Chargers' Cromartie headed to New York Jets?

So you think the San Diego Chargers are going to trade cornerback Antonio Cromartie to the Detroit Lions?

Not so fast!

Clark Judge, the great writer for cbssports.com, says Cromartie may be headed to the New York Jets.

Yes, the same Jets who stunned the Chargers and knocked them out of the playoffs. Yes, the same Jets’ whose Shonn Greene made a 53-yard TD run vs. the Chargers because Cromartie pulled up when he was about to make a hit on Greene.

The Jets must be thinking they will get the Cromartie of 2007 who had 10 interceptions, made the Pro Bowl and returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a TD.

By doing so, they overlook the Cromartie with seven kids in six different states … and who has been a failure on the field the past two years.

If Cromartie returns to his 2007 form, imagine what the Jets would be like. Darrelle Revis of New York is already the best cornerback in the NFL.

As Judge so rightly points out, the Jets like to make a splash before each season.

A year ago they traded for Cleveland's first pick and turned it into Mark Sanchez. The year before they traded for Brett Favre. Making bold moves is nothing new for them, and coach Rex Ryan last week said he was open to “anything that can help us get better.”

Could Cromartie be next on their radar?

Jets ready to stun the world in AFC title game

Joe Namath won’t quite say so; so we’ll do it for him.

The Jets are going to shock the world and beat the Colts in the AFC Championship game Sunday.

It won’t quite have the impact as when Namath and the New York Jets surprised the NFL world by beating the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, 16-7 … but it will be close.

The Indianapolis Colts will know how their Baltimore predecessors felt after the Jets come in and turn the football world upside-down again this weekend.

Hey, it won’t be news to Jets coach Rex Ryan. He’s been predicting a Super Bowl victory/parade for the past couple of weeks.

If anybody can stop Indy’s potent offense, it’s the Jets.

As the San Diego Chargers discovered last week, you basically can’t/don’t throw to the side where Jets’ CB Darrelle Revis is in coverage. That leaves one side to throw to … and Peyton Manning will find that very disruptive this week.

Oh, sure, people will recall how the Colts were beating the Jets before Manning and his mates were pulled four weeks ago (and saw their undefeated season go up in smoke.) But the Colts were only winning by five points in the third quarter at the time.

Ask the Chargers. The more they let the Jets stay close last Sunday; the more New York had a chance to win.

The Jets rely heavily on three “rookies:” head coach Ryan, QB Mark Sanchez and RB Shonn Greene.

Can they stun the NFL again this week? We say “yes.”

Predictions:
Jets 16, Colts 14
Saints 27, Vikings 23

Jets hope Rivers shuts down, shuts up

The New York Jets want to shut Philip Rivers down so they can shut him up.

Easier said than done.

Rivers is the hottest QB in the NFL right now. His San Diego Chargers have won 11 in a row, scored at least 20 points in every game and there is no end in sight.

Give credit, though, to New York Jets coach Rex Ryan. He is talking so big that he has probably convinced himself the Jets can beat the heavily-favored Chargers this Sunday in the AFC Divisional playoffs.

Rivers should have plenty to talk about. Even if the Jets shut down Chargers WR Vincent Jackson with CB Darrelle Revis in coverage, the Chargers can still find Antonio Gates or Malcom Floyd wide open (or finally establish a running game with LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles.)

For the Jets to win, their vaunted rushing attack will have to fare well against San Diego’s not-so-good rushing defense. Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene have both shown they are more than capable RBs behind a line featuring three Pro Bowl selections: center Nick Mangold, left guard Alan Faneca and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.

If the Jets get behind early, they will have trouble catching up behind rookie QB Mark Sanchez. That’s why San Diego can put the game away before halftime if it jumps out to a sizeable lead.

In fact, look for Rivers to go long on the first play of the game to Jackson … just to test Revis and make a statement for the Chargers.

Speaking of statements, visiting teams have won 50% of NFL playoff games since 2002. So it’s not impossible to win on the road in January.

Last week, both AFC teams won on the road while NFC teams were 0-2 away from home. Look for the exact opposite to happen this weekend.

Predictions:
Chargers 24, Jets 17
Colts 24, Ravens 20
Cardinals 31, Saints 27
Cowboys 23, Vikings 20

Ravens, Jets could upset AFC Championship picture

The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers have both opened as at least one-touchdown favorites in this weekend’s NFL Divisional playoffs, but they better be careful.

The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets each demonstrated over the past weekend that they are teams to be reckoned with. In fact, they could become the first No. 5 and No. 6 seeds ever to meet for a conference championship … which would set up yet one more game at the old Meadowlands home of the Jets.

How about those Ravens? With their 33-14 win Sunday at New England (the Patriots’ first-ever playoff loss at Gillette Stadium), they even caused the hometown fans to boo Tom Brady and his teammates.

Baltimore will be a formidable foe for Peyton Manning and the Colts led by its strong running game with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee. And the Ray Lewis-led defense, which caused Brady to tie a career playoff high with three interceptions, is always a force in the postseason.

As for the Jets – coming off a 24-14 playoff win at Cincinnati – they pose an interesting strength vs. strength against the potent Chargers offense led by Philip Rivers and pass catchers Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates and Malcom Floyd. New York has the league's No. 1 defense and will match up against that San Diego offense with a defensive roster including cornerback Darrelle Revis, probably the best cover back in the NFL.

Not only that, the Jets can control the ball with a running game including the likes of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. They will be facing a San Diego defense that has been hard-pressed to stop the run all season.

Yes, Indianapolis and San Diego should each win this weekend and advance to the AFC Championship Game. But don’t be surprised if at least one of them is missing come the conference title game.

New York Jets receiving two byes into the playoffs?

Have you ever heard of an NFL team getting two byes in the regular season before making the playoffs?

Welcome to the 2009 edition of the New York Jets.

It’s well-documented how the Jets were handed a win last week when the (then) undefeated Indianapolis Colts rested the likes of Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney and Gary Brackett after taking a 15-10 lead on the Jets in the third quarter.

Now the Jets get to conclude their regular season against a playoff-bound Cincinnati Bengals team probably resting such stars as Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco for much of the game.

There you have it: Two straight division-winning opponents facing the Jets, two consecutive teams that will likely hand New York a victory.

And who said you can’t make the playoffs the easy way?

The sad part is that the likes of the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and (maybe) the Pittsburgh Steelers could all be denied playoff berths due to teams lying down for the Jets.

Coach Rex Ryan, QB Mark Sanchez, DB Darrelle Revis and the entire New York squad can thank the schedule makers for saving the best teams for last ... when they already had playoff berths in hand.