Fireman Ed

I love the Jets, and Fireman Ed starting the chant at the games is a ton of fun.

But Fireman Ed has his own iPhone app?
And it's not free?
Which is more surprising?

Jets vs Pats Round 3

After a tight playoff win last night, the Jets go to Foxborough to play the Patriots - site of their 45-3 loss earlier in the year. Now for some observations and predictions:

Jets are 2-1 vs the top 2 seeds in the AFC this year
Tom Brady is 1-2 vs "Ryan brothers" coached defenses this year
Jets are 2-2 vs Patriots last two years
The last time the Patriots scored less than 30 points was in November, vs Cleveland!
In their two losses this year the Patriots only scored 14 points
The Jets have lost only 1 game this year when they score a TD on offense

The Jets will use the 45-3 loss as motivation to show that "nobody shows them any respect" and "nobody thinks they can win." What will be hilarious is how the Patriots will feel the same way! We will also hear a lot of "we haven't done anything yet" and "they have a good football team over there."

The following quotes will be food for the media "I didn't come here to kiss Belichick's rings" and "Peyton Manning studies more than Tom Brady."

And so, here's how it boils down.

When the Jets have the ball: They need to score. They should expect to need to put up 30 points. The Patriots like to take away the things you do well, so they will stuff the box with 8 and dare Sanchez to beat them. Interestingly, the Jets ran against 8 in the box against Indianapolis. In addition, the Pats will probably try to shut down Edwards and make Keller and Holmes do the heavy work. I wouldn't be surprised if the Jets try to do a few misdirection things with formations like they did with Pittsburgh where they get in run heavy formations and try some play action. No drops!

When the Patriots have the ball: They will score. The key is keeping them to FG's but an aggressive Belichick showed that he's willing to go for it on 4th & short in the last meeting (even when up by 30+). The defense did a good job creating 3rd & longs vs Indy, and will have to do the same here. The Jets are built for beating the Colts, but less so for the Pats. NE is going to show a lot of heavy run formations and then pass to their pass happy TE's. In the game vs the Colts, the Jets also used a lot of DB's and again, it wouldn't be surprising if they did the same here. The Jets would probably be content to let NE to run against them because that plays to their strengths and it means they're shutting down the pass.

Special Teams: The Jets have a better chance of breaking a big return but also a better chance of missing a FG or shanking a punt (12 yd punt?)

So who will win? Patriots are big favorites here. Jets have to execute perfectly and fool Brady with formations in order to win this one.

Additional footnote: You know the "home unbeaten streak" of New England, and the "interception-free streak" of Tom Brady? Apparently this doesn't include last year's playoff game where they lost and Brady threw 3 INT's.

Let's not get too excited about the Jets...

The Jets are 4-1, they look good and have been executing well. Still let's not get too excited - it's only October and frankly they haven't played that many good teams. NE is pretty decent and Baltimore looks strong but they lost that game. Miami is probably about an average team when all is said and done and Buffalo is poor. I also think the Vikings are very overrated this year. So before we crown the Jets as Super Bowl contenders, let's see how they stack up against the top teams.

Revis, Richardson - The Jets

This week's episode of "Hard Knocks" should be pretty interesting since Darrelle Revis has finally ended his holdout. Interestingly, he only gets $11 million more in guarantees, and 1 more year than he would have had if he had played out his original contract based on what is reported. Thankfully Revis will be back - with Calvin Pace out for a few weeks and a thin backup corps, the team's defense was looking vulnerable. Also, in the first three games the Jets are set to face Anquan Boldin, Randy Moss and Brandon Marshall. They needed Revis to be playing.

The other news of the weekend is how the Jets released, then re-signed fullback Tony Richardson. This too will make good "Hard Knocks." During his release will they then tell him that they'll re-sign him the next day? This is why football is so strange in general - you can release a player, then re-sign him the next day for the roster cuts with no penalty. The business aspect is so strange. The NFL still doesn't have a collective bargaining agreement yet either, which could lead to some business drama in the coming year.

By the way, "Hard Knocks" is pretty good tv. Why doesn't MLB get their act together and do a similar show? In fact it should be even better watching young players try to make the cut during spring training because there are so many more players in baseball invited to the camps.

