The opening weekend of the 95th season of the NFL, now heavily overshadowed and marred by the release of Ray Rice’s elevator video, is one of the reasons why their fans love pro football so much. It’s the wagering. It’s the upsets. It’s your favorite team winning and the teams that you love to hate losing. It was surprising wins by Buffalo, Miami, Tennessee and Arizona. It was losses by New England and, yes, Dem Cowboys!
It’s hard to judge season openers, because teams are still restructuring, game planning and making necessary adjustments on the sidelines and in their front offices, but in the case of Gang Green, the New York Jets, a win is a win, and it’s welcomed!
With a road game against the Green Bay Packers this Sunday, who lost their opener against the Super Bowl champion the Seattle Seahawks, the Jets’ opening win versus the Oakland Raiders, who started a rookie quarterback, was necessary. The next seven games, the first half of this season, won’t be any easier. A win before their eighth game against Buffalo could be a surprise, and a welcomed one.
By Sunday, Green Bay will have been home for 10 days. Although they lost their first game, they’re still recognized as an elite, top-tier team. They want to get back to winning. They’re dangerous. They’ll try to exploit the injuries to the Jets’ secondary and attempt to take advantage of sophomore quarterback Geno Smith’s naivete behind the center the same way, it was necessary for the Jets defense to exploit Oakland’s rookie quarterback, Derek Carr.
Against Green Bay, it’s absolutely necessary for Smith to depend on receiver Eric Decker, and the two Chrises, running backs Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson, offensive bright spots. Failed passes from Smith to Decker against Oakland tell you that they’ll jell. It’s just a matter of time before it looks like Peyton Manning to Decker, but there’s not much time to wait. If Oakland’s D and Charles Woodson scoped out Smith’s offense and Coach Rex Ryan’s trick plays, the better teams will read it, too.