New York offense vs. Oakland defense

	JETS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	13
	Pass	25
	Tot. Yds.	22
	Scoring	25
	Int's allowed	10
	Sacks allowed	23
	RAIDERS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	4
	vs. Pass	26
	Total yds. allowed	19
	No. of INTs	11
	No. of Sacks	17
	Turnover differential	+2

The Jets finally found an offensive spark in the form of Ray Lucas until the sophomore quarterback sprained his ankle on the final play of last Sunday's game versus the Indianapolis Colts. As of right now, Rick Mirer will resume the role of the starter, but the feeling around camp is that the Jets are unable to win with Mirer behind center.

The Jets offensive woes will continue on Sunday when they face one of the top defenses in the NFL and have to matchup against arguably the best cornerback trio the league has to offer. Mirer will have a lot of man-to-man coverages to work with on his receivers, but for once these matchups present a problem. The Raiders are going to use Eric Allen to cover Keyshawn Johnson and press him at the line of scrimmage, knowing that he will have the coverage rolled to his side. The safeties will leave Charles Woodson alone on an island with Wayne Chrebet knowing that Woodson is fully capable of shutting down the 3rd down receiver on his own. On 3rd down passing situations, Darrien Gordon will come in to cover slot receiver Dedric Ward, and should be able to keep up with the speedy Ward.

The key for the Jets to find success throwing the ball will be to get production out of its TE Eric Green and running backs out of the backfield. The Raiders have had trouble with breakdowns in coverage on third down defensively. The most susceptible part of the Raider defense has been the middle of the field, where receivers have been able to shake the coverage on crossing routes when teams have spread the field. Look for Ward to take sharp angles out of his slot position and take advantage of the man coverage underneath. The reason that the tight ends and running backs need to post a huge afternoon is because they should be able to slip into the open areas underneath where the corners have backed out in single man coverage on the receivers down the field.

The biggest problem the Jets running game faces when Mirer is in the game is that he is unable to take advantages downfield to stretch the defense and make them play honest. Teams are challenging Mirer to throw the ball with eight man fronts and man-to-man matchups outside on his receivers. What this does is allow the safeties to walk up closer to the line of scrimmage and help in run support.

In order to stop the run on the weakside, it is imperative for the SS Anthony Newman or FS Eric Turner to give help because of K.D. Williams' inability to stack up when teams run right at him. Williams is an excellent upfield rush guy, but has trouble playing in a phone booth. The safety will have to play close to the line of scrimmage to meet Curtis Martin in the hole that is created when Williams is forced wide by OT Jumbo Elliot.

Oakland has simplified its blocking scheme and has been doing a lot more straight ahead power blocking in the run game. This new scheme calls for a lot less zone blocking and is easier for RB's Tyrone Wheatley and Napolean Kaufman to distinguish the hole and move north/south. The biggest beneficiary of the new scheme is reserve OT Barry Sims, who is filling in for the injured Mo Collins. Sims was matched up with Bruce Smith last week and was did a remarkable job of shutting down the veteran because he was able to focus all of his attention on one assignment.

The Jets know that the Raiders are looking to stick with the plan of running the ball 40-plus times on Sunday, and are going to adjust accordingly. The Jets do a good job defensively of clogging the middle and are going to need a huge day out of NT Jason Ferguson if they are to shut down Wheatley between the tackles. Furguson does an excellent job of getting to one side of the offensive center and driving him out into either the A or B gaps. If Ferguson can handle OC Barrett Robbins, ILB Bryan Cox becomes that much more effective versus the run. Cox takes a sharp angle off of Furguson's hip and attacks the emptied space. Cox will then be forced to take on FB Jon Ritchie in the hole. Ritchie's role in the run game is critical, because he is the only man available to kick Cox out of the hole and spring Wheatley into the secondary. If Cox gets the best of Ritchie, Wheatley will be forced to string the ball outside where he is less effective and the Jets do an excellent job of keeping contain.

The Raiders, when they pass, will use a lot of play-action off the run. Rich Gannon will be able to create excellent man-to-man matchup situations for his receivers on the outside if he can get FS Victor Green to take some false steps on the play fake. Green does an outstanding job of reading quarterbacks eyes and getting good breaks on the ball, but has been known to bite on the run fake. If Gannon can freeze the free safety, he will take the matchups of Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens on his track-star receivers, James Jett and Tim Brown.