Brett Favre Returns... Again.

I can't wait for October 11, Vikings at Jets. Can't wait for the Jets to pummel Brett Favre.

Taylor

Even if Jason Taylor helps lead the Jets to a Super Bowl, he'll still always seem like a selfish pretty boy who puts himself before his team to me. He'll really have to have an amazing season - at least 10 sacks in meaningful spots - for me to think that he's actually worth this signing.

The NY Times had a headline, "Taylor Ready to Let Bygones be Bygones with Jets Fans." Oh how gracious of him. He had better be good. Sure, Johnny Damon and Roger Clemens came to the Yankees after success with the Red Sox - but neither of them made ridiculous statements about Jets fans. Taylor says that saying those things just was to help add heat to the rivalry. No, that's not necessary to add passion to the rivalry - to insult the fans. Frankly, I don't remember Taylor ever coming up big for the Dolphins when it mattered, and so that concerns me just as much as the fact that he skipped out on Dolphins' mini camp in order to be on "Dancing with the Stars."

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jason Taylor is a Jet.

He had better not suck.

Don't Get Taylor

Apparently Jason Taylor is visiting the Jets today. I'd really rather not have him. I believe he made some not so nice comments in the past.

More Jets - 4th Quarter...

I'm so nervous right now, the Jets just took a 10-7 lead.

I'm reading the Fifth Down, NY Times blog while watching this game, and came across this:

"Update | 7:03 p.m. Great point by Sam Farmer of The Los Angeles Times on his Twitter page. Farmer wrote that he doesn’t believe the Jets will pull the upset here, but if they do, he noted the irony in how the Colts will have to face the Jets, the “monster they created” by pulling quarterback Peyton Manning in the third quarter of the second-to-last regular season game, which the Jets needed to win to make the playoffs. — Greg"

Is that a great point? See Kitchen Fresh Blog, Monday, January 11.

"If the Jets win, a match-up with the Colts or Ravens would be fascinating. If it's the Colts then it would be funny since most people blame the Colts for letting the Jets into the playoffs."

It would make for a briefly interesting story that nearly anyone could have come up with, but let's face it, it's not a "great point." Also, the Jets still need to win...

Some thoughts before SD vs NYJ

I have to say, I didn't think I'd be watching football this far into the year. I hope the Jets win today but I think it's going to be a really tough game. They need to play near perfect football, I think. The good news, is that the last few weeks, they have been. However, at times this season they have made some mistakes and been unable to overcome them.

As I watch the Vikings take a 14-3 lead over the Cowboys, I realize how much I can't stand Brett Favre. What a selfish jerk. If the Vikings make the Super Bowl, I sincerely hope that the Jets are there to take him down. I'm rooting for NO next week no matter what - they looked pretty good.

Even if the Jets win this week, it's hard to imagine them making it past Indy. The Colts looked good against the punchless Ravens. Funny how a team can look so dominating one week and then the opposite the next. I realize Flacco was hurt, but still. It would be kind of remarkable if the Jets could advance, beat the Colts (who "let them in" the playoffs) and then beat their old QB Favre. But that's a dream scenario.

Other little facts I had been wondering about - when was the last time both #1 seeds hosted the Conference Championship? More recently than I had remembered - 2004. When was the last time both #1 and #2 seeds made it to the Conf Championship? That same year, actually. That year, one #1 advanced (Philly over Atlanta) and one #2 (NE over Pittsburgh). Last time both #1's advanced? I think it's 1993, Bills vs Cowboys.

Much is made of Norv Turner's coaching history. He's 4-3 in the playoffs for his career, 3-2 with SD. In the division round he's 1-1, with both games occurring on the road. They've never had a 1st round bye and are 2-0 at home under Turner.

Not much of a sample size.

