IF HE GOES

This is looking more and more like an unlikely scenario, because everyone is saying he will probably be staying with the Jets now, but there is a chance that Chad Pennington will be playing somewhere else next season. (And it's probably still a pretty good chance, because you can't really believe what anyone in sports says anyway.)

The problem is, Pennington is going to be making a lot of money, too much to be a backup. There may be some restructuring of a contract going on, there may be a chance he beats out Kellen Clemens for the starting job in training camp next year (instead of being handed the job as he was this year), or there's a chance that's all talk, and Pennington will be gone come draft day. Let's assume the Jets move him (and here's where I stand if that happens: Wherever Pennington goes, I'll be rooting for him. He's been nothing but a professional in whatever situation he's been in with the Jets...he's a class act. Even after he had hoped he would be moving on, and heard that he might be back with the Jets - it's really out of his hands what happens - his line was, "If I'm with the Jets, I'll be the best Jet I can be."). Here's what I have worked out as the likeliest scenarios of where Pennington would end up:

UNLIKELY

It's unlikely, but not impossible, for Pennington to end up with one of these teams. He's so respected around the league, I get the impression, that any of these teams, which are pretty set at quarterback, would love to have him, at the right price, as a backup, in case they lose their star, then they would have a legitimate leader to step in and take his place:

New England (Tom Brady), Indianapolis (Peyton Manning), Green Bay (Brett Favre, then Aaron Rodgers), Pittsburgh (Ben Roethlisberger), New York Giants (Eli Manning), San Diego (Phillip Rivers), Dallas (Tony Romo), Seattle (Matt Hasselbeck), New Orleans (Drew Brees), Jacksonville (David Garrard), Denver (Jay Cutler), Cleveland (Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn), Cincinnati (Carson Palmer), Tennessee (Vince Young), Arizona (Matt Leinart), St. Louis (Marc Bulger), Oakland (JaMarcus Russell), and Washington (Jason Campbell).

That leaves 13 teams (not counting the Jets) that could use some help at quarterback, and in a year where the free agent class is pretty weak, Pennington might be an attractive option (which is why it might be a leverage thing that the Jets are saying he's coming back next year).

Here are the teams that would likely make a play for Pennington.

VERY LIKELY

Miami - The Dolphins need a quarterback. So that's number one. Secondly, Bill Parcells is there now, and he drafted Pennington with the Jets. He likes players he's familiar with. I think this is a pretty strong option. The only issue is the 'in the division' factor. (And the fact that earlier today, word came out of Miami that Trent Green was Parcells' man next year........but things change....and people lie.)

Kansas City - The Herman Edwards connection. The Chiefs' QB position was a disaster last year. Edwards and Pennington teamed up for three playoff appearances, and by all accounts, still get along.

Chicago - The QB position is just about the only reason this team isn't a playoff contender year after year.

San Francisco - QB issues out west - Mike Nolan dressed down his quarterback of the future, Alex Smith, and he didn't take it well. Pennington's arm, which isn't strong, wouldn't be a big deal in the land of Joe Montana and the West Coast Offense.

Baltimore - Starting fresh, and a new quarterback would help change the face of the offense.

JUST PLAIN POSSIBLE

These teams aren't definites or out-of-the questions...they're just possibilities.

Buffalo - Trent Edwards stole J.P. Losman's job - but is he blowing anyone away? Losman probably won't be back with Buffalo - he is in the same boat as Pennington, but has flat-out asked to be traded. This is unlikely, though, because of the division factor, and they wouldn't be willing to give up as much, most likely, as Miami.

Houston - They're kind of set with Matt Schaub, but when he went down, it was Sage Rosenfels. You'd probably feel better with Pennington coming in in that situation.

Philadelphia - Word is, now, that Donovan McNabb isn't going anywhere either (do you believe it?). But if he does, Pennington would be a good replacement. He's coming from New York, which is as close as you can get to the scrutiny of Philly.

Minnesota - This way he'd be backed up by Brooks Bollinger again.

Detroit - Jon Kitna didn't make many friends with their disastrous end to the season. They are undergoing a lot of changes in the coaching ranks...wouldn't be surprised to see a bunch of players gone, too...or brought in.

