Retired quarterback Trent Dilfer mastered the art of game management during his only season with the Ravens in 2000.
He wasn't asked to be a hero with the offense, and he laid back, played cautiously and didn't beat himself. Baltimore's historically great defense and the league's fifth-ranked running game took care of the rest, and the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
Dilfer was such an unlikely Super Bowl winner that the Ravens parted ways with him after that season, and he still went on to play seven more years in the NFL.
The Jets have a similar philosophy with second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez, the league's fourth-ranked rushing offense and a defense that is pretty good but not great. Therein lies their problem.
"It's a good formula if you have a dominant defense," said Dilfer, who is now an ESPN analyst. "Not a good defense — a dominant defense."
Dilfer doesn't particularly like the Jets' chances to pull off an upset Sunday at Gillette Stadium, but in order to do so, he said they'll need three separate touchdown drives that span at least eight plays in order to keep the ball out of Tom Brady's hands.
That, and Sanchez will need to "extend plays" and complete 65 percent of his passes, which Dilfer said is "not [Sanchez's] strength."
Sanchez and the Jets have drawn comparisons to Dilfer and the 2000 Ravens, and while the former Baltimore quarterback seems to understand them, it doesn't sound like he thinks Sanchez or the Jets are anywhere near the same level.
