A Season Crushing Blow

We have gone from 3 and 0 to now 0-shit after the first loss all year were we were murdered by a score of 31-14.

The cards were not in our favor. We had beat New England once so they were out for revenge. Also, this game, the Patriots were coming off a tough loss so they wanted nothing more than to get back on the field and make a statement. I just so happens that the statement was made against the Jets.

The Wikipedia definition of a "Dirty Sanchez" is the act of smearing feces on the upper lip of a partner during (or following) various types of anal sex. Some experts claim an equivalent term Stinky Hitler or Frosty Mustache.

I think they should add an alternative definition - "The act of throwing 4 interceptions to the opposing team, fumbling another ball away, and having your last name be "Sanchez."

Things started off bad before game time. The team's hotel had a the fire alarm go off at 1:20 am, 90 minutes past curfew waking up everyone in their hotel and rumors are saying that Patriot fans tripped the alarm on purpose. That's NO excuse for what happened yesterday but it does suck to be awaken in the middle of the night.

What a disgusting day yesterday was. We have lost 6 of the last 7 games after a perfect three game start to the season.

I'm not fully putting the blame on Sanchez. There were a few drops during the game with Braylon Edwards dropping another ball in his chest that would have kept a drive alive. Sanchez also is working without Leon Washington who was a short option if there was no one deep. It seems like we don't have anyone out of the backfield that can even catch the ball. Plus, we are always in 2nd or 3rd and long as the opposition always knows we are gonna run on first down thus putting us in long yardage situations not ideal for a rookie quarterback.

Don't get me wrong, Sanchez (8 for 21, 136 yards) threw some terrible throws but I thought this offense was supposed to be a smash mouth offense running the ball and only passing when necessary. It seems like we throw more than we run and with plays being called that are not high percentage completion attempts. Plays are either too short or too long down the field. Can't run a nice 8 to 12 yard play? Mark made a few bad decisions and a few bad passes. I'm not sure how many of them were due to a bad route being run or Sanchez and the receiver not being on the same page. It also doesn't help when your rookie QB was under constant pressure. What's with the offensive line? Protect the rookie to give him more time? Still, Sanchez needs to better protect the ball as is interception total is now up to 16 with a few of them this week leading to 17 points. If you take away those 17 points, we got a tie game. So, as the QB learns the game, these things are going to happen and hopefully things get better each year.

I remember other highly drafted QBs what happened to them the first year. Remember Troy Aikman? Remember Peyton Manning? Remember Eli Manning? All were horrific in their first year and it took time before they became comfortable running the offense and making smart plays. I'm glad Sanchez is getting the experience instead of on the sideline with the clip board. He now needs to have a few decent games to regain some confidence for the off season and to come back a smarter player in 2010.

But, Sanchez did have some moments of brilliance leading the team to start the 3rd quarter down the field completing 3 passes for 62 yards ending with a 29 yard touchdown to Cotchery. So, the QB has it in him. He just needs to play smarter and we need better coaching and play calling, and fewer mistakes (penalties and dropped balls) for him to succeed. It's just a shame that Bodden wasn't in a green uniform as Sanchez would have had three more completions and three less interceptions.

But, I'm not going to blame the game on the entire offense. We were losing 24 - 0 and even though one interception went for a touchdown, the defense still couldn't stop the Patriots offense. Revis did a great job on Randy Moss holding him to just 5 catches for 34 yards and a TD even though they threw to him 11 times. So, great job by Revis. As for the rest of the defense, POOR job. How the hell do you let Wes Welker catch 15 balls for 192 yards. Can you imagine how many more catches he'd have if we made the game close? What a joke. Brady just used Welker to pick us apart. Aside from a few pressures from Shawn Ellis, we let Brady have all the time in the world to find an open receiver.

There was one moment which was nice...the blocked punt which gave us a gift of 7 points before half time.

Now there are 6 games left and it's not looking good. To have any chance, they need to run the table but when you still have to play the Colts and Bengals, the odds are not in our favor. Let's just play some good football and starting correcting the ship now so we don't make the same mistakes again next year.

Notes:.

1. The Jets dropped two games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2007 season, when they finished 4-12 under Eric Mangini.

2. In the first half, the Jets were outgained 272 to 34 and Sanchez had a 0.0 quarterback rating.

3. Ever since the 3-0 start, Sanchez has six TDs and 14 INTs.

4. Amy Fisher, performing at a nearby strip club, was also in the lobby during the false alarm. I guess any of her "killer instinct" didn't rub off on the Jets.

5. It was the Jets' first blocked punt since 2007, when David Bowens blocked one against the Patriots and scored.