Jets Lay A Rotten Pumpkin

It was Halloween. I had sold my tickets so I can Trick or Treat with my two little daughters with the game being recorded on DVR for a nighttime viewing which I NEVER do but had no choice this past Sunday. Giant fans were loving life as their bye week fell on Halloween so they didn’t have the conflict that was tearing me apart.

I was doing great avoiding the score (or lack of a score) until the 4th quarter until the parent of another child saw me, knowing I was a big Jets fan, and said, “3-0 losing…still plenty of time left.” At that point, I said, “OH NO !” There goes watching the game at night not knowing. I wasn’t gonna watch an entire game until the 4th quarter knowing we were down three. So, now I had to check the score and when I did, it was then a 6-0 deficit.

It was perfect timing as it started to get cold and the girls were done with Halloween. So, I was able to make it back to my couch with around 4 minutes left.

I saw the defense stop the Packers in three straight plays to force a punt. Jets ball.

The first play was an LT run for 5 yards. The 2nd play was a pass to Cotchery that was in his hands at the 50 yard line that he dropped. F**K. Then, it was a sack on the next play by a guy who is in serious need of a haircut. And the final play, Sanchez had no one open and just gave it his best throw but it was incomplete.

The Packers got a gift Field Goal and the game was over.

I’m truly disgusted from only watching 4 minutes of this debacle. Was it rust from coming off the bye week? Were we not prepared? Were we thinking ahead? Or, are we not as good as our record by just barely winning three of the five wins that were already under out belt?

So, instead of wasting three hours, I saw the highlights. I’d much rather barf from a 1 minute highlight reel than watching an entire snooze fest, being shut out at home for the first time since 2006 against a banged up Packer team that has difficulty stopping the run.

I saw Nick Folk missed a field goal. Brad Smith fumbled the ball away. Sanchez had two interceptions. Oh, and we dropped four balls. I’m not sure what the issue was with the interceptions as I now am reading that the calls were disputed so I’m not sure if we got screwed or not but it sounds like we got screwed. The Jets also had seven penalties. Oh, and add in a fake punt from our own 20 which we should have converted but Weatherford stepped out a yard short. Still, I HATE the call so early in the game. It’s too much of a gamble. They should have just punted.

Besides that, I really do not know what happened. Nor do I care to watch as I don’t want to be sick.

80 Jets Don'ts

Well, the Jets are 5-1 heading into the bye week. Things are looking good right now but we know, being long suffering Jets fans, that good can turn sour very quickly. So, what needs to happen for the Jets to win the Super Bowl this year or next? I can’t really tell you what needs to happen except to win your games. But, I CAN tell you what CAN’T happen for the Jets to win the Super Bowl either this year, or next year. The following are 80 DON’TS for the Jets and their fans:

