LaRon Landry will face one of his biggest tasks yet, matching up Patriots tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

4 things to look for in the Jets Vs. Patriots game.

1. The move to start Austin Howard at RT has paid off as the pass protection for the Jets this season has been much better.  Mark has been pressured at times but overall the protection has been sound, but it will be interesting to see how the O-line responds against the Patriots pass rush.  Their first round pick, Chandler Jones, has played well and is a favorite for the defensive rookie of the year.  He has already compiled 5 sacks and 27 tackles in the first 6 games and it will be interesting to see how the o-line fares against him.
2. The Jets secondary has a huge task ahead of them in Sunday’s game.  They will be facing one of the most potent offenses in NFL and how they respond will dictate the outcome of the game.  The Jets safeties will have to play aggressive and make sure that both the Patriots tight ends don’t have another huge game. I feel that should not be an issue because both Landry and Bell are physical players and should be able impose themselves.  What really concerns me is Kyle Wilson and how he will respond to covering either Welker or Loyd.  Both of these players are huge play makers and Welker has been Brady’s go to guy for a long time.  I expect the Jets will struggle to contain Welker but it remains to be seen how much the Jets can limit his big plays.
3. The Jets defensive line will have their hands full against the Patriots running game.  Their up-tempo offense allows them to run a ton of plays and the Jets will need to make sure they don’t give up huge chunks of yards to the running backs.  The tackling and run blocking will have to be as superb as it was last week to limit the Patriots control of the game clock.
4. The Jets’ offense is down to only 2 healthy running backs and they will need a good performance from Greene to make sure they can stay in this game.  I expect the Jets’ to run the ball at least 20 times to help open up the passing attack.  There will be some big explosive plays in this game and it remains to be seen whether the Jets avail those chances.

Shahmeer is a regular contributor to The Green Room. You can follow him on Twitter at @shehzada_ .

As if we Jets fans don’t have enough in the Land of Uncertainty to surround oursleves with on a daily basis, we’ve had another dent put into the body of hope that hasn’t quite banged itself out just yet.  I’m speaking only for some of us because the general perception of this player seems to be split among the fanbase – at least the fanbase I interact with. Then again, that can be said of mainly any player that’s name isn’t Darrelle Revis. Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to bring him up and pour salt in yet another wound. Moving on, I’m here to talk about one man and one man only. TE Dustin Keller.

I swear I heard some groans from here but let me explain why he’s the highlight of this particular piece. He’s needed. A lot of people think he’s got scrub written all over him, but a lot of other people see what he brings to the team.

For one, he has incredible chemistry with Sanchez. Many will debate that the merry go round of WRs and supporting “staff” for Sanchez in every year of his NFL career hasn’t made a difference but it simply stands to reason that it has and it will continue to.

Not only is the rapport on the field built on trust, understanding and just being able to connect with one another, but there is the off the field rapport as well. Keller came to the defense of his quarterback – and friend – many times last year and in this past off season. When Sanchez was MIA and silent, Dustin spoke on his behalf and probably not because he was asked to, but because he felt the need to be the voice of the man so many people only wanted to hear from so that they could blast him further.

Fans would love to see this celebration again. Soon.

Beyond that, here is something important to note. Sanchez has success when his favorite target is on the field and it’s not always shown in the number of completions they have between them. Here’s why: Teams know who Mark’s favorite person to throw is. His first go-to, if you will. Teams then focus their defenders’ attention on taking Keller out of the equation as best as they can.

What does that do? It leaves other guys open due not only to the increased focus on taking him out of the play but because he can block as well as catch even though he’s not exactly the high example of a blocking tight end. With Reuland taking up the spot John Conner doesn’t deserve to keep the team is still abysmal in terms of depth even with Keller’s hopeful return on Sunday. Still. It allows other guys to have a weaker defender on them so they can break coverage and run a successful route that will up completions and, by God’s good grace, put points on the board. Sure he’s taken a ball to the helmet but who hasn’t? He sometimes gets confused and somersaults over a defender because he obviously thinks he’s in a gymnastics competition and not a football game so let’s just look at that as him showing his scope of athleticism. But he’s capable. He’s also in a contract year so if things don’t pan out we may see yet another weapon run through the merry go round that is the Jets offense. To lose this one, whether you like him or not, would hurt.

Hopefully this is not a tale of the hammy that will never heal because the Jets and Sanchez need him back as soon as possible, so as the reports from practice continue to appear with him being listed as limited and off with the rehab group we sigh and groan and hope that the day we’re told he practiced fully and a coach with the means to decide says he’s a go, we’ll just have to sit and watch Jeff Cumberland blow more routes and run from more balls. Hurry back, Dustin. We need you.

