Playoff Hopes... Still Alive

It was September in November in downtown, East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Jets found themselves down by 3 to the Buffalo Bills with under six minutes remaining. It had been a sloppy day for the Jets who maintained a steady lead throughout the majority of the game.

They had lost the lead late in the fourth quarter thanks to Antonio Cromartie. The baby daddy to a baker's dozen was given the call by Special Teams Coach Mike Westhoff to field a Buffalo punt after an excellent defensive stop from the Jets. Up until that point it was Jim Leonard retuning punts because the Jets, specifically Cromartie have had trouble muffing punts and kickoffs. So Westhoff took a chance on Cromartie who does have better speed than Leonard and lo and behold, Cromartie fumbles and gives the Bills the ball with great field position and a chance to take the lead.

On the first play of the Bills drive, Ryan Fitzpatrick notices ex-Jet Brad Smith lined up one on one against.... Antonio Cromartie. The ball was snapped and before you knew it, Brad Smith had caught a 36 yard touchdown pass against his former teammate.

The Jets fielded the ensuing kickoff and returned it to their own 18 yard line. Now it was up to Mark Sanchez, who has pulled off a number of fourth quarter comebacks in his short career. He had thrown three touchdown passes in the game already, but still managed to look like a rookie like he's done often this season. The Jets had plenty of time, a couple timeouts, but there was no doubt they needed this drive. If they don't score they give the ball back to the Bills who in all likelihood would be able to run out the clock for the win.

With 82 yards of field in front of him, Mark Sanchez was under center to start another potential game winning drive. The Jets were able to string together a first down while eating up a good portion of the clock on a couple running plays. Then with a fresh set of downs, Shonn Greene gets stuffed for a two yard gain. Now a crucial 2nd and 8 play with 3:40 on the clock, Sanchez notices the Bills free safety move to the line of scrimmage which leaves Plaxico Burress in one on one coverage wide left. Sanchez fired a pass 12 yards down the field to the sideline where Burress made an excellent catch and got both feet in bounds for a first down.

Things quickly got interesting in the next set of downs. Jets have the ball now 3rd and 8 from the Bills' 47 yard line. Sanchez decided to go to Patrick Turner, the practice squad player of the game. Turner runs a 12 yard out route and with his big 6'5" frame hauls down a poorly thrown Sanchez pass for another Jet First down.

Next set of downs, Jets find themselves in another 3rd down situation from the Bills 36, this time with 11 yards to go after a Jet penalty. The had successfully run the clock down to the two minute warning when Sanchez took the 3rd down snap. The Bills brought a corner back blitz which left Plaxico Burress lined up against a safety. But with the corner blitz Sanchez had practically no time to throw. Fortunately when you have Plaxico Burress lined up against a safety, you simply just throw the ball in the air and odd are, he'll come down with it. That's exactly what happened. Sanchez threw up a prayer and it took an amazing one handed catch along the sideline 17yard down the field from Plaxico. This not only saved the game but may have saved the season for gang green.

"The Catch"

Two plays later Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for an 16 yard touchdown pass to give the Jets the lead at 28-24 with 1:02 left in the game. This drive of the week, nay, drive of the season went for 12 plays, 82 yards and took 4:43 off the clock.

The Bills drove down the field with the little time they had and three timeouts. They made it into field goal range but down by four they needed a touchdown and only a touchdown and that touchdown they did not get. The Jets now improve their record to 6-5 thanks to Plaxico Burress and Mark Sanchez.

I'm sorry Mark for saying you suck... just please don't suck against Washington this week. And Plax... thanks for shooting yourself in the leg. You'd probably still be a Giant if you did.

From JetLife Stadium...

There's no better time to talk to some real die hard Jet fans when the season is right on the brink if collapse. That's what I got the chance to do Sunday in the parking lot of MetLife Stadium. These were some real fans who give a true fan's perspective.

"If they sh*t the bed this year I'll be more disappointed than I've ever been as a Jet's fan," said Ken O'Boyle Sr, father of yours truly and 20 year season ticket holder. "If your gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk."