Atlanta - Need to change everything - why not Chad Pennington at quarterback?

Tampa Bay - Unless they're married to Jeff Garcia.

Carolina - They learned this year that a few extra quarterbacks never hurt.

Just so I'm on the record - If Chad Pennington is back with the Jets, and he's playing, they will be better than this year (can't be much worse). The protection needs to be better, and the run game needs to be better. And I'll love it. But I think with the Jets' current state, he's probably better off going somewhere else and getting a fresh start.

ONE MORE SOB STORY: I know I've been laying it on thick with the 'woe is me' stuff lately, but I think I have a right, since it's Giants-Patriots in the Super Bowl. That's almost worst-case scenario for a Jets fan. But I just want to say - here's the difference between the Jets and the Giants. The Giants have a Doug Brien moment, and their kicker misses two field goals, what happens? He gets the chance to redeem himself and connects. The Jets have their Doug Brien moment, and they actually get Doug Brien, and it's heartbreak after heartbreak. That just about sums it up right there.

GOOD BYE

Sad times in Jets land when we can break out that time-honored joke that we all love: At least the Jets couldn't lose this week! They had a bye!! I think I broke that one out in the 4th grade - hasn't failed me since.

It's also sad for me to go through all of these old postings, as I move the Jets site to its new permanent home here (more on the changes here below). The Jets have had a really good recent history, and it's all falling apart this year. I can't stand the losing...I really can't. I wish I could go back and live through the 2004 playoffs again...and maybe, if the outcome was the same, kill Doug Brien. Those were such good times as a Jets fan - even last year was exciting each week. The sad thing is, as a Jets fan, the good times don't even end in a Super Bowl win - they usually end in playoff losses.

FANTASY TEAM TAKES A HIT, TOO
The one redeeming factor this year for my football season was the rebirth of my fantasy football team, which after an 0-3 start was sitting at 5-4 this week. I'm in the midst of a loss, so that hurts, but even worse is what I had found in Adrian Peterson (a possible new LaDainian Tomlinson?) I have now lost for a few weeks to injury. That's a big blow to my fantasy team's playoff hopes.

ON BASEBALL
The Tigers dealt Omar Infante to the Cubs for Jacque Jones, making the Tigers a possible frontrunner for the 2008 American League championship in my new prediction strategy...they are possibly going to play the Cubs or the Braves now in the World Series. I don't even know if the moves they made are quality (they seem pretty good), but the fact that they've been involved in deals with two National League teams makes them a front-runner in my eyes.

NEW LOOK
I have again changed the look of the blog - I'm looking for something pretty permanent so I don't have to keep doing this. I went with a couple of different things - I am hoping the black background looks sharp, and the different colors show a melding of the Mets and Jets. I've also changed the title to be all-inclusive, because this is no longer a Mets-only blog. It refers to where I live in relation to New York City, and specifically, the Mets' new ballpark. (I know, technically it's only about 188 miles, but 200 is catchier.) I welcome your feedback, and Southern Bureau, consider this your notification - please let me know what you think.

(Update: Just took my first look at the site as a reader - I'm not crazy about the black background. Please let me know if you think you have a better idea....maybe I'll just go back to white.)

When we last left the Jets, it was a heartbreaking scene. Two words I will mention here for the last time, and then try to put them behind me: Doug Brien. That's all I'll say about that.

But 2004 is behind us. The 2005 season is minutes away. And much has changed. The jerk that cost us a chance at the AFC Championship Game is gone (no, not Paul Hackett - though he's gone too - I'm talking about the guy I mentioned above and promised to never mention again). Mike Nugent is the Jets' kicker...and I was just reading some of my postings from last year...and in one, I promised I will never have faith in another kicker...but I will. And Mike Nugent is his name. More changes: LaMont Jordan is an Oakland Raider - off to pursue his fortune as a star, starting running back. Derrick Blaylock will back up Curtis Martin. Santana Moss is gone, traded to Washington for Laveranues Coles, back in the Green. Ty Law is no longer one of the players I dislike - I now love him (truth be told, I never could say I hated Ty Law - and I think my Patriot fan friends will back me up on this. I never loved him, of course, but he was so darn good I couldn't hate him - part of me always respected his ability. Sort of like being a Knicks fan and watching Michael Jordan play back when I cared about the NBA - but I digress.) And much to my dismay, Anthony Becht is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer - and new offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger will probably make a star out of Doug Jolley and Chris Baker instead of Becht.

