1 Will Ndamukong Suh blow up the backfield?
This is not the bottom-feeding Detroit Lions that we’ve gotten used to for the better part of the past decade, a team that could not get out of its own way.
Their record may be familiar (2-5), but three of those losses were by five points or less. Detroit is a good, feisty and aggressive team that has an explosive passing offense and a young defense loaded with former first-round picks. Like Green Bay last week, Detroit is one of the league leaders in sacks, ranking sixth with 23 on the season.
“I think when you’re drafting that high, it’s just a matter of time before it pans out,” Jets head coach Rex Ryan said.
2 Are the butterfingers all gone?
The?Jets were just plain sloppy in last week’s shutout loss to the Packers. They were whistled for seven penalties and victimized by their own mistakes. In particular, the receivers found ways to turn should-be passes into incompletes.
“I know we had eight or nine as a total,” Ryan said of the number of drops.
More drops this week will look even worse, considering the Lions’ corps of receivers is one of the most sure-handed in the league, led by Calvin Johnson and rookie Jahvid Best.
“Just technique issues,” Jerricho Cotchery said of last week’s drop-off. “Those things are easy to fix, so you go back and make sure those things don’t come up again.”
3 Can the Jets dominate time of possession?
The Jets combined for at least 100 rushing yards for the ninth straight game, the second longest streak in the NFL.
They backs may need close to 200 and definitely more than 23 total carries this weekend. Against a potent, quick-strike Lions’ offense, the Jets’ focus will be back on ground and pound. A tall order considering the one-gap Lions’ defense, led by Suh, ranks sixth in tackles for loss.
“No, he doesn’t look like a rookie,” Jets guard Brandon Moore said of Suh. “He’s a grown man.”
