JetNation Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 On Sunday the New York Jets take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the right to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLV. The Jets enter the game flying high off of victories over the Patriots and Colts, while the Steelers took care of the Ravens after a first round bye. Lets take a look at some of the keys to the game which will be played at Heinz Field (6:30 EST). Offense Consistent Playcalling- New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has done an excellent job re-establishing the Jets “ground and pound” philosophy this postseason. On Sunday Schottenheimer must continue this trend against a tough, physical Steeler defense. This game has the potential to be a low scoring, defensive battle that will put field position at a premium. Brian must remain loyal to the running game, along with the short passing game that will keep the defense honest. This is not the type of game where you start getting fancy with your formations and strategies. Offensive line play- In order for the Jets offense to have success on Sunday the offensive line will have to play their best game of the year. The Pittsburgh defense poses a variety of challenges as they play very aggressive against both the run and the pass. The Jets offensive line must find ways to win the battles in the trenches in order to establish their running game. There is a good chance that Pittsburgh will try to stack the box in order to force Mark Sanchez to throw the ball, therefore Gang Green must come up with a scheme to handle the run blitz. In terms of pass protection the Jets will have their hands full with James Harrison (10.5 sacks), LaMarr Woodley (10 sacks), and All-World safety Troy Polamalu. Gang Green must remain consistent in protection and use max protect formations as needed. In week 15 the Jets had a NYL Protection Index rating of 81.1 and that type of performance must be repeated on Sunday. I would not be surprised to see the Jets use a variety of screen packages to try and slow down the pass rush. Sanchez must shine- As mentioned earlier there is a very good chance that the Pittsburgh defense is going to stack the box and force Mark Sanchez to beat them with the passing game. Sanchez must take what the defense gives him and not start to force throws down the field. Mark has been very effective using the short passing game to open up the offense, and I expect to see the same approach on Sunday. Look for Sanchez to target Dustin Keller and Jerricho Cotchery early on to get into the rhythm of the game. Number one priority for Sanchez: 0 turnovers Interesting stat: If the Jets win on Sunday quarterback Mark Sanchez will be the first quarterback in history of the NFL with 5 road playoff wins. Not too bad for a second year quarterback. Defense Contain Big Ben- Even though the Jets defense has shut down the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady the last two weeks, they are going to face a completely different challenge defending Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday. Roethlisberger is a strong, mobile quarterback that does an excellent job of escaping pressure and making big plays down the field. The Jets defense must try to keep Big Ben in the pocket and finish off every chance they have to sack the Pittsburgh signal caller. Roethlisberger is known to take some big hits and the Jets need to take advantage and try to generate some turnovers. Pass coverage- The New York Jets secondary is going to be facing a dynamic Steelers passing attack that has several explosive weapons. Wide receivers Hines Ward (5 tds) and Mike Wallace (10tds) have received the most attention, but rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders have started to emerge as well. Add tight end Heath Miller to the mix and you can see how the Steelers could spread out the Jets defensive backfield. Gang Green must come up with a solid defensive scheme that can disrupt the Steelers passing attack. In terms of match-ups I would put Darrelle Revis on Mike Wallace and let Antonio Cromartie take on Hines Ward. The key for all of the Jets defenders is to play physical and to not let the Steelers receivers get off the line easily. Stop the run- The Steelers ground game features running back Rashard Mendenhall who had a breakout season in 2010 with over 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Jets defense must be able to contain Mendenhall along with the Steelers rushing attack in order to have success on Sunday. If Pittsburgh’s ground game gets going, Gang Green could get exposed in the secondary with the play action pass. Prediction I think this is going to be a very close, physical game that is going to be decided by a turnover or a mental mistake in the fourth quarter. Ok enough with the analyst talk. As a long time Jets fan I could not be any more fired up for this Sunday’s AFC Championship game. While there was plenty of excitement last year against the Colts in the AFC Championship game, I think in the back of our minds many of us knew that the Jets would come up short. This year many, including yours truly, believe that Gang Green can get the job done and make their first appearance in the Super Bowl in over 40 years. To me the New York Jets are on a mission as the team seems to be exorcising all of their football demons on the way to the Super Bowl. Gang Green took care of Peyton Manning in the Wild Card round to wipe out the bitter post season defeat last year. The Jets took care of the New England Patriots, their long time nemesis that routinely ruined their postseason dreams. Now the team faces the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz field, a place where the playoff failures of Jets coach Herman Edwards and kicker Doug Brien still linger. I honestly believe that the New York Jets are going to find a way to win this game and