THE JETS WILL BE GROUNDED IN DENVER!
By Bob Acton of
Sportingbet USA - now SuperBook.com -
Needless to say my predicting that the Denver Broncos will triumphover the hapless New York Jets is not going to go down in theannals of football handicapping as one of the greatest prognosticationsin the last decade.
No I think most of America will be on the Broncos this weekendeven if they are laying a hefty 13-14 points to Herm Edwards’stroops. On the flip side the only reason for backing the Jetswould be that Denver is coming off an emotional division roadgame against the hated Raiders and will be looking ahead to aThanksgiving Day tilt with Dallas.
Bet Now at Bdg.eu
My reasons for writing off the Jets are not likethe majority of handicappers who will point to their woeful quarterbackproblems, but rather the crippled offensive line. The Jets hadarguably the best center in the business in Kevin Mawae but hewent down with a torn triceps muscle and he was their undisputableleader. In their loss at Carolina this past weekend, the newswent from bad to worse as another all pro lineman Jason Fabiniwent down with a torn pectoral muscle.
Two of their other linemen Pete Kendall and BrandonMoore are hobbled and they have other ailments at running backand wide receiver. I would look for the Broncos to sizzle in thefirst half and then call off the dogs and rest up for their ThanksgivingDay feast in Texas.
Another team who is going to go in the tank inthe second half of the season is the Patriots. New England mayhave all kinds of injuries in the defensive backfield, but theyhave been able to outscore teams with their passing attack. Thisis all going to come to a sudden halt in the next few weeks however!Injuries on the offensive line are beginning to happen at a rapidpace and the latest one this past Sunday is a critical one.
The injury to Koppen is a major blow for theoffensive line, which has been missing starting left tackle MattLight since a September 25 win at Pittsburgh due to a broken leg.Koppen broke his left arm late in the third quarter of last Sunday's23-16 win at Miami. He had started the last 46 games, includingplayoffs, the longest streak on the team other than quarterbackTom Brady (79).
The Patriots signed Gene Mruczkowski, who canplay guard or center, to replace Koppen on the roster. Russ Hochstein,the top backup guard, will slide over to center. This is Mruczkowski'sthird tour of duty with the Patriots. He spent the 2003 seasonrehabbing a knee injury with the team, then played in 13 gameslast season as a reserve. Mruczkowski was released in trainingcamp, re-signed after Light was injured and released again onOctober 8.
You can talk all you want about the importanceof a great quarterback to a team, but the offense begins withthe snap of the ball and unless the QB can remain consistentlyin a vertical position, a team will have trouble scoring.
Look for Tom Brady to struggle in the secondhalf of the season and let’s hope for his sake, that he does notget beaten up!
Take the Broncos and the Saintsthis week to cover!
| 
