It's been a busy football season, but there's really no excuse for me not writing in so long, especially considering how well the Jets have done. On Sunday, the Jets won again, clinching at the very least an 8-8 record, and moving a step closer to again controlling their own playoff fate.The Jets looked awful to start this game, letting the Vikings bust through the line on two consecutive plays, the second of which saw Chad Pennington cough up the ball, allowing the Vikings offense to have good field position, and score on their first possession. But that was it. With the Vikings leading 7-0, the Jets scored on six straight possessions, taking a 26-7 lead, en route to a 26-13 win.
I love that the Jets didn't play into the Vikings hands in this one - they play the run well, well, we'll just throw it. Pennington finished with what I believe is a career high 339 yards, throwing for a touchdown and one interception. He's just short of 3,000 yards for the season. I say, get Chad Pennington into the post-season, and anything can happen. The guy knows how to win...he just needs to avoid mistakes.
Now, I have a couple of concerns about this Jets team, that I've been sitting on for a few weeks, since I've last written. The first is their inability to put teams away. Other teams always have one final drive in the last five minutes with a chance to either take the lead or win the game. I would like more games like the one against the Packers, where the Jets just buried them from the start. Even this (sort of) blowout game against Minnesota, the Vikings had a chance late, because the Jets weren't running out the clock well.
The other thing I'm concerned about is the way the Jets have played at home. It doesn't really matter, I suppose, being that the Jets have just one more home game, against the Raiders in two weeks, and that's a very winnable game. (If the Jets make the playoffs, it's very unlikely they will be playing any home games.) And I guess that leads to a huge positive - for the Jets to have a shot at the playoffs next week, they need to win on the road (at Miami), and then for the Jets to do anything in the post-season, they would need to win a few road games. This year, the Jets are 3-4 at home, and 5-2 on the road. I feel VERY good about the Jets' chances in Miami next week, and now that the Steelers have shown people that a Wild Card team can go all the way, maybe something magical will happen for the Jets. At the very least, this young team that they have will have some experience playing in some very meaningful games, rather than just stumbling through a 4-12 or some such season.
Now, here's the disclaimer. I was all set to write this article last week, and then the Jets went out and laid an egg against Buffalo. They're not a perfect team, I know that. But they are a good team, and they can surprise some people. A win in Miami next week, and the Jets are going to the playoffs. A loss next week, and this was just a very entertaining (and another frustrating) year.
NOTES: I had this thought this morning. What if Curtis Martin returns next year, and in order to take less of a beating, becomes another passing option for Chad Pennington as a wide receiver. It would allow Martin to be an important part of the team, without upsetting the young running backs the Jets have now, and it would allow Martin to be less banged-up than he would be as a running back. Just a thought. I'd like to see him back for one more year, and that's about the only capacity I can see him returning where it wouldn't upset what the Jets have going for them this year.
Also, thanks for checking out the site if you're switching over after reading my posting on "The Southern Bureau's" blog, the 'Orange Couch', on the WECT website. If you're one of my (few) readers, check out my posting on the "Southern Bureau"'s blog - it stems from a bet I sort of won back on johnnymets.blogspot.com.
I'm going to try to keep updating this site down the stretch run of the season (this is, after all, why I created this site), but I'm not sure how often that will be, what with the holidays upon us. I am going to try to go to the Jets-Raiders game on New Year's Eve (hopefully the flex schedule won't make that a night game), which could be a playoff clincher.
And GO COLTS - the Jets need the help, and a Cincinnati loss is a huge help. We're looking at a big 8-6 bunch - the Jets, Jaguars, Broncos, and possibly Bengals on Monday night. It's going to come right down to the wire.
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