1. Don’t take pictures of your tally-whacker and sending them to female team employees.
2. Don’t hold out of training camp for crazy money and then injuring your hamstring. Cough, cough Darrelle Revis.
3. Don’t stay out to 5:00 am with teammates and then getting a DWI. Cough, cough Braylon.
4. Don’t write a book called “Throw Me The Damn Ball.”
5. Don’t having the owner utter the words, “Just Win Now.” That didn’t seem to work out too well winning 4 games in 2 years after that famous line.
6. Don’t have the coach say, “You Play To Win The Game.”
7. Don’t get suspended for substance abuse causing you to miss 4 games.
8. Don’t eat hotdogs on the sideline no matter how hungry you are ala Mark Sanchez.
9. Don’t give the finger to fans of the opposing team. Give them a finger from each hand.
10. Don’t have the game clock managed by a guy named Dick Curl.
11. Don’t write a post-game speech before the media even asks questions.
12. Don’t blow out your achillies ala Vinny and the Jets.
13. Don’t delete episodes of “Hard Knocks” from your DVR; rewatch them during the bye week.
14. Don’t continue hocking PSLs to the fans during the season.
15. Don’t lose anymore home games. Christen the new stadium with two home playoff games.
16. Don’t hate Fireman Ed. J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets !
17. Don’t let Cromartie worry about child support for his zillion kids.
18. Don’t think L.T. just stands for Lawrence Taylor anymore in New York. It’s now Ladaniian Tomlinson.
19. Don’t worry about Tom Brady hating the Jets. Hate the Patriots right back.
20. Don’t worry about putting just one receiver on Revis Island. Put the other wideout on Cromartie Island.
21. Don’t worry about being the “Sanchise.” Just worry about getting better each week.
22. Don’t care that Belechick quit as HC of the NYJ. Just go out and order a Belechicken dinner.
23. Don’t pay attention to Joe Namath’s Tweets. If you play well, the Tweets will be nicer.
24. Don’t be the iconic figure of the franchise and get hammered on the sideline and try to kiss a NFL Reporter ala Suzy Kobler.
25. Don’t have Rex Ryan kiss Tom Brady’s rings.
26. Don’t worry that David Harris doesn’t have a contract extension. He’s playing for a big one this year.
27. Don’t worry that we didn’t sign Faneca. We secured D’Brick and Mangold for a long, long, long time.
28. Don’t worry how many times Rex drops an F-bomb. Who F**King cares.
29. Don’t worry who will be next to make the Ring of Honor. Just win the Super Bowl and there will be a ton of you up there.
30. Don’t worry that one of the most hated Dolphins is a Jet (Jason Taylor). He’s playing great like another hated Dolphin converted to green ala Bryan Cox.
31. Don’t worry about Peyton Manning for the playoffs. That’s why we brought in Cromartie and Pool, as well as drafting Wilson, to go along with Revis.
32. Don’t care about not making it back to the Super Bowl in 40+ years. When we get there, it will be that much sweeter.
33. Don’t think about the old Giants Stadium. Just stare happily at the new parking lot that Jimmy Hoffa is buried under.
34. Don’t keep on bringing up that we should have kept Thomas Jones. Ladanian is playing great. Thomas who?
35. Don’t just focus on Ground n’ Pound. Just move the ball. Get first downs. And score!
36. Don’t need to color code Sanchez’ play calling anymore!
37. Don’t know if Jets Big Daddy (Section 122 of the old stadium) is alive anymore but hope he’s seeing this young season.
38. Don’t pose for any more GQ spreads. Cough, couch Mr. Sanchez.
39. Don’t remember the last few Jets tight ends that couldn’t catch: Jolley, Becht, Brady. We finally have one that does – Keller.
40. Don’t just think how great the Sack Exchange years were. This current defense is just as good, if not better.
41. Don’t continue to think about past Jets heartbreak (we’ve all been there.) This is NOT those “Same Ole Jets.”
42. Don’t hate Eric Mangini. He made a stupid trade for his team which allowed us to draft our much needed franchise QB.
43. Don’t think about the Jets having blown 10 or more point leads the last two AFC Championship Game appearances. Third time will be a charm.
44. Don’t even bring up the fact that we were 1 pick short of drafting Brett Favre and settled on Browning Nagle. That was then.
45. Don’t ever hand out Shrek ears again to fans entering the stadium. I know that was a while ago but that was dumb.
46. Don’t mess with The Terminator (John Connor).
47. Don’t laugh when you hear the name “Woody Johnson.” Yes…I’m VERY immature.
48. Don’t mock the Jets Flight Crew! They are so talented in what they do.
49. Don’t date Bridgette Neilsen.
50. Don’t rough the QB deep in their own end on 3rd and 10.
51. Don’t bring guns in the trunk of your car to the stadium ala Damien Robinson
52. Don’t smoke pot during the season and if you do, don’t get caught…cough, cough Shawn Ellis.
53. Don’t be using Twitter on the sidelines.
54. Don’t wear those ugly Blue & Yellow Titans uniforms anymore. We are GANG GREEN. NOT BIG BLUE !
55. Don’t EVER watch the movie “Heidi.”
56. Don’t “Guarantee” anything. That only works once.
57. Don’t forget Dennis Byrd, a true inspiration forever. Rise & Walk !
58. Don’t play passive but be weary of potential concussions ending your career early ala Wayne Chrebet and Al Toon.
59. Don’t fall for a fake spike play. Grrrrr to Mr. Marino.
60. Don’t worry about picking the groceries. Our grocery cart is currently stocked.
61. Don’t think about the Mud Bowl or the Tuna Bowl; focus on the Super Bowl.
62. Don’t pass the ball and stop the clock when the other team is out of timeouts before the two-minute warning unless it’s a second or two before half-time again.
63. Don’t say J.E.T.S. stands for Just End The Season. It now stands for J.E.T.S. – Just Expect The Superbowl !
64. Don’t sexually harass female international reporters again.
65. Don’t, if you play the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the playoffs, attempt a FG too far out where the percentages are not in your favor.
66. Don’t be like Eric Barton and make a bonehead play at a crucial moment in a huge game!
67. Don’t bring in a soccer player to try and play football ala Tony Meola.
68. Don’t worry if you fail to make it in the endzone on 4th and 1 with a QB sneak on the last play of the game; celebrate anyway to maybe get the TD call. (See Phantom TD)
69. Don’t worry if you make a poor shovel pass resulting in a turnover. It will never amount to the infamous Bubby Brister play.
70. Don’t let it bother you that the Jets don’t currently have a cereal in their name. Chrebet Crunch was never that yummy anyway but much better than Flutie Flakes.
71. Don’t believe the hype of a Sophmore QB jinx.
72. Don’t laugh at Rex Ryan’s svelte figure since his lap-band surgery.
73. Don’t let Paul McGuire, wherever he may be, say “the Jets won’t win another game this year.” Don’t want that to happen again.
74. Don’t proclaim 51-45 and the Monday Night Miracle as the best Jets home games. Go out and HOST the AFC Championship and WIN which would then be the “Best Game.”
75. Don’t fumble away sure wins like Blair Thomas did.
76. Don’t have remote control airplanes as the half-time show. (Remember the “Flying Lawnmower Game”)
77. Don’t believe that Flash Gordon was really a quarterback of the New York Jets despite what he says.
78. Don’t relax too much during a bye week unless trying to heal an injury.
79. Don’t think about “What Ifs”, think about “What can be” ! Example: What if we drafted Marino or was able to draft Favre? What if Parcells coached another year?
80. Don’t let a game’s outcome be dependent on a “gift.” We already got our “gift” this year in Denver.

