Good news - after I put this preview in, I'll try to finish up my final paper for the semester, then I'll hopefully get back to daily Jets updates.

And I just checked the e-mail, and there's a huge amount to talk about. So I'll post the picks, then respond to all the mail. Thanks for reading and writing, I apologize for the delay in the replies...it's the schoolwork (lest you think I am being rude).

So we'll start with the Seahawks at Jets, Sunday 1pm, on FOX25 (one of my many former employers) here in Boston.

The Jets see this as a must-win game, which I'm not so sure is a good thing. I have a feeling that this is going to be a real nail-biter, but I think the Jets will win. This is one of those games where the Jets have the potential to choke...bad. But there's only one team in the NFL with as spotty a history as the New York Jets, and that is the Seattle Seahawks. They need this game worse than the Jets do, and they will play worse than the Jets.

John Abraham again will not play, but as I've been saying, Bryan Thomas can fill in ably. There's a chance we'll be seeing a lot more of Derrick Strait, which is good, because Terrell Buckley has been killing the Jets lately. The secondary is going to be huge this week, because the Seahawks can throw the ball...but I'm not really worried about the defense. They'll be fine. Especially David Barrett, who has been fun to watch the past few weeks - I hope teams continue to test him - he makes a great deflection at least once a week.

But it's the offense I'm worried about. This week the Jets said Chad Pennington is not at 100%...which we already knew by watching him the past couple of weeks. But he says he knows he can be effective the rest of the season. The Jets are supposedly going to try to get the ball to their tight ends more these last few games...which to me might mean that Pennington can't get the ball downfield. But I expect the Jets to be able to do enough on offense to beat Seattle...I'm going to say Jets 31, Seahwaks 24.

That would mean the Jets cover the six and a half point spread....which seems like a lot...but I guess the Jets win by a touchdown. But you don't care about my picks - you want to know who The Wife picked - so here they are, Saturday games first:

PIT -10.5
WAS -3.5
ATL -3.5
NYJ -6.5
HOU +1.5
JAX +3.5
MIN -3.5
CLE +9.5
DAL +12.5
BUF -2.5
STL +1.5
NO +7.5
TEN +1.5
DEN +1.5
BAL +8.5
NE -9.5

The Wife suffered a setback last week, just hitting 7, she's down to 136 overall. Still not bad.

OK. Let's attack the mailbag, lots to get to.

"Word up, yo! Far be it from me to complain. And I give you all the credit in the world for keeping the web site afloat amidst the craziness of your life. However, I have to admit that the "analysis" on the site is letting me down a bit lately. I give you credit for making an assertion (vague and general though it was) that it seems unrealistic for the Jets to win 2 or 3 road games in the playoffs, but I GUARANTEE you won't pull the trigger on picking them to lose a specific game when the time comes. And you of course asserted that the Jets will beat the Patriots in two weeks. C'mon. Do you really believe that? (Then again, why wouldn't they? The Pats have already lost one game in their last 28, right?!)

AND THEN, you made some sort of half-cocked reference to the Colts probably putting up 45 points on the board against New England in the playoffs "with the way the Patriots are playing." Huh? Correct me if I'm wrong, but since losing their two starting cornerbacks (and usually playing without their third cornerback as well) and routinely using a wide receiver and a back-up linebacker at db, the Patriots have held the Rams to 20 points in St. Louis (tough to do with a full complement of db's), held Drew Bledsoe below 100 yards passing while annihilating and embarrassing the Bills, held the Chiefs to 19 points in Kansas City (even harder to do than holding down the Rams in St. Louis), essentially shut out the Ravens (yielding only a field goal after 30 yards of penalties on the same play), and held the Browns (who, granted, suck) to 7 points before pulling all of their healthy starters before finally having a tough day on defense against the Bengals. So I guess my final question is a two-parter... 1) What evidence exists that the Patriots' defense is prone to struggles? 2) Aren't they only likely to get even better as their three cornerbacks return from injury, all presumably before they would meet the Colts in the playoffs? (Oh yeah, and don't forget that the Colts are like 0-71 with Manning against the Pats and always give up a ton of points.)

Sometimes, all I can do is shake my head as I think about your web site while standing in my crease and watching my teammates in their winged helmets pepper the goalie at the other end of the ice!

Faithfully Yours,
Al Montoya
Ann Arbor, MI"

You're right, I probably won't pick against the Jets because I think they CAN win all of their remaining games. And I do think the Jets will beat New England next week at home. But we'll get to that next week. I'll watch the Patriots' defense this week against Miami and make another judgment before they play the Jets, but the fact is, their defense has not been as good overall this season as in the past (I know, they're 12-1, blah, blah, how can their defense not be that good!?!? It hasn't, I'm sure, if you look at the stats, and from what I saw of last week's game [admittedly, not much], they look like they're slipping, rather than improving.) I'll re-evaluate after Monday night's game. Let's move on....that's not the last we heard from Al. We'll get back to him.

