Looking ahead in the National Football League is a dangerous thing indeed.

For proof of that fact, ask the Redskins and Giants how those games against the lowly Rams and Browns, respectively, went this past weekend.

But the temptation is nigh-on-impossible for fans to resist, and now that the New York Jets (3-2) have won a couple in a row including Sunday's 26-14 triumph over the Bengals, you can currently find a large number of Gang Green supporters checking out the upcoming slate.

In three of their next four contests, the Jets should be heavy favorites.

This Sunday's trip to Oakland will see Eric Mangini's club take on a 1-4 Raiders team that plays in something called the Black Hole, also an accurate description of the place in the league hierarchy where the once-proud organization now resides. If the blossoming Jets defense can force JaMarcus Russell into a couple of his usual mistakes, New York will fly home to North Jersey as a happy bunch.

Beyond that is a home date with Herm Edwards and the Kansas City Chiefs (1-4), a team on any NFL observer's short list of the worst clubs in football. Road wins against quality opponents do not look to be in the Chiefs' near future.

The toughest outing of the four-game stretch comes next, when the Jets must travel upstate to Buffalo (4-1). The Bills have been among the top surprises in football, and are probably circling the Jets game as a potential victory as well. But, noting how the Raiders and Rams have offered Buffalo stiff tests and the Cardinals blew the Bills out, that game is certainly winnable for Brett Favre and company if the Jets play well.

Should they get by the Bills, the next game is a home date with St. Louis, which won't often scratch and claw its way to wins the way it did against a surprised Washington team this past Sunday.

Thus, while the path to 7-2 is not exactly devoid of obstacles, it's a navigable one for a franchise on the cusp of completely elbowing last year's 4-12 debacle out of the frame.

Moreover, while a 6-3 or even 5-4 record after nine games would not be the end of the world for New York, the Jets had better take care of business while they can, because the schedule begins to get a lot tougher after game number nine.

Following the Rams tilt, the Jets will play a brutal three-game stretch at the Patriots in primetime (11/13), at currently unbeaten Tennessee (11/23), and at home against a high-octane Denver team that looks intent on reaching the postseason (11/30).

If Mangini's crew can get to Foxboro in mid-November at 7-2, the Patriots will be facing something of a relaxed, first-place opponent that is brimming with confidence and looking to build toward the postseason.

And though that would be a nice place to be, you won't hear any member of the Jets publicly discussing anything beyond the next practice session.

Fullback Tony Richardson summed up the mentality of the Jets locker room.

"The National Football League is about today, it's about tomorrow and it's about the upcoming game," said Richardson. "That's the only thing that we can control. We are going to be out there practicing Wednesday and Thursday and fly out to Oakland and get ready to play a hungry football team. That's the only thing that we have under control. We can't say, 'We want to be here at this point.' That's out of our control. We just have to lean on the veteran leaders on our team and our coaching staff, and we'll be fine."

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