Monday, September 26, 2005

I don't feel much like rhyming about the Jets' loss to Jacksonville.

I suppose the game was a great one to watch. A 26-20 overtime game, with the Jets forcing overtime in the game's final minutes. Unfortunately, the Jets lost it, and they probably lost their chance at doing anything this season in the process.

I hate negativity. That's why I can't stand a lot of Jets fans. It's all negative. I try my best to be positive constantly. I try to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt. At least the coaches not named Paul Hackett. But when you're a Jets fan, there's always a part of you that's constantly focusing on the negative. Despite all of my positive thoughts about Chad Pennington's arm, part of me believed it wasn't right. I would rather look at the 7-for-7 on the final drive (where the Jets passed) versus Miami than the fact that his throws were wobbly. I'd rather not think about what would happen if Pennington took another shot to the shoulder.

Well, Pennington took another shot to the shoulder, and there's no denying it now - he can't throw the football. And despite how much he says they need to cut his arm off for him to not play, he can't play. The Jets can't let him go out there - they're only going to cost themselves games. And I think - and this is total speculation - that Pennington's career could be in serious jeopardy...let alone his season.

Now, the Jets actually did something smart before the season. And that was sign Jay Fiedler, just in case Pennington's arm didn't recover in time. Well, now Fiedler could possibly miss the rest of the season with a serious shoulder injury. Only the Jets would sign a capable backup as a plan B, (although I don't believe Fiedler is capable of winning a playoff game), only to see that quarterback suffer the same fate as the starter.

So next week in Baltimore the Jets face the prospect of starting Brooks Bollinger. Positive thougts - Bollinger looked the best of the three quarterbacks the day I saw the Jets in training camp....negative - it had to be the worst day of practice of the summer. The Ravens' defense has got to be salivating at the thought of facing Bollinger. He played last season a little bit in the game against Arizona...and Arizona's defense gave him a hard time. Baltimore's defense has been struggling...this is the time for them to right the ship.

Now quarterback names are being thrown about - and the name Quincy Carter has even come up. I'm not positive, but didn't Carter bail on the Jets at the end of last season? Weren't there rumors that he was back on a drug suspension at the end of the year after the Jets took a chance on him? I hope they don't turn to him again.

I'm going to throw something out here that I kept forgetting to mention at the beginning of the year. I never understood why a team like the Bears, when they lost Rex Grossman, didn't take a chance on Rohan Davey when he was cut by New England. He's played well in NFL Europe, and I'm going to suggest the Jets take a chance on him. They're obviously not sold on Bollinger, if they're so anxious to look for help, and Davey has been on the World Champs for the past few years. And at the very least, he's got the arm that Mike Heimerdinger can take advantage of in his system. Come to think of it, he's a bit like Steve McNair - in build, size, and running ability. Who knows? Maybe there are other issues with Davey...but the Jets are in a desperate situation.

I had to take a day before I wrote about the Jets' situation. I needed to stew a bit. I'm not going to even get into the punt returning problems Justin Miller had. Or the offensive line problems that resulted in Pennington and Fiedler getting roughed up in the first place. It's tough, rooting for the Jets. You hate to say, "Same ol' Jets", because it looked like they were turning a corner, but it looks like we're dealing with the same ol' Jets.

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