Football Jets

The excitement around New York and New Jersey can hardly be contained. The most polarizing figure in sports, Tim Tebow, just arrived via a trade from the Denver Broncos all because Peyton Manning hurt his neck, got cut from the Colts, signed with Denver, allowing General Manager John Elway to make Tim Tebow expendable.

It is great to be a Jets fan right now. People everywhere are talking about the Jets. The team is the most interesting in the League and what is even more interesting is how the Jets are going to use Tebow as a weapon on offense. The new Offensive Coordinator brought the wildcat offensive scheme to pro football and now he is teamed up with the perfect wildcat quarterback. A whole different dimension to football, unique, versatile, creative, exciting football is ahead for the Jets.

Many critics knock the move, they are plain wrong. The Jets got a gift in this deal, landing a player that gives them an opportunity to be unique in their approach on offense. There is nothing wrong with running for a first down, and if the quarterback can do that than that is one more blocker on the field. Think 3rd and short, how nice is it to have someone who is capable of throwing a short pass for a first down or run for a first down. Try to play defense against that.

The knock on Tebow is his completion percentage. The guy only has played in less than 20 games in his entire career. If he can complete just 1 more pass out of 10 than he has done during his first two seasons then his percentage will be right there with most NFL quarterbacks.

Tebow is a winner, he will invariably make the Jets entertaining, must watch television in which a commitment to the ground and pound philosophy coupled with a top Rex Ryan led defense could be the ingredients that can start a dynasty.

If the game plan would be more advantageous against certain teams to start Tim Tebow, then Tim Tebow should start in those situations.

New York Giants,

Truly great win in the Superbowl.

The parade in New York and the rally in New Jersey were sensational.

Beating the New England Patriots was pleasing to watch. Patriots falling apart all over the field was pretty pleasing to watch as well.

What a run by the Giants, coming through with must win after must win for two months. Funny how it all started with that 99 yard touchdown by Victor Cruz in the Christmas Day Jets-Giants game. The Jets were playing great and were dominant up until that moment, then everything changed. The Jets fell off and the Giants took off. The Giants made play after play, game after game. Spectacular catches by the wide receivers and on the money throws by Eli Manning. That quarterback was dropping passes in to small windows and his receivers made game changing catches routinely. Hats off to them, a well deserved Lombardi Trophy. Enjoy the rings.

Next year, hopefully we can bring another championship back to New York.

Obviously, I hope it is on the shoulder pads of players wearing green.

The New York Jets lost again. After starting the game going the length of the field for a touchdown, the New York Jets rolled over for their stadium sharing rival, the New York Giants.

The Giants defense was better. The Giants offense was better. And their wide receiver made a 12 yard reception into a game changing 99 yard touchdown reception.

The New York Jets have 1 game to play.

If they are to make the playoffs, they MUST WIN. And get lots and lots of help.

Jets Win plus a Bengals Loss plus a Titans Loss plus either a Raiders Loss or a Broncos Loss.

That is a lot of help they need. At 8-7, the Jets are a couple wins below their preseason expectation and with many people picking them to possibly reach the Superbowl, it appears the prospect of reaching the playoffs is unlikely.

The Bengals could lose, they do face the Ravens who are trying to win their division. The Raiders play the Chargers, so it is possible they could lose. The Broncos play the Chiefs, who sometimes play well but Tim Tebow will probably find a way to win. However, the Titans are playing the Texans who have locked up their playoff seed and have nothing to play for, expect them to rest Foster and the rest of their stars. In other words, the Jets might as well be making tee times for Monday morning.

At least the Jets were playing meaningful games in December, too bad they didn’t win many of them.

Happy New Year

With major post-season implications, both the New York Jets and New York Giants need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. In all likelihood, the season ends for the losing team. Its a home game in New Jersey for everyone, lets hope the Garden State favors the green.

Dramatic, yes. Exciting, yes. Decisive, yes.

Go Jets

The 2011 New York Jets just added to the Tim Tebow legacy. In spectacular fashion the one and only savior for Denver Broncos football fans came through for them again in an astonishing 95 yard drive in the fourth quarter capped off by a 20 yard Tim Tebow touchdown run virtually untouched into the endzone with less than a minute left to lead his team to a 17-13 win in front of his home crowd.

