A Jets Eye View

I'm on the road - specifically in Ypsilanti staying with my brother as we prepare to go see the Lions take on the Jets at Ford Field tomorrow.  It's a great weekend for football as we watched Sparty take on a Gopher this afternoon.  As usual for a road trip I'm plinking this out on my iPhone so please forgive any formatting miscues!

In order to get a Jets eye view of the matchup, I asked Alan at Scouting the Jets to answer a few questions regarding the matchup.  You can find my q&a with him, as well as my general analysis of the matchup at their website: 

www.jetsfan.com

Q. How do the Jets plan on holding back the Lions' pass rush - one if the best in the NFL?

I expect the Jets to go a little more conservative with their blocking schemes.  Usually the front 5 does not need much help but in this game I expect the Jets to keep a running back in a little more than usual.  The Jets don't like to bring a double team to help their tackles but they will probably try to chip Vanden Bosch with a tight end occasionally.  The real concern is Ndamukong Suh who will probably be moved over second year guard Matt Slauson.  I expect Slauson to get a lot of help from Nick Mangold and LaDanian Tomlinson.  

Q. The Lions put up quite a few points on Green Bay, who shut out the Jets the Jets last week -- and the Lions faced them before they started suffering their heavy injury situation and with a backup QB. How do you feel about the CJ-Stafford connection?

This is going to be a dangerous tandem for years to come.  Stafford has one of the strongest arms in the league and will continue to improve as he learns to read defenses better.  These two form a dangerous combination and I am really impressed with Johnson's competitiveness.  He competes extremely well for the ball in the air and he is not afraid to go over the middle and take hits.  He also fights to get the ball into the end zone and this competitiveness just magnifies his outstanding physical ability.  What will make Johnson even better is if he learns to run more double moves and set defenders up.  Right now his routes are easy to diagnose.  But the sky's the limit for these two.  They both have outstanding physical ability and will only get better. 

Q. Who wins Survivor: Revis Island?  Revis, Calvin Johnson, or a tie?

As much as it pains me to say this, I have to give Johnson the edge.  He is playing at a high level and really showing more intensity on the field than Revis.  Because of his holdout and injury, Revis has been slow to get into a flow.  He has made plays since coming back but has not been dominant on a play-to-play basis like he was last year.  I expect this to be a very physical match up.  Johnson likes to outmuscle DB's for the ball and normally Revis won't shy away from that contact but I did not like the way he competed versus rookie DeMaryius Thomas from Denver who has similar size to Johnson.  Thomas caught a touchdown pass over Revis in that game.  If Revis turns up the intensity level this will be a great match up but if he continues his recent play, I have to give Johnson the edge.

Sent from my iPhone