Gang Green is Happy to Start Their Vacation Early

The Jets made it two straight trips to the AFC Championship Game and two straight disappointing exits.   Gang Green had so much respect for the Steelers that they paid homage to the team in the first half before deciding to actually strap it on in the second half. In the days following the game, you got the impression that the Jets were just happy to be in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship while the Steelers were focused on taking home the hardware, which in this case is the Lamar Hunt trophy. 

The Jets lost that mean streak that the team exhibited against the Colts and Patriots.  Maybe the Jets came out of tunnel motivated to dominate the line of scrimmage in Indy and Foxboro because Rex & Co. had a personal vendetta against those two teams.  Regardless, somebody needs to pull big Rex aside and explain to him that you don't get the opportunity to play in the AFC Championship game very often and you need to capitalize on it.  The Jets may have made it to the Championship game two years in a row, but they may not make it back for the next twenty years. 

However, that possibility did not stop Rex from announcing "We don't need to apologize to anybody. We'll be back, you'll see." Bets should be taken on how much longer Rex's brash talk can keep going before it loses its luster. You can only make guarantees for so long before it gets old.

Jets Capitalize on Pats' Miscues

Bill Belichick did some unconventional things today that cost the Patriots the game today.  First, he won the coin toss and decided to defer the ball.  The Patriots offense has been unstoppable all season, especially in Foxboro, having put up 45 points on the Jets just a few weeks ago.  If you're Belichick, why would you not put your offense on the field right away and score first?  Second, Belichick decided to fake punt down seven to three with a minute left in the first half knowing that he would get the ball to start the second half.  That play made little to no sense, as it wasn't worth the risk of not making the first down and giving the Jets great field position to put more points on the board before the end of the first half. That's exactly what the Jets did, as Sanchez capitalized on the Patriots late Christmas gift with a fifteen yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards.   Third, the Patriots went for a two point conversation way too early in the game, down 19 - 9 with thirteen seconds left in the third quarter. Even Phil Simms thought it was too soon to go for two points, as there was still an entire quarter left to play. Fourth, the Patriots first drive of the fourth quarter took almost eight minutes, as they ran it eight times and got zero points.  There was no sense of urgency or tempo to Brady's offense on that extended drive, which ate up too much clock to come away with no points.  Fifth, the Patriots second drive of the fourth quarter was mismanaged, as the the Pats needed to get that field goal kick off before the two minute warning to preserve precious time.  Finally, Bill Belichick needs to stop wearing those ridiculous hoodies in freezing cold temperatures. It doesn't make him look tough, it only makes him look like a college student pulling all-nighters. Maybe if he dressed a little warmer, he would have made better decisions that put his team in a better position to win on Sunday.

Trash Talk is Infectious with Gang Green

Antonio Cromartie must think that he is shutdown corner, as he went out of his way to curse out Tom Brady going into this weekend's game. Maybe, he realized that regardless of how much trash he talked this week leading up to the game, he was going to get thrown at by Tom Brady, especially when you consider that opposing quarterbacks stay away from Darelle Revis as if he has a disease.  So, Cromartie will see plenty of attention on Sunday.  Hopefully, he can back up all the smack he talks during the week with his play on Sunday.  Unfortunately for Cromartie, he will have plenty of time to memorize the name of his children after Sunday, as he will spend the evening chasing Wes Walker into the back of the endzone. Tom Brady is a former third stringer who has made himself into one best quarterbacks to ever play the game.  A little trash talk from Antonio Cromartie isn't going to throw him off his game. The only positive from the garbage coming out of Cromatie's mouth is that we no longer have to hear about Rex Ryan's wife's feet.

Caldwell's Gaffe Cost the Colts

Despite the fact that the Colts were fortunate just to make the playoffs this year, it is always surprising to see a Peyton Manning led team bow out of the playoffs early. The script seemed a little strange, as you got the impression that Adam Vinatieri's 50 yard boot with fifty-three seconds left on the clock was supposed to add to his collection of late game heroics and provide Peyton Manning with another game winning drive. But, coach Jim Caldwell's brain fart - calling a timeout on the Jets final drive with 36 seconds left and the ball on the Indianapolis 34 yard line - cost the Colts the game.

I have no idea what he could possibly have been thinking calling a timeout at that point in the game. Did he confuse Mark Sanchez for Joe Namath? Caldwell explained after the game that he wanted to make sure that the Jets couldn't take the clock down, forcing the Jets to snap the ball as many times as they could. But, his logic doesn't make much sense. Simply put, you cannot give a second year quarterback more time to collect his thoughts on a game's final drive, and more time for his offensive coordinator to devise a series of plays. The clock was working in the Colts favor at that point in game until Caldwell decided to help out the Jets offense.

If you still think that Caldwell's decision was not that questionable, just take a look at the reaction of Peyton Manning on the sidelines.  He was as dumbfounded by his head coach's decision to call a timeout as the 63,000 fans in Lucas Oil Stadium and the announcers, Phil Simms and Jim Nantz, in the booth.  Caldwell's poor timeout call capped off a night in which he was out-coached by Rex Ryan on the opposite sidelines.  Rex Ryan's defense was playing a cat and mouse game all evening with Peyton Manning. The Jets were putting only 5 men in the box on third down, especially in the second half, forcing Peyton Manning to audible to a run play. The Colts had a 3rd and 9 in the third period and ran the ball with Joseph Addai, as a result of the Jets showing a light box with Eric Smith brought down from his safety position. The Colts also had a 3rd and 7 in the fourth period and Peyton decided to run the ball with Dominic Rhodes.  Any time that the Colts decided to run the ball instead of pass it was a mini victory for the Jets within the game. Now, the Jets will go from facing one hall of fame quarterback last week to another one this week in Foxboro.

