5* NY JETS over Indianapolis
Despite getting the win last week, Indianapolis allowed a whopping 343 yards at 6.1 yards per play to lowly San Diego, including 248 through the air at 8.6 yards per pass. We fully expect Pennington and rookie Ricky Ray to have success against them today. While Ray might classify as a “rookie,†he actually has significant playing experience having two years under his belt with the Edmonton Eskimos, including his championship run last year when Edmonton won the Gray Cup. Ray completed 348-of-515 pass attempts (67.6 per cent) for 4,640 yards for Edmonton last year with 35 touchdowns, and in 2002 as a CFL rookie, Ray was 227-of-350 passing (63.2 per cent) for 2,991 yards with 24 TDs. The level of talent he will be facing in the second half of this game will not be all that much different from what he succeeded against in Edmonton. Technically, this game is a landslide for the Jets. First, home favorites like Indianapolis that are off a road SU win are just 5-22 ATS last 10 seasons if they are playing a conference opponent. The Jets are 18-4 ATS vs opp off SU & ATS win, 17-2 ATS vs .333 or greater opp, and 16-5 ATS as dogs of 4 or more points. What’s more, Indianapolis themselves are just 0-4-1 ATS at home off a SU road win last few years and 3-8-1 ATS in preseason games after scoring 20 or more pts last game. Oh year, they are also just 3-6-1 ATS as home favorites in recent years. Jets head coach Herm Edwards is a solid preseason coach at 9-5 ATS in his career, and he is also 5-2 ATS as a preseason dog. Throw in the Jets 3-0 ATS mark on the road off a road game, their 9-4 ATS mark as preseason dogs, and their incredible 9-1 ATS mark after scoring 16 or less pts, and we have a definite play on the road team in this one! HANDICAPPED LINE: Jets (+4)