The Patriots have the sort of balanced offense I like to see in teams I bet on; their success on the ground complements nicely Brady's talent in hitting a gifted receiving corps. Losing Gronkowski is a blow (and although Hernandez is back, he's a different animal to the Gronk) but if anyone can re-jig an offense, it's Belichik. The Jets are solid against the pass, but soft against the run and it's likely that the familiar pattern of softening up a defense on the ground, before attacking them through the air, will be the order of the day.
Mark Sanchez must be one of the most put-upon QBs in the league, but he's shown some backbone to turn in some decent performances. If there was ever a game where he had the opportunity to put up numbers, it's today; New England's secondary is dire and even the addition of Aqib Talib doesn't address the fundamental shortcomings of a defense ranked 30th against the pass.
Jeremy Kerley, Chaz Schilens and Dustin Keller will get opportunities, but it's a question of whether they can keep moving the chains with the run too. Shonn Greene is a decent back and the Pats are by no means a shutdown run D, so it'll be interesting to see how the Jets balance their play calling; what is critical is that they execute, because they'll need to be at full throttle.
With new England injured and off a short week, I'm tempted by the Jets, but I still have the visitors by a TD.
Pick: New England Patriots -6.5 @1.83
Pick: 1st TD Wes Welker @ 9
Pick: Anytime TD Shonn Greene @ 2.25; Jeremy Kerley @ 2.65
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