NO CIGAR

I have lots more to say about the Mitchell Report, but I guess I'll save that for the rest of the week. For now, I'll focus on how the Jets came oh-so-close to making history. What's the biggest difference between a 13-0 team and a 3-10 team (or 14-0 and 3-11 now)? If you watched the Jets-Patriots game on Sunday, you saw a number of examples.

First of all, Kellen Clemens made the biggest mistake of the game for the Jets, and he only threw one pass. It was a good rush by Richard Seymour, but you can't throw that ball - and if you are going to throw it, you had better make sure that ball goes out of bounds. Throwing an interception right there (on the five-yard line, returned for a touchdown) is a killer.

But then it dawns on Jets fans (or, at the very least, me). I never envisioned, even when I blocked out my common sense, that Kellen Clemens could figure out a way to beat the Patriots. I rationalized that maybe the Jets could get a defensive touchdown and a couple of field goals. But Clemens is really hurt. And the backup.....could it be.....[cue the dramatic music].....what? Brad Smith? Seriously, Eric Mangini?


The Jets went with about the most predictable offense in the world by bringing in Smith to run the ball, and Pennington to pass it. (Predictability - not a formula for success against New England.) There was absolutely no threat of Brad Smith throwing the ball when he was in the game. One play worked - a 49-yard run by Leon Washington on an option. But everything else, the Patriots read perfectly. The Jets finally found some rhythm when Pennington got to run the show a bit. And I was loving it.

But Pennington was plagued by the exact same problems he had when he was the starting quarterback - mistakes by everyone else. Pennington did a great job - 25-38, 186 yards. (For the record, Tom Brady was 14-27 for 140, with an interception.) And in the second quarter, when the Jets blocked a field goal, and ran it in for the touchdown, it was suddenly a 10-7 game, in favor of the Patriots, and the Jets had life.

Unfortunately, the Patriots got (of all things) a blocked punt on the next possession, scored a touchdown a couple of plays later, and the Patriots took a 17-7 lead into halftime.

It was in the second half that Pennington's efforts were wasted. First, in the third quarter, trailing 17-7, the Jets should have had a field goal. The wind was at their backs, and Pennington completed to Chris Baker, and he was short of the first down yardage, but fumbled. 13-0 teams don't fumble in situations like that. 3-10 teams do. No points for the Jets. Patriots ball.

The Jets ended up getting a field goal to make it 17-10 (could have been 17-13), then the Patriots kicked one to make it 20-10 (could have been 20-13). The Jets drove down the field in the fourth quarter, and Pennington hit Justin McCareins with a perfect throw from 7 yards out in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. But McCareins bobbled the throw. Pennington does not have a strong arm. There's no excuse for bobbling that pass. So the Jets have to settle for a field goal, and Mike Nugent misses it. But that's all on McCareins. So instead of a situation that could have possibly tied the game at 20, the Jets turned the ball over and lost the game.

This was frustrating, because the Jets could have won the game. They put enough pressure on Tom Brady to force him to make mistakes, they had their opportunities, they just didn't take advantage of them. But that's why they're 3-11. And that's why the Patriots are 14-0.

PREDICTION: I still stand by my thought that the Patriots will finish the regular season 16-0. But I believe they will not go 19-0 - I think they'll lose in the post-season.

AT LEAST I HAVE THIS: When the 49ers upset the Bengals Saturday night, my thoughts turned to the NFL standings, and the fact that the Patriots own the 49ers' first-round pick. At that point, the Niners were a top five pick. But with the 49ers win, coupled with the Jets' loss, and the Ravens' loss to the Dolphins (among other games) there are now 8 teams with the 49ers at 4-10 or worse. The 49ers still have Tampa Bay and Cleveland on their schedule - so it looks like 4-12 for them - hopefully those other teams do just as poorly and that pick at least stays around 8 or higher.

WON AND OH!

Jets 23, Titans 16 (NYJ: 1-0, TEN: 0-1)


I have to say right off the top that I'm really happy the Jets won. But I'm going to stress the negatives in this game a little more than the positives - because the negatives were such that had they happened against a good team, the Jets would be 0-1 right now instead of 1-0.

And the negatives are: the running game, and the kicking game, specifically Mike Nugent.

The running game was a disaster on Sunday. Any time a running back touched the ball, you knew the play wasn't going anywhere.


The results on the ground:
D. Blaylock - 19 carries, 36 yards
K. Barlow - 11/35
B. Smith - 2/13
C. Pennington - 2/7

Part of this was the offensive line, just allowing the Titans to swallow up the runner, part was the Jets' runners not doing anything exciting to try to get free (except for Smith, who is exciting every time he touches the ball. Even in pre-season, at quarterback, running back, even wide receiver - Brad Smith will be fun to watch.) I'm looking forward to the Jets using Cedric Houston. I'm going to pound that point home all season until he gets a chance to prove himself.

Then there was the kicking. Mike Nugent missed two field goals and an extra point - had he even hit just the extra point this game wouldn't have been as close as it was. Since he did miss all three kicks, though, the Titans were able to score two touchdowns and get two 2-point conversions to tie the game, forcing the Jets to go down the field and score the game-winner.

The Jets were awesome in the first half. Then they got sloppy and that's where a better team would have beaten them. The Jets made barely a mistake in the first half, and were mistake-prone after halftime. This included a Chad Pennington fumble inside the Jets' own 5-yard line that the Titans recovered, leading to the touchdown that made the score 16-14, followed by the Titans' second 2-point conversion.

Besides the fumble, though, Pennington was great. He played his usual game, with short, accurate passes (including his 42nd and 43rd touchdown passes inside the red zone, without throwing a career interception there), going 24-33 for 319 yards with 2 TD, 0 INT. A very Pennington-like final line.

Pennington also re-established his relationship with Laveranues Coles, which never had the chance to get going last year after the Jets re-acquired Coles from Washington. They hooked up 8 times for 153 yards. Pennington also found Jerricho Cotchery 6 times for 65 yards, along with a touchdown - Cotchery needs to be a big part of the passing game.

Overall, you have to feel good about the Jets win. They're 1-0, as are next week's opponents, the Patriots. This win puts the Jets ahead of the Dolphins, who lost to Pittsburgh Thursday, and the Bills, who lost to the Patriots Sunday. And the Jets didn't blow the game. When the Titans tied it, Pennington marched the Jets right down the field and scored the game-winner. I don't know whether or not they would have been able to do this against a better team - but we won't have to wait too long to find out - next week the Jets play the Patriots - and first place in the division is on the line!!!!