Rex Ryan’s Jets (2-1) play their second of three straight games away from MetLife Stadium with a visit to Baltimore (2-1) to take on their head coach’s previous employer Sunday night in a battle of last year’s two AFC wild card teams.
Previously, these two teams matched up in the Jet’s first-ever game at the formerly-named New Meadowlands Stadium last September. The Ravens ruined the grand opening with an ugly 10-9 win that seemed to end prematurely when Jet’s tight end Dustin Keller’s crucial and possibly game-extending fourth-down reception ended with his stepping out of bounds a yard shy of the first down marker with seconds remaining in the contest and his team still trailing by a point.
However feasible it may have been for Keller to stay in bounds with his momentum pushing him out is up for debate, but his place this year among the top of the list of the NFL’s best pass-catching tight ends is for sure. Not only does he lead the Jets with his 249 receiving yards, but the total ranks third in the entire league among those at his position.
The receiving yards are clearly needed as offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s offense is still heavily tilted toward the pass while the running game has stalled. Ryan, for one is of the opinion that the discrepancy has another reason. “I think that has a lot to do with the fact that we’ve been behind in two of those contests. ... I think everybody would like to have a more balanced attack, but we’ve been effective throwing the football,” said the third-year coach according the Jets’ website.
A key to unlocking their ground game could be the availability of All-Pro center Nick Mangold. Although he hasn’t yet practiced since spraining his ankle against Jacksonville, he hasn’t quite been ruled out and his fully-healed presence would be huge against Baltimore and their standout defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, “I’d want a 100 percent (Mangold), and that’d be a heck of a battle right there, letting those two guys butt heads, because one’s the best tackle in football, one’s the best center in football,” continued Ryan.
Meanwhile the defensive-minded coach sees a more glaring problem on the other side of the football, “When you look at the numbers, the one that’s scary is that we’re 31st in the league in run defense. ... That’s the number that is alarming to me.”
Indeed, after last week’s uneven defensive performance against Oakland that catapulted Raiders running back Darren McFadden to the top of list of the league’s leading rushers, the once-vaunted run-defense that’s been a staple of Ryan’s successful tenure in Florham Park has some serious question marks heading into a game against another good one—Baltimore’s Ray Rice. The fourth-year back out of Rutgers already has back-to-back 1,000-plus yards seasons under his belt and his 5.6 yards per carry this season has him well on pace for a third.
To come out with a victory the Jets will have to contain him, get as much offense as they can against Ray Lewis and company, and of course stay in bounds.