Sydney Kira is a regular contributor to The Green Room. You can follow her on Twitter @SydneyKira1.

Santonio Holmes had his first 100-yard game since 2010 in the Jets OT win over the Dolphins.

We all knew that this game would be close but not this close!  Every Jets fan breathed a sigh of relief that the team walked away with a W in the books-no matter how we got it.  Here are the Keys to todays game.

1. Two Interceptions were very critical in shifting the momentum of the game.  The first wasn’t entirely Sanchez fault, he threw to  to an inexperienced Clyde Gates who didn’t complete the route correctly, allowing Marshall come up with a pick.  The second pick in the end zone was a horrible throw by Sanchez who shouldn’t have thrown it into coverage especially when Hill wasn’t even ready to catch the ball.

2. The lack of play makers on offense and with the absence of Dustin Keller was felt again, especially on third down situations where Keller is Sanchez’s go-to guy.

3. Missed catches are killing the offense like no other.  The receivers barely get open and when they do they dont make the catches that need to be made. Hill needs to step it up and come through on those straight forward TD catches.

4. The injury to Revis is the last thing the Jets wanted and it led to Miami to traget Kyle Wilson.  This allowed them to control the game clock and lead some long drives.  The Jets have to keep their fingers crossed that nothing is serious and Revis is able to join them for next weeks game against the 49ers.

5.  Finally Tebow was used for what he was brought to do-spark the offense on critical downs.  Today he did just that when he converted on a fourth and three and ran for five yards.  Sparano needs to get Tebow involved more in the offense especially, the anemic running attack since it  helps sets up the passing game.

6. The Jets defense has not been up to par – it appears they have taken a step back from last year and this is something that needs to be fixed ASAP.  The players seem to be out-coached each game and there are just too many  big plays that are being allowed by the defense.  I hope this is addressed by the coaches soon.

7. The Jets were aided by the two missed FG by the Dolphins as well as the time-out call by Philbin.

A win is a win, but the the Jets need to get a lot of issues on both sides of the ball addressed soon.  A tough schedule is coming up for the next 3 weeks and they need to make the most of it.  I firmly believe that a tough first half of the season will make them a tougher and better team-as long as they learn from their mistakes and improve.

I am irritated. I am frustrated. I am confused. I am a Jets fan. Add to that that I’m a Sanchez fan and the totals double basically any week you talk to me. Add to that again that I am a Rex Ryan supporter and, well, you get the picture. Why did I throw Rex in there? I’ll explain.

Last year it was clear that the Defensive Minded Head Coach had lost all touch with the reality of his offense and the team as a whole long before he admitted to it post-meltdown in Miami. Fans saw it. Other teams saw it. Well, as much as I never want to admit it, I’m starting to see it yet again. All of the bravado and confidence is something that makes me love Rex as the head coach of this team. He has it in him to motivate and incite, especially when compared to some other coaches we’ve been shown the ins and outs of their working environment on and off the field (I see you, Joe Philbin). But he’s also obviously a master, pardon my French, bullshit artist. All company guys know what to say and how to say it. The difference is that Rex allows some of his true feelings and emotions to peek through the barbed wire fences of his mostly pro-company speeches. If you look closely, you can read between the lines.To have a head coach say that he’s been busy in meetings and has no idea about the health of some of the biggest players on his team is bizarre and sends up warning flags to me.

In yesterday’s press conference he was irritated by questions about Tebow and supportive of what was easily the dumbest play of the game by saying Cromartie had great coverage on Wallace as he burned him for a TD that was one of the key factors in what changed the entire vibe on that field. Yes, it was barely a touchdown, but Cro looked to be trying to figure out whether the cloud above was shaped like a fire truck or a bunny rabbit as opposed to, I don’t know, paying attention to the guy he was supposed to be preventing from making that catch. While it’s fine and dandy to say that he assumed the ball was going out of bounds how do you not make sure that on the off chance that it’s not, your guy doesn’t get it? But hey, if Rex said he covered him as well as anyone can cover a guy then that’s well and good, right? It seems as if the only time he’s specific in his criticisms is when it’s against the offense. “Obviously you have to catch that.” “Mark has been inconsistent.” “The offense has to do better.” Well, guess what. The JETS have to do better.

