(Note: Due to time constraints, I was unable to put together first Sports Cartel series, but if you’d like to check out the Patriots fan’s take on the game, you can see it at LandofPatriots.com)

Take a deep breath and smell the charcoal in the morning air. Listen for the snap of beer bottle and cans being opened across America. Wake up the Cheeseheads, the Black Hole and Fireman Ed.

The 2007 season opener is here and to quote Andrew Gross, “we’ve been previewing it since January.”

And for Jets fans, is there a better way to kick it off? Not likely.

If this season is going to mean much of anything, the Jets will have to beat big brother New England at some point, and with a brutal September (October, November and December) schedule awaiting them, it’s good to find out right off the bat if the Green and White can compete with everyone’s Super Bowl favorite.

The question begs to be answered: Can they?

Sure they can.

A monumental task for sure in which a victory could mean a monumental season, but perhaps I’m getting carried away, so here is a preview of the first week of the season:

DEFENSE: Against the run

The Jets have to come up with a way to beat back the demons that derailed their 2006 season and stop the run. In the Patriots two victories over the Jets last season, they controlled the clock (and the game) by shoving Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon down the Jets’ collective throats. This season, there’s no Dillon to speak of, but Maroney is expected to carry the load on his own this year, and certainly has the talent to do so. Expect to see Kerry Rhodes creep toward the box a good deal and David Harris to get a lot of playing time on obvious run downs—the rookie showed during the preseason that he’s a tackling machine born for the 3-4.

As always, though, the key to stopping the run starts with the defensive line. Cowboys import Kenyon Coleman and stalwarts Dewayne Robertson and Shaun Ellis will have to control the line of scrimmage against a Patriots offensive line that is very good (but is not underrated, so stop saying that Pats fans. If you’re calling something a strength for 3 years straight and end up on VISA commercials, you’re not underrated. Okay, now that we got that out of the way…). Robertson will have to play big against the interior of the Pats line (C Dan Koppen, Gs Logan Mankins and Stephen Neal) and hold one or two of them on the line in order to allow the Jets linebackers, particularly Jonathon Vilma, to make plays against the run. If Robertson can do that, there could be an upset in the air.

DEFENSE: Against the pass

Of course this season, stopping the run is just a prelude to stopping The Immortal One… Oh, sorry, I mean Tom Brady. I got caught up in PatSpeak. Look, yes Brady has a lot more weapons this year (WRs Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth), and yes, he’s still a Jets killer (6-0 in The Meadowlands, 10-2 overall), but he’s not invincible. There’s a way to get to Brady and it’s the same way you get to most quarterbacks: pressure. In the Jets lone victory against Brady and the Pats last year, they succeeded mostly because they were able to get pressure on Brady. Ellis and linebacker Bryan Thomas had a sack each and the Jets were constantly in Brady’s face, no better symbolized than by the final image of Brady planted on his rear in the mud as the Jets celebrated their victory.

Look for the Jets to get more coverage sacks this year than last because of the presence of potential shutdown cornerback, rookie Darrelle Revis. While it’s difficult to expect a rookie to be able to cover an All-Pro wideout in Moss, or a dangerous deep threat the likes of Stallworth, or even a shifty slot man like Welker, he has shown in his short time in a Jets uniform that he has the natural ability to play on this level, and play well. In addition to Revis, the Jets secondary is deeper this year than it was a year ago. David Barrett, the likely starter opposite Revis, is finally healthy and had a very strong camp and preseason. Rhodes is an All-Pro in the making and if the Jets are to win this game, you can get Rhodes will have been a big part of that victory. Also, the progression of younger players like CB Justin Miller and S Eric Smith make the Jets a more dangerous unit in extra DB packages when they can put 6 defensive backs on the field and not have to worry about Drew Coleman covering Moss.

If Revis is ready, and I believe he is, I fully expect the Jets secondary to be able to hold their own against this Patriots passing offense.

