Still Alive !

The Jets, losers of 5 of their last 6 games were in desperation mode to save their season in a must win game to have any slim chance of making the playoffs. The even went as far as color coding plays for Mark Sanchez to make the plays easier for him.

The colors paid off as Mark made only one mistake for another interception but protected the ball most of the day in a almost mistake free game making the big throw when he needed to connect. And, his numbers would have even been better if Dustin Keller didn't fumble the ball on the 1 yard line after a nice catch which should have been a touchdown. But, a win is a win and I'll gladly take this 17 to 6 win over the Panthers to now play for a chance on Thursday night to get back to .500 ball. You can't really complain about Sanchez' numbers - 13 of 17 for 154 yards and one interception. Plus, he ran three times for 27 yards. It's nice to see a Jets quarterback have the legs and the brains to run forward for positive yards.

We had a very conservative game plan in place but I guess it worked even though it was a bit boring at times. However, I'll take boring over those last second loses which we've grown so used to. Another fumble for Shon Greene hurt us as well. Ya gotta hold the ball a bit tighter Shon.

This game was also helped out by our defense. Darrelle Revis continued his pro-bowl season with an interception for a TD and Kerry Rhodes helped get himself out of the doghouse with two picks of his own after getting benched as a starter.

The Jets also got some help as well with the Dolphins, Jaguars and Texans all losing. Still, we need to win the next three, all winnable games, before the P word can really be mentioned as we end the year with the Colts and then the Bengals.

What has drived me crazy week after week is the wasting of time-outs. Again, we had to call a defensive time-out in the 3rd quarter due to too many men on the field. Not sure why this happens week after week but it's important to have your time outs for the 2nd part of the 4th quarter. We also wasted a time-out on a field goal attempt due to the play clock near expiration. What a joke.

There was one part of the game that I almost barfed. That was when Sanchez went down near the sideline after a run holding his knee. After three pathetic plays by Kellen Clemens, Sanchez was back in the game the next time the Jets had the ball. I saw "Career Disaster" written all over the injury as that would have been typical but thank G-d, he was OK.

Not much else to say as nothing really happened. Bring on the Bills on Thursday night in the next Must Win Game !

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.

And Now The Tissues

Cryin?

THERE'S NO CRYING IN FOOTBALL !

Another Last Second Loss !

How many more ways can the Jets lose a game this season? We've had so many games we had won and lost. We should have beaten the Dolphins...twice. We should have beaten the Bills. We had yesterday's game in the bag. Instead of having 6 or 7 wins this year, we just have 4 due to ANOTHER crushing last second loss for the green and white. It's just a bunch of the same S**T, different week. We keep on finding new ways to lose games instead of figuring out how to win a game. We started out 3-0 and if we were able to figure out how to close a game, we'd be sitting on top of the standings instead of looking up at the Patriots who now have a 2 game lead on us and are now going to be pissed off after losing yesterday as we head up to Foxboro.

Things didn't start out well for the Jets as Sanchez under threw a bomb for an interception on the first play of the game setting up a nice drive by the Jags to go up 7-0. So, before we could blink, we are in a 7-0 hole at home for this "Must Win" game.

When the offence needed to score in the 4th, we had a nice drive to recapture the lead after a one yard Thomas Jones TD. However, our streak of NEVER converting the 2-pt conversion continued as Braylon Edwards dropped a ball in his hands which would have put us up by three.

Then, it got ugly. The Jaguars were 80 yards away, and much less since they only needed a field goal. And the Jets defense just let them walk down the field including a few third down conversions that we let them convert with ease. There were a TON of mistackles and players left wide open to catch the ball. However, we only had one time out because we WASTED two of them. The defense called one of the time-outs due to 12 men on the field. This seems to be a weekly occurrence. And then, there was further miscommunication on the sideline when the offense, in scoring position on the 1 yard line, had to waste a time-out as well. The worst play was a 33 yard reception by the Jags where Kerry Rhodes didn't change coverage and assumed he had help. Well, there was no help and the Jags had the ball on the 14 just needing 3 points to win. Basically, unless a miracle missed field goal or if we just let them score a TD, the game was over.

So, there go the Jags, driving for the win with the clock ticking down and we only have one time out. What a freakin' joke.

The biggest joke was that the jets were told by the coaching staff NOT to tackle Jones-Drew and let him score a TD so we'd get the ball back instead of having them kick a field goal with no time left on the clock. I know Jones-Drew put his knee down on purpose but he would have made it to the endzone if we didn't try to tackle him. Now, I'm hearing tha tPouha and Douglasss didn't hear the call to let them score. How can you not hear it? Is the wax build-up so caked to the inside of your ears? Then, the Field Goal. Game Over. YUCK !

There was so may other mistakes during the game. There was the Braylon Edwards 41 yard catch to only fumble the ball on the same play. There was the 2nd Sanchez interception which led to another score. There was the poor offensive play calling AGAIN by Brian Schottenheimer who doesn't like to throw into the endzone when they get close. This guy needs to go after this year.

Now we head to New England where Must Win really means Must Win if you want any chance of salvaging this season and that's not going to be an easy task.

NOTES:
- Jets lost their 5th game in 6 tries.
- Jets dropped to 0-4 in games decided by less than seven points.
- Jets, below .500 for the first time since last season's 1-2 start, remain two games behind the first-place Patriots, who lost Sunday night to the Colts.
- Jets allowed their first 100-yard rusher. The last time a Ryan-coached defense allowed a 100-yard rusher was Dec. 10, 2006, when the Chiefs' Larry Johnson ran for 120 against the Ravens.
- Braylon Edwards is 1-8 this season - 0-4 with the Browns, 1-4 with the Jets.
- Jets dropped to 2-3 at home.
- Jets allowed the Jaguars won their first road game.