Mark Sanchez threw one touchdown pass in the game, unfortunately it was thrown to one of the players wearing a Broncos uniform. The obvious turning point in the game the pick six allowed the Broncos to tie the game at 10-10 and help set the stage for another Tim Tebow fourth quarter comeback. In his first 5 starts at quarterback, he has 4 wins.

Meanwhile the Jets playoffs chances are slim and none following this loss. Even Las Vegas bookies had the Jets at almost a touchdown favorite on the road. And why not, you would think if the Jets allowed the Broncos offense to score only 10 points the Jets would muster up enough offense to easily beat that. Of course you always have to consider Sanchez possibly throwing his 3rd pick six interception touchdown of the season.

Fans seem upset with Mark Sanchez’s inconsistent play. 11 straight completed passes tonight. Still manages to find the most inopportune time to turn the ball over. Offensive line has not helped him, running back injuries do not help either, play calling by the offensive coordinator is often questioned, but in the end you need to be good enough to at least beat the Denver Broncos in a game that just needs to be won in order to save your season.

At 5-5 the Jets are going to have to go on one of those improbable runs in order to make the playoffs. They can at best go 11-5, but even losing one gives them a 10-6 record and that record is only sometimes good enough to make the playoffs. They are a streaky team, but 5-1 down the stretch is a tall order, so I am guessing their actual playoff chances percentage wise would be at most 15%, and that is probably being generous. Again, it is hard to understand how Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos defense were able to make the Jets look so bad, but the at least the Jets can now always be highlighted throughout Tebow’s career with that game winning rushing touchdown that allowed the Broncos football savior to conquer the Jets in front of a capacity crowd and broadcast nationally on television. Tim Tebow magic on Thursday Night Football.

…and the winner is… the New England Patriots.

The fallout is…Derrick Mason gets traded to Houston for a couple of used tackling dummies and a draft pick to be named later.

The Jets defense right now is not very good, and though they held Tom Brady relatively in check, the Patriots running game was pounding on them all night long.

The Jets are 2-3, getting kicked on by the national media while Brian Schottenheimer is getting ripped indirectly by players and directly by just about everyone else.

At least the Jets have a chance to cure all that ails them against a Miami Dolphins team that has not won a game all season and may be on the verge of going all-in in the suck for Luck (Standford Quarterback) draft pick sweepstakes. Monday Night will be a big game, because if the Jets fall to 2-4 their playoff chances will be crushed, but at 3-3 they would be in the middle of things and be primed for a better second half.

The 2-2 NY Jets are in the midst of a tough stretch of games which will probably determine their season. The next month or so of games is full of match-ups against 3-1 teams, with the exception being the gimme game against the Miami Dolphins, who after starting the season 0-4 are in prime position for the Suck for Luck sweepstakes.

On national Sunday Night in America prime time television, the NY Jets got manhandled by the Baltimore Ravens defense. Poor protection led to Mark Sanchez getting harassed all night long. Sanchez basically handed the ball to the Ravens on several occasions which they gladly ran in for touchdowns.

Really, the Jets offense was embarrassing, which seems to always be the case against top tier defenses. Though, the defense and special teams managed to put points on the board, the offense allowed the Ravens defense to put 21 points on the board. Considering the Jets scored 17 points total, allowing three return touchdowns is certainly not a recipe for success.

Lots of issues existed tonight with several dropped passes, Shonne Greene runs that range from a loss of two to a gain of two, Mark Sanchez holding the ball for too long, Mark Sanchez making poor decisions, and offensive line that without Nick Mangold (injured) is below average at best.

Jets used to be formidable on the road, but in back to back weeks the Jets have lost away games against Oakland and Baltimore, and have to travel to New England next week for a game that is important for the Jets for many reasons, such as the need to avoid falling into the list of teams with losing records. Beating the Jacksonville Jaguars was a nice win, beating the Dallas Cowboys was an exciting, improbable comeback win, but the poor defense in Oakland and the poor offense in Baltimore has this team showing that certain game plans can beat them on one side of the ball.

This inconsistent play has the Jets at 2-2, and in desperate need of a win in New England this coming Sunday. Go Jets, bounce back Mark, Defense we are going to need you to make a couple of game changing plays, and that goes for you too special teams.

The Opening Weekend of NFL Football was simply incredible with many upsets and breakout performances. The excitement climaxed on Sunday Night Football where the New York Jets on the Tenth Anniversary of 9-11 had one of the most amazing come from behind victories over the Dallas Cowboys winning 27-24.

