Playoff Day

So today is the day us Jets fans have been waiting for since last January.  Leading the Colts 17-6 at half time of the AFC Championship game, we were soo close.  So close to the Super Bowl.  And we watched it slip away.  Colts come back to win the game and us fans get to watch another Jets-less Super Bowl two weeks later.

But here we are again.  Wild Card weekend in the NFL, heading back to Indianapolis for a rematch with Mr. Peyton Manning and the Colts.  And I firmly believe that this time, the Jets will get it done for us.  The Jets will prevail this evening and set up a third game this season with the Patriots next weekend in New England.

Antonio Cromartie, Santonio Holmes, Ladanian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor.  All off-season acquisitions that were brought in for one purpose.  Today.  The Jets were close last year but as we all saw, not close enough.  These players were brought in to push us over the edge, to knock off all those opponents in front of them.  Tonight, we see that happen.

Mark Sanchise is a year older.  A year wiser.  A year better.  As a rookie he won two and a half playoff games on the road.  This year, he is ready to win the first road playoff game in 2011.  He has his weapons spread out wide around him so he will use them.  He will also use the two running backs behind him.

The biggest question mark will again the be the defensive backs.  They're still banged up and they can cause us fans to bang our heads.  But they will be stingy tonight.  They will not make it easy for Peyton.  And at some point, hopefully in the second half, we will witness the first interception of the season my Darrell Revis because Peyton will temporary lose his mind and throw in his direction.

We've waited for tonight for almost a year.  And it's close.  8 hours away.  Let's do it!

Near Attack

Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.  Those were the audible sounds coming from my chest late Sunday afternoon as Big Ben was getting dangerously close to the Jets end zone to win the game.  On first down, and second down, and third down the defense did a fantastic job limiting the Steelers offense and creating looong 4^th downs for them to have to convert.  And convert they did.  Over and over again.  All the way down the 10 yard line.

First play, rocket pass to the back of the end zone, between two Steelers, and an incomplete pass.  Heart’s pumping a little bit more.  Two seconds left.  One more play.  One final chance for Ben to stab the Jets.  Second play, scramble to the left, throw to the back corner, incomplete.  Jets win!  22-17 victory, in Pittsburgh.  10-4 record.  Control of our playoff lives.  Win and we’re in.  Two games to get that win.

There were plenty of things to be grateful for from Sunday’s complete victory, things that will help wash away the bitterness from the last two games.  Sanchez played a strong, turnover free game.  The running game was able to move the ball against the great Pittsburgh defense.  Braylon Edwards for 100 yards.  Brad Smith for 97 yards to start the game.  Jason Taylor for the safety.  Drew Coleman for being a Jet version of Troy Palamalu.  Schotty for being an aggressive conservative.  The naked bootleg off the play action.

Win and we’re in.  Go to Chicago on Sunday and beat the Bears.  They already clinched their division, did it last night.  Will they be hungry?  Will they have the urgency?  We’ll find out soon enough.

Game Day

Tonight's the game that has been circled on most of our calendar's since the end of Week 2.  The rematch.  Jets - Patriots, in Foxborough.  We knew back in September that this game would have some meaning behind it, even if it is only that it's a division game, late in the season, payback on the mind for New England.

What we're getting in eight hours is so, so much more.  We're getting two 9-2 teams.  Two 9-2 franchises that despise one another, no matter how friendly and politically correct the coaches and players speak to the media.  They hate each other.  No one in Green and White has any love for someone wearing Red and Blue.  There is a ton of history and dirt that leads to this feeling, to this disdain but that is in the past.  None of that will matter in eight hours.  Only hatred.  And the chance to go 10-2.

Win tonight's game and move to 10-2. First place in the AFC East.  First place in the AFC.  #1 seed for the playoffs in your own hands.  So yeah, Rex Ryan is right by saying it and you know that Bill Belichick is right by thinking it: Tonight's game is the biggest NFL game of the season so far and one of the biggest games in NFL regular season history.

There's a lot in favor of the Patriots, don't get me wrong.  Tom Brady doesn't lose at home.  He doesn't lose in December.  He doesn't lose twice in a season to the same opponent.  He's been lights out since New England got rid of Randy Moss.  He was perfect in his last game.  To some, he's Mr Everything.

But he's not winning tonight.

He will not beat Mark Sanchez, who will face a weak pass rush and a weaker secondary and will duplicate his Week 2 numbers.  He will not beat Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes, who missed the first game but has been everything and more for the Jets the last five weeks.  He will not beat Ground and Pound, who will dig out their dirty yards and keep the New England offense off the field.  He will not beat Darrell Revis because, well, no one beats a healthy Darrell Revis.  He will not beat Bart Scott and Calvin Pace, another Jet who missed the first meeting and adds another wrinkle to the defense.  He may find some room in the middle of the field because Mr. Overachiever Jim Leonhard can't be there, but he won't beat our secondary.