My Dad loves using stupid cliches, but he's right. We've been promised two going on three super bowls already. We've come too close twice and failed at the doorstep. This year Jet fans were confident.

"Jet fans are never confident!" screamed Bob Payne, long time Jet fan and season ticket holder from Long Island (Those are some hardcore Jets Fans out there). "The year after we lost to the Colts in the AFC Championship, I wasn't confident, but we did it again and lost to the stupid Steelers. This year was the year."

Payne had sat behind me with his buddy "EggHead" practically all my life going to Jet games. When the new stadium came along, every body's seats changed. Some people from the old section 140 didn't even buy season tickets at the new stadium because they're so damn expensive. The happy ending to the Payne and EggHead story is, even though we don't sit in the same section anymore, we tailgate together, which is something we didn't even do at the old stadium.

"You have to beat the Bills today," said Steve "Egghead" Taggart (I felt so weird asking him his real name). "I don't care how they do it. Pretty, sloppy, who gives a sh*t. You can't afford to lose anymore. And if we do win out, I still we get screwed out of a home playoff game.

Payne and EggHead didn't make  the playoff road trips my family made the last two seasons. But EggHead is right. We pretty much have to be perfect the rest of the way if we're going to have a shot at the postseason and even still the Patriots will probably have a better record and win the division. And we had a sloppy win against the Bills.

Payne and EggHead are some of the best Jets fans ever. Even though Payne doesn't sit by us any more I keep his spirit around by shouting some of the classic Payne lines. "Snap it over his head! OOOOVER his head, OOOOOVER his head."Or, "Run like MOOOOSEEEE." Egghead never had any catch phrases but he delivered a line that I laugh at to this day. A band called "Better than Ezra" was playing at halftime and the Jet fans, ruthless as always, practically booed them off the stage. It was girl sounding pop music, inappropriate for a football game half time show. Anyway, no one else ever thinks this is funny, but EggHead shouted at the top of his lungs in a think Long Island accent, "You're not better than Ezra!" Gets me every time.

And now the moment we've all been waiting for....

It wasn't only Jet fans that I talked on Sunday, I talked to my Aunt and Uncle who both work at MetLife Stadium. My Aunt is in charge of the Pepsi gate security and my Uncle is an usher inside the stadium. They work both Jets and Giants games on a weekly basis.

The question was simply this.... Who has the more passionate fans, Jets or Giants?

Aunt Debbie ( master of the Gate )

That's tough to say. The Giants sell more tickets but they are not as rowdy as Jet fans when they get to the gates. Can we change the question to who has the more drunk fans, because Jet fans win that category. It's hard to tell whether Jet fans are just more drunk or they're passionate about the team. I guess I'd have to say the Jets. 

And she's a Broncos fan. And now from My Uncle Dave (Charge Fan and nicest usher at the Meadowlands).

The stadium gets really loud for both teams, but more people show up to the Giants game so I'd have to say the Giants are louder except for the Jets chant. I'll put it to you this way. I wear earplugs for both teams. The Jets get into more fights though. I'm always breaking up fights at Jets games. I don't like it, but it says something about their passion for the team. That or they are just really hammered. 

So there you have it Jet fans are more drunk and obnoxious than Giants fans and by default are more passionate about the team. I say this often, there is no such thing as a casual Jet fan. There are casual Giant fans. Some are just casual football fans.

Who's your favorite team?

I don't watch football that much

 but if I had to pick I'm a Giants Fan.

That doesn't exist in Jets Nation. You're either die hard or you like some other team. You have to be strong willed to be a Jet fan. If your not passionate about the team all the disappoint will kill you. 

Next up....

We have the Buffalo Bills for the second time in three weeks this Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Like Usual I will be in attendance. The Bills are looking like they're having their annual collapse right about this time. It's the same thing every year with these Bills. People get excited about the Bills early, then the epic collapse. They just got beat up  by the Dolphins. I wouldn't be surprised if they finish out the season last in the AFC East, especially now that Miami is starting to come around.

However, the Jets may be collapsing as well. The three game losing streak early, followed by a two game losing streak that we're riding now, if we lose this one we might as well Just End The Season.

