So I had it right about Cromartie, I had the wrong one, but the Jets signed a Cromartie.
Father of tens of children by hundreds of women, former Charger Antonio Cromartie signed with Gang Green this last week, creating perhaps the most powerful and dominating cornerback duo in the NFL. Teaming up with Revis, the island has been extended to an archipelago. Some say that his best years are already behind him but as a fellow 25 year old, that is insulting. Cro will make an immediate impact in Rex’s defensive schemes and will be able to get back to playing his way. He never was a tackler but a smart reader of the game.
So Kerry Rhodes left. One of my favourite Jets since he was drafted, Arizona has nailed a tough safety with him. My only hope is that Mike T’s comments regarding Eric Smith and Jim Leohnard being sufficient to hold the two spots down is crowd control more than anything else. I would personally love to see Taylor Mays of USC come off the draft board to the Jets. A quick, smart and strong safety, he could be a starter within the first few games.
The running back situation also needs to be addressed. Losing a starter from the number one defense, the Jets subsequently lost a 1,400 yard rusher from the number one ranked rushing offense. Thomas Jones signed with the Chiefs and with Leon Washington only being tendered at a second rounder, the Jets really should be looking for other support. Rumours include Willie Parker, Larry Johnson and most interestingly, LT. LT scheduled a visit in New Jersey for Friday morning to meet with Jets staff. Should the Vikings not offer him, I believe Tomlinson would be an amazing fit for the Jets where he could spilt carries with Shonn Greene while adding another safety net for Mark Sanchez in the receiving game.
Finally, when the hell are the Jets going to sign Brandon Marshall?! He would be amazing!! Props to Baltimore for nabbing Q before anyone else even got near.
Being a competitor in the AFC Championship game may limit what the New York Jets can do with restricted and unrestricted free agents, but that doesn’t stop other key transactions around the board.
Last week, Gang Green signed on former Cowboys kicker Nick Folk. Whether this signals the end of out of contract Jay Feely is yet to be seen, but the addition of Folk will at least provide competition for the spot. Folk, a California native, will be entering his fourth year and will look to bring back some of the talent that made him the NFC Pro Bowl kicker in his first year.
It was also announced by Mike Tannenbaum, that Thomas Jones will not be retained for the 2010 season. Obviously the coaching staff feels that the improvement and talent demonstrated by Shonn Greene down the stretch will be enough to maintain the Jets’ number one ranked rushing offense. Leon Washington will be back for training camp as he is now doing underwater treadmill running and I would not be surprised to see a Willie Parker or LT come in to back up the two youngsters. Whatever happens with TJ, he was an immense Jet for his short time here and I wish him the best at this next team, that franchise is getting a workhorse and great guy.
Given the seasons Pro Bowlers, Nick Mangold and Darrelle Revis had, I can’t say that it is too shocking that the Jets are trying to tie them up to longer term contracts this off season. These are guys that are characters in the locker room and are faces of the organization so why not extend them now. It would be painful to lose them, not unlike it will be with Kerry Rhodes.
Kerry had a tumultuous season what with his benching and subpar performances through the middle of the year. However, he is still a dominating safety and will make another team very happy indeed. The only way this loss can be offset would be with the addition of Antrel Rolle or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The draft class for DBs is deep but a veteran like the above would certainly help.
That is the news so far, time will tell what else happens if Anquan Boldin is seriously shopped around or if the Jets value VJax at the 1st and 3rd round asking price put on him by San Diego.
The 2009 NFL football season is over and the New Orleans Saints have deservedly taken home the much coveted Lombardi trophy. After winning the battle of the offenses in southern Florida, Sean Payton and his Saints team can now call themselves (at least for the next year), the best team in football. Far from a classic encounter, the Colts and Saints did produce an enjoyable game for the masses and if reports are to be believed, it was the most watched television show of all time.