The New York Jets will storm into New England and come away with a hard fought, high scoring game.  They will take over first place in the AFC.  They will bruise the Patriots.

They will not be beat!

Holy sh*t

Ok, so going into yesterday's Jets game, I knew that I was going to be missing the game live.  I had my Tough Mudder run in the late morning/early afternoon so I would be DVRing the game and watching when I got home.  And watch it, I did.  I wasn't as loud and energetic and crazy as I usually am, mostly because the game wasn't live.  I had no idea what was taking place, but it just wasn't live.

As advertised, the defense is playing shut down football, Darrell Revis is an absolute stud, Mark Sanchez is leading the offense nicely and everything is moving along perfectly.  We're winning, 23-7, and I couldn't be feeling any better (except for the almost entire body soreness of my event, yeah, that's me, smiling with the beard).

And then Shonn fumbles and everything positive and all the emotion from the Meadowlands gets sucked out.  Bang!  Matt Schaub hits a ridiculously wide open Kyle Dressens for a 40 + yard touchdown.  Bang, the Jets give the ball back.  Bang! Arian Foster dives in for the touchdown and just like that, just over two minutes to go, we're trailing 24-23.  WTF!  But it's okay, we have 2 time outs remaining and plenty of time to move into field goal range.  But then, Bang!  Sanchez throws a pick and all seems to be over.  And then, Bang!  My DVR shuts off, it's 4 PM.

Upset, pissed off, annoyed, I grab my girlfriend's phone to look up the final score, expecting it to be the same or for us to have lost 27-23.  I'm staring at her phone in disbelief, until she asks me what's wrong.  All I can mutter is, 'we won'.  What the hell happened!  30-27, Jets win!  8-2, still atop the AFC East!  Sanchez, Holmes, Edwards, Tomlinson!  The Cardiac Kids do it again!

Like I said... Holy sh*t!

Weekend Recap

Now that's what I'm talking about!  For most of the game it was ugly and gut wrenching.  The stupid kicker misses three field goals and you watch the opposing team start to move quickly into your own territory during overtime until FUMBLE!!!!  Oh Chansi Stuckey, the ex-Jet, we love ya, we love ya, we love ya.  Keep fumbling the ball baby!

Going into the Dog-Pound this afternoon the Jets and its fans knew that this game would not be an easy one.  Although it was the Browns, and their 3-5 mark, on the schedule, it was not the same old Browns. Coming off two impressive victories over the Saints and Patriots while featuring a new power running back, the Jets had every reason to show up 100% today.  And when they needed it most, show up they did!

Mark Sanchez just keeps growing up this season.  Three more touchdowns this afternoon (two with the arm, one via the feet) and another late win.  The leg injury sure as hell scared the fans because there is no trust in Mark Brunell, but we didn't need to worry.  Sanchise bounced right back up and, when it matter most, found Santonio Holmes on perfect inside cross and Holmes made sure he wasn't going to get caught from behind this time around.  Touchdown.  Game over.  26-20.  Jets.  7-2!

I'll come back to talk about the idiot kicker later in the week.

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Friday night - Back and forth and back and forth and then again.  Back to back games for the Devils ended up in overtime and for the second straight time the game ended up on the stick of Ilya Kovalchuk.  Good thing this one ended with him taking a shot.  A shot that hit the back of the net!  Devils knocking off the Oilers 4-3 in overtime.

I'm fully away that they are still mightily struggling, hell, some would even say still sucking.  And as a huge Devils fan (with probably too much bias) I can't argue that, the record shows it.  But, nonetheless, they have accumulated three out of the last four points (reaching, I know).  They've scored seven regulation goals in those two games.  And they are getting a bit healthy.

They need to keep gaining points and scoring goals and winning games.  Get the confidence.  Get some swagger.  Start climbing the standings ladder.

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Oh yeah, the Nets.  Tough loss the other night.  Damn Nelson hitting that jumper with four seconds left.  You are what we thought you are, a young and struggling team that will provide some glimmer and disappointments this season.  3-6 so far.  Good thing that everyone outside of Boston in the division is pretty bad, so there's a chance for some Ws.  And, four of those six losses are against Miami and Orlando; two teams that will/should be battling each other in the playoffs come springtime.

Game Recap

I'm not even sure where to start on this one.  I said all along last week that I was not to confident going into the game and that the match up against the Lions scared me.  And I continued to feel that way until the last Nick Folk field goal went through the uprights and the Jets were 23-20 victors on the road in Detroit.

