Jets at Ravens
PSINet Stadium
Owings Mills, Md.
Sunday, Dec. 24, 2000
AT A GLANCE: Coming off a loss to Detroit that severely damaged their
playoff hopes, the Jets are in a must-win situation. Baltimore is looking to clinch a home
playoff game and carry a seven-game winning streak into the postseason.
|
| OVERVIEW: The Jets couldn’t have picked a
worse time to hit the skids. After getting crushed by Oakland in Week 15 and falling
just short last Sunday of what would have been their fifth fourth-quarter comeback victory
of the season, the Jets now must defeat a Baltimore team featuring one of the best
defenses in NFL history, or else get lots of help to make the playoffs.
The Jets are 4-3 on the road this year and have won in some tough places — Green
Bay, Tampa Bay, New England and Miami. But since their dramatic Monday-night victory over
the Dolphins in which they staged a 23-point comeback in the fourth quarter, they are just
3-5.
Turnovers have killed the Jets lately. After throwing four interceptions in the loss to
the Raiders, they had only two turnovers (an interception and a fumble) in the loss to
Detroit, but they were both extremely costly. The Jets also failed to come up with a key
takeaway when Lions RB James Stewart’s fumble in the Jets endzone was recovered for a
TD by OG Jeff Hartings.
The Ravens’ offense fell back into some bad habits in their win last Sunday in
Arizona, but the defense was once again outstanding. If Baltimore holds the Jets to 41
points or fewer, it will break the NFL record of fewest points allowed in a 16-game
season. The Ravens lead the league with a plus-19 turnover ratio and have allowed one TD
or fewer in 14 of their last 17 games.
WHEN THE JETS HAVE THE BALL:
For the Jets to have any chance at all in this game, RB Curtis Martin must be more of a
factor than he’s been the last two games. In the losses to Oakland and Detroit,
Martin averaged just 31.5 yards on 16.5 carries, but he still needs just 43 yards for his
third-straight 1,200-yard season. However, accomplishing that feat won’t be easy vs.
a Ravens defense that hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in an NFL-best 31 straight
games. |
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|
| PSINet Stadium |
| Baltimore, Md. |
| Date: Sunday, December 24, 2000 |
| 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Type Of Turf: Natural |
| Meeting Of The Year: Only |
| Season Record: |
| |
New York Jets |
9-6-0 |
| |
Baltimore |
11-4-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
New York Jets |
7-6-2 |
| |
Baltimore |
9-5-1 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| |
New York Jets (R) |
4-3-0 |
| |
Baltimore (H) |
5-2-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| |
New York Jets (R) |
5-2-0 |
| |
Baltimore (H) |
4-2-1 |
| Record On Natural Turf: |
| |
New York Jets |
9-4-0 |
| |
Baltimore |
10-4-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf Vs. Spread: |
| |
New York Jets |
6-5-2 |
| |
Baltimore |
8-5-1 |
|
|
| The Jets also need to get their receivers a lot more involved in the offense. Of the
21 completions thrown by QB Vinny Testaverde vs. the Lions, 12 were caught by Jets running
backs. If the Ravens’ defense has a chink in its armor, it’s in the secondary,
where CB Duane Starks and FS Rod Woodson have been victimized on occasion (Woodson gambled
and lost on the Cardinals’ lone TD by Frank Sanders last Sunday). The Jets also
must hope FB Richie Anderson regains his Pro Bowl form. After dropping two critical passes
the previous week vs. Oakland, he lost a key fumble and managed just 22 yards on five
receptions vs. Detroit before sustaining a mild concussion. When he’s on his game,
Anderson, whose 77 receptions set a team record for a running back, can cause huge matchup
problems lining up at fullback, running back, tight end and wide receiver. He will have to
be at his best vs. a stellar Ravens LB corps led by MLB Ray Lewis, who is on pace to lead
the league in tackles, and RLB Jamie Sharper (interception and forced fumble vs. Arizona).
WHEN THE RAVENS HAVE THE BALL:
After averaging 29.2 points in the previous five games, the Ravens regressed vs.
Arizona with a puny 214-yard attack.
However, rookie RB Jamal Lewis continued to shine, breaking a club record with his
fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season. In the Ravens’ six-game winning streak,
Lewis has generated 931 yards from scrimmage and averaged 26.8 carries a game with a
deadly blend of power, speed and flair that have enabled him to become the 14th rookie to
rush for 1,300 yards.
