Titans at the gate...

The original Titans of New York take on the Tennessee Titans in our house this Sunday. Why is this interesting? The Titans may be the best all around team we face this season.

Kerry Collins can be a nightmare. He's not going to put up the big stats at this point of his career and he has a below average WR corps. But, a savvy veteran like him will eat your defense alive if you take him lightly. Our secondary is a bit banged up right now and I think the story of this game may end up being Kerry's arm and not just the Titans dynamic backfield. I am very confident with Dwight Lowery stepping in as our #2 CB and I hope Bart Scott renews his fierce hatred for the Titans who he is very familiar with.

As I see it, our fate will be decided during the first four and the last four games on our schedule. The opening and end of our season presents some brutal opponents. The middle of our schedule won't be a walk in the park, it contains a bunch of important division games. But these first four are a real challenge.

Frankly if we are 2-2 after the first 25% of the season I will be thrilled. There are a lot of media sources that are ranking the Jets as one of the top 5 teams in the NFL right now. I would rank at least 10 other teams ahead of us. I won't list them, but they all have QB's and head coaches who are much more experienced. I love the overall direction of our team right now but lets not get caught up in the hype.

I don't see us as a playoff team, but I would like nothing more than to be wrong. Tennessee has the best overall rushing attack in the game. Chris Johnson is like a turbo version of Brian Westbrook, and Lendale White is a nice change of pace. We can pressure the QB and our secondary has done a very solid job in pass coverage. I will like to see how we compensate as a defense to the unique challenges Tennessee poses. If we beat the best rushing team this week... and the best passing team next week, I will be not only be convinced that we are a top 5 team, I might lose my mind and start thinking Superbo....... Superbo.... no, I can't even type it.

I still keep reading and seeing interviews with Jets players responding to their Patriot counterparts. ENOUGH already! We won the game, and we get another chance to play them later in the season. Winners have nothing to defend. I know our overall approach as a team has changed, and no Jets fan can complain right now, but I really can't stand players like Kerry Rhodes who feel the need to attract attention to themselves by talking instead of playing.

Some are surprised that Sanchez has stayed humble and hasn't participated in any of this trash talking. Only idiots like Philip Rivers are dumb enough to play the villain as a QB. A guy like Scott can run his mouth all day because he's never going to be held responsible when the team loses a game. It's kind-of-like his job to talk smack as a LB.

Any QB, even a Hollywood kid playing in NYC, knows to keep it together in public. The press will be licking their chops for an opportunity to throw one of your brash remarks back in your face any and every time you come up short.

I predicted this week as a win when the schedule was first released back in April. I will stick to my guns and hope that we won't have an emotional let down (as a team and as fans) after last weeks big win. I also don't think Tennessee's 0-2 record should effect anything. It all comes down to our LB's holding their gaps and frustrating the Titans rushing attack. Our running game needs to step up to the plate as well.

It just isn't realistic to believe we can put the weight of the entire team on a rookie QB. Jones and Washington dominated when we played the Titans last year. Even tough things have changed and defenses are playing us a lot differently with #6 behind center instead of #4, our talented backfield needs to make it happen. I don't care if they have 8 in the box, our O-line and disgruntled runners should be able to grind it out week to week.