2009 Jets Schedule Breakdown

By Joe Grinwis

Here we will take a look at all 16 games on the upcoming 2009 Schedule with a short summary alongside of each game. Enjoy.

September 13th @ Houston; 1pm CBS
This game could either be the start of the Mark Sanchez Era or a chance for Kellen Clemens to show the NFL world what he has. Either way, the Jets will be trotting out an inexperienced signal caller against what some would call the best 43 Defensive Line in the NFL. Mario Williams will be a tough opponent for D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who has not lived up to his 4th overall selection. DeMeco Ryans will clog up the running lanes, so this could, unfortunately for the Jets, turn into a passing contest. Darrelle Revis against Andre Johnson is the best matchup to watch all day.

September 20th New England; 1pm CBS
Tom Brady and Co. head into the Meadowlands in Week 2 in what is sure to be another heated game in this rivalry. Rex Ryan’s word’s this Offseason are for sure going to be up on Bill Belichick’s bulletin board, that is for certain. Can the Jets defense stop New England’s aerial assault, not to mention their now improved ground game with the addition of Fred Taylor? It will be the Jets first true test against a great offense under Rex Ryan. Better hope they learn quickly and on their feet. If not, this game could get ugly early and often.

September 27th Tennessee; 1pm CBS
The Jets had their way with the then undefeated Titans in Nashville last season, but this time they get the Titans early on in the season. Jeff Fisher will be looking for revenge on the Jets and the defense should expect to see a heavy amount of Chris Johnson and LenDale White. Cortland Finnegan is one of the best Cornerbacks in the NFL leaving Jerricho Cotchery to fight hard for every yard that he is going to make this Sunday. To upset the Titans the Jets are once again going to need a heavy dose of Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, not to mention rookie Shonn Greene. This game could be a quick one with both teams struggling through the air.

October 4th @ New Orleans; 4pm CBS
Just like New England, this game will be another test for the Jets revamped defense through the air. Drew Brees is one the NFL’s best passing Quarterbacks and with a healthy Marques Colston, the Jets could be in trouble. In order to keep a slight advantage, the Jets must control the time of possession with a strong running game against a weak up the middle Saints defense. To the Jets favor, the Saints will be missing Defensive End’s Charles Grant and Will Smith, which could give Sanchez or Clemens extra time in the pocket to find one of their receivers. The Jets do not match up well with the Saints, so in order to beat them, they’ll have to be almost perfect.

October 12th @ Miami; 8:30pm ESPN
Monday Night Football in Miami. The great Jets-Dolphins rivalry is back in a way, now that both teams are competitive at the same time again. The Jets lost the Week 17 battle with Miami last year in large part because of the poor play of “you know who”. This time with Clemens or Sanchez under center, the Jets will feature more of a running game and hope the Dolphins defense will not trick either into the same kind of mistakes. The Wildcat, a gimmick offense run by the Dolphins in every game from Week 3 on in the 2008 season, was shut down best by non other than Rex Ryan. Was it his schemes or the players? We’ll find out.

October 18th Buffalo; 4pm CBS
The T.O. Show comes to the Meadowlands and the Jets defense once again will have their work cut out for them. Owens and Lee Evans form possibly the best 1-2 punch in the AFC so Revis and Lito Sheppard, who has had a good history against Owens in the past, will have to be on their toes. The Bills lack a pass rush which will by now be going up against a more experienced Sanchez or Clemens. This could easily be the breakthrough game for either Quarterback. Trent Edwards doesn’t scare the Jet defense, and nor should he. The defense might have its best day as well in terms of getting to the Quarterback who looks more like a glorified Toothpick.

October 25th @ Oakland; 4pm CBS
In what seems to be the Jets yearly trip to Oakland, the Jets are looking to rebound from last season’s embarassing loss to the Raiders. Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas will be a tough test for the Jet defense, but as long as their main anchor Kris Jenkins is still heatlhy at this point, they shouldn’t have too many worries about containing the Raider running attack. When it comes to attacking the Raider D, stay away from Nnamdi Asomougha, the best Cornerback in the NFL, who should be on Jerricho Cotchery all day. That means the Jets will need one of the other receivers (Stuckey, Smith, Clowney) to step up on the other side and make some big plays throughout the day. Look for Dustin Keller to have a career day this day.

