To the Steel City…AND BEYOND: JETS at Steelers Preview

First, I would like to apologize for a lack of blog posts this week. I just moved into my new apartment at a new school and things have been pretty busy. But now I’m getting back in my groove and am ready to give you all something to read as much as possible.

So here we are again. The “Same Ol’ Jets” are back in the AFC Championship game for a second straight season. There is a much different feel about this title game appearance and I’m sure everyone senses it. The Jets may be three point underdogs, but no one seems to be counting the Jets out this year. At this time last year, the Jets were preparing to face a [healthy] Colts team that should have been undefeated. Jet fans believed they could win it, and on paper it definitely seemed possible, but I would be lying if I said last season was a disappointment even with the loss. Teams are not supposed to be able to go that far with rookie head coaches and rookie quarterbacks, but that team pushed as far as they could.

That is Why the Game is Played: JETS 28 - Patriots 21

“When someone tells you you can’t, you want to do everything you can to prove them wrong.” The Jets’ pilot, Mark Sanchez, expressed his emotions after leading his team to a stunning 28-21 upset victory over their rivals, the New England Patriots, sending them to a second straight AFC Championship game.

Black and Yellow

"We made our mark for a reason there too, didn't we? We knew we'd be back."

Time to Back Up All That Talk: JETS at Patriots AFC Divisional Matchup

It has all come full circle. After taking one from the Pats in Week 2, the Jets were pummeled in Foxboro in Week 13, 45-3. Sunday afternoon’s matchup is the rubber game, and the most important of this season’s Jets-Patriots matchups, and possibly the most important matchup between the two teams in their history.

Clearly, the Patriots are heavy favorites in this one. There aren’t many “experts” giving the Jets a chance in Sunday’s matchup. I truly believe that they are underestimating Rex Ryan’s crew. Rex is now 3-1 in the playoffs as the Jets’ head coach. All of those games came on the road. He has shown the ability to plan better and have his team play better in the playoffs. The Jets’ players also have more playoff experience than the Patriots players. Rex Ryan and Jets writers have pointed out that the Jets have a total of 196 playoff games under their belts since 2005, while the Patriots only have 101. The Patriots are a very young team now. Much of their defense is made up of rookies and inexperienced players with little to no playoff experience whatsoever. Who knows how these guys will show up on the biggest stage?

Random Jets - Pats Thoughts of the Day

Having a tough time thinking of a full article but have plenty of random thoughts going through my head, so I thought I might as well write them all down and post them in no particular order.

The Jets’ best defense on Sunday will be possession offense. Shonn Greene and LT need to keep the chains moving and take some precious time off the clock. This will keep Tom Brady off the field, meaning less of a chance for him to do damage.

Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller need to play a crucial role in the Jets’ offense. The Patriots have a plethora of weapons on their offense and the Jets need to show that they have the same.

RT Damien Woody Placed on Season-Ending IR

Rex Ryan announced at his press conference today that New York Jets’ starting right tackle Damien Woody has been placed on injured reserve with an Achilles tendon injury. He will have surgery “later today”.  Woody had been fighting a knee injury for weeks and missed the last three games of the regular season. He first returned last week against the Colts, but apparently suffered an Achilles injury at some point during the Jets’ last drive and the Jets’ offensive line will now suffer from it and will not have Woody for Sunday’s matchup with the Patriots.

Positive spin: Backup tackle Wayne Hunter did an absolutely outstanding job when starting in Woody’s place the last three weeks of the season. Coming off the bench, he was far from great, but it’s a different story when he gets the start. The Jets are not happy at all about Big Wood going down, but we can have some confidence in Hunter to do a good job in his place this Sunday and through the rest of the playoffs.

Jets Execute Checkmate on Peyton Manning

How apropos that after all the talk about Rex Ryan’s ‘footgate’ controversy, Nick Folk’s foot gives the Jets a playoff victory. Folk, who almost lost his job after a rough stretch in the middle of the season, nailed a game winning 32-yard field goal as time expired to give the Jets a 17-16 win over the Colts in Indianapolis. Folk was also outstanding on kickoffs for the first time since the first quarter of the season, forcing two touchbacks.