    

Two NY Football Teams Going in Opposite Directions

Both New York football teams have identical 9 and 4 records after 14 weeks of a grueling NFL season.  Yet, the two teams seem to be going in opposite directions.  The Jets started the season by reeling off 9 wins and 2 losses, but somehow never achieved one of those season defining wins that builds a team's character.  Sure, Gang Green beat New England 28-14 in week 2, but that's all forgotten after the ole fashion beatdown they received in Foxboro on Monday night.

The problem with the Jets is that the team is not getting good enough play from their quarterback.  If you have a good defense, you will be in every game, but you need great quarterback play to be a championship caliber team.  You need to remember that Trent Dilfer is the exception, not the rule.  And to be honest, Dilfer was at least a better game manager than Mark Sanchez is at this point in his career.  Currently, Sanchez is the 28th rated quarterback in the National Football League. 

RK	PLAYER	TEAM	ATT	COMP	PCT	YDS	YDS/A	LONG	TD	INT	SACK	RATE
21	Alex Smith, QB	SF	269	160	59.5	1809	6.73	62	12	9	15	80.6
22	Sam Bradford, QB	STL	474	286	60.3	2884	6.08	49	17	12	27	79.1
23	Shaun Hill, QB	DET	351	215	61.3	2206	6.29	75	13	11	14	78.6
24	Carson Palmer, QB	CIN	497	300	60.4	3187	6.41	78	21	18	26	78.1
25	Donovan McNabb, QB	WSH	472	275	58.3	3377	7.16	76	14	15	37	77.1
26	Chad Henne, QB	MIA	385	233	60.5	2676	6.95	57	13	15	22	76.5
27	Matt Hasselbeck, QB	SEA	423	253	59.8	2906	6.87	87	12	15	28	75.2
28	Mark Sanchez, QB	NYJ	441	235	53.3	2852	6.47	74	16	12	26	74.2
29	Brett Favre, QB	MIN	351	212	60.4	2446	6.97	53	10	18	21	69.6
30	Derek Anderson, QB	ARI	327	169	51.7	2065	6.32	43	7	10	25	65.9
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	ATT	COMP	PCT	YDS	YDS/A	LONG	TD	INT	SACK	RATE
31	Jimmy Clausen, QB	CAR	224	115	51.3	1163	5.19	55	1	7	24	55.0

The good news is that Mark has not exactly regressed from last season when he was also the 28th rated quarterback, but it would nice to see him take strides forward.  I know what the "Sanchise" backers are going to say, "he had his first 300 yard game this season, and in fact, he's had two 300 yard games this season and one game where he threw for 299 yards."  But, Jets fans cannot tell me that they have faith in Sanchez to lead the team to victory in a shootout with his arm.  What makes Sanchez a special player is his footwork, and ability to make plays with his feet.  He is great throwing on the run, and rolling out of the pocket when a play collapses.  Unfortunately, he is just not playing at a level where he can be mentioned in the same breath as the elite players at his position.

Until that time comes, Brian Schottenheimer needs to simplify the playbook, and have Sanchez try manage the game similar to the end of last season when the Jets did not ask their young quarterback to do too much.  This may be a difficult task given that one of the Jets most explosive weapons are their receiving corps of Holmes, Edwards, and Keller.  But, the Jets are at their best when they are dominating the line of scrimmage with their ground game and letting their defense steal the show.

Jets Feeling Green

Tom Brady was in cruise control, and the Jets suffered the worst loss of Rex Ryan's coaching career Monday night in Foxboro.  The big coach with an even bigger mouth didn't have much to say on the podium as he stood in front of reporters for the post game press conference.  Rex was still able to say all the right things, but you got the feeling that he wasn't fooling anyone, not even himself.  He said that he would "play them right now if they'd let 'em."  Did Rex not get a big enough thrill watching the Patriots put up a 45 spot on his vaunted defense?  Maybe, Rex wanted to keep playing to see how soon it would take for the Patriots to score 50 points on his defense.

Rex likes to think that his defense is the reincarnation of the '85 Bears.  But, the '85 Bears never got spanked this badly.  Maybe, it was just the Patriots night, as Tom Brady put it afterwards, or maybe the Patriots were poised to make a statement.  Despite trading Randy Moss, the Patriots showed they could still score, and score in bunches.  More importantly, Brady & Co. made a statement that the Patriots are not ready to relinquish their place atop the AFC East.

In some respect, the Jets have come off this year as a younger, mischievous child trying to get attention with the Hard Knocks cameras, the trash talk, the loud coach, and the flashy quaterback.  The Patriots came off this evening as professional, proven and humble.  They talked as much after the game as they did going into the game, which was very little.  They did most of their talking on the scoreboard.  And the fans at Gillette were into the game throughout.  Brady wanted Patriots fans to be more like Jets fans.  Today they were as loud as any fans in the country.  Maybe they can maintain it if Brady keeps giving them so much to cheer for.