Chad Pennington has a new shoulder...and he will hopefully play a full, injury-free season. He looked good in the pre-season...and looked awful in the pre-season. But the bottom line is - it was the pre-season. Next week he takes on the Chiefs in Kansas City, and we'll judge him then. But I will say this. For the first time, an organization didn't sugarcoat an injury. After last season ended, we knew Pennington had a serious problem. He was out of mini-camps, and didn't take the field until training camp. The Jets didn't try to pull the wool over our eyes - they said when he wasn't ready, and they didn't rush him back. He came back for the second pre-season game, and played well. And the coaching staff had him throw deep so we could see that he was back, and healthy, and everything works. I feel confident that Pennington is 100% this season, and hopefully he can avoid all other injuries and have a great season. If he gets hurt, the backup is Jay Fiedler. Capable, yes, and yes, he had a very good pre-season, but most of that wasn't against the number one defenses. I just don't trust Fiedler to go all the way - so Pennington needs to stay healthy.

The other parts of the offense haven't changed much. The offensive line is the same except for Kareem McKenzie - who left via free agency. Adrian Jones takes his spot, and has received good reviews - so with Jones, Jason Fabini, Kevin Mawae, Pete Kendall, and Brandon Moore, Pennington should be well-protected. Curtis Martin is Curtis Martin. He'll have another great year - he doesn't age. He led the league in rushing last year, but was disappointed because he didn't break a lot of long runs. So this off-season, he worked on his speed. I don't want to say he'll be even better this year, but he shouldn't drop off.

The offense should be better because Pennington has his favorite target back. Coles is back, and the two of them look like they were never apart. The only difference now is that Heimerdinger is the coordinator, but Pennington and Coles have a great chemistry. The other receiver is Justin McCareins, and I look for him to have a good year because he is reunited with Heimerdinger - his coordinator when he was putting up good numbers in Tennessee. Wayne Chrebet is also back for another campaign - bothered by concussions in the past, but watch him on third down this year. As I mentioned before, Jolley and Baker are the tight ends, and Pennington didn't seem to use them much until the final pre-season game, but they're supposed to be a bigger factor under Heimerdinger.

The defense is much easier to write about, because I don't have to keep writing Heimerdinger. Seriously, though, I think Donnie Henderson's squad is going to be the best in the league. John Abraham is back (still don't know how I feel about this - but he's one of the best at his position, so I guess there are worse things than having him starting on your defense), along with Shaun Ellis, the revitalized DeWayne Robertson, and Lance Legree on the defensive line (although Sione Pouha could definitely make a long-term appearance instead). Jason Ferguson is gone, but the Jets should be OK on the line. The linebackers are a good young bunch. Eric Barton nearly cost the Jets the San Diego game in the playoffs, but that one play overshadowed a pretty good year. Jonathan Vilma was the Defensive Rookie of the Year, and I don't expect a sophomore slump. He's a team leader, and he's awesome. Victor Hobson is solid...not great, but a good linebacker. The secondary is outstanding. David Barrett came up huge in the second half of last year. Oliver Celestin had a great camp, a great pre-season, and is the starting strong safety. Erik Coleman is the free safety, and I love watching him play. And Ty Law is a future Hall of Famer - great signing by the Jets - and risk-free. My worry when they signed him was that they, like the Mets, have bad enough luck signing free agents when they're healthy, that if they signed Law, whose health was sort of a question mark, he would probably never play in the NFL again. But he's OK, and will start the season, and he is a risk-free investment. So good move by the Jets.

