Projections Based on Obsolete Data

If I were a Jets fan, I would probably believe this.

Most of it is really smart, as it displays some real insight on the Jets' roster, and real football knowledge.  That's why I include the link: This writer does not suck.

However, he makes the same mistake I have made in the past (I think less often recently):  He doesn't do enough research on the OTHER team.

This guy predicts a bunch of sack records for the Jets when they play the Browns.

This guy is right to think that the Jets should have a scary pass rush in general.  What bothered me was that he picked out the Cleveland Browns as the team they would go apeshit on.

He stipulated Joe Thomas, but essentially labelled the rest of the Browns line "Joe", because Schwartze and Mack are gone.

In reality, the Browns retain two top ten guards.  When PFF ranked Mack in the middle among centers, it's downright dumb to label Cam Erving a downgrade at center entering his second season, and FOUR veteran and rookie players are competing to replace Schwartze in a new blocking scheme.

With a head coach who lately had Andy Dalton running rollouts and read-option to minimize pocket passing, it's not wise to expect your passrushers to have a pocket to attack.

With RG3 the presumptive starter (ergo MORE running around and LESS pocket passing), one has to feel even more confused about why this guy expects sack records against this particular team.

I need to mention here that a strong running game makes it harder for a defense to get sacks.  In this article, I didn't read any predictions about Hue Jackson not having a respectable running game for the first time in his career.

This writer reminds me of me a long time ago.  He knows his team by heart, but he shoots from the hip otherwise.

I use him to make a broader point:

The Cleveland Browns seem to be everybody else's go-to punching bag, but it's all being based on another set of coaches, and at least twenty players who will no longer be on this roster.

If Chris Palmer were the Browns head coach, poor RG3 would be set up right and proper for that Jets pass rush.

But he isn't, and this Jets writer shouldn't get his hopes up.