Zone
Blitz:
Quarterback play will be key
11/9/2001
by
CK Rairden
Landmark columnist
The Chiefs make a trip to the Meadowlands to play an
ugly team on Sunday. However bad they have looked, the
Jets have had success.
It’s a miracle they have a 5-3 record, as they are
awful against the run. Jets RB Curtis Martin is the AFC’s
# 1 rusher. Number 2? The Chiefs’ Priest Holmes.
Whichever team's QB makes the least mistakes will likely
take a home a victory for his side.
ZONE BLITZ—
—Look for Vermeil to tear up when he meets Jets
coach Herman Edwards before the game. The two go way back
and Edwards credits Vermeil for his start in coaching.
—When asked by the NY media whether or not it would
be a Kleenex moment Vermeil quipped, “Damn right.”
—Another coaching connection—Paul Hackett,
the now offensive coordinator of the Jets.
—Hackett has already come under fire for—what
else—being too conservative in his game plans.
—The Jets are number 31 against the run on defense.
—The Chiefs are number 29 against the run on defense.
—Vermeil blames himself for cutting veteran defensive
tackle Steve Martin from the Chiefs. “No coach is
immune to making a personnel mistake and I think I did
in that situation.”
—The Jets have only 2 TD’s in their last 38
possessions.
—Keep an eye on Jets TE Anthony Becht. He is quickly
becoming an integral part of the Jets offense.
—Watch out Trent Green—Jets DE John Abraham
already has 7.5 sacks.
—OT John Tait redeemed himself a bit against the
Chargers last week after his awful performance against
Indy.
—It doesn’t get any easier as he will face
Abraham on many plays.
—The Jets have a 1-3 home record.
—The Chiefs have a 2-2-road record.
—Chiefs are on a 12-game losing streak on the road
against AFC East teams.
—The last victory on the road against an AFC East
team was in 1992. It was over the Jets 23-7 and was the
game where Jets DE Dennis Byrd suffered a career-ending
spinal cord injury.
—So the Jets stink at home and the Chiefs are respectable
on the road. A Chiefs victory? Possible, but not likely.
Jets over Chiefs 24-20.
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