On special teams, the Jets have punter Ben Graham, an Australian who beat out Micah Knorr for the job. He kicks the ball high and far, and apparently has learned how to be enough of a holder for Mike Nugent to win the job. Nugent will be awesome. I'm glad the Jets drafted him. Hopefully he won't let me down. It looks like Justin McCareins will be returning punts - although it was supposed to be rookie Justin Miller's job. He disappointed in camp. I think Derrick Blaylock will see some time returning kickoffs...but I'm not sure. Maybe Jerricho Cotchery too.

Other changes took place since the end of last football season. ESPNRadio has come to Boston, so I can now listen to Mike & Mike in the Morning on my way to work instead of watching it in the brief time before I leave on ESPNEWS. This means I can watch Mike Greenberg, the huge Jets fan. I love that he can be so unbiased about being a fan. It's refreshing, especially being a Jets fan. So I look forward to Monday mornings listening to him. And finally, I finally have DirecTV for a football season. Hey Peyton - I've got the Sunday Ticket. I've been excited to watch all the college football this weekend. But it's time for the NFL - and for the first time in a long time, as my cousin Eddie put it - the Jets have a legit shot at winning it all. It's a very tough schedule....but I think they can do it. It's so important that they get home field advantage....and I'll be here to chronicle whether or not they can do it. We resume our johnnyjets.blogspot.com schedule - providing school doesn't prevent me from sticking to it:

Monday: Recap of Sunday's game
Tuesday: Mailbag
Wednesday: Recap/Preview of the rest of the AFC East
Thursday: Focus on the Next Opponent
Friday: Preview and Picks

The Picks feature will be different this year. I didn't have a final count of my record (for entertainment purposed only, of course) from last year, but I was right around .500. This year, I will take on my wife, who was one of the best in the country on ESPN.com's Pigskin Pick 'Em last year, along with Dave from Brighton, who wants to be the third wheel on our picking bicycle. He kept track of some of his picks last year, but I don't know what his record was. I don't think it was much better than mine. We'll be using point spreads from USA Today, and we'll start with Thursday night's Patriots-Raiders season opener. I will also include my eliminator pick for the week.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to an exciting NFL season.

Steelers 20, Jets 17 OT

I probably should have written this entry Saturday night, when the emotion was still running strong. But even now, three days later, I'm struggling (or as Joe Namath would say, "strug-a-ling") to write anything except &$*#!!(#()DougBrien(!#####. (Those punctuation marks are supposed to be curse words, but it doesn't look angry enough to convey how I feel).

Right off the bat I should have known the Jets were in trouble, when I realized that CBS's number two broadcasting team was Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf. This is the second-best CBS has to offer? Come on.

The Steelers jumped to a 3-0 lead, then 10-0 after a Troy Polamalu interception off a badly thrown ball by Chad Pennington set up a Jerome Bettis touchdown. The Jets came back with an ugly-looking field goal by Doug Brien, making it 10-3 in the second quarter. Early in the game it looked like the Jets were afraid to throw the ball. Pittsburgh wasn't afraid to throw, but they should have been - Ben Roethlisberger looked horrible.

Late in the second quarter, all my dreams started to come through. Santana Moss returns a punt 75 yards for the touchdown!!! The game was tied at 10! Halftime. For the first time I see an NFL commercial featuring an actress instead of an actor...but they're going to have to do a little better than Rene Russo for my tastes. (But it is a step in the right direction, NFL.)

Anyway, third quarter, not much happens, when all of a sudden - HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE REGGIE TONGUE JUST PICKED OFF ANOTHER PASS AND OH MY GOD I THINK HE'S GOING ALL THE WAY - 86 yards for the touchdown. 1 7-10, Jets. I get all kinds of congratulatory calls, even from Patriots fans who are telling me they're rooting for the Jets so the Pats can host the AFC Championship Game....and I'm telling these people, just one more score. I can't believe what the Jets are doing here - they just need one more score and it's all over!

They never got that one more score.

All day long I was waiting for Pittsburgh to pull off one of their fancy offensive plays (direct snap, option, something), and they finally did it on second and goal from the four yard line with 6:00 left in the game. Hines Ward takes the shovel pass from Ben Roethlisberger to tie the game at 17.

