NFL Betting – Wounded Jets Tebow, Edwards Could See Action Against Titans Monday Night
by Charles Jay, Special to Predictem.com
Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who has been nursing a rib injury, will likely be available for the New York Jets as they take on the Tennessee Titans in Monday night football. If he plays, Tennessee will probably see him in the wildcat formation, unless Mark Sanchez falters again as he did against the Arizona Cardinals a couple of weeks ago.
As the Jets visit Nashville, they are in a situation where they absolutely must win in order to maintain any hope of getting to the playoffs. So there is no reason to hold anything back, and Tebow’s status with the team once the season is over is up in the air.
In this game that begins at 8:40 PM ET at LP Field in Nashville, the Titans are a one-point favorite, as posted at BetAnySports.
After Tebow engaged in a practice session on Thursday, coach Rex Ryan exclaimed that it was the best he’s looked in weeks. Only the day before, Ryan had practically ruled him out of the game. Tebow is wearing a flak jacket and he is making progress throwing the ball, or so he says. He would also be available to play blocking back on the punt team.
The Jets have rushed for over 100 yards in each of the last four games, but it wouldn’t hurt them if they could throw some curveballs at Tennessee in this game. Tebow was suited up last week, but did not play in his hometown of Jacksonville, which upset some of the local fans who don’t have very much to look forward to except for the possibility that the Jaguars might be able to swing a trade for him in the off-season.
An old friend has reappeared in the Jets’ picture, and for Sanchez, the timing couldn’t have been better.
Braylon Edwards has a hamstring problem but is a strong possibility to play Monday, which is something Ryan would very much like to see happen. Last week Edwards was released by Seattle, which didn’t think he was going to play for at least three weeks because of the injury. He has rung up more receiving yards in connection with Mark Sanchez than anyone else on the Jets roster, and since the team is very thin at the receiver spot, that kind of familiarity is potentially valuable. So offensive coordinator Tony Sparano has been working extra with him since his arrival, and he would like to incorporate a lot of Edwards’ strengths into the repertoire.
In Edwards’ first tenure with the Jets, he came to the lineup in the middle of the year and chalked up 541 yards through the air. Even in his time away from the team, he says he and Sanchez (a 55% passer) have been keeping in touch.
As of now, wide receivers Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill, as well as tight end Dustin Keller, are out of action. This is an air attack that needs something – ANYTHING – to give it a spark. The coaching staff has just been hoping Sanchez doesn’t LOSE games after his three-INT game against Arizona, which ended mercifully when Ryan yanked him. Greg McElroy came into the game and led the team on a TD drive that turned out to be the winner in a real stinker (7-6).
It would seem that there is a difference between the quality of defenses in this game. The Jets (350/1 to win the Super Bowl at BetAnySports) are actually seventh in the NFL in yards allowed per opponent’s drive (28.8) and they turn most quarterbacks into lower-percentage passers, permitting just 54.2% completions. Tennessee allows 2.34 points per drive o defense, and the only team that was more permissive going into this NFL weekend was the Oakland Raiders, who then proceeded to pitch a shutout on Sunday.
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