Bears: Stop Washington, stop the hard-to-gauge Jets

By Paul Eide  |   Friday, November 17, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

Chicago Bears
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While the discussion rages on about whether New York Jets running back Leon Washington is indeed flipping the bird on his Topps rookie card, another debate is being waged regarding just how good this Jet team really is.

On the surface, the Jets are an easy team to overlook because they are completely unspectacular. Ranking 25th in total offense and 31st in total defense, they are the ultimate game-management team, with rookie head coach Eric Mangini applying a bend but don't break philosophy on defense as well as offense, never asking any one player to win games single-handedly.

Even though the Jets are only a game out of first place in the AFC East, the team has slipped under the national sports radar because of what is perceived as a weak schedule: The combined record of the Jets' first four vanquished foes is a woeful 9-27. But after last week's 17-14 victory over the division-leading Patriots in New England, the Jets dispelled any doubt about whether they should be taken seriously.

It's actually very surprising that more hasn't been made of the Jets' success this season, because they could very easily be 8-1.

I know; it looked funny when I wrote it, but the proof is in the pudding.

Excluding an embarrassing 41-0 defeat at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, the Jets' other three losses came by an average of 5.6 points, including a three-point loss to the Colts and a seven-point loss to the Patriots in Week 2. If the Jets can hang with and beat the cream of the AFC crop, then the NFC's top team, the Chicago Bears, have plenty to be concerned about this week

One area where the Jets have performed among the best in the league is in the kickoff return game. Second-year player Justin Miller has returned three kicks for touchdowns in his first season and a half and currently leads the NFL with 964 return yards and an average of over 30 yards a return. The Bears are used to catching other teams off guard with a huge plays by special teams and must maintain their focus in order to avoid falling prey to the same fate.

A huge factor in the difference between 2005 and 2006 for the Jets is that the '06 draft class has been able to contribute immediately. Fourth overall pick D'Brickashaw Ferguson and late-first-round center Nick Mangold have started all nine games of their pro careers, anchoring the offensive line and opening holes for fourth-round selection Leon Washington, who currently leads the team in rushing.

The Jets don't wow anyone statistically, but Mangini's style is all about putting his team in the best position to win games late in the fourth quarter, establishing a running game early to work the clock and easing pressure off the less-than-prolific passing game, which ranks 21st in the league. Through the first nine games the Jets rank 15th in the NFL in rushing, improving drastically from a year ago when they finished the year ranked second-to-last, and will definitely be the centerpiece of Mangini's offensive game plan this Sunday.

The Chicago Bears' defense against the run is becoming a legitimate weakness, an Achilles' heel that opposing offenses need to exploit. Tiki Barber's 141 yards last Sunday made him the third consecutive running back to run for over 100 yards against Chicago, as the team has given up an average of 147 yards rushing over the last three weeks. If they can't find a solution to this suddenly pressing issue, it is only a matter of time before the Bears are snake-bitten for not taking it seriously, and the Jets could be the team that does it.

So which Jets team will show up on Sunday? The one that beat New England last Sunday or the one that lost to Cleveland in Week 8? If the Bears aren't careful, the performance of Washington's legs could be much more damaging to their season than his middle finger ever could.
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