But I'm thinking, OK, this is good, 6 minutes - that's plenty of time for Pennington. The Jets started at their own 23, and looked good, moving the ball down the field. They attempt a 47-yard field goal with 2:03 left in the game and it HITS THE FRIGGIN' CROSSBAR - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? So the Steelers take over after the 2 minute warning and HOLY CRAP I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT DAVID BARRETT JUST INTERCEPTED ROETHLISBERGER AGAIN AND I THINK HE'S GOING TO TAKE IT ALL THE WAY...nope he's down at the 37-yard line.

OK. Wow. This is great. The Jets are going to win - all they have to do is move the ball down the field a little bit....the Jets get to the 25. Then they stop moving the ball. And here's where many people have many different opinions about what should have happened. The Jets only ended up gaining an extra yard or so, going way conservative in the final 40 seconds, not wanting to turn the ball over and lose the chance to win the game. I think the Jets would have benefitted from a couple of extra running plays - throw LaMont Jordan at the D a couple of more times, see if he can break one. But I wasn't unhappy when Brien came out for the 43-yard attempt. I said to myself, he missed one before, he can't miss one now. Of course, we all know he missed it. I've defended Doug Brien this whole season, for reasons I can't quite think of right now. I'll never have confidence in a kicker again. I've learned my lesson - if I'm ever coaching a team, I'll go for the touchdown, not a lousy kick. I didn't learn my lesson from San Diego - it took a Jets heartbreak for me. I hope Herman Edwards learned the same thing.

In overtime, the Jets won the toss, did nothing, and on third and ten, threw a 2-yard pass to Wayne Chrebet. Come on. This is the play being called at this juncture?!??!? Pittsburgh won on a 33-yard field goal. There's the recap. I'm too angry to write more about this game.

Let's talk about the future. I take small consolation in the fact that Paul Hackett will be fired. If the Jets would have made it to the AFC Championship Game, it would have been harder to make a case to fire him, but now there's no excuses. He's gone. So now I'm excited to see what Chad Pennington can do when he's not so restricted. Now we'll see what kind of quarterback Pennington is. The Jets have a bunch of free agents this year, and one of them is talking big....and it's a very unlikely suspect. I'll write about that later this week - tomorrow if there's time.

For now, I need to take a look at the mailbag (untouched since the end of Saturday night's game...I'm afraid of what I'll find):

"Johnny....

Now that the Jets are eliminated, I'll ask the biggest question that's been bothering me with the Jets this season...

What the hell is Curtis Martin wearing in the post game press conferences?? Why does he look like one of those things old women have in their front yard....the lawn jockeys. Does he look in the mirror and think....yes...this looks good.

He looks like an idiot.

kevin
Wilmington, NC"

Kevin- Interestingly enough, I think Curtis Martin always makes those "best-dressed players in the NFL" lists...what are those guys thinking? I agree - he does look like an idiot. Actually, less like an idiot, more like a clown.

Also, after the game, Martin talked about how disappointed he was with the loss, and how he had postponed all his business meetings until after the Pro Bowl, because he was sure the Jets were going all the way. What kind of business meeting does Curtis Martin have to attend? And does he dress like that in the boardroom?

"Dear JohnnyJets,

I should first say that I was rooting for a Jets upset Saturday, not only because I like the Jets but also because I wanted Pats to host the AFC Championship game instead of going on the road.

As I watched the Steelers move down the field in the fourth quarter against an exhausted Jets defense for the game-tying score, I had a familiar feeling rising in my throat -- worry followed by anger followed by resignation. It was my Red Sox feeling. The same one I get when I see the Sox faltering and I know, I just know, that they're going to blow it.

Of course, the Red Sox banished this feeling (forever?) this season. Do you think the Jets will follow the Sox lead and stock up on pitching in the offseason?

Dave in Brighton."

The inevitable comparison to the Red Sox. I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind. I need to write an off-season entry comparing the two fandoms. It was tough to be a Red Sox fan for so long...but it's also tough to be a Jets fan. My cousin, who has an 8-month-old son, and I were talking after the game Saturday, and lamenting how bad it was, and how at least our fathers saw a Jets championship. He said his son might be 32 before the Jets get this far in the playoffs again (not a stretch...although I do think the franchise is on the upswing for the first time ever), and he thinks he should raise his son to root for another team. He won't though...because we're stupid Jets fans.