Drew Brees got the number 2 quarterback ranking pre-game, but come the end of the 4th quarter when Tracy Porter ran through Reggie Wayne’s route and returned Peyton Manning’s pass for a touchdown, Brees was the one celebrating. This interception sealed the first ever Super Bowl for New Orleans and gave the city something to celebrate after a tumultuous few years post-Katrina. No match report here, there are a million all over the internet. What I am here for, is my season summary leading into the busy offseason.
One quick point before that though. I watched Drew Brees’ press conference the Monday after the game and his humility alongside his obvious passion for the game and the community of New Orleans, should be an inspiration to all. What an eloquent and professional individual. I just thought that needed to be said with recent issues involving Brandon Marshall, Gilbert Arenas, John Terry (for all you soccer fans), Ryan Moats, Tank Johnson and a certain Mr. Vick.
So, without further ado, I present the 2009 NFL season in numbers.
30 – Teams that started with a legitimate reason to believe they could win the Super Bowl. Apologies to Detroit and St. Louis.
105,121 – People in attendance for the opening home game at Cowboys stadium. Unfortunately, Lawrence Tynes put the party on ice by kicking a winning field goal for the visiting Giants.
11 – Seconds left on the clock when Brandon Stokley caught a Kyle Orton tipped pass in the Broncos’ season opener. Smart running from him took the clock right down.
16 – Years Brett Favre played for Green Bay before inserting a knife into their backs and leading the Vikings to two regular season wins over the cheeseheads.
21 – Passes caught by Brandon Marshall in the Broncos’ game at Indianapolis. This broke T.O.’s 9 year old record.
286 – Yards rushed for by Jerome Harrison against Kansas City. He also added three TDs on the ground. This is the third best single game rushing yardage. Ever. It was by a Cleveland Brown in case you missed that.
220 – More yards thrown by Matt Schaub than Peyton Manning. Not bad.
2 – Young players that died during the season. Cincy’s Chris Henry and Chicago’s Gaines Adams.
23 – The winning streak the Colts built up before a strong and dominating Jets team entered Lucas Oil.
5 – Games lost in a row by Pittsburgh the season after winning the Super Bowl. For the record, the losses included Kansas, Oakland and Cleveland.
96 – Points scored in the ‘shootout’ between Green Bay and Arizona. Defensive Player of the Year, Charles Woodson, was on the team that conceded 51 points.
30 – Million more dollars that Jay Cutler will receive after his mid-season contract extension. Is it just me or does that seem mental for a quarterback who was no more than average?
45 – Unanswered points the Patriots scored on Tennessee early in the season. Jeff Fisher’s excuse was that he was giving the NFL a head start.
6 and 5 – The losses that Tennessee built up under Kerry Collins to open the season. The 5 represents the consecutive wins the Titans got under Vince Young.
6 and 8 – Denver won 6 of their opening 6 games. Brilliant for the Mile High city. Only problem is they lost 8 of their next 10. Oops.
2 – Rutgers players who made a name for themselves this year. Well done messers Britt and Rice.
32-18 – Apparently the least likely result to occur this season according to the NFL.com game books.
12-0 – The mark the Saints reached after a crazy end to their game with the Redskins. Brees was intercepted only for Robert Meachem to bully the ball back and return it for a score. Protect the ball Washington. Football 101!
30 – Minutes away from the Super Bowl my Jets got.
1,000 – Seems like this many days that we waited for Mr. Favre to decide he was going to stick it to the Jets and un-retire. We got Mark Sanchez and went as far into the Playoffs as you Brett. No sleep lost.
2,509 – All-purpose yards from Chris Johnson. In one season. This beat Marshall Faulk’s existing record by over 100 yards. The only downside being Marshall ‘bantering’ CJ2K about this for 5 whole minutes on Super Bowl media day. Incidentally, during 2009, Johnson ran for 3 scores of 85 yards or more. Noother player has done that in a career.