The defense, despite being the only facet of the team that the front office actually bothered to improve in the off season with the wonder signings of Safeties Landry and Bell, looks messy. They can’t tackle. While it’s obvious that Roethlisberger is a rough guy to bring down, if Denver could do it on three consecutive snaps why couldn’t the Jets manage to do it on, oh, one? Somewhere? Instead they looked like a desperate housewife (see what I did there?) clinging to her husband, sliding down his body as he walks out the door upon telling her he’s leaving her for her secretary. They started at the shoulders and eventually ended up at his feet. There was even a nice reacharound move that had Big Ben finally on the other side of some unwanted molestation, but that’s neither here nor there. There’s no pass rush. Tackles get broken by opposers with ease. Our guys are more often than not just too slow or just straight up not capable.

And while Westhoff is a genius on Special Teams, where’s the fire? Imagine what a shit show this is going to turn into next year, as he’ll be retiring after this season. Now Rex will have TWO parts of his team he’ll have to pay attention to in addition to his defense.

He may not have admitted it until after the team imploded in Miami on New Year’s Day,  but it was obvious to many for most of the second half of the season (at the least) that Rex had no idea what was going on with the offense for whatever reason you choose to decide to believe, because there are multiple options as to why this happened. A defensive minded coach turning into a head coach that maybe sometimes forgets that he has to pay attention to each part of his team. Sparano is an offensive minded head coach turned into an…offensive coordinator, and while he is basically the equivalent of Rex, that does not mean that the head coach shouldn’t be as concerned with what goes on in their meetings as he is with what goes on in the others.

Look. I like Rex. I love him, actually. I love his bravado and his never back down way of thinking. But he has got to back it up. This team is doing something, but they’re not doing enough. It’s the dawn of week 3, so when will we see more from them? The Buffalo game exposed a few flaws but gave us fans some hope that there was true promise. The loss to Pittsburgh doesn’t bother me because it was a LOSS, it bothers me HOW they lost it. Because they lost themselves. They are not the team we saw play Buffalo, but I don’t believe they are the team we saw play Pittsburgh either. Somewhere in between are our 2012 New York Jets (not NY Tebow, so go to hell NFL.com). Let’s just hope that Rex finds the pulse of that team soon or we’re all going to be staring down the barrel of a very dangerous and sadly familiar gun.

Sydney Kira is a regular contributor to The Green Room. You can follow her on Twitter @SydneyKira1.

A few things to look out for in Friday night’s preseason opener against the Bengals:

1. Jordan White – The rookie WR  out of WMU has impressed everyone in camp so far. After missing out on mini-camp due to a foot injury from May 2012, Jordan White has shown that he is a very efficient route runner.  This comes as good news for the Jets because with Kerley will be out for another week or so.  Pay close attention to how he fares against a well coached defensive Bengals team and my prediction is that he will keep up the great work and end up getting major time during the season.

2.  Terrance Ganaway- Rookie RB out of Baylor has also been playing quite well in camp.  He rushed for over 1,400 yards in his senior year and has shown flashes of helping Greene out with the workload.

3. Bilal Powell- He is one of the players that has been consistently signaled out by Rex Ryan. “At the rate he’s going, it would be a surprise if he doesn’t leap-frog Joe McKnight on the depth chart,” says beat writer Rich Cimini.  This is music to my ears, and I hope to see Powell cement his position as more then a 3rd down back for the Jets this season.  His first chance to show that will be against the Bengals.

Other players to keep your eye on:

• TE Josh Baker – Baker is officially listed as a FB/TE, and has been mixed in with the first and second team offenses in camp.
• WR Patrick Turner - Turner has had an excellent camp so far, and could earn himself regularly playing time with good performances in preseason.
• K Josh Brown – The most underrated position battle in Jets camp is between kicker Nick Folk and the newly added Brown.
• T Austin Howard - With Wayne Hunter sitting out due to his back, Howard will get a chance to show what he’s got at right tackle.

Shahmeer is a regular contributor to The Green Room. You can follow him on Twitter, @shehzada_ 

Here a few things we can observe from the first few days of camp.