In general, when I think of the Chargers:
2004 - Jets beat Chargers 20-17, Kaeding misses a critical FG and the Jets advance despite an Eric Barton penalty
2002 - Jets (2-5) beat SD (5-1) on the road 44-13 in a huge upset

I forgot about:
2005 - Chargers beat Jets at Giants Stadium 31-26, but looking at the box score it looks like Vinny Testaverde (in his 2nd go-around) and Brooks Bollinger played some QB so it must have been one of the bad years when Pennington was hurt.
2008 - Chargers dominate Favre and the Jets 48=29 on MNF.

People often compare the Jets defense to the Ravens because of Rex Ryan. Well, Baltimore beat SD this year in week 2, although barely - Lewis made a huge stop on Sproles at the end of the game to save it. In '07, SD beat the Ravens 32-14.

Finally, in computer simulations this week (aka Madden NFL 10) the Jets (me) beat the Chargers (computer, All-Pro) 42-13. But I also lost in an online game today 28-14. However, first caveat to the online game - I had a kickoff return for TD overturned by a holding call, got called for a facemask on a Sproles kickoff to my own 49 and Braylon Edwards had a fumble ending a drive where I was dominating time of possession. The other caveat - it's Madden.

Final note: During the Bengals / Jets game, I was at a bar and a Patriots fan here said, why are they called the "New York" Jets if they play in New Jersey? My response: Why is your team named after an entire region of the country and not a state or city? Or maybe we should call them the "West Coast 49ers." Sadly, I don't think he heard my response. Also, perhaps not every team plays in the exact city they are named for (e. g. Washington plays in Maryland).

Woooooo J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!!!

AFC Playoffs

If you had told me a month ago that the Jets would still be playing on 1/11/10 and the Patriots wouldn't, I would not have believed it. If you had said Wes Welker was injured then I _might_ have believed that the Patriots would be out of it, but not that the Jets were in it. Yet here we are on 1/11/10, and that's exactly the situation.

The Jets looked good in the Wild Card round, although the Bengals certainly helped them out. This weekend's game vs San Diego should be pretty interesting since each team has pretty different strengths. San Diego seems to be more of a passing, and screen throwing team, whereas the Jets are a run-heavy attack. The blitzing from the Jets might be countered well by the San Diego screens, but I think that the Jets have a decent shot here - they just need to make sure they control the ball with their ground game.

I think the Jets have a better shot than most people give them. It's good for them to be in the underdog role here. Also, Kerry Rhodes did a pretty good job of shutting down Antonio Gates in the past, so perhaps the Jets will use him in that role. It seems like most of the Chargers' recent games against good teams have been close, so the Jets should have a chance for it throughout. My biggest concern about the Jets is their middle linebackers. Coaching-wise, for some reason Norv Turner never seems to be able to get the job done. I wonder if this is the year.

If the Jets win, a match-up with the Colts or Ravens would be fascinating. If it's the Colts then it would be funny since most people blame the Colts for letting the Jets into the playoffs. If the Ravens, it would be a home game, and the Ravens are the team the Jets are modeled on. But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Jets 2009

Well isn't this interesting? The NY Jets actually have a chance at making the playoffs if they win next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After all that... They've had the #1 defense in points, the #1 rushing attack in the league, a 3-0 start. Yet they blew 5 games on the last possession (MIA x2, Jacksonville, Buffalo and Atlanta), had huge special teams debacles (MIA, ATL), weathered Mark Sanchez interception parties (NO, ATL, BUF) and still have a chance at making the playoffs.

Of course, this has all the makings of a Jets collapse. Primetime game, control their own destiny despite looking totally out of it, Jets are favored, Bengals on the road with nearly nothing to play for, last game in Giants Stadium...

But maybe it won't be, and they'll make the playoffs, then get knocked out somewhere in there. Then it would just be another unremarkable season.

I'm not sure which I'd rather have. My ironic sensibilities are truly hoping for the Jets to make the playoffs and then make it to the 2nd round where they knock out the Colts. That would be amazing.

Jets vs Ravens

This blog post by Tim Graham at ESPN.com pretty much sums up my opinion of last night's game, so why rewrite what has already been written?

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/2164/a-few-thoughts-on-sanchez-clemens-etc

Jay Cutler Part 2

Well, that didn't take long.

One week after saying that Jay Cutler wouldn't be traded, the Denver Broncos have announced that their QB is on the block.