- Kevin “Bird” Harrison
West Orange, NJ

A Gift In Mile High

The Jets playing in the Mile-High city of Denver still brings back bad memories. All of you Jet fans know exactly what I’m talking about. The 1998 Jets and Vinny Testervede held a 10 point half-time lead in the AFC Championship game and fumbled away a chance at the Super Bowl in the 2nd half. Thinking about the game still makes me nauseas.

Now, the Jets were going back to this dreaded city riding a four game winning streak and desperately needed a victory heading into their bye week.

For most of the game, I kept on reverting back to that slogan which I’m trying to get out of my brain in “Same Ole Jets” but mistake after mistake starting making things look quite glum. I know it was a close game and we were never at any point of the game down more than one score but it was the kind of game that even though we were in striking distance, I never felt like we were going to finally get it together. The offense never felt in sync. The defense kept on getting some horrific penalties called against them to the point that I didn’t even know if the referee was watching the game and just had a fetish for throwing the yellow flag.

The game came down to this. The Jets had the ball on their 20 yard line or so. We needed three points to tie it up. Sanchez finally had some poise making a few clutch throws on third down. And then we got one of our biggest gifts ever since Vinny Testervede’s “Phantom Touchdown” back at the Meadowlands in the late 90’s. Sanchez heaves the ball to Santionio Holmes on 4th down. The defender grabs Holmes’ facemask while he attempted to catch the ball which he almost did. The yellow flag is thrown, all wrapped up in wrapping paper with a bow setting up a 2 yard L.T. run to take the lead.

Unfortunately, these are the Jets and we had to still sweat out the final minute against the Broncos. They drove past mid-field and almost connected for a deep pass to the 2 yard line which was luckily broken up. The game’s fate was finally sealed when the Broncos had a bad snap causing a loose ball that Dwight Lowery picked up. JETS WIN to improve to 5-1, winning five straight after an opening day defeat.

The game started out really ugly. On the first two drives, Sanchez threw two horrible drives that were almost picked off and should have been. Then, the CBS crew decides to show a stat of when he last threw an interception. Then next play, Sanchez throws it to the other team. And soon later, he threw his second interception of the game. I’m not sure what Mark’s problem was. I think it had to do with the thin air as many of his passes were just sailing in the wrong direction.

The running game was non-existent until the second half and it seemed like they never got into a groove. It was nice seeing LT run 20+ yards for a touchdown but besides that, the lack of a running game was hard to believe against a team that has difficulty stopping the run.

As for the Defense, they played average. They gave up 145 yards on the ground against a team that can’t ever run the ball. Darrelle Revis got beat a few times but is still working is body into game shape. David Harris was all over the place making some nice tackles behind the line of scrimmage. But, in the 4th quarter when we needed the defense the most; that is when they stepped up their game and got the stops when they needed to.

Nick Folk knocked down a 56 yarder which was huge.

So, we can take a week off and relax. Gotta love a 5-1 record heading into the bye week. Ahhhhh, it’s it great being the best team in the AFC now with Baltimore losing. For once, it’s good to be a Jets fan!

Real Deal

Not much to complain about after a 4-1 start !

Jets Crush Purple Machine

It was a home-coming of sorts. Brett Favre, the Jets fearless leader for one not quite magical season just two years ago, returns to the Meadowlands for the first time since 2008’s end of season collapse. This time; however, he’s wearing purple. This game has Monday Night Football written all over it. Brett Favre is in the midst of controversary after reports surfaced that he was taking pictures of his tally-wacker and sending it to a female Jets employee. Randy Moss also returns to the Meadowlands for his second time this season also now wearing purple since his trade from our division rivals, the Patriots. This game also marks the return of our summer hold-out, Darrelle Revis who looks to shut down, Mr. Moss, and put him on his island. Oh wait…did I forget to mention the debut of Santiono Holmes in a Jet uniform fresh off serving his four game suspension for a substance violation? And let’s not forget the return of Calvin Pace, the team’s best pass rusher, coming back from his pre-season injury.

