If the Cowgirls and Gnats both lose, Eagles will get a close W (a last-gasp effort with the playoffs still reachable). If they both win, the Eagles sleepwalk through a 31-13 loss.— dulcey33
- If the Eagles can slow down Greene or jump to a fast start they may be able to beat the Jets. Sanchez is not the best QB and will make mistakes. He will get happy feet if the Eagles can put constant pressure on him. Past games have shown that Sanchez will turn the ball over under pressure. Eagles need to get the Jets away from the running game and put the ball in the hands of Sanchez. Sanchez will fold like a cheap lawn chair under pressure. The key to an Eagles victory is through good pressure on Sanchez.— PVS53
- First off im a Jets fan so everyone knows. This is going to be a very good game and decided by 3 points i imagine, not sure witch team. I can say this to Mr. Jeff Mclane.... Revis will NOT be beat by DeSean Jackson for a long touchdown lol. Everything else sounded good by that prediction sounded like it was made by a crackhead! HAHA— Michael M.
- Vegas is picking the Eagles. Vegas is giving the Jets 2.5 points. Vegas knows more about assessing who the better team is than any sports writer or fan posting on this site. Vegas is also picking the Cowboys and Giants by wide margins. Vegas is picking the Eagles to win and expect that they'll have been eliminated before the game starts. Sounds about right to me.— MikeP
- It's easy to stop the Jets. 1. Double cover the TE Keller, 2. Play the short slants to the outside WR's. 3. Stack 8 men in the box to stop the run, Sanchez can't throw the deep ball, 4. Wait for the stupid playaction roll out to Sanchez's right, he'll throw to TE or RB and 5. If Sanchez's first read is covered he'll immediately dump it to a RB so hit the RB out of backfield. Their D can't stop the outside runs or passes down middle. The J-E-T-S suck suck suck!— dlore