What if the Bills aren't in a state of total implosion, what if this is just a rough patch? It worries me slightly, but I'm confident this week. Just for this week. However, I was confident against the Broncos and look what happened.

The Jets are a good team, they're just not playing together, they're not motivated, SOMETHING IS OFF!

We can maybe afford to lose one game the rest of the year. Don't lose it to the Bills, we might need it against a better team.

I'll be bringing my tape recorder with me to the stadium on Sunday with a couple things in mind. I'm going to interview a couple of long time Jets fans. Season ticket holders that remember the days of the Polo Grounds and the Titans of New York. Finally a perspective of someone who has suffered longer than my brief 23 years on this planet.

But I also want to settle a long time dispute. Which fans are more hardcore, Jets or Giants fans? What a relief it is to play in a stadium not call Giants Stadium. Now that each team has an equal share in the building, I want to know who has the more passionate fans. And I will obtain this answer from the most objective people at MetLife Stadium on Sundays, da da da The Event Staff. These brave people deal with drunk idiots from both side on a weekly basis. Surely they are the only qualified to settle this dispute.

I got Tebowed

Go figure, I do all this smack talking about Tim Tebow (God's gift to football) and he makes me look like a moron. He single-handedly drove down the field to win the game against the Jets.

But still, did Tebow make me look foolish, or was it the Jets? It was the Jets, it was always the Jets. This was a team that had the #1 Defense and #1 Rushing Attack in the NFL two years ago. Now, not only can't we play defense or run the ball, we can't block and our Quarterback, now in his third season, hasn't gotten better, but got worse.

I'm trying to remember if I felt this way last year or the year before. Last year we went 11-5 in the regular season. We have five losses now, mind you. It was fairly certain this time last year that the Jets were in good postion for at least a wild card playoff spot. I don't think I was this miserable last year. The year before we went 9-7 in the regular season. At one point two seasons ago, all playoff hopes were lost. Even our rookie head coach calculated wrong and officially declared us out of playoff contention. But he was wrong, and we eventually made it to the AFC Championship game. Was I as miserable as I am now? No. The fact is that we had a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach and there weren't big expectations.

This year I had my eyes on the prize. We have the same team, pretty much. Now, we're in a position with 6 games left in the season and we really can't afford to lose one.

Traditionally, 11-5 gets you into the playoff just about every time. 10-6 most of the time, but Jet fans know all too well that 10-6 is no guarantee. 9-7 is a long shot. It has happened. It happened two years ago. The Jets even won the division in 2002 with a 9-7 record. Dare I say the good old days.

I miss you Chad Pennington. I miss having a quarterback that I could trust with the football and completed the majority of his passes. Even if those passes never went farther than 15 yards.

Up Next Tim Tebow and the Broncos

I'd like to think the Jets can win this game. The problem is the Jets can't get pressure on the quarterback and Tebow likes to scramble. Fortunately, Tim Tebow is not a good quarterback and will probably never be a good quarterback in the NFL. He seems like a corn fed country boy and to be honest comes off dumb. To be a quarterback in the NFL, you need a head on your shoulders, not just use head and shoulders. Andrew Luck, the inevitable 1st overall pick in next years draft is a Stanford product. Peyton Manning is a genius and studies film like a lunatic. I swear if he wasn't a football player, he'd be building rockets.

Remember how the vote for the Prom Queen and class president was all just a popularity contest? Did you ever imagine that the position of starting quarterback would be based on anything other than talent and ability? Well it is in Denver. Tim Tebow, a very public Christian, almost too public, is starting for the Broncos. Mr Can't do no wrong off the field but can't do anything right on the field is starting against the Jets this Thursday.

I'd like to think the Jets can win this game.

How to be a Jet Fan

I was talking with some friends the other day (non-Jet fans), who brought up a good point. There is no such thing as a casual Jet Fan. Jet fans are die hard. The live and die with the Jets. Eat, sleep, breathe Jets football.

For those interested in becoming a Jet fan or perhaps you want to test how green your blood is, here's a few things you should know.