This was suppose to be an afternoon that allowed Sanchise to bounce back and regain his confidence against a weak Lions secondary.  Hell, Detroit even know that Sanchez had been struggling a bit and continued to put 8 men in the box and dared the Jets to win the game by passing the ball.  All Sanchez could do for the most part was overthrow and too widely throw his receivers.  Thank God that he was able to launch a beautiful pass down the left side line right before half-time to give the Jets some points, some momentum, some excitement and the lead before halftime.

Again though, in the second half, it was almost infuriating to watch.  I know that I was losing faith and getting extremely pissed off at how the team was 'moving' the ball on offense.  Use of the quotation marks because they couldn't move the ball.  Down by 10, under three minutes to play and only one time out, really there wasn't much to be optimistic about.

Then, the offense woke up.  Just like that it seemed.  With precision, Sanchez moved the team, quickly, down to the 1 yard line before sneaking it into the endzone on a keep.  Ok, defense, let's go!  And they did.  Thanks to some boneheaded Detroit coaching, the Jets force a three and out and get the ball back with 100 seconds left.  The offense kept it up (who would have figured), kicked a game tying field goal, got the ball first in overtime, kept with the spread formation, huge catch and run by Santonio Holmes and then the game winning field goal.  Just like that.  That easy.  Jets win!  6-2.  First place in the AFC East.  Damn.

Some of my thoughts from Section 316... Ford Field, pretty nice.  Lions fans... well, you can tell they aren't from New York.  They do an entire sing along song after each Lions touchdown; too gimmicky and stupid.  Ndamukong Suh kicking an extra point?  Again, stupid.  The referees were way to flag happy, on both sides.  Jets are loving the turnovers lately. Brian Schottenheimer, horrible offensive coordinator, until the last 100 seconds.  Sanchez; ulcer giver.  Jets, 6-2, first place in the division.  Good teams know how to win.

All comments are welcome.

@ The Game

I've been lucky enough this season to already catch on Jets game live and witnessed a great second half comeback over the New England Patriots.  This weekend I'll be even luckier because I not only be catching the Jets game in person but will be doing so from Ford Field in Detroit as the Jets visit the Lions.

This is a game that scares the absolute crap out of me.  Hands down.  100%.  If the Jets had managed to win last weeks debacle against the Packers, I would have felt really, really good entering Sunday's game.  Now?  Oh the exact opposite.  Yes, the defense has been fantastic for the most part this season but the offense is just upsetting and disturbing.  Shut out last weekend, struggled like whoa three weeks ago in Denver.  Last week the #2 ranked running game in the NFL!!!! was held to under 100 yards and Shonn Greene only had four carries.  Jericho Cotchery and Dustin Keller were each extremely weak and had passes ripped out of their hands for interceptions.  And Sanchise, Mark Sanchez again struggled to find the right receiver some times and a case of happy feet.

But isn't that how all of us Jets fans feel after a loss?  That the world is coming down, the other shoe is finally dropping?  Who knows.  Maybe we'll see the Tomlinson and Greene combo that ran rabid in Buffalo, with each other them gaining over 100 yards.  Lets imagine Sanchize showing up the way he did in the second half against New England and in Miami; throwing for over 250 yards and two scores.  How about the offense line keeping their Q off the turf and not allowing Ndamukong Suh any freedom?  I truly believe that Matthew Stafford will have a much more difficult time this weekend connecting with Calvin Johnson for three TDs because Darrell Revis is healthy and showed that last week.

6-2 is much much different than 5-3.  Especially when your, currently, staring up and trying to chase down the Patriots.  It's time for every person on that roster to show up at the same time, the same game and play a complete Jets game.  I will be there, in the third row, endzone, upstairs.  I'll be there cheering and cursing and praying and rooting and hoping.  I hope they all show up as well.  Get angry boys and get it done.

Weekend Recap

What a potentially devestating weekend I almost had on my hands.  In this case it wasn't the third time's the charm but rather the third day's the charm.

As posted below, Friday night i ended up at The Rock for the Devils vs Avalanche game and predicted a 4-2 outcome.  I was close, the final ended up being 3-2, however the Devils were on the wrong side (again) of the score.  For a team to have outshot thier oppostion 41-22 and only manage 2 goals is pathetic.  With so much offensive power on the bench, this is a team that should regularly be putting at least three in the back of the net each time out.  But okay, I get it, they're in an early season swoon.  Great thing about sports is the ability to play the next day and atone for your previous loss.  Or not...

Saturday the Devils hosted the Boston Bruins and nicely lost (again) by a score of 4-1.  What the f&ck is going on with this team?!?!  I know there are some rookies on defense and a newbie here or there on the offensive front but come on now, this is almost pathetic.  At least the team has the next few days off which will maybe refresh them, let them forget the first six games of the season and start fresh.  I would write some more about this game but I wasn't around to watch it as I was...

