Houston wont have a problem in New York

The Jets have won all five meetings with the Texans but that one-sided statistic is short odds to change when Super Bowl XLVII favourite Houston travels to New York for Monday Night Football in Week Five of the National Football League.

What was chalked up as a each-of-two game by some bookmakers who analysed every regular season match before the National Football League season kicked off is now seen as a cakewalk for the Texans because of the offensive and defensive woes of the Jets, whose campaign is in danger of imploding.

Bookmakers have Houston, which is 4-0 both straight up and against the spread, at odds of around 2-7 to beat the Jets, with the handicap line set at around the nine-point mark.

The Texans have been getting sides at the right time. They entertained Miami in Week One and thrashed a Dolphins team using a rookie quarterback 30-10. They went to Jacksonville and crushed a Jaguars side whose star running back was very much underdone 27-7. They travelled to Denver and defeated a Broncos team getting used to Peyton Manning 31-25. And they smashed a Tennessee side that lost its starting quarterback early on 38-14 in front of their home fans in Houston.

Now the Texans are getting the Jets, described by one New York media commentator as a dead team walking, at the right time because they have major problems on both sides of the ball, including losing their best offensive player, wide receiver Santonio Holmes, and their best defensive player, cornerback Darrelle Revis, to season-ending injuries.

The Jets could only put up 145 yards of total offense in their humiliating 0-34 loss to the 49ers last week and so bare are its offensive stocks that sophomore professional Jeremy Kerley is rated as their primary attacking option.

And the Jets ranks a lowly 21st in total defence in the National Football League having given up 245 rushing yards and missed 17 tackles versus San Francisco as they struggle to contain their opponents without Revis suited up.

No-one really knows how good Houston is. The Texans have played only one decent side this term and they are the heavyweights in a distinctly lightweight South division of the American Football Conference in which they come up against the Colts, the Jaguars and the Titans.

On a form line through Miami, whom both Houston and the Jets have played this season, one could make a case for backing the handicap underdogs. The Texans beat the Dolphins by 20 points at home, while the Jets defeated them by three points away. Those results do not equate to Houston being favoured by nine points for a road game on national television.

However, so much has changed since the Jets got the job done in Miami a fortnight ago that the form line is not worth all that much. The mood among supporters of the green-shirted Big Apple team is one of utter despair, with not even the prospect of Tim Tebow taking over from under-performing quarterback Mark Sanchez lifting their broken spirits.

The spread is big but back the Texans to cover it as they make the most of their good fortune regarding scheduling.

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09/10/2012     © Frixo 2024