9 – Interceptions by Jairus Byrd. The same as Charles Woodson. Revis may have had 3 fewer but he did shut down the majority of the game’s big receivers.
9 – Also the number of wins the Detroit Lions have compiled over the last 3 years. Wow. Just wow. Indianapolis did that in the first 9 games of this season.
32 – More votes Peyton Manning got than Drew Brees in the MVP voting. Brees got the award that matters though.
256 – Games played this season during Weeks 1 to 17.
10,991 – Total points scored this season.
All in all, every team had its bright points this year and something to look forward to for the seasons to come. 2010 promises to be an interesting year with the CBA in discussion and the promise of an uncapped season upon us. Los Angeles looks like they are going to be getting an NFL team back for the first time since the Raiders and Rams left over 15 years ago. The Jets will have their new stadium. New coaches are at new teams and the Draft looks like a good one with some massive names in there. Where will Tim Tebow go? General consensus is that Bill Belichick will take the risk and invent a two QB scenario.
This year, the Jets were a half an hour away from the Super Bowl. As with every team, I believe 2010 will be my team’s year and that’s what makes the NFL so great. Hope. Bring on next season!
After my exuberant and defiant article declaring that all was amazing in the Jets camp after the road win at San Diego, I let my feelings get the better of me and neglected my duties of writing about the Colts game. My bad.
To complete the 2009 season of writing about the Jets and their weekly schedules, I am still going to write about the game but in a minimal and efficient fashion. No puns, no metaphors about high school proms or fairy tales.
Let me preface by saying that I am still insanely proud to call the New York Jets my team and next year, with a couple of acquisitions, maybe we can go one step farther than the AFC Championship game.
The running game never really got going against the weak Colts run defense. A combined 83 yards from Jones and Greene was enough to put undue pressure on Mark Sanchez.
Pressure that Sanchez ate up. He stood up to the plate and delivered on a memorable game for the rookie. 257 yards and 2 scores through the air demonstrated exactly why he will be an above average starter in the NFL for the years to come.
Darrelle Revis did his thing against Reggie Wayne. The only problem being messers Garçon and Collie. They combined for 274 yards and 2 scores. Ouch.
Peyton Manning is an immense player and a great competitor. He knew what would be thrown at him and duly delivered. Only Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell know why they bother to hire offensive co-ordinators with number 18 at the helm.
Hey, at least Favre stayed at home for Super Bowl week.
So there it is. Nothing flashy and nothing sparkly. Just a few key points to satiate my desire to write about every game week. I look forward to being back next week to write about the New York Jets at the new Meadowlands stadium.
Vic Carucci, Warren Sapp, Adam Schefter, NBC’s NFL panel, CBS’s NFL panel, ESPN.com but mainly Vic Carucci. I’m calling you out.
A selection of quotes;
“Jets’ magical ride will be over after trip to San Diego”.
“Rookie QB vs. Phil Rivers? Give me the Bolts”.
“This is a passing league now, that’s why the Chargers are my pick”.
“Nate Kaeding, the most accurate kicker in NFL history”.
“I can’t see the AFC Championship game involving anyone but the NFL’s hottest team right now and the Colts”.
Well, we all know how this one ended. After a couple of solid days of celebrating the biggest game my Jets have been in since 1998, I now sit down to write my article on that amazing game from Southern California.
After being written off all week since the win over Cincinnati, I was getting frustrated. I had been hearing all week how the Jets were too weak to be playing at this stage in the Playoffs, let alone the Playoffs in general. Mark Sanchez wasn’t good enough; the Jets had backed into the postseason and cheated stronger AFC teams out of their places. No matter the strengths of the D, the Jets were cheating the system by being here. I sat down to the game on Sunday ready to enjoy whatever it threw at me. Then the brilliant line up of Bill Cowher, Dan Marino et al. declared that the game ahead was merely a formality and that next week’s Championship game between the Chargers and the Colts would be an explosive matchup of brilliant offenses. Oops.
