I must say I have a better feeling this week even though the opponent is stronger and the game is on the road. Amazing what one win can do. But there are a few reasons to like the Packers this week, not the least of which is confidence. They finally beat Brett Favre and they finally won a close game, and they did it in front of 25 million viewers.
The Jets are the cockiest team to grace the league since the days of the “just win, baby” days of the Oakland Raiders of the seventies. Their crap don’t stink and they know it, just ask them. The players have taken the personalty of their foulmouth coach and so far it seems to be working as they sit at 5-1 coming off their bye week.
Jet’s head coach Rex Ryan has ripped the Packers’ defense on repeated occasions because Charles Woodson won the NFC Defensive Player of the Year award last year instead of his boy Darrelle Revis. It is my belief that the Jets will give Revis every chance to go one-on-one with the Packers’ receivers, probably Greg Jennings the most. I think in their attempt to prove a point they will allow some big plays, in fact I think Jennings will have a big day Sunday.
I think the Packers’ defense played fairly well last week against Adrian Peterson and while LT is having a good year he is no AP. The Packers are going to give up some yards on the ground again this week but I think they can avoid the backbreaking run and force Mark Sanchez to throw just enough to get himself in trouble.
If Brandon Jackson can continue his improvement of recent weeks and the Packers can control the clock a little it will make things a lot easier and a couple big plays might be enough to carry the day. Jackson needs more and more touches if you ask me, especially the dump-offs over the middle, he reminds me of his coach Edger Bennett on those.
I’m not even going to bring up injuries anymore as they are at a point where they can hardly get any worse unless Aaron Rodgers or Clay Matthews gets hurt. Losing either one of those would be the final nail in the coffin. It is encouraging I guess that the Packers only lost one player for the season last week – linebacker Brad Jones.
Prediction coming, and I’ll be around for the whole game this week, confidence is increasing.