War Room Positional Matchups

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Posted: Friday January 15, 1999 03:04 PM

The War Room breaks down Sunday's AFC Championship game between the New York Jets and Denver Broncos position by position, with those matchups leading up to an overall edge.

Quarterback

This championship matchup puts a quarterback who started the season as a reserve up against a future Hall of Famer. Vinny Testaverde stood next to Bill Parcells on the sidelines and seemed content to be holding the clipboard in a backup role before shining in relief of struggling starter Glenn Foley. Match him against a quarterback who began the season contemplating retirement after winning the Super Bowl before enthusiastically leading the title defense for Denver. The title defense began with 13 straight wins, cruising into this title game with a 15-2 record.

John Elway had a tremendously productive season, but Denver continued to roll when Bubby Brister stepped in for a few weeks with Elway ailing. Elway continues to be the master of Mile High with his confidence, leadership and knack for comeback victories, especially in big games. Vinny has confidently led the Jets with tremendous efficiency and productivity to the AFC Championship Game. Testaverde has matured this season as a quarterback and leader bringing good decision-making and a calm confidence to his game. No one has ever questioned Testaverde’s arm or the ability to make all the throws but returning home to New York he has truly found a comfort zone at the helm this year.

Elway remains one of the toughest competitors and greatest leaders of all time. With a great arm an a few big plays left in his legs Elway will be tough to defend leading this potent Broncos offense. Denver has a huge home-field advantage that, when added to Elway’s big-game experience, will be too much for Testaverde, no matter how well he has played this season, to overcome. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos.

Running Back

The marquee backs toting the rock in this AFC Championship both have outstanding talent and Super Bowl experience. The New York Jets brought in Curtis Martin -- not just because he played for New England in Super Bowl XXXI, but also because his strong ball-control style of running also includes enough game speed to be a big-play threat. In short, he is a Bill Parcells kind of runner. Martin had an excellent playoff game rushing for 124 yards and two touchdowns against Jacksonville.

Lining up opposite Martin is NFL MVP and defending Super Bowl MVP Terrell Davis. Davis has already established himself as one of the premiere running backs of all time, finishing 1998 with over 2,000 yards and a multitude of awards. Last week, Davis was awesome, gaining 199 yards on 21 carries with a pair of touchdowns in Denver’s total domination of Miami. We will witness two outstanding RBs in Mile High but give the advantage to the MVP of the league. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos.

Wide Receiver

"Give me the damn ball!" Well, Vinny and the Jets did just that and brash Keyshawn Johnson responded big-time. Selected to the Pro Bowl and earning high marks for his blocking, Johnson has become a huge asset for the Jets in a number of ways. Just look at the little things in the Jets' win over the Jaguars to evaluate Johnson’s contributions. First, Johnson had nine catches for 121 yards and a TD. Second, he ran two reverses, with one going for a TD. Finally, Keyshawn showed the hustle and effort of keys blocks, fumble recovery to regain possession for New York and an interception on the Jaguars final offensive “Hail Mary” throw downfield. Not bad, especially when the other starter is Wayne “Mr. Overachiever” Chrebet. Chrebet also played at a Pro Bowl level this season also contributing in a number of ways in addition to receptions. Dedric Ward is a solid contributor as the third receiver.

Denver will line up with Pro Bowler Ed McCaffrey on one side and speedster Rod Smith on the other. “Easy Ed,” whose crisp routes, great hands and deceptive speed continually burn defenders, is a favorite target of John Elway. Just when defenses are stepping up to stop the run or leaning on McCaffrey, Elway will air one out to Rod Smith. Smith has quietly become a dynamic deep threat on a team loaded with offensive weapons. Denver’s depth is good as solid receiver Willie Green and rookie Marcus Nash are waiting in the wings for the Broncos. Again both units are outstanding but give Denver the nod as their starters have all experienced winning a Super Bowl and are tough at home. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos

Tight End

This unit is not as close as some of the other matchups with perennial All-Pro Shannon Sharpe outclassing the improving Kyle Brady. Brady has become an often looked to target of Testaverde and performed well this season. The Penn Stater is a solid blocker and has a knack of creating passing lanes underneath zone coverage but can be taken out of the passing offense by Denver’s linebackers freeing up the safeties to help on the wide receivers or stopping the run.

Sharpe is a devastating receiver as a tight end causing match up problems for the Broncos opponents and will be the focal point of the Jets safeties and linebackers as one of Elway’s potent offensive weapons. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos.

Offensive line

One of the keys to the tremendous production and offensive balance of the third-ranked offense in the NFL has been the play of the offensive line. This group has averaged 155 yards on the ground and protected the passer to the tune of 226 yards per game in 1998. Denver’s front five have been incredibly consistent establishing the line of scrimmage for the running attack that is both powerful and explosive.