1. Sanchez looks to be in the best shape of his career.  When Sanchez drove into Cortland, wearing asleeveless shirt, it was pretty obvious that he had bulked up and was raring to go.
2. Day in and day out every pass that Sanchez and Tebow made was scrutinized and it became obvious from the start who was playing the best.  Sanchez’s throws to Holmes were amazing and showed the confidence he lacked last year.
3.  Judging from the interviews that Sanchez gave to NFL and ESPN show us that he may have finally matured to the QB  that he was drafted to be.
4. A lot has been talked about the “Cro-Package” and suffice to say I am really looking forward to it.  Cromartie is an amazing specimen with the athleticism that will help him thrive as a part time WR.  I am really glad that Rex and Co. are trying to use their players in the best possible  way.
5. Holmes has put in a lot of work in camp and it could be clearly seen when he caught some nice passes from Sanchez on Monday.  If Holmes and Sanchez and keep on working to improve their chemistry then Jet fans can expect a lot of fireworks to go off in the field.
6. Rookie Stephen Hill has been getting a lot of praises from Rex and this is great news.  It looks like that he is coming along faster then expected and I believe the Jets won’t sign another veteran receiver.
7. It is important that Chaz Schilens can stay healthy and make the most of the training camp to get in sync with Sanchez.
8. The low point on the offense has been Kerely and Rex has been very vocal about his disappointment with his work ethic.  This is an issue that is of concern and I am hoping that Kerely is able to get healthy quickly.  The Jets really need all their receivers prepared for this season, otherwise things will become much harder for the offense.
9. The RB situation for the Jets seems to be getting much better from the reports coming out of camp .  Powell seems to be coming out his shell and backing up Rex’s faith in drafting him last year. Also, McKnight has shown some flashes of being a true 2nd back, and if he can continue to play like this in the season the Jets backfield looks really strong.
10. Todays practice in the red zone did not go really well for the offense. Sanchez went for 7-for-19, 1 INT and 1 dropped INT. The stats are pretty alarming but we need to keep in mind that most of the first string WRs were not practicing and there will be some growing pains with the new offense system.  Plus, the Jets offense is going up against one of the best defense in NFL in practice.

Before we sound the alarm bells, it is important that we need to give the offense s a few more weeks to work out the kinks.  I believe if Jets offense can perform at an acceptable level against their top ranked defense in practice, then things should be good for them in the up-coming season.

Late last night news came in over the internet that Darrelle Revis would be showing up to the Jets training camp on time. This report was confirmed this morning by the Associated Press.  Until yesterday, Revis had left the door open on a possible holdout for the second time in three years.  He earned around $32.5 million over the first two years of his contract including an $18 million dollar bonus.  During OTAs and much of the off season, the Jets refrained from making any comments on re-doing his deal and expected Revis to report on day one.

By reporting to camp on time, Darrelle will earn $1 million dollar training camp bonus and avoid the contract from being extended by another 3 years for only $ 3 million per year.  Revis has always maintained the fact that he wishes to stay a Jet for his entire career and I hope the Jets front office gives him a new deal next off season.

But at the moment this is a huge relief for the Jet fans to have their best player in camp.

You can follow Shahmeer on Twitter @shehzada_.

Today’s the day. The official unveiling of the new uniforms for the NFL as provided by Nike. Reebok no longer holds he license so the two (arguably) biggest sports brands known to man will now be collectively getting all of our money. Today in Manhattan, all 32 NFL teams’ jerseys were revealed, and furthermore there is a photo and video shoot taking place in Brooklyn where each team is being represented by one player to reveal their team’s new threads. The most (and really only) notable change was to the Seattle Seahawks uniform. It’s a little cheesy if you ask me, but the helmet is fairly badass.

On hand for our boys in green was…Shonn Greene. Now we know he’s not the only guy in town, so maybe they chose Greene to be the model because of his last name. No, I’m kidding. What I’m actually hoping is that it’s a push of faith and a little motivation for him to improve on his better year last year, get his stuff together and really represent the team as the lead back. As shown in the picture, he looks to have trimmed down at least a little and I expect that he will continue to do so as OTAs and camps begin here.

As for the new jersey, as a fan we can’t really tell the difference. There’s something new at the neck that looks to be coming off of the NFL emblem as opposed to it standing along as it used to, the flywire looks like literal wire. What that is, I’m not sure, and I’m not sure that I like it. The jersey looks a little tight and feminine but what do I know? It’s just a picture and I’m sure it will look worlds different with the pads on. What I do know is that I’m ready. With the new jerseys revealed, we are that one step closer to the new season beginning.

Sydney Kira is a regular contributor to The Green Room. You can follow her on Twitter @SyndeyKira1.

Yesterday afternoon I made my first appearance on The Kev and Rev Show‘s Sunday Sports Podcast.  We talked MLB, Buster Posey, College Football and NFL Quarterback Rumors.

I look forward to discussing more NFL and New York Jets related topics this summer.

You can listen to the Podcast on thewifehatessports.com or sportschump.net or by clicking on the link below.  I start about 40 minutes into the show.

The Kev and Rev Show Podcast

Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha released a sneak peak of his video, Life of a Lockout, that chronicles his life during the NFL lockout.

In the video, he tweets from Time Square in an effort to meet some fans; the first to respond received 2 tickets to the Home Opener.

Check out the preview below: