Ravens will give Jets idea of who they are

It's only a matter of time before we know if Sunday's loss to the Raiders was just an aberration by the Bay, with the Jets being vacuumed into "The Black Hole."

Going down in flames in Oakland seemed to leave some players with a sense of humiliation. They knew it was one of the games the Jets were expected to win, given their talent level compared to the Raiders'.

So it's as if the Jets' windshield is loaded with condensation and someone is about to turn the defroster to full blast to restore visibility.

Awaiting the Jets in four days is a trip to Baltimore, an emotional game ripe with the theme of Rex Ryan, Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard heading to their old digs.

A week later, the Jets will take on those hated Patriots in their first visit to Gillette Stadium since Scott's famous "Can't wait" rant. So, going 2-1 on this three-game excursion away from MetLife Stadium would do wonders for their psyches.

"This is the first time since I've been playing in this business that you have three road games in a row," Plaxico Burress said after Sunday's defeat. "We've definitely got a tough opponent coming up next week in Baltimore. It's a national night game. They're going to be amped up with everything that's going on as far as a defensive battle.

"It's going to be a good test for us."

Surely, Sunday's game will give us further insight on the Jets' offensive line problems. Will they be able to keep Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs from playing pinball with Mark Sanchez?

Sanchez has been sacked nine times. The Ravens' nine sacks rank seventh, and Baltimore is yielding only 84 rushing yards per game, another problem area for the Jets, who have run for only 82 yards a game.

That's why we'll soon figure out whether the Jets' offensive line is as good as it was the past two seasons, which so far doesn't seem to be the case. Sure, center Nick Mangold sat out for the first time after 82 regular-season games, but Colin Baxter fared all right against the Raiders, so it goes deeper than that.

They, without a doubt, miss right tackle Damien Woody. He was recovering from a torn Achilles and the Jets thought waiving him in February would be a good idea, but it's a cost-cutting measure that backfired.

Releasing Woody gave him time to think about life away from the game. He was having too much fun spending time with his family and was eager to start a broadcasting career at ESPN. Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson weren't able to persuade Woody to return.

That turned things over to Wayne Hunter, whose play has been inconsistent. Actually, that describes the Jets during their 2-1 start.

"The good news is we get to play Sunday," Ryan said. "The bad news is that we have to play against a team that is rolling right now. You have Baltimore and then New England right after that. Probably two of the toughest teams that you could face. So, we're going to find out about ourselves big time these next couple weeks."