New York Jets (6-2 SU, 5-3 ATS) at Cleveland Browns (3-5 SU, 4-4 ATS), Week 10 NFL, 1 p.m. EST, Sunday, November 14, 2010, Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio. TV: CBS – HD (Regional)
by Jeff Hochman of JHSportsline.com
Betting Odds: NYJ -3/Cle +3
Over/Under Total: 37.5
The Cleveland Browns will to look to upset an AFC East team for the second straight week when they face the up-start New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.
Last Sunday, the Browns upset New England 34-14 as 4-point home underdogs in a game I was dead wrong about. It was not a “fluke” win either as they out-gained the Patriots by 121 yards. Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy scrambled for a touchdown and didn’t make any mistakes, Peyton Hillis ran for a career-high 184 yards and two scores and the vastly improved Browns pulled off the mild upset. Eric Mangini and Bill Belichick have never been the best of buddies with the whole “spygate” debacle. Mangini had good reason to smile. He and his staff, many of whom worked in New England under Belichick, out-schemed the Patriots in every facet.
Good teams find different ways to win and that’s exactly what the fly boys did last Sunday at Detroit. The Jets were down by 10 points with just under 4 minutes left in game and cam back to win overtime by a score of 23-20. New York committed 5 fumbles but only lost one of them. Mark Sanchez threw for a career-high 323 yards and Santonio Holmes had five receptions for 114 yards. After missing the first four games of the season, Holmes keeps getting better. He is still looking for his first TD reception of the season and that will come sooner than later.
The Jets will bring in the better offense and defense in this game. New York is led by LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene pounding the ball for 148 yards rushing per game. When teams decide to put 8 or more in the “box”, than it’s time for Mark Sanchez to take over. He has a plethora of receivers to choose from, and the Jets do a great job of creating mis-matches across the board. Sanchez is only completing 53% of his passes which has to bea little concerning to Jets’ fans. His 10/5 TD/INT ratio is adequate and so is his 79.2 quarterback rating.
Colt McCoy played a lot better than I expected in last week’s win. He will be key in this game because no team likes to blitz more than the Jets do. McCoy has shown pocket presence but this will be his toughest test to date so far. The Browns should lean on Peyton Hillis and the running game against a Jets’ defense that allows 105 rushing yards on the road.
Cleveland is 3-1 SU and 3-1 ATS vs. the Jets since 2002. The last regular season meeting occurred in December of 2007, with the Browns winning 24-18 as 3-point road favorites.
The Jets are just 4-4 ITS (in the stats) this season, and arelucky to be 6-2 overall, if you will. The Browns are just 2-6 ITS this season but are showing of signs of life. Cleveland should have a lot of confidence coming into this game after their performance last week. The Browns are a money-making machine of late going 11-4 ATS in their last fifteen games overall.
Jeff’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Cleveland Browns +3 & Over 37.5.
The Browns have looked better since Colt McCoy took over at QB and they will have a lot of confidence playing in their second straight home game off a home win. I also expect a high-scoring game. Check theweather as we get closer to game day. Snow and cold would be good for the Over. Rain and Wind would not!