ESPN Tom Jackson picked Pats to inspire Jets?

Maybe he’s trying to land the coveted MLB gig that Joe Morgan used to have?

After being called out by New York Jets LB Bart Scott, ESPN Analyst Tom Jackson, who picked the New England Patriots to beat the Jets 30-10, took to the airwaves to explain that in picking the Patriots, he was merely trying to motivate the Jets.

“It was done pre-meditated,” he told “Mike and Mike in the Morning.”

“[Sunday] I played a bit of a psychological game with the Jets. It’s something that I need to explain. I thought that more important to the Jets than hearing another score of ’24-21, they have a chance to win,’ was that it was important that they have in their mind, ‘you got beat 45 to 3. A large segment of the population believes that can happen to you again.’

“[The Jets] are all watching [ESPN Sunday ‘NFL Countdown’ before the game]. I wanted to further fuel and cement them in that bunker mentality of us against the world. […]“As a defensive player, I certainly knew that they had a chance to win and I thought that they certainly might win the game. But I knew when they saw 30-10 that I think they would be reminded of what most people were feeling. And I knew they needed to be a little angrier going on the field.”

Wow. What to say here? Jackson should have simply buried his head and took the bad pick like a man, rather than claiming he was trying to motivate the Jets.

No word on which team Jackson is picking for this week’s game yet.