The first Monday Night Football game of the year in the NFL features one of the best matchups of the Week 1 slate. It pits 2 defensive minded teams in the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets. The Jets have obviously had a very public offseason, with the Hard Knocks show debuting on HBO and their very outspoken coach Rex Ryan. They have added many players to their roster as well, including LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor, Santonio Holmes, Antonio Cromartie, among others. On the other side, the Baltimore Ravens have made a few moves of their own to bolster their offense, adding Anquan Boldin and TJ Houshmandzadeh to their receiving core. This gives Joe Flacco even more weapons to work with for the Raven offense. The current points total line is set at 36 points and I am going against public perception to take the over in this game.
Key injuries in this game are on the defensive side of the ball. The Jets will be without one of their best players Monday night in Calvin Pace, their leading pass rusher, who broke his foot. Pace led the team in sacks last year and his pressure will be missed by the Jets Defense. For the Ravens, the injury to Ed Reed is a big one as well, who has been one of their team leaders and one of the best players on the team for the last 5+ years. The secondary for the Ravens has taken some big hits since last year, as that has been the soft spot of the defense behind an outstanding front 7. Look for both teams to exploit these injuries and the fact that these pressure defenses could easily score a Touchdown or 2 by themselves in this game. Derrelle Revis is always a candidate to make a big play for the Jets defense, as both teams have plenty of playmakers.
The Jets running game is their strength and has been since last year. They set up playaction passes through the run and can also break the long run with Shonn Greene getting more and more carries as last year went on. They have also added LaDainian Tomlinson to the backfield, who will be out to prove he can still do it on the biggest stage. They also traded for receiver Santonio Holmes in the offseason, who is a big play receiver. He is another player capable of going for a long touchdown in this game. With the Ravens depleted secondary, I expect Mark Sanchez to be able to make a big play or 2 in this game, with a running game moving the ball enough against the Ravens Defense.
The Ravens offense went from an average one to a very explosive offense when they added TJ Houshmandzadeh and Anquan Boldin before the season. These are 2 of the best receivers in the league, added to the solid Derrick Mason already in Baltimore and they form one of the best 3 headed receiving cores in the league. Joe Flacco should improve with another year under his belt, and also because of the added firepower to his arsenal. They already have Ray Rice, who is a very explosive back who can also catch balls out of the backfield. Willis McGahee and LaRon McClain will be pounding the ball in short yardage and goal line situations effectively. I can see the Ravens putting up 17-24 points in this game which would do a lot for the over of 36 points here.
In my opinion when games like this seem like an obvious under play, the over is the play. Call it a hunch or just a guess, but it always seems to work like this for me. I expect the offense to be able to move the ball somewhat tonight and score some points for the over. I also expect a touchdown or 2 on defense/special teams. I expect a score around 24-17 in this game, with the possibility of more if some big plays can occur on both sides of the ball. Play the over 36 tonight in the Jets/Ravens game.
Play it at your own risk
Key injuries in this game are on the defensive side of the ball. The Jets will be without one of their best players Monday night in Calvin Pace, their leading pass rusher, who broke his foot. Pace led the team in sacks last year and his pressure will be missed by the Jets Defense. For the Ravens, the injury to Ed Reed is a big one as well, who has been one of their team leaders and one of the best players on the team for the last 5+ years. The secondary for the Ravens has taken some big hits since last year, as that has been the soft spot of the defense behind an outstanding front 7. Look for both teams to exploit these injuries and the fact that these pressure defenses could easily score a Touchdown or 2 by themselves in this game. Derrelle Revis is always a candidate to make a big play for the Jets defense, as both teams have plenty of playmakers.
The Jets running game is their strength and has been since last year. They set up playaction passes through the run and can also break the long run with Shonn Greene getting more and more carries as last year went on. They have also added LaDainian Tomlinson to the backfield, who will be out to prove he can still do it on the biggest stage. They also traded for receiver Santonio Holmes in the offseason, who is a big play receiver. He is another player capable of going for a long touchdown in this game. With the Ravens depleted secondary, I expect Mark Sanchez to be able to make a big play or 2 in this game, with a running game moving the ball enough against the Ravens Defense.
The Ravens offense went from an average one to a very explosive offense when they added TJ Houshmandzadeh and Anquan Boldin before the season. These are 2 of the best receivers in the league, added to the solid Derrick Mason already in Baltimore and they form one of the best 3 headed receiving cores in the league. Joe Flacco should improve with another year under his belt, and also because of the added firepower to his arsenal. They already have Ray Rice, who is a very explosive back who can also catch balls out of the backfield. Willis McGahee and LaRon McClain will be pounding the ball in short yardage and goal line situations effectively. I can see the Ravens putting up 17-24 points in this game which would do a lot for the over of 36 points here.
In my opinion when games like this seem like an obvious under play, the over is the play. Call it a hunch or just a guess, but it always seems to work like this for me. I expect the offense to be able to move the ball somewhat tonight and score some points for the over. I also expect a touchdown or 2 on defense/special teams. I expect a score around 24-17 in this game, with the possibility of more if some big plays can occur on both sides of the ball. Play the over 36 tonight in the Jets/Ravens game.
Play it at your own risk