The Jets did what I hoped they would do. They shut the critics up. Vic Carucci now declares that he had some faith in the Jets but didn’t think they would realise their potential. Um, no. He had no faith and now feels stupid, probably the more so since Bart Scott called him out on a national television appearance, even calling him Vic Carusso. Nice.
The Jets entered and exited the game with the best rushing offense and best overall defense in the league. Since when is this not good enough for a team to be playing in the AFC Championship game? If it was Pittsburgh or the Giants, that would be fine, but no-one can get their heads around the fact that the New York Jets are getting through with these attributes.
Shonn Greene will undoubtedly be the starting running back within 2 years and will see a much bigger role next year – he ended with another 100 yard game and another long score. He was brilliant. When he broke the secondary on his scoring run in the fourth quarter, I about screamed my voice box out. It was over then. I knew the Jets, the team who was predicted to finish in the bottom third of the AFC this year, was on their way to the AFC Championship game to play the Colts. Unbelievable.
As for all the Hoosiers who think that the Jets will be steamrolled due to their beloved Peyton Manning playing a full game this time, come on. Get over yourselves. Teams have been doubting the Jets all year and look where that’s got them. Yeah you pulled some of your starters midway through the third quarter in Week 16 but it was only a 5 point game at that point. You hadn’t buried us at that point. You weren’t all humping Peyton’s leg because he’d just thrown 5 scores and thrown for 400 yards. It was a 5 point game. Whoever thinks this will be a walkover, fine. You will be surprised. I’m not saying the Jets will win this game either easily, or at all, but I recognise that Rex Ryan has Gang Green all pumped up and ready for a tough game in Indy. I would love to beat the Colts, love it. No more excuses, no more trash talking, no more bragging that the Colts are much better.
Now that’s off my chest…
Mark Sanchez had a solid game again but what really impresses me is how much it all means to him. Did you see his celebration when Keller caught the touchdown? Magical.
Nate Kaeding is the AFC’s pro-bowl kicker. Just saying.
Darrelle Revis was robbed blind of the Defensive player of the year award. Robbed. That interception shows an awareness I haven’t seen for a long time. Rex Ryan has it right, well done to those who voted for Revis.
On the theme of Ryan being right. The Jets at the Colts isn’t the matchup everyone wanted. Too bad.
Phil Rivers is good, real good, but not great. Yet.
LT is finished as a feature back in the NFL. I just hope he can leave with dignity like The Edge and not like Shaun Alexander.
V-Jax is a petulant child. CBS announcers laughed that kicking a flag is a 15 yard penalty. Hell yeah it should be. The penalty isn’t kicking a flag, it’s unsportsmanlike conduct. Well done referees.
Now I only have a few days until the Championship game and I hope that the Jets can keep this up. Worries surround Shaun Ellis’ hand which is apparently broken but I hear he will be ok to play – everyone else is fit and ready. Opportunity is knocking and I really do hope the Jets are ready to answer; the poetry of beating the Colts to play in Miami is beautiful considering the events of 41 years ago. For now, I am enjoying the journey and no matter what happens on Sunday, I am proud to be a Jets fan. All that is left to say is J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!!!
Having seen my Jets make the Playoffs a couple of days after getting engaged, I was then treated to Rex Ryan talking up our Super Bowl hopes and then seeing another win over the Bengals in the Wild Card round. This left me as a Ravens fan in order to avoid Indianapolis for at least one more week on top of seeing the Patriots get eliminated from the Playoffs.
Where to start with this week. Ok, well Rex Ryan was told that the Jets were the underdogs and weakest team in the Playoffs by the national press of America. His response was swift and exact. Why should the Jets be the underdogs? They finished with the best rushing offense in the NFL and the number one overall defense. How is this weak? Considering opposition on the season – Patriots twice, Colts, Saints, Dolphins twice and the Falcons, how can this defense be any more underrated? Seriously, apart from a QB who is still learning to play in the pros, the Jets are one of the best all round teams in the league. Rex thinks we should be favourites. Why not huh? I like this confidence and though not naive enough to think that the Jets are indeed the strongest team in the postseason, this lack of respect could be exactly why the Super Bowl shouldn’t be overlooked.
A rematch of week 17, much like across the NFL, New York had Cincinnati’s number again.
The game started off more competitively than the week prior. Though Bernard Scott dashed his way through the Jets special teams on the opening kickoff, a hard hit from Bryan Thomas caused former Jet, Laveranues Coles to fumble leaving Shaun Ellis free to recover. Momentum seemed to shift.
Coles did get the first score on the board but this was pretty much the best thing that happened to the Bengals all game. Following this, Shonn Greene went mental. Like earlier in the season, Greene dominated the opposition defense. He rushed for 135 yards and one score on 21 powerful carries. He was immense. A great draft pick from Iowa, Greene is quickly showing how good he will be in the seasons to come. I have to admit that though he did have a huge impact during the game, I was surprised to see Thomas Jones on the sidelines for much of the game. Maybe this was the game plan, to keep Marvin Lewis and his coaching staff guessing and it seemed to work.
A few other key points from the game:
Chad Johnson must surely now change his name back after recording 2 catches for 28 yards and being made to look silly by Darrelle Revis. The obvious example being the interception.
Jay Feely deserves massive respect for punting as well as kicking field goals. Much better than Lawrence Taylor’s mate, Joe Theismann as demonstrated during the game.
Joe Gibbs and Joe Theismann have sexual tension.
The Jets are dominating on the road with their 4th successive win. Qualcomm awaits next with a potential match at the Meadowlands should Baltimore and the Jets win.
Mark Sanchez was brilliant in the first game in a while in which he was allowed off his leash. He looked calm under pressure and managed to complete a postseason rookie record 80% of his passes for 182 yards and a touchdown.
Darrelle Revis has become my man crush. He was immense and never looked like getting beaten by Chad Johnson.
Next week on Sunday will be much more difficult. The Chargers are hot property right now and everyone is raving about Phil Rivers. Even I was raving about the man. Mark Sanchez will be unable to roll off the outside to pass and Phil Rivers will be much calmer under Rex Ryan’s pressure blitzes. However, I still believe that the Jets will win. They have more heart and America is already writing them off – my Jets thrive in those games. Bolts then Colts I predict. We might even make the Super Bowl. After the month I have been having, why not?
There was a point a few weeks ago when I stated that the losses that my New York Jets accumulated would eliminate them from the Playoffs. I am as guilty as any Jets fan in this respect and even Rex Ryan declared the hunt for the postseason over after the dismal loss to the Atlanta Falcons at the Meadowlands. The Jets would be going to the prom with a respectable but none too impressive lady following on from a previous metaphor.
In fact, the schedule Gods had been kind to New York as they provided Gang green with the Colts and Bengals for weeks 16 and 17, the respective AFC South and North champions. Having already wrapped up their divisions, they fielded weakened teams and the Jets won both games. During this period and as I wrote last week, there was furore from various fans due to this fact, but any of those teams would have taken the wins however they came.
I am here for this article to write about the first of two Bengals games.
37-0 – a mightily impressive score against one of the toughest defenses in the NFL. The rushing offense of the Jets did what they had done all season and made the Bengals look like amateurs playing a pickup game on the weekend. 257 yards on the ground alone made this game a non-game. Even Brad Smith, far from a regular first team player, racked up 92 yards and a touchdown on an impressive and powerful run off the right side of the O-Line. He was brilliant out of the wildcat formation and provided a much needed spark on important third downs. Ferguson, Faneca, Mangold, Woody and Moore were playing their 33rd consecutive game together and it showed. They were colossal against a weak defensive line from Cincinnati. It is no surprise that they were subsequently selected in the shortlist of 5 for O-Line of the season, an award they should win as easily as they handled any blitz or defensive package the Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer threw at them.
