Schwartz On Sports: Getting Ready For The Ravens
By Peter Schwartz
When the Jets face the Ravens on Monday night, Shonn Greene is probably going to be the starting running back, but head coach Rex Ryan said that Ladainian Tomlinson will be in the game about the same amount of time.
Also, Tony Richardson will be the starting fullback. T-Rich is heading into his 16th NFL season and was brought back on Monday, just one day after being released. He'll continue to be a strong mentor to rookie John Conner.
Safety Brodney Pool was back at practice after missing Thursday's workout with an ankle injury. He was limited and will likely be questionable for Monday night.
After signing a new contract, cornerback Darrelle Revis will lead the Jets defense against the Ravens. After practice, I caught up with the $46 million man ($32 million guaranteed!!!!)
Ryan said that Revis looks good to him.
"He looks like the same guy," said Ryan who doesn't envision Revis having any limitations.
"No, I don't," said Ryan. "I think he's going to be fine."
SCOTT'S TURN TO SPEAK
After Ryan and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis exchanged some trash talking on Thursday, Jets linebacker Bart Scott had a chance to add his two cents but didn't add much fuel to the fire.
"I heard that (Lewis) said something but I could care less what he said," said Scott. "That's what he does. Whatever. That's just part of the show. I could care less."
JETS WILL FALL BUT WILL THEN RISE
Ok, it's prediction time!
The Jets face a difficult challenge on Monday night against the Ravens in the season opener. It's been an eventful off-season for Gang Green with a slew of player transactions. Then came a drama-filled training camp chronicled by "Hard Knocks" that featured the Darrelle Revis holdout.
While the Jets appear to be very talented on paper, I do think there are a number of concerns…
*Can Mark Sanchez survive the sophomore slump?
*Does LaDainian Tomlinson really have anything left?
*Will Matt Slauson be able to fill Alan Faneca's shoes at left guard?
*How quickly can Darrelle Revis be 100% after his holdout?
*Can Shonn Greene get through the season without getting hurt?
*Can the Jets survive the Calvin Pace injury and Santonio Holmes' four-game suspension?
*Can the players back up the words of head coach Rex Ryan?
These are all very important questions and we'll have the answers in due time.
But here's the most important question…
Are the Jets really as good as they think they are?
The answer is no. They are a very good team but, in my mind, the Super Bowl talk is very, very premature.
Honestly, the Ravens are better. They will give the Jets fits on Monday night and they will beat Gang Green 16-10.
Having said that, the Jets are a good team and will win the AFC East with a 10-6 record and will be the #3 seed in the AFC playoffs.
I'm picking the Ravens to meet the Saints in the Super Bowl, with Baltimore dethroning New Orleans as World Champions!
IT'S BACK TO FOOTBALL FRIDAY
It's "Back to Football Friday", a partnership between the NFL and the United Way. Throughout the country, students were encouraged to wear their favorite team's gear at school. The goal of the campaign is to raise excitement about the start of the season while also placing attention on the importance of youth health and wellness which is the focus of the league's NFL Play 60 program. WR/KR Brad Smith is the Jets player representative for Play 60 and I had a chance to talk to him after practice Friday. We chatted about NFL Play 60 and Monday night's game against the Ravens.
That's all for now. Check back Monday morning for a Jets/Ravens preview!