I need to mention this - I'm not sure if it's funny or not, but it's my form of therapy (besides watching tapes of Jets' old playoff wins...the Jacksonville game from '99 and the Indy game from '03...yes, I'm sick). I was at the gym on Sunday, and there's this guy wearing Steelers garb from head to toe. I got so mad I imagined going up to him and kicking his ass. Even in my imagination, my kick was wide left. Thanks a lot, you've been a great crowd. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Jets 20, Chargers 17 OT

That was either the most exciting Jets game I've ever seen in my life, or the most frustrating. Parts of it made me want to run down the street screaming at the top of my lungs, and other parts made me want to roll up into a ball and cry.

It got off on the wrong foot, courtesy of Doug Brien's foot. On the opening drive, the Jets moved the ball right down the field, only to have Brien miss a 33-yard field goal.

The defense played well, holding San Diego scoreless in the first quarter - the Chargers defense was able to do the same to the Jets offense.

The Chargers got on the board first when Drew Brees hit Keenan McCardell with a bomb for a 7-0 lead. I'm not convinced, after seeing a few replays, that McCardell didn't bobble that ball. The original camera angle showed the ball juggling around, I'm sure of it. ABC kept showing the reverse angle, which showed McCardell's feet were clearly in bounds, but there was never a non-reverse angle close-up to see whether McCardell had control of the ball. Nevertheless, 7-0 San Diego.

The Jets answered later in the second. After Jon McGraw came within inches of blocking a San Diego punt (he came within inches of blocking a couple of other punts Saturday night), Marty Schottenheimer charged onto the field to yell at the refs. That gave the Jets 15 extra penalty yards, and the Jets made Marty pay. Chad Pennington called an audible from the 13-yard line, and hit Anthony Becht for a touchdown. Becht was so wide open he walked into the end zone...but geez, Anthony, act like you been there before. (Most likely for Becht, he'll never be there again...as a Jet.) Becht - I knew they were saving him as a big secret playoff weapon.

The score was 7-7 at halftime, and the Jets blew a couple of chances to get at least three before the break. At halftime, Steve Young talked about how the Jets owned the third quarter - scoring nearly three times as many points in the third quarter as their opponents. This game was no different. It started on a 47-yard bomb by Pennington to Santana Moss for a 14-7 Jets lead.

Allow me to say a few words here on Pennington. He looked amazing. He was throwing the ball about as good as he has all season - long, on the 47-yarder to Moss, and short, on screens to Curtis Martin. He was also making great decisions - no turnovers, and the great audible call to Becht for the touchdown. If Pennington plays like this all post-season, the Jets will be hard to beat.

The defense played well too - although there were times when they made you scratch your head. First of all, only the Jets defense falls for the hard count on 4th and 1 in the Chargers' own territory. Dewayne Robertson was the guilty party on Saturday. And only the Jets would have 10 guys on the field - FOR CONSECUTIVE PLAYS - late in the game. Come on guys. Robertson, by the way, made up for jumping offsides with a great play on the next play, driving LaDainian Tomlinson backwards for a loss. The penalty wasn't costly, but Robertson could have been the goat. More on possible goats later.

It was in the third quarter, on the drive where the Jets ended up kicking a field goal to go up 17-7, that Herman Edwards and running backs coach Bishop Harris got into an animated argument on the sideline. Edwards says it was a "family argument", and stays in the family. The Jets won, so it isn't an issue...but those guys better not crack the deeper they get into the playoffs.

The Jets held a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter, and things are looking good, right? Wrong. The Chargers kick a field goal to make it 17-10, and then the Jets have a chance to put the game away late. They get the biggest gift ever - a Jets-like 12-men on the field penalty on a Jets punt by the Chargers!! - gives the Jets the first down. They can run out the clock...........no they can't. The Jets can't run out the clock ever. And they're too far out for a field goal. So they kick it back to the Chargers, who proceed to go 78 yards to the Jets 2. The Jets defense has been really good this year inside the 5-yard line, so I legitimately thought the Jets would stop the Chargers and win the game. Until Eric Barton threw an elbow at Drew Brees' head on a fourth down incomplete pass to allow the Chargers another set of downs to tie the game at 17. Barton. Leave it to a former Raider to try to cheat. Unreal. Another possible goat saved by his teammates.

