Breaking Down the New York Jets 2013 NFL Schedule: Quarter Two

Dec. 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie (31) against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Time to continue our quarter by quarter look at the upcoming schedule for the New York Jets. As we said before, yes, it’s early to look at the schedule, as there is quite a lot of work to be done on the rosters prior to week one. But, now that the draft is over, we have a roster framework in place, so we can look at the schedule and start to think about how it could go.

Yesterday, we took a look at the first quarter of the 2013 schedule.  This morning, we take a look at the second quarter of the schedule that Antonio Cromartie and company will be facing this fall.  Here it is:

at Atlanta (Mon Night)vs Pittsburghvs New Englandat Cincinnati

This is what could be a very ugly quarter of the year for our beloved New York Jets. It starts out on a Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons, and that will not be easy. It wasn’t going to be easy BEFORE the Falcons acquired Steven Jackson, and it certainly won’t be easy with added to that group. Matt Ryan now has Jackson running the football, and Julio Jones outside with Roddy White? It could be a very tough evening.

The next two weeks are at MetLife Stadium, but the opponents, in succession, are the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New England Patriots. We know how things have gone lately against the New England Patriots. We seem to play them better up there than at home. We play them close in Foxboro, and the rear-end kicking seems reserved for the games in New Jersey.

Pittsburgh? When are the Steelers ever an easy win? The answer is they are never an easy win. Are they beatable? No doubt. They have always been a physical team, as the Jets have tried to be during the Rex years. Similar styles lead to a winnable game. Seeing Jarvis Jones standing over likely Austin Howard, ready to eat our quarterback for an after dinner snack doesn’t help our cause. The game is certainly not one we can pencil in as a win.

Finally, the quarter ends with a game in Cincinnati against the Bengals. Andy Dalton and AJ Green were wonderful to watch last year, and they are only going to be better in their second season. Antonio Cromartie will have his hands full with him. Add them to the newly drafted weapons, Giovanni Bernard and Tyler Eifert, and you have quite the powerful offense at Paul Brown stadium.

All in all, this is a very tough stretch for the New York Jets. If Mark Sanchez earns the starting quarterback position out of training camp, we could see it coming to an end here. If the first quarter goes as poorly as it could, and this quarter goes badly, the move to Geno Smith could happen during this set of games.

This quarter has the potential of being 1-3, or even 0-4. The Jets will have to work hard to stay in contention while going through this tough set of games.