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23Jan/111

New York Jets vs Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Playoffs

AFC Championship Game - Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA

The AFC No.6 seed New York Jets shocked many last week in their 28-21 victory over the New England Patriots. Sunday, they look to take the NFL's 4th best rushing offense into Heinz Field to battle The Pittsburgh Steelers, who own the league's best rushing defense, allowing a paltry 62.8 yards per game.

Online sportsbooks list the Pittsburgh Steelers as -4 point home favorites against the New York Jets, with a game total of 38 points. My wife, Diana, is holding on to a six point teaser, Bears +9 1/2, Jets +10. What's your play?

Up for the challenge?

Both teams are defensive juggernauts. The Jets rank third against the rush, sixth against the pass, and sixth in points allowed, giving up only 19 points per game. The Steelers answer with a defensive squad that stops the run better than anyone else in the NFL, and also allows the fewest points scored, giving away a meager 14.5 points per game.

Wrecking offensive schemes every week

Despite Troy Polamalu's dominance, Jet's QB Mark Sanchez (17 TDs, 13 INTs) will look to connect with receivers Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and TE Dustin Keller. The Steelers finished the regular season ranked 12th in the league in pass defense, allowing 214.1 receiving yards per game. LaDainian Tomlinson and Schonn Greene combined for 1680 rushing yards and 8 TDs during the regular season. They will need to establish some success if they hope to keep the Steeler's blitz packages and pass rush away from Sanchez.

Pittsburgh will look to establish their own ground game behind running back Rashard Mendenhall, who bullied his way to 1273 rushing yards and 13 TDs during the regular season. QB Ben Roethlisberger (17 TDs, 5 INTs) will take aim at receivers Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and TE Heath Miller. The trio combined for 2524 receiving yards, as well as 17 TDs during regular season play.

Big Ben is not stranger to AFC Title games as this will be his 4th in just his 7th year in the league. After losing to the Patriots in his second season, Roethlisberger has been near-perfect in conference championship games as he has not thrown a pick in 62 attempts leading the Steelers to Super Bowl 40 and 43.

From scores.espn.go.com (share this quote)

Dick LeBeau returned as Pittsburgh defensive coordinator in 2004. In 7 years, LeBeau's defenses have ranked in the top 3 in points allowed 5 times and in the top 5 of yards allowed 6 times. In 4 of those years, the Steelers advanced to the AFC title game.. on Sunday, they try to advance to the Super Bowl for the 3rd time since LeBeau returned.

From scores.espn.go.com (share this quote)

RECENT FORM
TEAM	SU	ATS	OU	OFF	DEF
NY Jets	11-5	9-7	12-4	22.9	19.0
Pittsburgh	12-4	10-6	7-9	23.4	14.5

SMART CHART
NYJ	TEAM	PIT
22.9	PTS FOR	23.4
19.0	PTS AGNST	14.5
3.9	DIFF.	8.9
202.6	PASS YDS	225.1
148.4	RUSH YDS	120.3
200.6	PASS D	214.1
90.9	RUSH D	62.8
-0.6	TO DIFF	-1.1

Tagged as: afc, ben roethlisberger, braylon edwards, hines ward, mark sanchez, new york jets, nfl, nfl playoffs, pittsburgh steelers, rashard mendenhall, santonio holmes, troy polamalu 1 Comment

8Jan/110

New York Jets vs Indianapolis Colts AFC Wild-Card

AFC Wild-Card Rematch of Jets-Colts

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (10-6) have seven AFC South titles in eight years. Today they host the New York Jets (11-5) who are looking for revenge after having been eliminated by the Colts in last year's AFC championship game.

Online sportsbooks have posted the Indianapolis Colts as -2 point home favorites over the New York Jets, with a game Total pf 44 1/2 points.

33 TDs - 4700 YDS

Peyton Manning ranks 2nd in the NFL in passing yards completed, 4700, and touchdowns, 33. Although he has also thrown 17 INTs, Manning has been without many of his usual weapons, including at times, Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, and Dallas Clark.