Second Half

We now enter the 2nd half of the season at 4-4 after a 3-0 start. It's time to get on a roll or it will be another season watching from the outside !

What Coulda Been...

We have 4 loses this year and all 4 loses were winable games in the 4th quarter. The Jets have a history of head scratching loses including The Mud Bowl, the Fake Spike Game, the Eric Allen interception return, the Bubby Brister flea flicker, the 10-0 halftime lead against the Broncos for a trip to the Super Bowl, the Blair Thomas MNF fumble against the Bears, the Doug Brien missed FG (which I still blame Herm on), last year's Brett Favre collapse the last few weeks, the 10-1 start only to lose the rest of the games, the Mark Gastineau late hit on 3rd and 10 vs. Cleveland, the 2 failed trick plays in 97's season finale in Detroit which included Leon Washington's halfback option, the Heidi Game, Jets handing Panthers first win ever, etc...

I'm sure I'm missing a TON of other heartbreaking losses from each year but ALL 4 loses this year I'll be sure to remember forever. I still can't figure out which one is the most pathetic:

JETS vs. SAINTS
Sanchez's 27.0 passer rating was the lowest by a Jets starter since a 21.1 by Chad Pennington on Oct. 29, 2006, at Cleveland. Held Drew Brees to just 190 yards and 0 TDs.

JETS vs. DOLPHINS
We gave up 413 yards and gave up 3rd down conversions 9 of 14 times.

JETS vs. BILLS
On a day that you can rush for 318 yards, give up only 13 points in regulation, and have a 10 point lead at one point, you would think you would win the game. It's also the second-most rushing yards by a losing team in NFL history. Sanchez is the first Jets QB to throw five INTs in a game since Chad Pennington threw five against the Patriots in 2003. ... The Jets' 14 penalties and 96 penalty yards are both the most in a game since they had 15 penalties for 100 yards in Game 2 of the 1996 season vs. Indianapolis. Lose Kris Jenkins for the year.

JETS vs. DOLPHINS #2
Ted Ginn Jr. became the first player in NFL history to score two kickoff-return touchdowns of 100 or more yards in the same game, He's the first player to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same quarter since Travis Williams of Green Bay did it in 1967. We outgained them in yardage 378 yards to a pathetic 104 yards. Yes...we only gave up 104 yards ALL game and lost.

All four of these games we had a chance to win and that's what kills me - what coulda been !

Jets Gift Wrap Victory For Fish

It was time to take revenge on the Dolphins for embarrassing us with their Wildcat offense just 20 days ago.

We were home coming off a dominating win out west and hoping to bury the Dolphins and get to 5-3 for the first half of the season.

Things didn't go as planned. After starting out the season at 3-0, we've not fallen apart and are just 4-4 at the midway point of the season.

We dominated on both sides of the ball. Heck...our defense gave up just 104 yards ALL game long.

On offense, Sanchez went 20 for 35, 265 yards and 2 TD passes as well as running it in for another one.

We outgained them in yardage 378 yards to a pathetic 104 yards.

But the blunders killed us. In just the 3rd quarter alone, we gave up TWO 100+ yard kickoff returns to the same guy. That's a 14 point gift. We also gave up a fumble by Shon Greeen for a TD. That's another 7 point gift. All in all, we gave them 21 points in gifts in the 3rd quarter.

And the coaches made just as many blunders. When down 11 points in the 3rd quarter, you don't need a 2 point conversion. Go for 1. There is too much game left to be played. By missing the 2 point conversion which the Jets never convert, we had to go for 2 on the next TD which we also missed. If we went for 1 on the first TD and 1 on the second TD, then the end of the game would have been just to kick a field goal to tie the game. Coaching like that is inexcusable. And what was worse...we wasted a time out on a failed 2-pt conversion play. What a joke ! The fish went 12+ minutes between offensive snaps that 3rd quarter and wound up with 21 points. Yes, you heard me. I said TWENTY ONE points !

The coaches made more mistakes as well. In the 4th quarter, it looked like we had a fumble recovery and we didn't even challenge? Who knows if a whistle was blown but you at least have to throw the red flag.

So, it's the end of the game and we are down by 5 (should have been three if we kicked extra points). We have the ball on the 12 yard line and it's first down. We run the ball on first down. Sanchez runs on 2nd down and almost breaks thru but doesn't. We get sacked on 3rd down. And we throw a desperate pass on 4th down that was incomplete. When you are on the 12 yard line to win the game, why are we running for 4 yards on 1st down? Take chances at the endzone. Why limit your chances to get a touchdown by running plays that is only going to get you closer to the endzone? The play needs to be in the endzone.

Many of the 3rd downs all game were passes thrown well short of the 1st down marker. This has been a big beef I'd had with Schottenheimer in his tenor here in NY. When you need 8 yards for a first down, why do we only throw the ball 5 or 6 yards. You need to design plays that gets you to the first down marker. And why do we ALWAYS run on 1st down? We get put in 2nd and 3rd and longs every drive. Can we change it up a bit?

The big positive of the game was Jay Feely making two Field Goals with one being a 55 yarder. He also recorded two tackles.

We were supposed to squish the fish and all we did was squish our chances of making the playoffs and showing the league that we could win a big game.

Notes:

1. Sanchez has gone two straight games without a turnover.

2. Ginn became the first player in NFL history to score two kickoff-return touchdowns of 100 or more yards in the same game, He's the first player to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same quarter since Travis Williams of Green Bay did it in 1967

3. The Jets had last given up a touchdown on a kickoff return in 2007.

4. During special teams coach Mike Westhoff's nine-year tenure, the Jets had given up three before Sunday.

5. Miami swept the series from the Jets for the first time since 03'.