There need to be some real questions about Jay Cutler's maturity and attitude. I can't stress this enough. He is not the first player who has been subject to trade rumors or even the first player to have been traded. His reaction to the non-trade is remarkable. Refusing to even talk with the team after they tried to make amends can only hurt his trade value anyway. If he really wanted out it would have been better to at least not look like such a crybaby.

As for the Jets, they really have to avoid any of the media and populist fan pressure to get Cutler and just stick to their plan. They have a first year head coach and need to avoid the temptation for a big arm. We know Cutler can throw, and he is certainly more talented than the current QB's, but does he really fit into the system the Jets are trying to build? The Jets currently have dispensed with last year's #1 receiver and their top RB is holding out from voluntary workouts due to unhappiness with his contract. Cutler is also going to come at a big price. I'd rather they concentrate on keeping Jones around, keeping their draft picks and adding at a number of positions. After all, TO is more talented than the Jets WR's and they didn't pursue him. The same principle should apply with Cutler.

I hope they learn from last year when they abandoned their off-season plan and added a talented but risk-taking QB. Things didn't mesh well. Let's not forget that Kerry Rhodes has said on numerous occasions he doesn't like Cutler. There are good vibes for the Rex Ryan era right now, let's not ruin it.

Jay Cutler

To the Jets:

Please don't acquire Jay Cutler. Sure, he has a great throwing arm, and he's probably better than anyone that the team currently has. But the way he's reacting lately to the situation with the Broncos is extremely out of proportion compared to what has actually happened. And remember when he had a mini-feud with Philip Rivers? I believe Kerry Rhodes also said "I don't like him" after the team lost to the Broncos last year. It's tempting but don't do it!

Jets Release Coles

Or let him become a free agent, or whatever. He's not back next year. I hope this doesn't mean he joins his very good friend Chad Pennington. I'm not optimistic for next year even with a new coach.

Welcome, New England fans!

Welcome New England Patriots fans, to the misery of rooting for the Jets. That's right! You too, get to taste the joys of watching the Jets lose a game that could have sent your team to the playoffs. Join me!

By the way, towards the end of the game, I was trying to decide which I would prefer - the Jets winning and helping New England or the Jets losing and Miami going to the playoffs. I decided that there's nobody on the Patriots that I like, whereas I do still like Chad Pennington. So congrats, Dolphins!

Also, I thought it is interesting that the Jets' collapse this year was actually similar to Tampa's collapse from 9-3 also this year.

Same

Same ol' Jets.

I think we should have a new saying, however. How about "SJDY?" Same Jets, Different Year. Or SJDD - Same Jets, Different Day.

Happy Jets Fan - Still an Oxymoron

Well that didn't last long, did it?

After two great wins against New England and Tennessee on the road, the Jets have now had two horrible losses against Denver and the 49ers in a row. Same ol' Jets?

11-30-2008 Denver Broncos at New York Jets

Maybe I should have entitled this, "Misery at the Meadowlands."

I got to go to the game on Sunday but the experience was horrible. The gate attendant wouldn't let me bring my umbrella in (despite the fact I wasn't going to use it as my seats were under the covering) and I had to "hide" it and hope it would be where I left it when I came out. It wasn't there. The alternative, since I took the bus, was to throw the umbrella out. Many people were throwing out perfectly good umbrellas. What a waste!

On to the game itself, it was a wet and windy day, and the Jets were horrible. The game was so strange with a number of big plays in the beginning, a fumble recovery that apparently wasn't a recovery (it sure looked that way on the replay), and a huge rash of Denver injuries towards the end of the game. In the third or fourth quarter, there was this really strange series of Jets offensive plays where after every play a Denver player required a trainer to come out to them. Literally five plays in a row. It was so strange that it appeared as if they were doing it on purpose!

Meanwhile, the defense had absolutely no pass rush. So sad.

Oh well, maybe this will be a wake up call for the team. The game did make the playoff prospects rather dim, as it exposed the horrible pass defense.

Here's a nice photo from the atrocious game, followed by an interesting ad I saw in Giants Stadium. I guess they don't update the ads very often.