OFFENSE: Running

New addition Thomas Jones is most effective carrying the ball 18-20 times a game and expect him to get all 20 of those carries this week. While last year the running game was used mainly to set up the Jets playaction game (a must against a prepared and talented New England defense) and to keep the defense honest, this year, Jones will not only do that but actually provide a punch of his own against a Patriot front 7 that is missing it’s best player in defensive end Richard Seymour (PUP). Jones is a straight-forward runner with good cutback ability but will not remind anyone of Reggie Bush or even Curtis Martin. He’ll run between the tackles and even over the edge, but Jones will take what the line gives him. It’ll be important that the offensive line creates holes for Jones, because he’s unlikely to create something out of nothing (see his Arizona career) and here’s where rookie LG Jacob Bender comes in handy. Bender is a mauler, a beast of a run blocker who looks to put whoever he’s blocking into the ground on nearly every play. If Bender can overcome the nerves of his first professional game (and possible start), the Jets could look to run behind him and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson a lot.

For all of Jones’ mass and muscle, he’s not particularly strong at the point of contact, and is not one of those runners that will drag tacklers with him for several yards. However, he’s also not a bruiser back in the sense that he’s unable to break a big run. Jones has good breakaway speed for a back of his size and if he finds a crease in a defense, he explodes through it as he did in the Super Bowl against Indianapolis. With new FB Darien Barnes blocking for him (and just waiting to pancake someone), Jones could see a lot of holes along the line, although getting past that New England linebacking corps is an entirely other story.

Leon Washington will likely take the ball when Jones doesn’t and will most likely see 8-10 carries this game. However, his impact most likely will be in the passing game, so we’ll cover that next.

OFFENSE: Passing

For all the talk about how much of an impact the Patriots new weapons will have on Tom Brady in this rivalry, there’s been little talk about how much of an impact Jones will have on QB Chad Pennington. Let’s not forget folks that prior to last season, Pennington was one of the best, if not the best, playaction quarterbacks in the league. Last season, with the lack of a running game, he was stripped of that ability, losing his best weapon. Pennington will never wow you with arm strength, but he will beat you with intelligence and intangibles and the deadly play-fake that Pennington possesses is crucial to his game. In some respects, it’s like Pennington was half-a-player last year without his signature move. Expect him and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to put playaction into play (hah!) a lot more this game than they did in the first meeting last year.

Now, while Jones is the big addition, Washington will make the big impact. Washington has dangerous, game-breaking speed and quickness and the moves to match. He’s deadly in open space and can make nearly anyone miss. The Jets have no problem lining him up wide (ask the Giants) or dropping him 5 yards from scrimmage on a simple dump off (ask the Dolphins). He is a matchup problem wherever they line him up on the field and that allows Schottenheimer to be very creative with his formations and play calling, much the way Reggie Bush does for Sean Payton in New Orleans. If the Jets are going to beat New England, then Washington is going to be a main reason why.

All this talk about the passing offense and still not a mention of the Jets rejuvenated, revamped receiving corps, a group that runs five deep. No, they don’t have the resume of the Patriots’ crew but by the end of the year, experts will be talking about how good the group is one through five. The Patriots are well aware of Laveranues Coles and Pats-killer Jerricho Cotchery (WE FINALLY HAVE ONE!!), but expect the New England secondary to get very familiar with slot receiver Justin McCareins this game. A Jet for the past three years, McCareins has never entered a season like he enters this one. He had an outstanding camp and preseason and is primed to be a difference maker in the slot, forcing teams to stay honest on the outside and create room for Coles and Cotchery.

When the Jets go wide and deploy all their wideout weapons (some alliteration for ya), second-year WR Brad Smith and rookie WR Chansi Stuckey will see the field, and the Patriots will get a taste of the two young, exciting players. Both have incredible athleticism and while Smith has more speed, Stuckey has very good hands and has turned out to be a steal of a seventh round pick.

Patriots fans, and that includes the national media (take that ESPN), are going into this game wondering how the Jets are going to control the Pats passing game. Well, answer me this: How are the Pats going to stop the Jets through the air? The Jets have multiple weapons capable of burning the Pats, a smart quarterback, and a creative offensive coordinator. I don’t know New England, sounds a little troublesome.

OVERALL

This won’t be easy, Jets fans. It’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out AFC East divisional brawl of a game. It will be as mentally exhausting as it will physically and whichever team loses, their season won’t be over…BUT, and this is a huge but, the Jets are not the pushovers the world labels them as. They’re a talented, well-coached football team hungry to prove that they belong in the AFC playoff chase. That’s a dangerous combination and I have a sneaking suspicion that the final score will read:

Jets: 24
Patriots: 21

The Nooge boots a 47-yarder through the uprights as time expires. Just saying. It could happen.