Sunday, January 17, 2010

J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!


"We ballers. Let's Go. People always hatin on u but we seem to prevail everytime just comin with the negativity and we will respond."

That is a tweet from Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis today after a 17-14 win over the San Diego Chargers. A win that almost nobody expected and that will send the Jets to Indianapolis to play the Colts next week in the AFC Championship.

Going into the game no one was giving the Jets much of a chance, as every single member of both the CBS and FOX pregame shows picked the Chargers to win. But in the end the Jets stuck with what had worked for them all year - running the ball and playing solid defense - and got the victory. It may not have been the most exciting game but they won and that is all that matters.

Shonn Green was the MVP today as he racked up 128 yards with 1 TD on 23 carries. His 53 yard run in the 3rd quarter broke the game open for the Jets and was the longest postseason scoring play in franchise history. Not to be forgotten is Mark Sanchez who played a solid game. He made the 1 mistake which ended up as an interception but other than that he did a good job protecting the ball and standing tall in the pocket. He didn't win us the game but he also didn't lose it for us which is all you can ask for from a young quarterback.

I was really worried after the 1st quarter as the Jets started the game four straight three-and-outs but then realized that they had played the worst quarter of football I had seen them play all year and they were only down 7-0. This was still a game up for grabs.

From there the Jets defense took over and showed a bend but not break will that forced the Chargers into kicking field goals. This would prove to be the key to the game as Nate Kaeding missed 3 field goals and cost his team the game.

It must also be mentioned that the Chargers made a lot of mental mistakes that hurt them in the end as they had 4 false start penalties, in their own stadium, and 2 personal fouls one of which was given to Vincent Jackson for kicking the challenge flag thrown by Rex Ryan after Jackson had made an unreal catch. If that penalty hadn't occurred and if Jackson had kept his cool the Chargers would have had the ball at the Jets 23 yard line instead of the 38. Only one way to describe that move by Jackson, bush league.

Staying on the topic of shitty attitudes I feel I must talk about Philips Rivers who is a Grade A douchebag. He is notorious for talking trash during the games and often gets really personal. He is also a really poor sport and often throws tantrums if he loses (like back in 2006 and 2007 when the Patriots beat the Chargers). Today he was at it again when he basically cried to the ref after Revis came down with an unreal interception. I hate Rivers and there is nothing better than watching him walk off the field after losing a playoff game. Keep racking up those regular season wins though buddy and you will be in the HOF in no time.

Since I am a Jets fan I am loving life right now. I was really worried about Rex Ryan as a coach mdiway through the season as he seemed fond of not using timeouts and being unable to manage the clock late in games. The Sanchise was another point of concern this season as he was throwing interceptions left and right but he has settled down as of late and seems poised and calm in the pocket making a lot of smart decisions.

What I love most about the fact that the Jets are going to the AFC Championship is how it validates them to all the people who were saying they only got in because teams rested their starters. Did the Bengals rest their starters in the Wild Card game? Did the Chargers rest their starters today? No, and the Jets shut them down completely and imposed their will on the ground.

Now the Jets get an opportunity to face the Colts again. Everyone remembers that it was the Jets that beat the Colts in Week 16 and brought an end to their perfect season. A game that spawned a huge debate about not just whether it was right or wrong to rest your starters but also whether the Colts should have gone for the perfect season.

The Jets took advantage of the fact that Peyton Manning was on the sidelines for the 2nd half and won the game keeping their season alive. Now they will have to play Manning for a full 4 quarters and see whether or not they are the better team.

Another wrinkle worth mentioning about the fact that the Jets won is that it upset the pattern that was developing so far in these playoffs. Before the 5th seed Jets knocked off the 2nd see Chargers all the top seeds were winning. Minnesota beat Dallas earlier in the afternoon and earned a shot to play the Saints in the NFC Championship. That game will be the 1st seed (Saints) vs the 2nd seed (Vikings).

In the AFC it will be the 1st seed (Colts) vs the 5th seed (Jets). So if the Chargers had won then it would have been the best teams in both conferences playing each other for a chance to go to the SuperBowl. Too bad the Jets ruined the pattern.

Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan said it best, "a match up that probably nobody wanted, but too bad."

Comments like these are nothing new for Ryan as he has become quit notorious for his brash comments to the media about how great his team is and about how underrated he feels they are. He even went as far as saying he thought the Jets should be the favorite to win the SuperBowl going into the playoffs. Some might say he was crazy but if you look at the way playoff games usually unfold then it really isn't that crazy.

The Jets are a team that plays great defense and runs the ball. These are the 2 most important aspects of the game when it comes to the playoffs. You need to be able to shut down your opponent and set the pace of the game with your rushing attack. The Jets can do both these things and proved it today by limiting the #1 ranked passing attack to just 14 points.

The only problem the Jets have is scoring a lot of points. Should the defense collapse for a quarter and give up 14 or 21 points then of course it will be hard for the Jets to come back as they really don't have that quick strike ability but let's just hope that doesn't happen.

I was planning on not mentioning this since I din't want to jynx it but I feel it deserves some discussion. I want to point out the lucky breaks that the Jets have gotten so far in these playoffs. So far through 2 games their opponents kickers have missed 6 field goals. 6! Shayne Graham missed 3 times in the Wild Card game last week and today Nate Kaeding missed 3 field goals. These are two of the top kickers in the game so the fact that they screwed up so badly is an absolute fluke. I will admit this and I am OK with it because it means that the Jets might be a team of destiny. I just hope the trend continues next week with Matt Stover.

So here we are. Down to 4 teams and the New York Jets are one of them. Rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach. They could break so many records if they win on Sunday and get to the SuperBowl most notable would be Rex Ryan getting a chance to break the curse of fat coaches not winning the SuperBowl.

I am pumped the Jets made it this far and the whole season has been a great success. Having said that I still think we can win it all and win our first SuperBowl since 1969 when Namath made "the guarantee." Now let me hear all the Jets fans out there:

J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Random YouTube Video (Courtesy of Bryan Cruse)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Datsyuk FTW.

Colts with an easy win.