Chances are strong that Lewis will play well vs. a Jets defense that has had trouble
all season handling power runners and been hit hard by injuries all of the sudden. One
week after DLE Rick Lyle suffered a season-ending broken leg, LILB Bryan Cox, the
acknowledged leader of the defense, also broke his leg. In addition, NT Ernie Logan
suffered a sprained knee last week (check status). The Jets still managed to mount a
strong pass rush vs. Detroit, with five sacks and will be looking to continue that trend
vs. a Baltimore front wall that has allowed seven sacks in the last two games.
The Jets must put steady pressure on Ravens QB Trent Dilfer. The former Buccaneer has
done a solid job since replacing Tony Banks but still has a tendency to make ill-timed
mistakes — such as his ugly interception in the Cardinals’ endzone last Sunday
that ended a scoring threat and allowed Arizona to keep the game close.
All game previews and depth charts were compiled as of Dec. 17, 2000 |
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
89 WARD, 87 Coles*, 85 Kitchings |
| OLT |
69 FABINI, 76 Elliott, 70 Slaughter* |
| OLG |
71 JENKINS, 79 Loverne |
| C |
68 MAWAE, 63 Machado |
| ORG |
77 THOMAS, 79 Loverne, 63 Machado |
| ORT |
74 YOUNG, 69 Fabini, 78 Green |
| TE |
88 BECHT*, 81 Banta |
| WR |
80 CHREBET, 86 W. Hayes*, 83 Stone |
| QB |
16 TESTAVERDE, 6 Lucas, 10 Pennington*, 7 Tupa |
| RB |
28 MARTIN, 34 Parmalee, 32 L. Johnson, 26 Jackson |
| FB |
20 ANDERSON, 33 Sowell, 37 J. Moreland* |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
93 ELLIS*, 97 Boose |
| NT |
93 LOGAN, 72 J. Ferguson, 73 Anderson* |
| DRE |
98 BURTON, 91 Wiltz, 97 Boose |
| LOLB |
57 LEWIS, 58 Farrior |
| LILB |
54 GORDON, 53 Ledyard |
| RILB |
55 JONES, 54 Gordon |
| ROLB |
56 PHIFER, 58 Farrior |
| LCB |
31 GLENN, 24 Mickens |
| RCB |
42 COLEMAN, 27 Scott*, 38 E. Moreland* |
| SS |
21 V. GREEN, 30 C. Hayes |
| FS |
30 C. HAYES, 47 Frost, 25 N. Ferguson |
SPECIALIST |
| P |
7 TUPA |
| PK |
9 HALL |
| H |
9 HALL, 47 Frost, 6 Lucas |
| PR |
89 WARD, 31 Glenn, 32 L. Johnson |
| KR |
83 STONE, 31 Glenn, 87 Coles* |
| KC |
81 BANTA, 68 Mawae |
* Rookie |
|
|
OFFENSE |
| WR |
87 ISMAIL, 80 Stokley, 86 Davis |
| OLT |
75 OGDEN, 71 Folau |
| OLG |
64 MULITALO, 77 Vickers, 74 Bobo |
| C |
60 J. MITCHELL, 62 Flynn, 66 Hudson |
| ORG |
62 FLYNN, 77 Vickers, 74 Bobo |
| ORT |
70 SWAYNE, 71 Folau, 72 Williams |
| TE |
82 SHARPE, 81 Coates, 85 Jones |
| WR |
83 JOHNSON, 84 Je. Lewis, 11 Nash |
| QB |
8 DILFER, 12 Banks, 7 Redman* |
| RB |
31 Ja. LEWIS* 33 Holmes |
| FB |
32 GASH, 29 Evans |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
90 BURNETT, 93 K. Washington |
| DLT |
95 ADAMS, 79 Webster |
| DRT |
98 SIRAGUSA, 91 Dalton |
| DRE |
99 McCRARY, 96 Thomas* |
| LLB |
58 BOULWARE, 51 Brown |
| MLB |
52 R. LEWIS, 50 Jackson, 57 Brigance |
| RLB |
55 SHARPER, 48 Davis, 57 Brigance |
| LCB |
22 STARKS, 38 Trapp |
| RCB |
21 McALISTER, 35 Bailey, 25 Love |
| SS |
20 HERRING, 43 Poindexter |
| FS |
26 WOODSON, 45 Harris, 42 A. Mitchell |
SPECIALIST |
| P |
5 RICHARDSON |
| PK |
3 STOVER |
| H |
5 RICHARDSON, 80 Stokley |
| KR |
45 HARRIS, 33 Holmes, 87 Ismail |
| PR |
84 Je. LEWIS, 22 Starks, 26 Woodson |
| KC |
66 HUDSON, 62 Flynn |
* Rookie |
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