Mark Sanchez didn’t need to do a thing. He only needed to throw the ball 16 times. The rushing offense (that was 257 yards in case anyone missed it) and much coveted defense did the rest. Carson Palmer completed 1 of 11 passes for 0 yards. This is a perennial heavyweight in the passing game of the NFL. Chad Johnson was shut down by Darrelle Revis as anticipated and then reneged on his promise to change his name back to Johnson stating that he didn’t have enough targets. That is one of the main reasons why Revis is so good. Much like the Nnamdi Asomugha effect, quarterbacks don’t even dare throw the way of their star receivers anymore. The Twitter battle was well and truly won by pro-bowl selection, Darrelle and Chad was stuck on Revis island.
The prize for beating the Bengals? A trip to the Playoffs to play…the Bengals.
I am not suffering from over-confidence but cannot see the return leg going any differently from this week. The cats were weak and unless they find a major spark from returning Cedric Benson, it will be at least 20 years since a Cincy postseason win. We won, we’re in. Now the major work begins.
The big debate this week has been from fans of 7 AFC teams who have decided that Jim Caldwell’s decision to pull his starters from the Jets game was ludicrous at best. Why would he do such a thing in a 5 point game? Why would he endanger a perfect season and promote the Playoff cause of the New York Jets?
This man knows what he's doing.
Imagine it was your team. In the history of football, one team, just one team, has managed to win every game in a season and that was a shorter season some 37 years ago. Why would Jim Calwell risk Peyton Manning and co. in a tough game against an even tougher defense? Going for the perfect regular season of 16-0 is admirable but foolish at the same time. Giving the starters a rest and making sure they avoided a dislocated shoulder or turf toe was the right thing to do. Can you imagine Bart Scott breaking through the line to sack Peyton and concussing him in the 4th Quarter – how much furore would there then have been from Colts fans?
Don’t even get me started on the Dolphins, Texans, Broncos, Ravens, Jags, Titans and Steelers fans who have been calling into radio stations all week and posting messages on ESPN and NFL.com to state how that decision has cost them their shot at glory. Nope, losses against Buffalo, Cleveland, Oakland and even each other have stopped that. But the Colts weren’t playing with a full strength side. No, but Kris Jenkins got injured several weeks ago and is sitting alongside Leon Washington while Calvin Pace also missed the opening of the season. These things happen. Get over it.
The Jets had a job to do and did it. Having lost a game to Atlanta that deserves no more attention than this sentence, the Colts were there for the taking. Same thing last year against Tennessee. The Jets win the games no-one thinks they even have a shot at and lose the ones they should wrap up in a half of football.
Thomas Jones and his stats come to the fore once more; another 100 yard game and another score for the man from Virginia. How about Alan Faneca’s block on Jones’ longest run of the day? Brilliant! He was immense just like he has been all season. Compliment him with Shonn Greene and the Jets have one of the most potent rushing offenses in the NFL as demonstrated by the statistics during 2009. The receiving corps were quiet therefore explaining why Mark Sanchez isn’t on my thumbs up list from this game, but once more the D ran the show. Even before Manning left the game, he didn’t manage to throw a TD and the only threat was from the dup of Addai and Brown. Brad Smith gets a very honourable mention for the longest TD in Jets history with his 106 yard kickoff return.
When Dwight Lowery intercepted backup Curtis Painter with less than five minutes left in the game it was all over. The Jets had snapped a 14 game winning streak this season, going back 23 games including last season.
Up next, the Bengals, who will probably rest Palmer, Benson, Ochocinco and others to make sure they are fresh for the postseason. I cannot wait for all of the complaining if the Jets do indeed win this and head to the Playoffs as well. Football is a game of skill but also luck. Lady luck sure was shining on the Jets with the last two opponents. Win and we’re in!
