Both of these teams are coming off disappointing losses which saw each team lose their starting Qb to injury.  The Jets got punished 38-14 at home by the cheating New England Patriots and the Ravens lost a tough game 27-20 in Cincinnati.  With Chad Pennington out the Jets would like to run the football against the Ravens but that will be easier said than done against a defense that held the Bengals to 55 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.4 ypc).  Thomas Jones only rushed for 42 yards on 14 carries (3.0 ypc) in the opener against the Patriots as they had line breakdowns especially at left guard where Adrien Clarke had some issues.  The Bengals did throw pretty well against the Ravens defense so the Jets could take the training wheels of QB Kellen Clemens in his first NFL start and let him challenge them a bit.  WRs Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery and Justin McCareins are a pretty good set of WRs to throw to but the Jets must be careful because CB Chris McAllister and S Ed Reed are both big time playmakers on the defense of the Ravens.

It’s still possible that Steve McNair could give it a go this week because he’s as tough as nails.  But, the more likely scenario is that Kyle Boller will get the start against the Jets.  The Jets defense was torched last week by Tom Brady who threw for 297 yards and 3 TD passes.  The Jets didn’t sack him even once!  With both of the starting CBs (Andre Dyson & Justin Miller) likely out for this football game, look for the Ravens to throw the ball deep after they establish their running game.  They should have no problem doing that as the Jets allowed 134 yards rushing last week to the Patriots.  Willis McGahee will carry the ball the bulk of the time this week and he should have a really good game.

PREDICTION:  Both of these teams are banged up, but the Jets are in far worse trouble.  I like the Ravens at home but I like the Jets to stay within the 9.5 pointspread.