Raiders favored by two touchdowns over Jets, Jack Del Rio says spreads ‘mean nothing to us’

Someone on twitter today posed an interesting challenge. They said ‘without looking, how many Jets starters can you name?’ That’s... difficult. The Jets shipped off most of their veteran players worth anything this offseason, leaving them as a shell of a team appearing to be tanking the season.

It’s for that reason you won’t see a larger point spread than the 14-point one the Raiders currently have over them, according to numbers from Bovada.lv. The only other spread as big this week is Seattle over the 49ers.

The Jets figure to be pretty sizable underdogs all season as they set their sights on the number one overall pick in the 2018 draft. But it’s important not to take these things for granted. The Jets have been bad for a while and still managed to beat the Raiders two of their past three meetings. Some of the players on this team were here for those games and remember those defeats.

The players on the other team are still professionals and they still have pride. The organization may not be trying to put many wins together, but the players are going to be fighting with everything they have.

“Our motto is to basically respect every opponent, but fear nobody,” said Del Rio. “I got asked by the New York media a little bit about their team and the spread. Those things mean nothing to us. It’s about playing the game. It’s about understanding the challenges that you face. It’s about recognizing the talent in front of you. Strengths and weaknesses and going after them and preparing accordingly.”

If you were struggling with naming any or many starters on the Jets roster, their lone Pro Bowler is Defensive lineman Leonard Williams and one time Pro Bowler Muhammad Wilkerson. Then there’s top rookie safety Jamal Adams. On offense there’s Josh McCown at quarterback along with running back Matt Forte, and wide receiver Jermaine Kearse.

I got four of those without having to look.