All eyes will be on QB Mark Sanchez tonight as he'll make his first start since being officially named the Jets' starting quarterback. Cross-town rivals, the New York Giants, will represent a formidable test for Sanchez, who struggled against the Ravens' starting defense on Monday. The Giants will be coming off a 17-3 loss to the Chicago Bears and will be obviously looking for some kind of redemption.
WR David Clowney, also known as Mr. August for his preseason heroics, will get more playing time with the first team. This might give us an answer whether the Gang Green will be looking for a proven veteran receiver on the free agent market. Just like last year, when he missed most of regular season due to an injury, Clowney has been the star of preseason. He has caught 5 passes for 135 yards, 2 TDs.
LB Vernon Gholston will get his first NFL start in what might be one of his last chances to prove that he still could be the player the Jets were hoping to get when they drafted him in 2007. Gholston has looked shaky in preseason thus far, registering only 3 tackles (1 solo) in 2 games. Gholston is also expected to replace LB Calvin Pace, who's suspended for the first four regular season games, when the season begins. Although, undrafted rookie LB Jamaal Westerman might be pushing for the job as well.
The saga of finding a decent punter will continue as well. The Jets cut another candidate earlier this week and claimed P Glenn Pakulak off waivers from the New Orleans Saints on Friday. P Reggie Hodges remains the only punter who's been on the roster since the start of training camp.
The Jets' secondary is certainly another area we'll be looking at closely. CB Dwight Lowery, who looked unexpectedly impressive early last season, has been very inconsistemt and sometimes just dread awful. CB Drew Coleman has looked impressive most of the time, but occasionally got beaten on big plays. If either CB Darrelle Revis or CB Lito Sheppard suffers an injury, the Gang Green might be in deep trouble without at least moderately capable depth.
It's expected to rain tonight in Meadowlands. If you live in the NYC area, you can catch the game tonight at 8pm est on the local NBC channel.