1) You must enjoy torture
2) Be prepared to be depressed
3) Joe Willie Namath is your hero
4) So is Curtis Martin
5) Burn your Favre Jersey
6) Spell Jets than say it loud three times right afrer
7) Hate Tom Brady
8) Hate Bill Belichick
9) Hate the Patriots
10)  Hate the Dolphins
11) I still Love Chad Pennington

That last one is optional.

What Happened?

How can you go from such a dominating performance a week ago against Buffalo to what I saw Sunday Night. My head hurt watching that game. And I don't think it was all the beer. Maybe it was the beer a little bit but it was mostly watching Tom Brady having his way with the Jet Defense and the Jet Offense making the Patriot's D look like one of the best in the league.

We all know the Patriot's Defense isn't any good but they blew our O-Line of the ball every snap and beat up on Mark Sanchez. The Patriots aren't what they used to be. I really thought we had them going into Sunday, but I've learned my lesson. I'm no longer confident.

The Jets know how to beat the Patriots. We've split with them the last two seasons and ripped them in their house last year in the playoffs. You need to hit Tom Brady. He's the constant. He's what gives the Patriots a chance to win every time they step on the field. It's no secret that Tom Brady isn't Tom Brady, when he's under pressure. We had none. I hate Tom Brady.

How Will I Spend my Playoff Ticket Money

I was reading a blog on Jets Nation by a smart fellow named Phil Sullivan. Like most Jets fans Phil's disgusted over the most recent debacle. But Phil is a hopeful, but nonetheless true Jets fan when searching for one positive to take from the demoralizing loss to the Patriots.

He had been saving for two home playoff games. You know, the ones I was ranting over, the ones Rex Ryan practically promised us. The positive Phil took away from the beat down Sunday Night was that he now could spend that money on something else. He even spent time in the terrible traffic leaving the stadium thinking of things he could now splurge on.

Check  out Phil's Blog

For me, I already bought the playoff tickets. My family buys them every season. If they don't make it, the Jets automatically put that money spent towards next years season tickets. We're gluttons for punishment. Even if by some miracle they bounce back and they are on the road for the playoffs, we'll wind up on the road with em'. Just like last year and the year before that. We set ourselves up for this torture.

Rex Ryan has a Big Mouth

Rex, before the Charger's game said that he turned down the Job to be San Diego's Head Coach. And if he was the coach out there with all their talent that he would already have a Super Bowl Ring. This crossed the line in a couple of ways. The media harped on the fact that it was a dis to Norv Turner, current San Diego Head Coach. I don't care about that. He implied that the Jets are not as talented as San Diego and if they were, he would have led us to the promise land already.

Rex says what's on his mind and a lot of the time he doesn't think before hand. We know he likes feet so we should have expected that he would put his own foot in his mouth every once in a while.

Some Priceless Rex Ryan Moments

He's entertaining. If he screws up every once in a while, I can live with it because I like this guy as my head coach. 

Let's face it, anything is better than this...

Eric Mangini

Or this....

Herm Edwards

I'll take Rex over these two any day, even if they did have moderate success while they were here. They both work for ESPN as analysts now and perhaps that is for the best. 

Plax's Wife is Hot

I didn't realize Plax's wife was so hot. They showed a shot of her on TV each time Plax went to give her the ball he just caught for a NY Jets Touchdown. Which happened three times. I was watching the highlights and instead of being happy to see Plax hit his stride, I couldn't stop thinking about how how his wife is. She was with him before he went to jail. I wonder if she was faithful. If Plax keeps it up she better be.

 

Burress Caught Three TD Passes against the Chargers.

Each of those balls went to his hot wife in the stands. 

On another note, why is she allowed to keep those balls? Revis threw a ball into the crowd in the Monday Night Dolphin game but security came and took it away from the lucky fan. What's the big deal if a lucky fan gets to take home a game ball?