Down in Philadelphia for the New York Red Bulls' first trip to PPL Park to take on the Philadelphia Union.  The Red Bulls lost the match 2-1 but remain in first place in the Eastern Conference.  The Red Bulls close out their regular season this Thursday vs New England Revolution and all they need to do is win to clinch their second ever Eastern Conference Championship (first was back in 2000).

So entering Sunday I was a solid 0-3 through the weekend and I can say that I wasn't feeling the most confident with the Jets game, away in Denver.  Something in my gut told me this team would lay down, fall flat against a team it is clearly better than and walk into their Bye Week at 4-2 and right in the think of things in the AFC East.  And for the most of the game, I was correct.  Sanchez decided that it was the right time to throw some interceptions, the offensive line didn't want to block for LT or Shonn Greene.  The defense dared the Broncos to try and run on them and that's exactly what happened.  Denver ran for over 100 yards in a game for the first time all season.  Oh, and yes, how can I forget the horrible officiating that took place in the game?  Two OFFENSIVE Pass Interferences called one drive, a phantom Cromartie Pass Interference call, a 15 yarder on Jim Leonard for a helmet to helmet hit. Please.  But then... wait a minute... it's not over, it's not over baby.  Sanchez to Edwards, the Holmes, then Tomlinson.  Soon it all comes down to one play, 4th and 6; Sanchez looks right, looks left, scrambles, and some more before launching it downfield towards Holmes.  As the ball hits the green grass, Jets Nation is finally happy to see the yellow flag on the field!  Defensive Pass Interference!  Jets get the ball on the 2, LT punches in his second score of the day and the Jets move to 5-1, clear control of their division as they walk into their bye.

Not a pretty weekend at all, tough to watch.  But those last few minutes were beautiful.

The Return

Tonight's Jets game will be the first game with all possible players playing in the game (sorry Big Man Kris Jenkins, but it's not possible for you).  Santonio Holmes is back from suspension, Darelle Revis is back from his bum hammy, and Calvin Pace is back from his broken foot.  Damn is feels good to see #10, #24, and #97 back on the field tonight.

But, as we all know, the collective unit must perform on the field and not on paper.  Heading into this game, the boys are riding high, coming off of three straight (huge!) division wins and ready to show the nation that this team is for real.  What we all saw on Monday Night to open the season vs Baltimore was just a fluke and some nerves.  They will come out flying tonight and hitting everything in purple, hard.

The Jets should, and will, have enough tonight to extend their record to 4-1.  Sanchise has a new weapon to go to as well steady Dustin Keller and an improved Braylon Edwards.  Lets not forget about Mr. Revived, LT and his young, spry legs.

Sorry Brett, I'm not getting caught up in your return to the Meadowlands.  I'm actually thankful that you sucked at the end of the 2008 season, caused Man-penguin to lose his job and open the door for Rex Ryan.  You will have a chance tonight to maybe hit a home run or two, maybe.  But you're going to get banged up and bruised all over.  All-Day AP will run freely at times, he's too good to completely shut down but that's all Minnesota will have.

In the end, Jets 27, Vikings 13.

By the way... Another reason you know the Jets will win tonight... It's the 10 year anniversary of the Monday Night Miracle

Upcoming Glory? Can Only Hope

So the last of my local teams that have mold and turned me into the sports fan that I am today is most likely the team that will give me an ulcer before I die.  Don't ask me why exactly but it seems as if I have the most emotional connection with the New York Jets.  Since the mid-90s, the time I can recall most of the individual seasons, I can remember only two seasons ending positively.  But since no Super Bowl was won, I guess not too positive.  But all of those other seasons; bad, worse and worst.

3 and 13.  1 and 15.  Leon's toss.  Vinny's Achilles.  Chad's shoulder, three of them.  Doug O'Brien missed kicks.  Mangenious.   And none of those include the miserable nightmares that I couldn't witness myself, such as the Mud Bowl and the Fake Spike.  We were the laughing stock of the NFL.  The team that just could not get 'it' and made its fans suffer the consequences.  And that's right, I said we.  The fans are a part of this team as much as any set of fans in the country.  We're out there every home Sunday, screaming at the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS as best as we can, but we always seem to end in heart break.

But times are a changing it seems.  Rex Ryan and his loud, loud mouth enter the franchise.  They move ahead and draft the Sanchise, Mark Sanchez.  The defense becomes dominant, one of the best in the NFL.  A breath of a fresh air has blown through the New Jets Stadium and the fans believe.  This season has a been a great one so far... so far.  There's still a long way to go.  A long way to go to the Super Bowl.  To extinguishing all of those past memories.  But it does seem as if the 'Same ole Jets' are dead and gone.  So that is a step in the right direction.