NY Jets (2-2) at New England (3-1)

NFL

NY Jets (2-2) at New England (3-1)

Sky Sports 2, Sunday October 9th, 9pm

Mark Sanchez stunk it up last week. I have to be honest, I’ve rarely seen an NFL QB throw in the towel as comprehensively as he did against the Ravens; he didn’t fancy it, and gave up, going 11/35/119 yards and posting a 30.5 rating. That doesn’t bode well for a high intensity grudge match, and with Albert Haynesworth shoring up the NE line, the Pats might even muster a pass rush.

Rex Ryan said he wants to return to "ground and pound", which indicates Sanchez may be handing it off a lot, but it’s not as if the OL has been opening up nice running lanes for Shonn Greene and LT and besides, New England are clearly most vulnerable through the air – they’ve actually been quite solid against the run. I expect Dustin Keller to be targeted, not least because LBs Tracy White and Brandon Spikes are going to struggle in coverage. This will allow Sanchez to take the occasional deep shot with Burress and Holmes.

Tom Brady has been astonishing so far, and although people point to his struggles against the Jets in the past, I expect him to keep the chains moving today. The Jets’ secondary is very strong, but if anyone can outthink a well put together D, it’s Bill Belichick and his team. They can attack New York in the middle, looking for Brady’s favourite TE targets and getting Welker into the mix. The Law Firm and Stevan Ridley should also see the ball today as the Jets have had problems stopping the run, and the loss of LB Bryan Thomas is huge.

Brawls are difficult to call and there are a few imponderables in this matchup (primarily whether Sanchez decides to turn up) that make picking the game even more complicated than usual, but the Jets were so horrible last week that I have to take the home team here. Giving a TD is at the limit of my generosity, but what the hell, it’s only 77 days to Christmas (seriously).

Pick: Pats -7 @ 1.95; -1o5; 20/21

Pick: First TD Rob Gronkowski @ 9.5; 850; 17/2

Pick: AnytimeTD Dustin Keller @ 2.5; 150; 6/4