Rex, Jets Beat Colts by a Foot

It was only fitting that Nick Folk’s foot is what sent Rex Ryan’s crew into the second round of the AFC Playoffs. The Jets beat the Colts 17-16 after Folk’s 32-yard field goal as time expired. The Jets defense was fantastic, only allowing Peyton Manning to score one touchdown. The ground and pound did its thing in the second half, especially on a 17 play, 87-yard touchdown drive that ate up 9:54 off the clock and kept Peyton Manning off the field. Revis Island was as amazing as can be; only allowing Reggie Wayne one catch for one yard. LaDainian Tomlinson finally got his big playoff game, rushing for 82 yards (5.1 ypc) and two touchdowns. After Adam Vinatieri’s game leading field goal put the Colts up 16-14, Antonio Cromartie answered by returning the ensuing kickoff to the 50-yard line. This gave Mark Sanchez and the Jets the chance to get into field goal range with 45 seconds to go. Sanchez got the Jets down to the 14-yard line allowing Folk to kick the game winning field goal. Overall, an excellent execution on the Jets’ part, especially in the second half. Manning did his thing, but the Jets played the better game.

Check back soon for a full recap of the Jets’ wildcard victory. 

Jets Start Where Things Finished Last Season

The sixth seeded Jets are now matched up with the third seeded Colts in the AFC Wildcard round. The game will be played Saturday night at 8 pm. The Jets’ surprising playoff run ended in Indianapolis last year against a heavily favored Colts team in the AFC Championship game. It is only fitting that the Jets would start this year where they left off last season.

New NFL Playoff Overtime Rules

As some of you may know, during the offseason, the NFL owners officially voted in new rules for overtime in the playoffs. These rules now prevent the team that possesses the ball first from winning the game with a field goal on the first drive, thus eliminating the new sudden death rules. We can see these new rules for the first time this weekend.

If the team that receives the ball first in overtime only scores a field goal on their first drive, then the opposing team gets a chance to tie the game with a field goal of their own, or win the game with a touchdown. If the first team scores a touchdown on the opening drive, then the game is over like normal overtime rules. If the first team scores a field goal and the second team scores one as well, then overtime becomes sudden death as it usually is. If a ball is turned over on the first possession, then sudden death is back in play. Playoff games still cannot end in a tie and will go to as many overtime periods as needed. The point of this rule is to prevent the coin flip from being the deciding factor in a playoff game.

In my opinion, I feel that the NFL owners still messed this one up. If they were going to implement this rule, it should have been for the entire season, not just the playoffs. Also, if they really wanted to make overtime even, they would use NCAA football rules, where each team gets a chance from the 25 yard line and keep going until one team outscores the other. I feel that the NFL is not done with these rule changes and will fix the overtime rules again at some point in the near future.

The NFL Playoffs

AFC

All roads to the Super Bowl in the AFC go through New England. The AFC East champion Patriots are the top seeded team in the AFC tournament with a 14-2 record and are by far the most threatening team in the playoffs.

The Steelers (12-4) locked up the AFC North and second seed in the AFC with their convincing win over the Browns on Sunday. They will have a bye and home field in the AFC Divisional round.

B-B-B-Bruney and the Jets

A game that meant so little probably does not need such a big recap. So here’s this:

Playing with most of their backups in, the New York Jets crushed the ailing Buffalo Bills 38-7 on Sunday. Mark Sanchez started under center, but only played one drive and never passed the ball. Mark Brunell came in for Sanchez and threw for two touchdown passes. Kellen Clemens took over in the fourth quarter and ran for another touchdown. Rookie Joe McKnight got the start in the backfield and produced an impressive 158 rushing yards on 32 carries. The defense forced six turnovers, including two interceptions by Marquice Cole, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Calvin Pace played his best game of the season, recording one sack, deflecting three passes, and intercepting a ball. This game may have had the feel of a preseason game, but the Jets got that 11^th win that everyone wanted and got a big win going into the playoffs.

This rout was definitely needed going into the playoffs. The backups will gain some confidence just in case they are needed in the playoffs. The defense played extremely well. Joe McKnight showed that his newfound work ethic is paying off. I almost hope the Jets give McKnight some playing time in the playoffs. If LT isn’t cutting it again, I would not be against giving McKnight one of LT’s drives to see if he can make an impact. If he can, the Jets should definitely play the hot hand. The Jets can now go into the playoffs feeling and looking good.

Oh and…Brian Brohm got destroyed:

The Backup Bowl: JETS vs. Bills

The Week 17 matchup between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills is one of more interest than originally speculated. The Jets have already clinched a playoff spot, and the Bills are only playing for pride, but we will see many backups on both teams trying to make a case for either an expanded role in the playoffs or a reason to have a job next season.

The Current NFL Playoff Picture

Happy New Year everybody! As we go into a New Year, I thought I would try and help everyone understand the situation in the NFL that comes with the New Year.

Sanchez to Go? Or No?

So it seems that New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan still has not decided whether quarterback Mark Sanchez will be playing this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. I think it depends on if his shoulder is really hurt or not. After Sunday’s game, Sanchez said he did not have a tear, but was a bit sore.

