Gene Collier wrote a bold article predicting a Chargers victory this past Sunday against the NY jets. I must say, it takes some courage to write an entire article predicting the outcome of one game, given that if the other team wins, your piece of writing is entirely discredited. This is exactly what happened to Collier this week, and unfortunately it was fully deserved.
In the article, Collier makes a short reference to Pittsburgh's elimination of the Chargers in last year's playoffs, and then jumps to say that the Jets have nowhere near the talent to do the same. He was on the right track comparing this year's Jets to the Steelers of old, but to say that the they are incapable of winning? Wrong Collier, and you should know better.
He should know, from covering Pittsburgh sports for years, that the #1 defense can smother offensive hype any day. He should know that a good secondary and pass rush can make any game close. He should know that a team that runs the ball consistently can kill a defense with one drive. He should know that no matter how bad a team was in the first half of the season, they can still win the superbowl. Does this sound familiar to Steeler fans?
And Mr. Collier-how dare you fail to mention a Mr. Darrelle Revis. Not only is Revis the defensive player of the year (by my standards, step aside Charles Woodson), but he his also the most successful Pitt football product since Larry Fitzgerald. Revis has played shutdown defense against the league's best wide receivers. Hey Gene, did you catch that interception he had on Sunday? Polamalu like, perhaps?
These NY Jets have the complete package to dismantle a streaking offense and a good quarterback like Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, and dare I say Peyton Manning. Of course, i'm writing this after their defeat of the Chargers, after they embarrassed Gene Collier and his Pittsburgh roots. Hind sight is 20/20, but Collier's prediction seemed far too blind and stubborn for even that excuse.
I'm not going to be as stubborn and bold to predict that the Jets will dismantle a team as good as the Colts, but this team will definitely give Peyton Manning some problems. No, the Jets don't have Troy Polamalu, Aaron Smith, or James Harrison. But they do have Revis, Bart Scott, a familiar Alan Faneca, Thomas Jones and breakout rookie Shonn Greene. I don't care what kind of offense you have, this team can slow you down, force mistakes, and keep it close; maybe close enough to reach a Super Bowl...
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