Ok, so here we are at the beginning of Week 15 in the season and despite some truly awful performances, the Jets have a legitimate run at the Playoffs this year. In the way in the AFC East are the Patriots and the Dolphins. In the AFC in general are the Jags, Broncos and maybe the Ravens. Tough teams in a tough Conference.
Last night was strange because I didn’t find myself automatically supporting the Colts over the Jags. Sure, Jacksonville remains in the Wild Card hunt in the AFC, but the Jets need to play Indy next week. A win for Indy kept their dream of an undefeated season alive and doesn’t guarantee that Jim Sorgi et al. will be dressing instead of Peyton Manning next week. That being said, the Jets have the best passing defense and the best rushing offense against a strong opponent. Anyways, I digress.
The win over Tampa was an ‘expected’ one. They were after all an 1-11 team who showed a single flash of brilliance a few weeks ago and have been winless since. In spite of this, the Jets could quite easily have lost this game. It is what we do after all. We beat Houston and Tennessee either side of a win over the Patriots and then proceed to lose twice to Miami and once to Buffalo with another result in the Loss column due to the Jags. Predictable unpredictability.
Revis showed once more why he is the best cover corner in the league by intercepting another pass in his 3rd consecutive game. Thomas Jones showed once more why he is one of the most underrated running backs in the NFL, Kellen Clemens showed once more why he should not be the starter for the Jets and the Jets showed once more how they get their fans all optimistic before probably folding under the pressure.
Thomas Jones just missed out on another 100 yard game but continues to demonstrate exceptional running ability through the middle and just off the guard position. On his first score, he went basically untouched through to the end zone and his second touchdown was enough to put the game out of reach of the Bucs and the game was over. Different defensive packages and interesting blitzes were the right call against rookie Freeman. The very first passing play of the game, David Harris picked him off leading to a Jay Feely field goal. Darrelle Revis underlined exactly why he should be taking home the Defensive Player of the Year award and even angry Kerry Rhodes got in on the action. Add 3 sacks and a combined 136 yards for the Bucs on offense and truth be told, Sanchez wasn’t even needed. Rex Ryan made his name with a defense first game plan and I am glad that he is heading back towards this after trying to turn up the gears on a potent but far from finished article in the Jets passing game.
Tennessee looms for Miami while the Patriots have a fairly straightforward game at the Bills. Atlanta rolls into Jersey
this week and debate is whether the combo of Ryan and Turner will start. General consensus points to yes but it is a game time decision in the eyes of Mike Smith. Sanchez had been splitting reps with Clemens this week but took over full time snaps during Friday’s practice which allowed Rex Ryan to let us know what we already kinda knew, Mark Sanchez would play.
This is the business end of the season and the only way I see the Jets not playing golf in January is if they win out. The trickiest game will be at Indy but a lot depends on how hard they want to play. If this is the only thing it comes down to, Ryan will make the Colts earn every yard of the win and I have to feel that Caldwell, Manning and co. would prefer to lose one now than in a few weeks. Tough defense has the Jets winning over the Colts in my eyes. Let’s just hope it works against the Falcons first.
Now there’s a reason I wanted to wait until after this week’s games to write my article, foregoing the celebratory article after the win over Carolina. There’s a reason I didn’t write immediately after the subsequent victory over Buffalo north of the border. There’s even a reason I waited until after Green Bay’s win over the Ravens tonight.
The reason of course is hope.
Funny thing hope. It ties in nicely with optimism and the eternal question of whether the glass is half full or not. Until the Jets took the field against the Panthers a couple of weeks ago, the season looked to be in dire peril. The Patriots were playing well and the AFC East was becoming ever more competitive due to Miami’s resurgence. Then the unthinkable happened; the Patriots lost two in a row for the first time since 2006. The Wild Card race was opened up by key losses around the Conference and the Jets were suddenly on the outskirts of a playoff spot.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Spot on Dr King. The Jets are one of these teams that disappoints then all of a sudden, they are back in the running for something exciting. It’s like being told you cannot do something and will not succeed only to think, ‘hold on for a second, we can do this’, screw what you say.