This game was emotional. The Jets took off a little slow out of the gates, but then the fourth quarter arrived and the New York Jets behind the energy of 80,000 loud fans made play after play on offense, defense and on special teams to win a game that looked out of reach.

Nick Folk 50 yard field goal gave the Jets the 3 point lead with less than a minute to play. Kicker Nick Folk made the biggest kick in his career, taking avenge on the team that cut him a few years ago.

Mark Sanchez threw for over 300 yards and never quit after making a couple of mistakes. The quarterback Mark Sanchez found different receivers in crucial situations and made just enough plays to pull out the epic win over Rob Ryan’s highly touted defense.

Rex Ryan defense gave up a couple long scoring drives early in the game, but then they got comfortable and put a ton of pressure on Dallas Cowboy Quarterback Tony Romo.  The special teams and the defense decided the game by making some tremendous second half plays. Brian Schottenheimer was steadily aggressive calling pass after pass and only sprinkling in the occasional run. The aggressiveness payed off when the Cowboys secondary was injured and worn down allowing Jets receivers to find openings and opportunities that they took advantage of over and over.

Special Teams of the Jets came up with the biggest plays of the game. The blocked punt return for touchdown made the entire stadium go bonkers. Then Nick Folk drilled the kick of his life to send the Jets into the win column.

Jets Defense by many players including stars Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis. Linebacker Bart Scott pressured Romo and had some huge tackles. Corner back Darrelle Revis made the interception late which set-up the game winning field goal. Romo had the lead and the Cowboys were in the driver seat. However, the pressure of the moment forced Romo to make mistakes, and the Jets capitalized in the biggest way.

Ladainian Tomlinson was making plays including many huge first downs by catching Mark Sanchez passes in the flat and finding the first down chains and doing whatever it took to get past the chains. In reality the stars of the Jets all seemed to make plays.

Plaxico Burress was quite in the first half and then he made his return to the NFL memorable. With several catches on the game none were bigger than the Mark Sanchez to Plaxico Burress touchdown pass down the sideline.

Jim Leonard who ran all the way down the field and made a game changing tackle that preceded the Tony Romo goal line fumble that ignited the comeback.

New York Jets Come From Behind Victory Over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, just had to repeat the title because this win was something special on a truly special day in American History. God Bless America and thank you to all the men and women who lost their lives saving others on that unforgettable day ten years ago. The NY Police Department, NY Fire Department, First Responders and all those who lost their lives  you will all, forever, be in our hearts.

The 2011 New York Jets season is finally here. After the lockout and the crazy free agency period the games are on and the NFL is ready to entertain us every week for months. The Jets are living the high profile life right now. People everywhere are talking about them, of course that is almost automatic when you have Rex Ryan as head coach, but still people everywhere are putting the Jets in the conversation as possible champions.

And why wouldn’t they? The Jets have won 4 playoff road games the past two seasons, they have competitive AFC Championship games, they boast one of the leagues best defenses and they of course have a throng of high profile players.

One of those high profile names was the free agent acquisition of Plaxico Burress. Here is where I throw out the lame joke, “I hope the Jets didn’t shoot themselves in the foot” with this signing. Opinions vary widely on what will be Plaxico’s production during the 2011 Jets season but he did make a high-light reel catch during the pre-season but he is 3 years removed from making his last touchdown catch, albeit it was a Superbowl winning touchdown catch.

Most of the other big names are back again with LT, Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes powering the offense and Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Bart Scott locking down what could possibly be the NFL’s best defense. The defense finished ranked third in the league last year which followed the number one ranking during Rex Ryan’s rookie year as head coach. The offense can at times look great, and at times look very pedestrian. This has been the case with the offense throughout the preseason and pretty much throughout the Mark Sanchez era. Sanchez is young though, most third year quarterbacks are just getting their first opportunity to start in year three, Mark Sanchez has already tied the NFL record for most playoff victories by a quarterback.

So the 2011 New York Jets season will be exciting. The New England Patriots are going to be very good again, the Buffalo Bills should be vastly improved, and the Miami Dolphins… well let’s just say Tony Sparano has done a magnificent job keeping the Dolphins mediocre – which has been an absolute delight to see for New York Jets fans.

As for my 2011 New York Jets season prediction I am going to concur with Head Coach Rex Ryan and say that the Jets are going to the Superbowl.

5 point losers in a game that meant the right to play in the Superbowl. The New York Jets season ends.

This is horrible.