Predictions Summary Projections by Position Projection Team Boxes

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Prediction: NYJ 20, TEN 17 (Line: NYJ by 1.5)

UPDATE: Kendall Wright remains questionable to play. He had limited work on Thursday and Friday and would play with a splint if he can go. I am keeping him out of the projections. Percy Harvin is also questionable but was only able to do limited work on Friday. He has not been officially ruled out but I will not add him into the projections either.

Now here is a delightful mess. The 2-11 Jets are on a three game losing streak and are 0-6 on the road. They face the 2-11 Titans who are 1-5 at home. The Titans won 38-13 when the Jets visited last year during week four. The only interesting angle – and I am stretching – is that Chris Johnson plays his old team.

It isn’t so much that the Jets always lose, it is that they get so close to winning in most games and then Lucy pulls the football away. The remaining schedule has only this game as a solid chance for a third win and by now a win or a loss is not going to affect whatever is in store for the offseason. But to their credit and to Rex Ryan’s as well – the Jets have never given up. They just lack the tools to win.

QUARTERBACK : The Geno Smith experience just keeps coming back. After his benching he came back to post a solid game against the Vikings with 254 yards and one score. Granted – he is a turnover machine in most weeks but he is at least playing out what is likely his final games as an NFL starter.

RUNNING BACK : The Jets have been rushing better in recent weeks and Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson are now sharing the workload split down the middle. Ivory ran for 62 yards in week 13 and then 73 yards in Minnesota. Johnson gained 105 yards in the Miami loss and then ran for 53 yards last week. No Jets back has scored a touchdown since week eight. But this is the chance for Chris Johnson return to Tennessee where one of the worst rushing defenses wait. That is certainly no guarantee for a big game since there are valid concerns he has no more left in him but he did lay down 105 yards on 17 runs two weeks ago.

WIDE RECEIVER : The trade for Percy Harvin lasted six long weeks and netted a touchdown and two 100 yard efforts. He did almost nothing in the other four games though and now he is gone with an ankle injury that may last the rest of the year. He did not have enough time to be a malcontent so there is hopes he comes back in 2015. Eric Decker is back to being the only receiver of any measure on this team and he has four scores but none in the last month. Decker has been better in road games with 60+ yards each time the Jets leave home.

TIGHT END : No fantasy value. Jace Amaro may return from his concussion.

MATCH TO THE DEFENSE: The Titans pass defense has been very good this year when at home where opponents only pass for one touchdown and moderate passing yardage. Given the state of the Jets passing game this is not important anyway. The Titans Achilles heel all year has been their inability to stop the run. Seven different runners have topped 100 yards against them and they allowed 17 touchdowns to the position so far. Decker is a low level start for some yardage but both Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory have upside here. Johnson facing his only team is intriguing only because the Titans are so bad on defense.

The seven game losing streak could end here but the Titans have not been even competitive in their last three losses including just last week when the visiting Giants beat then by 29 points. Losing Zach Mettenberger and not having Kendall Wright was a big reason but that may still be the case this week as well. This is the last chance for the Titans to outplay an opponent but the offense only gets worse and the defense has never been good.

QUARTERBACK : Zach Mettenberger has been diagnosed with a separated AC joint, and will likely miss the final three games of the season. That installs Jake Locker back as the starter but his level of play won’t be much different. Mettenberger is trying to learn the position and get better. Locker has already found his ceiling. No Titan’s quarterback has thrown for more than two scores in any game this year or more than 235 yards.

RUNNING BACK : Shonn Greene is no longer active for games and he’ll be a healthy scratch for this matchup against his old team. It is just as well, stopping the run is all the Jets do well. Bishop Sankey may be the primary back but he rarely gets more than a dozen carries in any game and has yet to turn in more than 65 rush yards in any game. He stands at just two touchdowns on the year.

WIDE RECEIVER : Justin Hunter is on injured reserve with a lacerated spleen and Kendall Wright is out with a cracked bone in his hand that causes pain and swelling. They may try to splint him as if that helps a receiver catch a ball let alone one thrown by Jake Locker. Nate Washington is the only healthy starter and he has two scores in the last four weeks. Derek Hagen helps out and yet still never gets more than a couple of targets. I will assume Wright is still out and update as warranted.

TIGHT END : The only good news about Locker – at least potentially – is that when he started the first two games of the season, Delanie Walker scored in both and had 10 catches for 142 yards when the Cowboys came to town. Walker has done precious little since that time but at least the Titans need receivers right now and Locker has used Walker in the past.

MATCH TO THE DEFENSE: This is a bad offense but no one has managed to throw for less than two touchdowns when the Jets came to town. The rushing defense is one of the best and will have no problem squashing Sankey but there is minor upside with Locker, Walker and Washington. The risk is just as significant but it is a decent situation and it is just the Jets.

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