The Jets called heads for the overtime coin toss...of course, it's tails. The Chargers get the ball back, it looks like there's no way the Jets can get it back together and win. They stop the Chargers. Then the Jets go three and out. Again, no way the Jets stop San Diego. Until the Chargers get down near the Jets' 25, and run three straight plays, going nowhere. And then Nate Kaeding misses!!!!!!! the 40-ish yard field goal. I made promises to God before that field goal that I'm never going to be able to keep.

The Jets finally, finally capitalized. They drove right down the field, thanks to a great catch by Santana Moss to get it across the 50, then some great runs by LaMont Jordan to get the Jets to the 9 yard line. Ironic that the (lately) inconsistent foot of Doug Brien now controlled the Jets' destiny. And it was only fitting that Schottenheimer called a timeout right before the snap, essentially making Brien kick the field goal twice. But Brien did it, and the Jets are advancing. This is the type of game the Jets usually lose. I wish they'd just win a blowup so I can enjoy a playoff game without feeling like I'm going to throw up for four quarters and overtime.

A couple of other personal notes. I hate when ABC shows stats such as: Curtis Martin has fumbled the fewest times per carry of any NFL back ever (minimum however many carries). I feel like they're just setting him up to drop the ball at the 1-yard line.

I wonder how much it costs ABC to pay Samuel L. Jackson to do their intro and spots during the game. Probably way too much. And I saw FOX doing the same on Sunday with Keifer Sutherland. I'm getting tired of these actors...including the guy from the Practics (I think) and Don Cheadle (I think) doing the playoffs commercials. Great, we get it. You guys are actors AND you like sports. Wonderful. I don't want to see any more of those...unless they start using hot actresses.

I love when everyone picks against the Jets. It makes me feel like they're going to win. I don't know why, that's just the way the Jets operate (and the way my mind operates).

So the Jets are headed to the Divisional Round. And thanks to the Indianapolis Colts' win today over the Denver Broncos, I better learn how to spell Roethlisberger. More on the Jets preps for Pittsburgh throughout the week. E-mails tomorrow.

Jets 37, Seahawks 17

Ah, good ol' reliable Seattle. Nothing like a good choke job by the Seahawks to make you feel better about your team. But seriously, folks, the Jets played very well, improving to 10-4 on the season, and moving to within a win of a playoff spot. (For you non-Jets fans out there, just realize that 10 wins in a season is still a pretty novel thing to us Jets fans...we're used to double digits in the losses column.)

Chad Pennington came back from last week's disaster in Pittsburgh with an awesome game. 253 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT. Classic Chad. His throws looked as good this week as they looked bad last week. So maybe his arm isn't in as bad shape as I thought. I'll get a look in person next week against New England.

Curtis Martin rushed for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns (LaMont Jordan added 84 yards on the ground) as the Jets racked up 482 yards of offense. Very nice. The only negative spot on offense came in the third quarter when Anthony Becht dropped a touchdown pass on the goal line. He got booed off the field for the second consecutive home game. The Jets' tight ends were being talked up all week as needing to become a bigger part of the offense, and Becht had just two passes thrown his way (including the dropped TD), and Chris Baker had one catch. Maybe they'll throw Becht's way a lot more in the coming games...or they're saving it for the post-season. Either way, it doesn't look like Anthony Becht will be back in a Jets uniform next year. The good news, though, is that uncharacteristically, after Becht dropped the TD pass, the Jets went right back to the air from the 7-yard line and Pennington threw a touchdown to Santana Moss. Usually the Jets would run it into the ground and settle for a field goal in a situation like that.