Things were looking good back in 2008 with Favre at the helm. We were 8-3 which included a game where the Jets destroyed the then undefeated 10-0 Titans. From there, things then basically went to the crapper. The off-season was a typical “will he retire” or “won’t he retire” game which football fans have grown accustomed to over the last few seasons. Luckily, the Jets decided to move on and make a trade with the Browns to snag Mark Sanchez who will hopefully lead this team to the Promised Land. Now, in front of a national audience, the Jets defense needs to payback Mr. Favre for his time spent in Green and White by putting him on his ass.

Come on; all of us Jets fans were thinking the same thing. Here we go again. Favre with the ball, only down two points. I was surely thinking disaster. But, I’m learning that these are a totally different bunch of Jets. These Jets are winners. These Jets are closers. These Jets are atop the AFC East, winners of 4 and a row, and are a team on a mission.

At started out as a snoozefest as we were going to field goal them to death. Folk did have a nice 53 yard FG to go along with four other ones we booted through. We just couldn’t move the ball that well when having the ball in good field position and always knocking on the door of the Vikings. Part of the issue had to be the rain or whatever that monsoon was. It looked like it was snowing. LT had a great game running and Shonn Green had huge touchdown run in the 2nd half to put us up by two scores.

The defense looked good except for a few second half drives. We shut them out in the first half with some great play by Cromartie on Moss. Bart Scott had a fumble recovery when Favre tied the record with Warren Moon for the most career fumbles. Later in the game Favre breaks the record with his second fumble of the evening which was then recovered by Darrelle Revis. I liked that Darrelle wasn’t on Moss. Cromartie did a great job. It gave Darrelle a break in getting into game shape. The second half things got a little hairy with the Vikings connecting on a 3rd and 17 for their first score of the game and then a short while later on 3rd and 19, Favre connects to Randy Moss for his 500th career touchdown. It was such a perfect pass that I have to give Cromartie a pass on that one. The defense for the most part put on some great pressure. Jason Taylor had a huge sack at the end of the game. Dwight Lowery had a monsterous interception for a touchdown that sealed the game putting us back up by two scores. Drew Coleman also had a nice game getting a sack and feeling like he was all over the field.

And our special teams were great. Brad Smith responded for a Vikings touchdown by darting 39 yards to the Vikings 20 yard line which set us up for our fifth field goal.

It wasn’t the prettiest game but when the field was dry and the rain stopped, the offense and defense stepped up their game to seal the deal.

Jets Slaughter Bills

Jets against the Bills is mostly a let down game and a recipe for disaster. There have been numerous trips to Buffalo when the Jets needed a win against a pathetic Buffalo team only to have their season crumble after a heartbreaking loss.

However, this October day in Buffalo was quite different as the Jets dominated from the opening kickoff until the final whistle.

It was a beautiful first drive engineered by Mark Sanchez walking his team right down the field with a mix of the run and the pass in getting an early 7-0 lead after a short Tomlinson run.

This day, the story wasn’t the throwing game; at was all about the ground and pound. LT had his best day in over two years notching 133 yards and 2 TDs. Shonn Greene also rushed for 117 yards as the Jets total rush output hit a sweet 273 yards.

Sanchez did a solid job as well running the show and hitting Dustin Keller for a Touchdown as well as another long connect to Braylon Edwards. Even Brad Smith got into the action with a TD pass to Dustin Keller.

The only complaint I had was a short Nick Folk missed field goal that would have given the Jets a 10-0 lead.

But, besides that, the offense moved up and down the field at will. And it should even get better next week with the return of Santinio Holmes.

The defense did a solid job keeping their offense off the field. This was a game of time of possession and we had the ball for 40 minutes compared to their 19.5 minutes. A lot of Buffalo’s yards gained were during a team brain fart at the end of the first half allowing Buffalo to score quickly and stay in the game. The rest of their yardage was gained in the final quarter when the game was all but sealed.

I loved the pressure on the quarterback and our defense did a nice job stripping the ball in route to 2 fumble recoveries. Great play was made by Bryan Thomas, Nick Lowery, and Jason Taylor who is having a hell of a season. I’m a little worried about Ellis who banged up his knee and we never did hear what happened to him.

Maybe they should call the Jets the Road Warriors as this is the 5th straight regular season road game this team has won. The win against Buffalo was such a beautiful thing that there is not much to even criticize when so many things go right.

Next week, things get more interesting as we welcome Brett Favre back to the Meadowlands. I hope Calvin Pace and Darrelle Revis are ready to play to help spoil Favre’s return.