Oakland Raiders Week 8 Primer: Jets Come Crashing In
Oct 25, 2015; Foxborough, MA, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14), guard Willie Colon (66) and tackle Breno Giacomini (68) celebrate a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Taking On The Jets
New York comes into this game with one more win than the Raiders and a very stout defense. Their defense is highlighted by three very solid defensive tackles and two exceptional cornerbacks. Offensively, the Jets are a run first offense and have a journeyman quarterback who has beat the Raiders with three other teams.
Defensively the Raiders need to be stout against the run. The Jet offense needs to stay on schedule in order to be successful. The pass protection abilities of the Jet offensive line is limited and the Raiders will be able to pressure Fitzpatrick in third and long situations. Most importantly, the Jets lack true depth in receiving weapons. Brandon Marshall is a talented vet and from time to time can put on a show, but he also makes significant mistakes and can be exploited.
The Jets offense is limping into this game with injuries to Decker and Mangold their center. Along with a season-ending injury to their second-year tight end, the lack of options for the Jets is an advantage for the Raiders. Defensively, the Raider defensive backs line up well against the Jets and even is Marshall is able to make some plays against either Hayden or Amerson, the Raiders can limit his production by pressuring a quarterback who will throw interceptions.
On offense, the Raiders need to take a page from the Patriot play book. It has been a long running point of contention in this column that heavy blitz defenses are best beaten by using receiver heavy packages and getting the ball out quickly. Against the Broncos, the Raiders decided to run the ball out of heavy packages and limit the usage of Carr, but in my mind this cost the Raiders the game.
Musgrave needs to learn from that loss and come into this game slinging the rock. With receivers like Cooper, Crabtree, and Rivera who are exceptional after the catch, the Raiders can get the ball out quickly and pick up yardage after the catch.
Going this route would massively help the Raiders. With several backs who can catch the ball including Helu who has been limited, this offense could use the backs on three or four yard routes as an extension of the running game. This would even allow play action to work occasionally and give the Raiders time to attack downfield. With Calvin Pryor out of this game the Raiders will have another solid advantage downfield.
This should be a very tight game and should be highly competitive. The Jets are a team that need to be taken seriously, however they also should not be feared. This team like all-defensive first teams has its issues including a lack of any talented exterior pass rushers. The Raiders matchup well against the Jets and will provide them with schematic and tactical complications. As long as the Raiders can take advantage of those mismatches they can win this game.
Prediction: NYJ 17- 24 Raiders
Next: Week 8 Primer: ATS Picks