November 1st Miami; 1pm CBS
Just three weeks later, the Jets will face the Dolphins yet again. Chad Pennington will return to the Meadowlands a second time, if he for once can remain healthy in two straight seasons. The Dolphins will be looking for revenge after a Week 5 loss (yes, the Jets will win that game) and they will be unsuccessful in doing so. Sorry Dolphin fans, but you do not match up well with the Jets this season.

November 15th Jacksonville; 1pm CBS
Really, not much to write here. This could be the easiest game of the season for our boys in Green who are coming off the Bye. Jacksonville’s lone weapon is Maurice Jones-Drew, so look for a lot of 8 in the box against the Jaguar offense. When it comes to the Jaguar defense, where is it? It disappeared last season and they didn’t make any great moves to improve it in the offseason. Could be another long season for the Jags.

November 22nd @ New England, TBA CBS
The rematch with the Patriots. By this time the defense should be in full swing and ready to really challenge the Patriot offense. Also whoever is behind center should have a much better grasp of the offense allowing the Quarterback to take advantage of the Patriots old and inexperienced Secondary. This game will be much closer than the first meeting, the winner will be determined by a big 4th quarter play.

November 29th Carolina, TBA FOX
Carolina is tricky. One year they’re great, the next they are average. They were great last year, until Jake Delhomme self destructed in the postseason, so we’ll see what happens this year. However, the Jet defense cannot ignore the fact that the Panthers bring two game breakers to the table in Steve Smith, the best Receiver under 6’0 in the NFL, and DeAngelo Williams, an emerging superstar at the Running Back position. This game could swing either way, unfortunately I see this as an upset for the Jets, an upset of epic proportions. Might be one of those games when the stadium is half empty by the start of the 4th quarter.

December 3rd @ Buffalo; 8pm NFLN
This Thursday Night Football rematch with the Bills is not in Orchard Park, but in Toronto, taking away all the Home Field Advantage away from the Bills. By this point Buffalo will be entrenched as the last team in the AFC East and Terrell Owens will have probably ripped Trent Edwards in the media at least six times. Look for this to be a quick bounce back blowout for the Jets.

December 13th @ Tampa Bay; TBA CBS
The Buccaneers might be one team in a worse Quarterback situation than the Jets. By this point, rookie Josh Freeman should be in the lineup and he is expected to take longer to mature than the Jets’ Sanchez, who unless Clemens has led the Jets to a winning record at this point, should be in the lineup as well. Antonio Bryant isn’t a huge threat, the guy has one good season every four years. Their running backs are always hurt and Raheem Morris has destroyed the defense and team by cutting leaders throughout the offseason. The Bucs could compete with the Lions for the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. They won’t be much for the Jets.

December 20th Atlanta; TBA FOX
Matty Ice, The Burner Turner, Roddy White & Tony Gonzalez pose a huge threat to the defense and like the Carolina match-up, this could be another long, long day for the Jets and their home fans. The one thing that can keep Jets fans spirits up is that aside from former Jet John Abraham, the Falcons secondary and remainder of their defense is a HUGE question mark. This is one game where we might see the Jets put up some points in the 20’s, maybe even the 30’s, if they can shut down The Burner Turner.

December 27th @ Indianapolis; TBA CBS
Pain. Expect tons of pain in your heart and head, Jets players and fans, because this is going to be the longest day of the season. Unless of course the Colts have captured the AFC South by this point, then hopefully the Jets could get Jim Sorgi instead of Peyton Manning. Against Sorgi, they have a chance. Against Manning, might as well not show up.

January 3rd Cincinnati; TBA CBS
The final Regular Season, and quite possibly last game ever, at the Meadowlands goes to the Jets. Rex Ryan’s Baltimore defense always seemed to come out on top against Cincinnati’s passing attack which has lost some its luster with TJ Houshmanzadeh now in Seattle. Look for the Jets to exit the Meadowlands, at least for the Regular Season, with a big win here. The Bengals are a sleep team next season, but the Jets defense matches up very well with what the Bengals want to do on the offensive side of the ball.

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