The Jets offensive line is one of the few units that remained intact all season and thusly have developed into a very cohesive group. Led in the middle by free agent Kevin Mawae, these five players have become warriors by withstanding many tough battles. They gave up too many sacks this season but began tightening up down the stretch providing better protection and paving the way for the run game, finishing as the fourth-best offense in the league.

The offensive line play may determine control of the line of scrimmage, time of possession and ultimately the outcome of the game. Both coaches realize it is the playoffs and philosophically believe that running the ball can determine the outcome in close games. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos.

Defensive line

The Broncos front four have contributed to an outstandingly low average of allowing only 80 yards per game on the ground. Defensive ends Neil Smith and Maa Tanuvasa as well as tackles Trevor Pryce and Keith Traylor combine to create a formidable front four. This group is healthy and will look to stuff Curtis Martin and the Jets' run game, forcing Vinny Testaverde to beat them through the air. The charge will be for the Bronco front four to add to the sack total given up by the Jets O-line by pressuring Vinny. This group has not been particularly effective with only an average pass rush.

The Jets' defensive front has been solid this season in a scheme that gets the linebackers the tackles if the line does their job. Last week the Jaguars rookie RB Fred Taylor had 86 yards on 20 carries. If the Jets can hold Davis to those type of numbers it would bode well for New York. The pass rush has been solid this season, at times even heavy, and against John Elway the Jets will need to pressure him all day or he will kill you. WAR ROOM EDGE: Jets

Linebackers:

The Jets have a solid veteran group at linebacker with Mo Lewis, Pepper Johnson and brash Bryan Cox. The Jets have been strong against the run and utilizing Bill Belichick’s blitz schemes to provide good pressure on the quarterback.

Denver has a tough group at linebacker with athletic ability. Bill Romanowski, Glen Cadrez and John Mobley play well as a group especially against the run but they have surrendered too many yards in the pass game this season. That statistic can be deceiving as often teams rack up yards playing from behind throwing underneath against soft coverage. Both of these linebacker corps have excellent big game experience. WAR ROOM EDGE: Even -– stuffing the run is key in this one.

Defensive Backs

Denver has a solid secondary that has given up serious yardage through the air but has created 30 turnovers, including 19 interceptions. The Broncos pass defense ranks 26th in the league, giving up 228 yards per game but remember many of those yards came as opponents were airing it out against soft zone defense playing with a big lead on the scoreboard.

The Jets have good cover corners and a solid nickel cover guy in Ray Mickens to assist against three-receiver sets. This group was in the upper tier in the league in allowing yardage (190 per game) while getting 21 interceptions with the Broncos pass defense near the bottom of the NFL (228 yards per game) while snaring 19 interceptions. The Denver group is more physical and matches up well with the New York receivers while the Jets secondary is smallish with speed giving them a slight edge. WAR ROOM EDGE: Jets.

Special Teams

The Jets place-kicker is a dual threat, both as a scorer hitting field goals and extra points as well as booming his kickoffs. That could be a big key as Jets coverage units have not been consistent or impressive allowing too much return yardage. Denver counters with record setter Jason Elam, who is especially tough in the elements at Mile High Stadium. The Broncos punter Tom Rouen and New York’s John Kidd are both experienced veterans and both provide solid directional punting.

The Broncos have explosive Darrien Gordon catching punts and steady Vaughn Hebron returning kicks. These two give Denver a dangerous duo for New York to contend with. New York has excellent return men in Dedric Ward and Aaron Glenn, but Glenn is coming off his high ankle sprain and the Jets will utilize newly signed veteran David Meggett to catch punts against a solid Denver coverage unit. Meggett’s big game experience is a huge plus for the Jets. The Broncos have also been susceptible to a let down allowing for big returns but expect the high level of intensity to keep both teams focused on every snap. The Broncos will gain a slight edge with their familiarity of the Mile High elements and the amazing thin air of Colorado. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos.

The War Room Edge

These are clearly the best two teams in the AFC, and if anyone can come into Denver and beat the Broncos, it’s the Jets. They are well-coached, they have good offensive balance, and they are peaking at the right time. However, the Broncos are an experienced veteran team that are very focused on their goal of winning back-to-back Super Bowls, and it may be unrealistic to envision anyone beating them in Denver.

A key to this game will be who runs the ball the best, and controls the clock and flow of the game. The Jets cannot afford to give up big plays, and Curtis Martin needs a huge day for them to have any chance. If the game is left in Vinny’s hands, or if Terrell Davis has a big day for the Broncos, this game won’t be that close. WAR ROOM EDGE: Broncos.