When I was young my dad caught a field goal from John Hall that sailed over the net used to stop balls from going into the crowd. Knowing the NFL and Meadowlands' stupid rules about this, he orchestrated this master plan to hide the ball from security. It involved other fans hiding it for us, passing it down, hiding it under the seat and so forth. Somehow the ball made it back to my dad and we took it home. Look at that. Jets fans working together to beat the system. I'm surprised no one decided to steal it for themselves. And who said Jets fans are all assholes?

New York Jets Riding a 2 Game Win Streak

We beat up on the Dolphins, but that was expected. Who can't beat up on the Dolphins? No one as of right now. If I were in charge of the Dolphins, I would just give up the season and put all of my faith in Luck. Andrew Luck from Stanford as the second coming of Dan Marino.

The  Jets were able to beat the Chargers at home. And go figure, the Jets, a traditionally good road team, are undefeated at home and haven't won on the road. This is a quarterback/coach tandem that has more road playoff wins than any other in the history of the NFL.

The win against the Chargers was reminiscent of Jets wins in the last two season. Trailing going into the half, coming out with halftime adjustments and dominating the rest of the game. We're finally starting to see the defense coming around. Making plays when you have to is essential. That's what the Jets are starting to do. And finally we're seeing the potential of ex-con Plaxico Burress. Three touchdown catches, all of them in the red zone. A place where the Jets have always struggled, perhaps no more now that Sanchez and Plax are starting to click.

Click HERE to see highlights from Jets vs Chargers.

Looking at the highlights, you'll see class Jets Football. When there's that sense of urgency the Jets Defense steps up. The Revis interception, the Wilson pick to seal it and the stopping any chance of a Phillip Rivers' led Charger comeback.

Next up are the Buffalo Bills, who if the season ended today would win the AFC East. This is a team that has been so bad over the last couple of years I haven't been cheering against them like a do for the Patriots and Dolphins. I have to start changing my practices. This will be a tough match on the road. Buffalo is a tough place to play whether the Bills are good or bad. This year the Bills are much improved and should prove to be a real challenge on Sunday.

Mike Francesa is a Douche

Darrelle Revis Hangs up on Mike Francesa

Francesa is a Jets Hater. He makes it so obvious it is sickening. But he does it for a reason. He knows how sensitive Jets fans are and he knows how we react with we listen to him. I pull my hair out listening to this guy. But I can't tune away. He's the kind of guy you love to hate if you are a Jet fan. It makes me want to go out an beat up on the Buffalo Bills that much more. 

In this clip Francesa is interviewing Darrelle Revis and insists that Revis fouled Brandon Marshall in the Jets Monday Night Football Victory over the Dolphins when he intercepted a Matt Moore pass. This is from the YES Network Simulcast of Francesa afternoon show on WFAN-AM. Francesa won't let the issue go. He said he was going to move on but he wasn't Revis was getting pissed and he knew it. This is what Francesa feeds on and I still stand by the fact that he is a douche. 

However, from a public relations stand point the Jets screwed up. Having the PR guy come on the phone and tell Revis to hang up is against PR 101. Revis was handling himself fine. If Francesa want to have an argument let him, Revis was making good points. Coming on like that and telling him to hang up makes Revis and the Jets seem weak. The Jets are know for their big mouths. All I'm saying is let em talk. 

All Alone on Revis Island

Darrelle Revis breaks up a pass intended for Vincent Jackson

He's not the biggest guy on the field. He's not the fastest, although he's pretty damn close. But he's the best defensive player in the NFL. A Rex Ryan defense needs a shut down corner like Darrelle Revis. He pretty much shuts down one entire side of the field. And what happens when a quarterback goes after a receiver on Revis Island? Reference above. Or, below. 

Revis Interception returned for Touchdown

It's gotten to the point where quarterbacks, if they're smart, don't even throw in his direction. Last year Revis was all pro. Expected. How many interceptions did he have? None. Still all pro. How can you be an all pro cornerback and not even have any stats in the most importance defensive back category? When you strike fear into quarterbacks around the league. For this year, it's almost a given that Revis will receive all pro honors again, but can he lead his team to another AFC Championship? With a couple of interceptions already on the season, three in the last two Jets victories, I'd say Darrelle Revis has the Jets back on the right track.