In our ongoing quest to bring you the vital (and not-so-vital) knowledge from around the league, this is the first of a weekly series where I'll preview the games of the weekend with some analysis, some observations, and some lame attempts at humor.

But before I get to that, please allow me to jinx myself: Since Week 5, I've been picking all the games each Friday over on my site, and I've recently hit a major hot streak. After three straight 11-3 weeks, I pulled off a 13-2-1 record last week. That's a 46-11-1 run. I like to tell myself it's taken me a half-season to find my groove, and now I know the teams so well I can keep this up, but I know the NFL gods are just getting me fattened up like a Thanksgiving turkey, so they can lay a nice 7-9 week on me.

I'm already off to a good start this week (I picked the Steelers in the Thursday night game -- you'll just have to trust me), so now I'm all set up to fall flat on my face. And you've got a front row seat.

NY Jets (7-3) at Tennessee (10-0)

Everybody knows the Titans win, for the most part, based on their great defense and running game. Here are three little known facts about that:

1) The Jets have more sacks than the Titans. 2) The Jets have allowed less rushing yards than the Titans. 3) The Jets average just seven rushing yards less per game than the Titans.

Interesting, no? In case those numbers failed to sway you, here are three more factors why I think the Jets will take down the Titans this week:

1) The Jets are capable of putting up a lot of points, and taking the Titans out of their game a bit. 2) The Jets will have had 10 days off to prepare for Tennessee. 3) The Titans have been a little shaky in the running game of late. Collins has made up for it so far, but I don’t think he can do that every week. Especially if Kris Jenkins is laying on top of him.

The pick: JETS

Buffalo (5-5) at Kansas City (1-9)

It’s amazing how quickly Trent Edwards’s stock has plummeted of late. Early on, he was getting all kinds of praise from fans and "How the hell did so many teams pass on him?"-type comments from analysts. Now he’s getting booed at home on Monday night while Ron Jaworski tears apart his play on national TV.

This is another reason why sports is so fascinating -- that kind of stuff never happens in real life. Can you imagine the eqivalent to that in real life? It would be like a young guy at work getting all kinds of praise when he gets his first opportunity ("Hey, that Phil is one crackerjack accountant. We put him on the Feldman account, and he really whipped that sucker into shape"), and then a few weeks later, everybody wants the guy demoted or fired ("Can you believe that douchebag Phil is late again today? What an ass he is -- his numbers were all way off last month and when I confronted him about it, he groped me inappropriately").

The pick: BILLS

Philadelphia (5-4-1) at Baltimore (6-4)

Philly fans are lucky their baseball team just won the world series, because they otherwise they might’ve been suicidal over the Eagles embarrassing showing at Cincy last weekend. The Iggles limped away with an ugly 13-13 tie which put a serious dent into their playoff hopes, which were sky high early in the season.

Shockingly, their offense was completely stymied by the lowly Bengals defense (75 minutes, 17 drives, 13 points), and Donovan McNabb’s TD/INT ratio took a major beating (Coming in: 13/5, Sunday: 1/3). There was even talk after the game that Andy Reid could give backup QB Kevin Kolb some playing time down the stretch.

So which is more shocking: a) the Eagles offensive meltdown, b) the Kolb rumor, c) the fact McNabb didn’t know there were ties in the NFL, or d) the fact that McNabb’s ignorance of the tie rule became the story of the week?

I’m going with e) the fact that McNabb wondered if they had ties in the playoffs and Super Bowl. I mean, seriously? You think the Super Bowl could be a tie? Are you insane?

The pick: TIE EAGLES

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Our previous episode of Know Thy Enemy covered the New York Giants.  In sticking with the New York teams, we may have a reason to further develop those rivalries.  It's old news, but back in early 2007, Der Kommissar Roger Goodell announced that the NFL's G3 program (financial loans for new stadiums) had run dry.  The reason?  The Jets and Giants are building a joint stadium that is costing just north of a billion dollars.  Most teams get $150 million, but this project saw 50% of it covered with G3 loans because they're a top 5 media market.  One more reason to root against the Giants and Jets, as if any more were necessary.

The Jets are currently unrepresented at SB Nation, so we'll just have to talk amongst ourselves.  In previous Know Thy Enemy's, opposing team message boards have occasionally picked them up.  I've thrown out some of the comments before so maybe a Jets message board will find some amusement from our little exercise.

Overview
After a rousing start to the Eric Mangini era in 2006 (10-6 and a playoff appearance), the Jets went in the crapper last season.  They finished 4-12 and nothing seemed to go right.  Chad Pennington has turned into a very injury-prone QB and so the Jets were hoping Kellen Clemens would step up and taking the starting job.  Clemens was less than impressive and once again, Clemens and Pennington will battle in training camp for the right to lead this ship.

Thomas Jones was brought in to bolster the running game and while he finished with another 1,000 yard season, he seemed to lack consistency and didn't have much of a nose for the end zone.  Throw in the 30th ranked defense against the run, and this was just one big mess.

Additions
The Jets welcome two new additions to their offensive line, all-world guard Alan Faneca and former center Damien Woody, who looks to be playing right tackle.  These additions to the offensive line should help Thomas Jones gain a little consistency, and if Chad Pennington wins the starting job, maybe they'll keep him from getting hurt too much.

The addition of the behemoth Kris Jenkins at nose tackle definitely can't hurt their efforts against the run.  He's had issues with his weight, but if he can keep things reasonable, he could be a big help to their defense.  And of course there's the freak, Vernon Gholston.  Their #4 overall pick is an athletic and physical specimen who has to convert that into production at the next level.  If he can turn his potential into production, Gholston could make a huge impact in their pass rush.

Subtractions
The Jets dealt away linebacker Jonathan Vilma to the New Orleans Saints, where he'll be starting at middle linebacker.  Vilma missed the last nine games of the 2007 season after surgery to clean out some fragments and bone chips.  When healthy, Vilma was a tackling machine, so we'll see if the addition of Calvin Pace can shore up the linebacking corp.

2008 Questions and Answers
Like the 49ers, who will win the QB battle?  Considering Pennington is injury-prone and lacking on the deep ball, I'd imagine the Jets are hoping and praying Kellen Clements steps up and takes the job with some gusto.  And of course there is that one wild card: Brett Favre.  Rumors were recently floating around that he had been given permission by the Packers to speak with the Jets.  It sounds like those rumors are dying a somewhat swift death (well as swift as anything can be in this long soap opera).  However, it is certainly something worth keeping an occasional eye on.

Can the defense get its act together?  The defense was pretty brutal last season and they will need to make a go of things if this team is going to improve.  The improvements on the offensive line should help get the offense going in some sort of positive direction.  But if the defense struggles, it won't matter because this offense is not built to win high scoring games.

@ San Francisco
The 49ers will be entering the home stretch of the 2008 season in this game.  Looking at their December schedule (vs. Jets, @ Dolphins, @ Rams, vs. Redskins), 3-1 is not out of the realm of possibility.  I definitely think this games falls into must win.  You have to win your home games when at all possible, and this is definitely a game they should be able to win. 

The Jets have the pieces in place to improve, but I think the 49ers bring more talent to the table.  An improved rush defense will be great for the Jets, but it won't matter against the 49ers rushing attack.  I think you feed Gore and Foster and get the hell out of the way.  I think Gore and Foster could very well combine for over 200 yards against the Jets.  Maybe it's some early season optimism talking but the 49ers come into this game battling for a playoff spot and take the Jets behind the woodshed 34-16.  And yes, I think considering how bad the 49ers have been, an 18 point victory qualifies as taking somebody behind the woodshed.