Guest Post: Why the Jets Will Beat Indy

Later today we'll post the NYaT picks for the Wild Card round, but in the meantime we had one guest blogger who wanted to let us know why the New York Jets will beat the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. Russell Simon first gave us a great Knicks post and he's back today talking J-E-T-S. If the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl they're going to have to do it all on the road starting with where their season ended last year: in Indy. Here's what Russell had to say about the Jets: 

Rex Ryan aims to finally beat Peyton Manning on Saturday (Reuters)

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Even I’ll admit that given the greatness of Peyton Manning, the Colts probably have a great shot of winning the Saturday night clash against the Jets. They’re the defending AFC champs, with the second best QB in the game, on their home turf, against an 11-5 Jets team that has been inconsistent for much of the year. However, I have confidence in the ground and pound, and faith that Rex’s D will step up, and the Jets will beat Indy, in a huge upset to start the playoffs. This is why it will happen…

The Colts Have Lost Too Many Weapons

If you look at the AFC Championship game last season the Colts were successful because they were able to spread their abundance of weapons out, and abuse the Jets secondary. This year, despite the injury to Jim Leonhard, the Jets have two quality corners, while the Colts have no Austin Collie or Dallas Clark, due to injury. We can assume that whoever is covered by Darrelle Revis will be spending their Saturday on Revis Island, with no escape. Revis could cover Pierre Garcon--who torched the Jets last year with 11 Receptions, 151 yards and a touchdown--and leave Antonio Cromartie to help cover Reggie Wayne. This year the Colts simply don’t have enough quality players that the Jets will have to single cover both receivers while worrying about Dallas Clark and Austin Collie. If Cro and Revis can lock up the two receiving threats for the Colts the Jets have a shot.

The Jets Will Hit Peyton

While the Jets pass rush has been absent at times--notably against New England and Chicago--if the Jets want to win it can’t be absent, and I think it won’t be against Indy. The Jets are 8th in the league with 40 sacks, and you can bet Rex Ryan and coordinator Mike Pettine will have something special cooked up for Manning. The front 3 of Pouha, Devito and Ellis will get extra blitz help from the linebackers, especially Scott and Harris, in beating the Colts on the line and getting to Manning. The Colts also haven’t seen a D as aggressive as the Jets since their week 11 showdown with the Pats. The Colts have played the Titans twice, Oakland, Jacksonville, Dallas and San Diego in the last 6 weeks. All of these teams have mediocre defenses, and the Colts haven’t seen one as good as the Jets in a while.

The Ground and Pound, and The Big Running Plays That Come From It

Last year the Jets were successful on the ground largely because of the emergence of Shonn Greene. He had a 39-yard TD against Cincy and iced the game against the Chargers with his long touchdown run. Indianapolis is 25th in the league against the run, and the Jets will be able to use the run to eat up clock, keep Peyton on the sidelines, and can break big plays for touchdowns too. Greene shined last year in the playoffs and he’ll repeat last year’s effort in helping the Jets beat Indy.

They’ll Score A Touchdown

Yes it seems obvious, but the Jets are 11-1 when they get a TD, with the 1 coming in Chicago. When the Jets get in the end zone it means that they will have a strong offensive day, with Sanchez playing well and the O firing on all cylinders. For some reason the Jets are either atrocious (New England, Miami, Baltimore, Green Bay) or great (New England week 2, Pittsburgh, Minnesota). So expect the Jets to get in the endzone and have the upset of the playoffs with a big win in Indianapolis.