In a reverse of Week one’s first Monday Night Football game a year ago, the Baltimore Ravens welcome the New York Jets to the Charm City in yet another prime time matchup. It’s a game that has been set up with plenty of talking points off the field, as Rex Ryan would love to get another one over on the team who passed over him for their vacant head coaching job four years ago. As fascinating as the off field storylines will be, we’re more concerned with the on the field battles. So what are the three matchups and players to focus on this week?
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1) Baltimore’s Wide Receivers v New York’s Corners
Do the Baltimore Ravens finally have a deep threat? If Torrey Smith’s (+2.3) big game in St. Louis is anything to go by, then the answer may just be yes. Not only did Smith catch three first quarter touchdowns, he also got open twice more downfield only to be overthrown by Joe Flacco. If Antonio Cromarite is good to go, then we could see them go after Kyle Wilson in the slot. In that Monday night game a year ago, Wilson was thrown at seven times, yielding four receptions for 83 yards and two penalties. This time around, Wilson is likely to be lined up against Anquan Boldin, who gained all 83 yards against Wilson last year.
Not to state the obvious, but Flacco would be wise to avoid going after Darrelle Revis (+5.0), who is off to a great start again this season. He has given up just three receptions for 38 yards in three games this year.
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2) Battle of the Interior Lines
The last thing you want when you are about to go up against one of the league’s premier defensive linemen in Haloti Ngata, is to have your all-pro centre out of the line-up. So far this season, Ngata (+9.3) has only lined up at nose tackle 30 times, but with a matchup against backup centre Colin Baxter (-9.1), I think Ngata will see more time at nose tackle.
The 2011 Baltimore Ravens defensive line features some new faces with rookie Pernell McPhee (one sack, three pressures) and second year defensive linemen Arthur Jones, but the biggest surprise so far has been the improved play of Terrence Cody. Cody struggled in his rookie year, but has turned in two of the best three performances of his career in the first three weeks of this season.
The Jets need a return to form from Brandon Moore, who was a top five rated right guard at PFF last year. So far this year, Moore (-4.3) has failed to impress anyone, and his struggles have helped the Jets post a poor 2.8 yards per carry when running between the right guard and the centre this season.
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3) Dustin Keller vs. Jarret Johnson
PFF premium subscribers will already know that Dustin Keller is not only tied for first in the Tight End Drop Rate category, but he also leads the Tight End Yards Per Route Run category, which takes into account the number of snaps a player went into a pattern, providing a better indication of production. Keller (+4.6) is having a really strong start to the year, with the only knock on his game being his run blocking. As a receiver, he is averaging 15.6 yards a catch, and has forced four missed tackles. He represents a matchup problem for Baltimore if the Jets can get him isolated against Jarret Johnson (-2.5 in pass coverage) who has struggled so far this year.
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