NFL Betting Odds – Kris Jenkins ACL Tear Inconsequential To Jets

The New York Jets were embarrassed on Monday Night Football in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but they also lost a key component to their coveted 3-4 defense. Kris Jenkins, who lasted just six games in 2009, was carried off the field after tearing his ACL and will be gone for the rest of the season. While the loss of Jenkins hurts, he’s not the biggest concern for the NFL betting odds of the New York Jets.

All things considered, the Jets defense is in damn good shape with or without Jenkins. It’s one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Matt Kroul will slide in to the starting nose tackle job but will still be surrounded by guys like Jason Taylor, Bart Scott and Shaun Ellis. You can’t necessarily replace a guy like Jenkins in the 3-4 formation, but you can definitely make up for his absence and that’s what the Jets will have to do.

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The problem, however, isn’t the loss of Jenkins on the defense side. The bigger issue is the loss of Alan Faneca on the offensive line. Second-year player Matt Slauson, who fills the left-guard spot on the offensive line, was flattened, shoved and embarrassed all night long by the terrorizing front-four of the Ravens. And Matt Sanchez suffered for it.

Slauson sits right between center Nick Mangold and left-tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, both of whom received comfy contract extensions this year. I still don’t get why the Jets released Faneca in an uncapped year when they had plenty of money to spend. Sure I’m crying over spilled milk, but the Jets have made it very clear they’re gunning for the Super Bowl this year. Why would they risk their NFL betting odds this year with an unproven and inexperienced left-guard?

Either the Jets overvalued what Mark Sanchez really was or the entire NFL betting community saw something that the franchise didn’t. People call him the “Sanchize” but I prefer to call him “Dirty Sanchez”, frankly because he stinks. On Monday Night he went 10-for-21 with 74 passing yards and led a pathetic offensive effort that only notched 6 first downs.

Don’t be misled by the score of the game either. The Jets may have lost just 10-9 but at no point did I ever feel like they were in a comfortable lead. Sanchez looked rattled early on, and Shonn Greene made everyone wish Thomas Jones was still in town. All Greene proved on Monday Night was his inexperience as he coughed up two fumbles and botched important third down conversions.

The big news today may be that Kris Jenkins is out for the season, but he defense is talented enough to absorb that loss. I don’t think the offense can make up for the loss of Alan Faneca, and took an unnecessary risk by not paying Faneca in an UNCAPPED YEAR to keep him on the team.

The question now is whether or not he NFL betting public decides to risk their hard earned gambling dollars on the Jets moving forward. Because their next game is against the Jets, and Slauson painted a big, fat target on his back and Uncle Bill Belichik is going to focus on all week.

When it comes to betting the NFL odds, every suspicion I had about the New York Jets was realized on Monday Night. I’m staying the hell away from them until I see some reason to believe all this hype.

Bet on the NFL’s Week 2 lines here!