On the ensuing drive, the Seahawks drove down to the Jets' 1-yard line, and the defense held, forced fourth down, and then Shawn Alexander fumbled the ball into the end zone. The defense has been playing so well...and another second half shutout - that's starting to mean something to me now. Terrell Buckley got burned again for a touchdown (so did Donnie Abraham), but if the defense keeps playing like this, who knows what could happen.

Doug Brien had a couple of hiccups, missing an extra point and a field goal, but he tends to do that once or twice a year. So I think it's out of his system.

The officiating was once again horrid. Seattle had a few gripes in that game, nothing that changed the course of the game, really, but the Jets caught a couple of breaks. I think...I'm not really positive. I have a bad feeling that someone's season this year is going to hinge on a bad call by the referees....I hate when that happens. It better not be the Jets. I just feel that no matter what, the refs tend to favor the home team, and it gets aggravating...especially when the Jets' path to the championship takes them on the road.

Moving on to some other news from Sunday - the Broncos collapse has been unreal. They got whipped by the Chiefs on Sunday, and with the Jaguars and Bills winning, (and pending the outcome of Sunday night's Baltimore game), the Broncos have put themselves almost out of the playoffs. Speaking of the Bills winning, that Jets' loss to the Bills isn't looking so horrible anymore. (Although I'm still a little upset by it.) But the Bills, after starting off 0-4 (remember, I called them the best 0-4 team in football...you can look it up), are now 8-6. And I called them the best 0-4 team in football because they lost some really, really close games back in September. They could easily be 9-5, 10-4...even 11-3 right now. I think. The Jaguars snuck by them, the Jets beat them by two...Bledsoe was driving the Bills to tie against the Patriots late in the game....anyway, the fact remains the Bills are 8-6...but they're making a playoff push.

A couple of e-mails from Dave (not in Brighton this week):

"Dear JohnnyJets,
I know you eschew the Sunday morning pregame shows, so I wanted to let
you know that Chad Pennington was the guest on Fox's "Ten Yards with
TB" segment.
As a dutiful JJDBSDC agent, I took notes so you could have blog fodder in case Al takes the week off.
If you're not familiar with the segment, Terry Bradshaw gives you 2 choices, and you pick one of them. Chad's picks in CAPS.
call your own plays/COACH CALLS THE PLAYS
big arm/OK ARM
zero int's/FOUR TD'S
rhodes scholarship/HEISMAN TROPHY
rock and roll/COUNTRY WESTERN
boxers/briefs
Chad said BOXER-BRIEFS.
METS/yankees
Chad offered that he likes the Islanders, too.
namath/MONTANA
Before making his choice Chad said "Joe, I love you," which is almost as funny as "Joe, I wanna kiss you."
LARRY THE CABLE GUY/jeff foxworthy
Mets? He must be nuts. Maybe they taped it before the Pedro business.
Dave in Brighton"

Dave, thank you. But to be honest, I saw an ad for the pregame show Saturday while watching Redskins/49ers, so I knew about Pennington and Bradshaw. So I tuned in to see that. He was very entertaining...as usual. Pennington is a good interview, as is Tom Brady. Thanks for the transcript, though...and you don't know how happy I was to hear Pennington roots for the Mets. Perhaps there's a shot I'll fire up johnnymets.blogspot.com again.

Dave checked in again later in the day:

"Dear Johnnyjets,

Granted I didn't see the game because I'm out of market, but what's up
with the Jets running up the score on poor helpless Seattle? 37-14?
How offensive.

Dave in Brighton"

An interesting thing about the Jets offensive output, Dave. After the Jets lost 20-13 to the Bears in 2002, jeopardizing their playoff hopes, they reeled off games of 30, 42, and 41 points against New England, Green Bay, and Indianapolis as they won the AFC East, then their divisional playoff game. The Daily News made the comparison today, with the Jets coming off the loss to Pittsburgh, that maybe the Jets would start another offensive streak like that....so far, the Daily News is right. 37 points. Granted, it was the Seattle Seahawks defense, but it was a good game plan. I'll take it. Let's do the same thing to New England next week.

That's all I have for today...this will be a big week for the blog. Thanks for reading, and we'll do e-mails tomorrow (and the rest of the week, if there's enough e-mail).