advance to the Super Bowl. Whether it is with a huge special teams play, a defensive touchdown, or a touchdown strike by Mark Sanchez, Gang Green is getting the job done on Sunday. Jets 17-14 Side note: Recently I had a chance to interview former Jets great Victor Green and we discussed everything from the Jets vs Steelers match-up, to Rex Ryan, to Curtis Martin’s Hall of Fame bid. To listen to the interview click here. In addition check out Victor’s website www.classactsports.com where he posted an interview with Wayne Chrebet and will be breaking down the AFC Championship game. View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Wow Tyson picked the Jets to win this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Nice. I'd add Field Position and Punting into this. That was key against our win in Pitt a couple of weeks ago. I think the Jets truly believed they'd be back. And they went out and got guys like Cro, Tone, Jason Gaylor, Trevor Pryce, Pool and LT, to make them one game better. Lets hope that was the right ingredients. Go Jets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kleckineau Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Nice. I'd add Field Position and Punting into this. That was key against our win in Pitt a couple of weeks ago. I think the Jets truly believed they'd be back. And they went out and got guys like Cro, Tone, Jason Gaylor, Trevor Pryce, Pool and LT, to make them one game better. Lets hope that was the right ingredients. Go Jets Yeah well they need to be 2 games better Jif. I hope you have to eat your words about Taylor. If he gets a strip sack and or a safety will you say all is forgiven? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaJetsFan Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Yeah well they need to be 2 games better Jif. I hope you have to eat your words about Taylor. If he gets a strip sack and or a safety will you say all is forgiven? 2 more!!! Can't Wait!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Wide receivers Hines Ward (5 tds) and Mike Wallace (10tds) have received the most attention, but rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders have started to emerge as well. Add tight end Heath Miller to the mix and you can see how the Steelers could spread out the Jets defensive backfield. Gang Green must come up with a solid defensive scheme that can disrupt the Steelers passing attack. In terms of match-ups I would put Darrelle Revis on Mike Wallace and let Antonio Cromartie take on Hines Ward. The key for all of the Jets defenders is to play physical and to not let the Steelers receivers get off the line easily. I think the Jets are resigned to keeping safety help deep in this game, not only because of Wallace, but Brown and Sanders, too. Looks to me like the Jets will therefore use Revis to neutralize Ward, and use double teams to stop Wallace. Cromartie is bigger than Wallace, and will be able to jam him at the line and still have the speed to run with him. Steelers offense may not be as prolific as the Pats or Colts, but they make you defend more field because of their running game and the mobility of their QB. You need to cover the deep part of the field (not really a problem against the Pats) because of the speed of their WR's, and you need to be aware that the QB will run with it if nothing's there - Big Rape had a 22 yard run against the Jets already this year. Definitely agree that the key will be for all the Jets defenders to be physical, and to jar the receivers off their timing on every down. The other key is basic football, but needs to be remembered this week more than ever: play to the whistle. Ben will extend plays better than almost any QB in the league. That means running with your receivers longer, and being aware of the QB at all times. Nice. I'd add Field Position and Punting into this. That was key against our win in Pitt a couple of weeks ago. Absolutely. Weatherford needs to get back to his regular season form ASAP. You can point directly to his performance as the reason Jason Taylor registered a safety, and that safety was likely the difference between winning in regulation and going to overtime. He pinned Pittsburgh inside the 20 three times in four punts with no touchbacks. Definitely need more of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Absolutely. Weatherford needs to get back to his regular season form ASAP. You can point directly to his performance as the reason Jason Taylor registered a safety, and that safety was likely the difference between winning in regulation and going to overtime. He pinned Pittsburgh inside the 20 three times in four punts with no touchbacks. Definitely need more of that. He had a punt to the 4 in the first half...and they went 86 yards for a TD. Then he had the punt to the 3, safety. And then the last punt was to the 8, needing a TD, no points. Definitely need to get off the field, but that field position was crucial to securing the win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80gonyjets51 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Roethleisberger takes the snap DEFENSE! DEFENSE! Roethleisberger takes the snap DEFENSE SACKS HIS a$$! DEFENSE SACKS HIS a$$! DEFENSE SACKS HIS a$$! Roethleisberger takes the snap DEFENSE SACKS HIS a$$! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharrow Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Yeah, I think it'll be pretty simple. Win field position, don't turn it over, don't give up big plays, and score touchdowns instead of field goals=win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80gonyjets51 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Zero turnovers. The less mistakes we make the better chances that we win, and if the steelers make any mistakes, exploit them and make them PAY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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