Not the greatest of performances against Carolina but a win nonetheless. After his benching, Kerry Rhodes showed why he is a perennial all-pro by intercepting two Delhomme passes, only for Darrelle Revis to match this feat, also returning one for a score. Saying that the Jets’ secondary outfoxed Delhomme however, is like saying you are the smart kid on the short bus, not much to brag about. This was important all the same. More important, was the rest of the D limiting the Panthers duo of Stewart and Williams to a mere 75 yards and Steve Smith accumulating a massive 5 yards on one catch – more on that later. Thomas Jones put in another solid shift on the ground, adding his 9th score of the season in the 2nd quarter and Cotchery continued his comeback with a good game. Other than this, it was a game of turnovers and while the Panthers struggled to get anything going, Revis and Jones’ TDs came off interceptions, shutting down another ‘power offense’.
Interest re-peaked in this season.
After a shootout in the Bayou where the Patriots secondary looked like schoolkids playing Madden on rookie setting, the Jets were only two games behind in the AFC East. Added pleasure came in seeing Meachem and Henderson both getting stupidly long touchdowns on the way to making Belichick and Brady look like they were going to head home and cry into each others’ arms. Next up were the Bills in Toronto.
In spite of a crappy and boring and uninteresting and slow and poor and tedious and unexciting etc. etc. etc. game back at the Medowlands, the Jets knew they could win against the Bills no matter where they were playing. On short rest, Sanchez and the crew came out strong despite Braylon Edwards showing why I would not trust him to carry a newly born and went ahead on a score after Clowney being denied a clear TD toss in just prior to this. From this point, the defense did what the defense does with Revis exhibiting again why I think he is the best shutdown corner in the league by far – more on this to come.
Jones had another 100 yard game, taking his consecutive 1000 yard season streak to 5 and Edwards at least padded his stats with a score. Clemens came in in the 3rd to cover for Sanchez and proved why all his supporters are wrong. He was sacked a lot, fumbled and missed his receivers. I just hope that Sanchez is back this week in Tampa – we need him. The game ended as it started, with a fizzle and the Jets were all set to prepare for Tampa. The only niggling concern is Sanchez’s injury and whether he will find his way back to the starting line-up by the game at the Raymond James stadium in sunny Florida.
The Sunday after, the Patriots rolled into Miami with a chip on their shoulder and lost…again. The Ravens lost another game, leaving the AFC East and Wild Card race wide open. With the Colts and Bengals hopefully going to be resting players in Weeks 16 and 17, winning out should be our goal. Should this happen, the playoffs will loom. I just hope that the team realises this and doesn’t slip up against vastly inferior opposition in the form of the Buccaneers.
Closing by returning to Dr. King’s quote, we have to accept the losses that have already befallen us rather than looking at our division wondering how it would look if the games against the Dolphins and Bills went differently. I have hope. Rex Ryan has hope. Mark Sanchez and the rest of the team has hope. Now, it is time to deliver.
Virginia. How about Alan Faneca’s block on Jones’ longest run of the day? Brilliant! He was immense just like he has been all season. Compliment him with Shonn Greene and the Jets have one of the most potent rushing offenses in the NFL as demonstrated by the statistics during 2009. The receiving corps were quiet therefore explaining why Mark Sanchez isn’t on my thumbs up list from this game, but once more the D ran the show. Even before Manning left the game, he didn’t manage to throw a TD and the only threat was from the dup of Addai and Brown. Brad Smith gets a very honourable mention for the longest TD in Jets history with his 106 yard kickoff return.
Jets had snapped a 14 game winning streak this season, going back 23 games including last season.