"Dear JohnnyJets,

For entertainment purposes only, how do you think the Steelers, Eagles, and Pats will finish the season?

Is it possible there will be 3 teams at 15-1? Would that be historic?

Have you done the math to figure out who the Jets might face in the playoffs? Could they beat the Colts on the road?

Is your wife ranked No. 1 in the world yet? Have you ever ranked No. 1 in the world in anything? Spelling, maybe? Or blogging?
Dave"

Thanks for writing Dave. A quick look at the remaining skeds -
NE - Miami, Jets, 49ers - 2-1 (loss to Jets), finish 14-2.
PIT - Giants, Ravens, Bills - 2-1 (Bills or Ravens might pull the upset), finish 14-2
PHI - Cowboys, Rams, Bengals -2-1 (I think the Rams or Bengals pull off upsets - Bengals perhaps because of rested starters) - finish 14-2

I haven't done the math on who the Jets would face, but figure the Jets get the wild card (which is still a risky gamble), and figure NE and PIT get byes...the Jets can beat either San Diego or Indy on the road. The Jets already beat the Chargers at San Diego this year, and the Jets have proven in the past they can win in Indy. And although I picked the Colts to win the AFC, if the Jets face them in the first round, I can see the Jets winning. Remember 41-0 a couple of years ago? And that was with Ted Cottrell as the defensive coordinator - the Jets have a better defense this year. The interesting thing about the Jets playoff hopes this year is that they can win in New England, in Pittsburgh, and in Indianapolis or San Diego. So it's a long shot to get to the World Series as a wild card, but the Jets could do it this year....but let's worry first about beating Seattle and earning a playoff spot first.

As for your other questions: after last week's setback, unless The Wife hits 16 this week, she will not be ranked number one in the world (she is, however, in the playoffs in fantasy football. I am not.). I've never ranked number one in the world in anything...I won my school's spelling bee, but lost the District spelling bee, so scratch spelling. Not blogging, there are far better bloggers, I'm sure. I still manage to maintain something of a life. I've never even been on a Little League championship team. We came close once - we went 16-0, then lost in the playoffs.............man. That's a sad memory. I have gotten birthday cards telling me I'm #1 though, so I must be number one in something in the world.

Thanks for writing Dave. Kevin has written back with a qualifier on last week's abbreviation:

"JJDBSDC

Johhny
Jets
Dot
Blog
Spot
Dot
Com

Its not vulgar...but that's for assuming that since it was from me, it was. Probably a good guess.

kevin"

Thanks Kevin. I like it. Maybe I'll put JJDBSDC on my merchandise.

OK. One more time from Al:

"Where are the picks? And where are the email replies? Tuesday came and went without email replies. (And I don't want to read any excuses like, "I replied to emails on Monday." If you choose to do that, it should not count as a replacement, we faithful readers should get an EXTRA DAY of email replies!)

This web site has really gone downhill in recent days!

By the way, what are the chances that you're a Mets fan as well? (That sure is a swell looking stadium they have in Flushing Meadows, but I digress...) If so, I want you to know that I wish you nothing but joy and happiness for the next four years with the lying, crying, whiny, manipulative, backstabbing, hypocritical primadonna pitcher! (One other thing, I happen to know a Boston reporter who went to Shea for the Pedro press conference. He said he has never encountered worse people than the New York media types. The photographers were bossing people around and pushing people out of the way. And at one point, one of the NY reporters snapped at my friend, "ENOUGH BOSTON QUESTIONS!!!" Great place, that New York! I can't wait to play there.)

-Al Montoya
Ann Arbor, MI"

If I ever get e-mail on consecutive days, rest assured I will post them that day. Tuesday is the regular e-mail day, but there will be follow-ups...sadly, it's just that people hadn't been writing me, so I hadn't checked the mailbag. I will be more vigilant.

And Al, you know darn well I am a Mets fan. Well, maybe was a Mets fan. I can't decide yet. Because I don't know if I can take four years of Pedro Martinez. All we need to know about Pedro is he spent his entire welcome to the Mets press conference badmouthing the Red Sox. Show a little class, jerk. You sound awfully offended by the reaction to the media...you sound a lot more like a member of the media than the future goaltender of the New York Rangers...just saying...is Al Montoya your real name?

By the way, Al - How about those BU Terriers beating your alma mater, Michigan, at Michigan, for the second year in a row?!?!?! GO BU!!

OK. Time to get some other work done. Then I'll step up the blogging for the playoffs - and maybe take my spot as #1 blogger!!!!!!! Go Jets.