Playoff preview -- The Blackhole awaits the Jets

This year, the Oakland Raiders were the head of the pack in a season marked by potent offenses that spread out the field.

Their quarterback Rich Gannon led the league with 4,689 passing yards, 26 TDs, with only 10 Interceptions.

Now with the best record in the AFC, Oakland must face the New York Jets for the fourth time in 53 weeks. The Jets have improved mightily since their last game against the Raiders in week 13, when Oakland defeated them 26-20.

The Raiders will not change their philosophy on offense. They will pass, pass, and then pass some more, because they are the No. 1 aerial attack in the NFL with 279.7 yards per game.

As they have done all season, Oakland will use screen plays as rushing plays, based on the good speed and blocking their offensive line produces.

The Jets will be forced to use five or six defensive backs all the time to account for the lack speed they have at the line backer position, and to watch out for up-coming star, third wide receiver Jerry Porter, who can be as lethal as legends Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.

New York also must improve their pass rushing this week, and at least bother Rich Gannon a little. If not, his incredible accuracy will bury them.

The Jets will be visitors against Oakland for the fourth time in a row, exactly one year after their last playoff game at the Blackhole. Perhaps they might feel a comfortable now with the nice and gentle ambience the Raiders fans create for visitors.

As a team that likes to run-first to set up the play-action pass, the Jets might have to vary their north-to-south rushing with Curtis Martin, because the best run-stoppers of Oakland are in the middle of the defense. Thus, expect to see LaMont Jordan take a few carries at the start of the game, and try to run sweeps to stay away from the middle.

That should allow the passing game to open up against a questionable secondary that allowed 220.4 yard per game through the air.

New York needs to control the ball, not to tire the Raiders defense, but to rest theirs, and keep Gannon in the sidelines.

Oakland's defense, meanwhile, will surely try to play physical against New York's versatile receiving squad.

On special teams the Raiders have been weak all season, and the Jets have one of the best punt returners and kick returns, in Santa Moss and Chad Morton, respectively. However their punter, Matt Turk, will play again with strained stomach muscles, so some of his kicks might come up short as they did last week against the Colts.

To wrap this up, Oakland's offense will be hard to stop, but I think that somehow the Jets (I'm being gutsy here more than analytical) will pull out the win, and the Raiders will once again fall short of the Conference Championship title and a trip to the Super Bowl.