As a team the Colts rank first in passing offense, however they are close to bottom of the league in rushing, ranking 29th and averaging only 92.7 yards per game. Running backs Brown and Adai have combined for 992 rushing yards on the season, only slightly more than Jet's running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, who has amassed 914 yards on the ground and another 368 receiving yards.

1282 total yds - 6 TDs

Mark Sanchez is expected to be fully recovered from a previous shoulder injury and ready for Saturday's AFC wild-card game. The Jets quarterback will look to connect with receivers Braylon Edwards (7 TDs) and Santonio Holmes (6 TDs). The Colt's have a respectable if not feared pass defense, ranking 17th in the NFL. The Indianapolis run defense however allows 127 yards per game, ranking 25th in the league. As a team the Colt's are giving up 24.3 points per game, compared to the Jet's defense who rank 6th in the NFL, allowing a meager 19 points per game.

Ryan is 1-5 against Manning, 0-2 in the postseason, as the Jets coach and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator. The most numbing loss came in last season's conference championship game when Ryan's high-risk Jets were filleted after bolting to a 17-6 lead. Manning passed for 377 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-17 victory.

From www.indystar.com (share this quote)

RECENT FORM
TEAM	SU	ATS	OU	OFF	DEF
NY Jets	11-5	9-7	12-4	22.9	19.0
Indianapolis	10-6	8-8	10-5-1	27.2	24.3

SMART CHART
NYJ	TEAM	IND
22.9	PTS FOR	27.2
19.0	PTS AGNST	24.3
3.9	DIFF.	2.9
202.6	PASS YDS	288.1
148.4	RUSH YDS	92.7
200.6	PASS D	214.6
90.9	RUSH D	127.0
-0.6	TO DIFF	0.3

Tagged as: afc, afc south, austin collie, braylon edwards, indianapolis colts, joseph addai, ladainian tomlinson, mark sanchez, new york jets, nfl, online sportsbooks, peyton manning, reggie wayne, rex ryan, sontonio holmes, wild card No Comments

13Dec/100

Jets Coach Sal Alosi Interferes with Nolan Carroll

Jets Coach Sal Alosi Trips Nolan Carroll

The Jets are struggling. The pressure is building. And the Jets' strength and conditioning coach, Sal Alosi, decided to take matters into his own hands, (or feet) during Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Alosi joined the Jets in 2001 as a strength and conditioning intern. He returned to the Jet's organization in 2006 after a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons. Alosi is a former linebacker from Hofstra University, where he was awarded the Mayor's Trophy, recognizing the spirit of fair play, both on and off the field, as described by the university's media guide.

Alosi offered an apology after the game.

"I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment," Alosi said in a statement released by the Jets about two and a half hours after the game. "My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for."

From www.nfl.com (share this quote)

Nolan Carroll, a rookie corner back signed in the 5th round out of Maryland, said he wasn't angry about the incident.

"We got a W. That's not my problem," Carroll said. "That's the Jets' problem. We just move on. I felt contact, but I've got to watch film. I can't comment on it right now."

From www.nfl.com (share this quote)

Some of Carroll's teammates were less restrained when asked for their reactions.

"They're cheaters," Dolphins inside linebacker Channing Crowder said. "They do what they do. They cheat. They talk junk. But we beat the hell out of them today.

From sports.espn.go.com (share this quote)

Crowder went on to add,

"I wish they'd tripped me. I'd have broken that old man's leg. I didn't see anything. He stuck his leg out and tripped him? He should be ashamed of himself. A grown man from the coaching staff? That's high character."

From sports.espn.go.com (share this quote)

"That is so dirty," Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby told the Sun-Sentinel of South Florida after seeing a snapshot of the incident. "Come on man. That's dirty! It all trickles down hill. Their head coach opened a can of worms over there, and now he's got to fix it. It's sad. There's no place for that in football. Hopefully they'll be fined for it. I'll leave it up to the league."

From www.nfl.com (share this quote)

The Jets fell to 9-4 after the loss to the Dolphins. In week 13, the Jets were embarrassed by the New England Patriots in a 45-3 blow out. The Patriots (11-2) now control the AFC East and leave the New York Jets scrambling for a position in the post-season.

The Jets play next on the road against Pittsburgh (10-3) on Sunday, December 19 at 4:15 PM.