If the kid is hurt, no question he should sit. He may not have a good track record after long breaks, but a healthy Sanchez is better than a hurt Sanchez. No need to risk him getting sacked and making whatever injury he has worse.

If he is healthy, then I’d say play him at least a quarter, but at most a half. Let him get a score and stay hot and maybe raise his stats a bit, but after that just let Mark Brunell and other backups take over and lead them to a win over the Bills. Although the Jets can climb to the fifth seed in the AFC Playoffs, it’s not worth risking any injuries. The Jets are already banged up enough (Leonhard, Eric Smith, Ihedigbo, Pryce, Woody) and more guys seem to be going down each week. Give the guys a week or two to get healthy and ready for the playoffs. We know we’re going to need these guys to make a push.

Wait, We Made It? WE MADE IT!!!

In an up and down season filled with scandals and drama, it’s fitting that the Jets would find an out of the ordinary way to grab a playoff spot. The Jets lost a very entertaining game Sunday to the Chicago Bears 38-34, but the lining was silver as the Jets clinched a playoff berth thanks to the Washington Redskins knocking off the Jacksonville Jaguars in overtime. Graham Gano’s game winning field goal to knock off the Jaguars came just minutes after the Jets’ loss to the Bears while Rex Ryan was starting his post game press conference. Naturally, he was relieved and full of joy.

Win and We're In: JETS at Bears

The New York Jets fly into the Windy City to face the NFC North champion Chicago Bears this week. The Jets can clinch a wildcard spot with a win or a tie, and can also clinch if the Colts or Jaguars lose. The Bears have clinched the NFC North title, but can still earn a first round bye in the NFC Playoffs, so don’t expect them to go easy in this one.

Mark Sanchez will be starting on Sunday. He believes his shoulder is back to normal and he can give the Jets the best chance to win.

I see this game being extremely similar to last week’s against the Steelers. Both the Steelers’ and Bears’ defenses give up very little points and both are very strong against the run. The Bears are actually ranked lower than the Steelers in both categories. The point I am trying to make is that Brian Schottenheimer stepped his game up last week and beat one of the best defenses in the league, why can’t he do it again this week?

Sanchez Ready to Go

Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez has officially been listed as probable for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. Sanchez has been limited in practice all week with a cartilage tear in his throwing shoulder. The second year quarterback had more zip behind his throws in Friday’s practice and he says there is no question that he will be out there leading this team. Sanchez told reporters that his shoulder felt the way it did going into last Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh and the way it felt the rest of the season.

Sanchez will start on Sunday. It is possible that the Jets tried to play the media by overhyping this story to make everyone forget about Rex Ryan’s foot fetish video. Whether he is in pain or not, I fully expect Sanchez to be out there playing. He knows how important this game is and knows he needs to be out there to give the Jets the best chance to win.

Jets in the News

It has been another crazy week in the news for the Jets. Here’s what I think of some of the top stories.

Tripgate is still being talked about. Moving on.

Rex Ryan’s foot fetish video has gone viral this week. Despite what everyone else thinks of it, Jet fans know that the head coach is a character. I would really love to know the video of him and his wife got leaked. Anyway, the Jets have won 10 games this season under Coach Ryan. 10 games. Let the man have his fun. I will not judge him as long as we keep winning games.

Mark Sanchez has some torn cartilage in his throwing shoulder. What originally seemed like something he could play through has now become a concern. Rex and company are calling Sanchez a game time decision and have Mark Brunell preparing to start if necessary. If Sanchez is a no-go, the defense and ground game will need to step up big time. Mark Brunell has plenty of experience, but at his age we are unsure if he can lead a team to victory against one of the top defenses in the NFL.
EDIT: Sanchez will definitely start on Sunday barring any setback on Saturday or before the game on Sunday. He looked close to 100% in practice on Friday.

Santonio Holmes has a case of turf toe. The Jets say there is no question he will be playing and there is nothing to be concerned about. Let’s just hope it isn’t a lingering injury that may hurt him during a playoff run.

That seems to be it for now. If anyone has heard anything else worth talking about, please leave a comment.

What I Saw: JETS at Steelers

I decided to try something new this week. This will not be long, but just some things I noticed, whether good or bad, from the Jets in their week 15 game.

BRIAN SCHOTTENHEIMER:

Schotty redeemed himself this week, coming up with a brilliant game plan that kept one of the most feared defenses in the league on edge every time the Jets had the ball. The only questionable parts of his game were at the ends of each half, but otherwise he did a fantastic job and makes Jet fans more confident in him going forward toward the playoffs.