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.

Jets-Dolphins, 4pm

Hopefully this coming week I'll be able to stick to my regular schedule, now that I've completed most of the homework I have due on Monday. But here's a quick preview...Jay Fiedler starts against the Jets today. That worries me a little bit, because of his recent success against them. But the fact is, the Dolphins are not good. Their defense is still pretty good, but there should be no way Jay Fiedler beats the Jets, because he's got no one to run the ball, and no one to throw to. Because it's the Dolphins, they will probably stay close to the Jets, but I don't see them winning. Chad Pennington will play smart and not make mistakes against the Dolphins D, and we'll find out how Curtis Martin runs against a good defense. I'll go Jets, 27-20, covering the six-point spread.

Here are the rest of the games (for entertainment purposes only) - I went 8-5-1 last week, on the season, I'm 25-20-1:

The Giants are in Green Bay to play the Packers. Green Bay is a 7-point favorite. The Giants have been looking surprisingly good, but I don't think they'll win this game in Green Bay. I'll take the Packers to win, but the Giants to cover that spread. So my pick is the Giants.

Philadelphia takes it's 3-0 record into Chicago. The Eagles are favored by nine. I think I'll go with Philly.

Washington is in Cleveland, and is favored by three. I think Cleveland will win this game outright...I can't really figure out the Redskins. The Browns are the pick, plus-three.

The Patriots are five-and-a-half point favorites over the Buffalo Bills. This game's in Buffalo, and I think it will be really close. I'm taking the Bills with the points. I don't know why...because Drew Bledsoe has had just one good game against the Patriots in the past few years...but I think Buffalo has a shot at ending the Patriots' winning streak. Bills, plus five and a half.

The Colts are another road favorite, giving three and a half points at Jacksonville. The Jaguars get their first loss of the season, Colts by more than three-and-a-half. I take Indy.

Pittsburgh is favored at home by five against Cincinnati. I don't know why that's such a big spread. I'm taking the Bengals (I think they'll win outright).

Houston hosts Oakland. Oakland has looked horrible this season, and they've looked pretty good. Houston hasn't looked too good at all...until today. I'm taking the Texans, getting two at home.

New Orleans is favored by three at Arizona. There's potential for an upset here, but I don't have the guts to go with the Cardinals. I'll take the Saints, minus-3.

The Panthers are favored by three and a half over the Falcons in Carolina. I've been surprised so far by Atlanta (they're 3-0). The Panthers are 1-1, and haven't looked too good, but I think they'll win this one, at home, coming off their bye week. Panthers, minus three and a half.

Denver is a 3 point favorite on the road, at Tampa Bay. I'm going with the Broncos, because Tampa is not good at all.

Tennessee is giving three on the road in San Diego. The Titans are banged up, and I don't think Steve McNair is playing. So I'm taking the Chargers, getting three at home.

Saint Louis is a three-and-a-half point favorite in San Francisco, another poor team. I'll take the Rams, even though they're on the road.

And Monday night, the Ravens are favored at home, by six points, over the very disappointing Kansas City Chiefs. I keep saying I'm not buying into all that Ravens hype, but I think they'll improve to 3-1 on Monday night, and I think they'll cover six points. So the Ravens are the pick.

Enjoy the afternoon of football!!

Good news, Jets fans. The household once again has a computer. I will try to get back into a regular blog writing schedule, which I haven't had the chance to do since the season started, but the household also has a lot of homework these days (including right now, but we have a couple of e-mails I have to get to...can't let down the fans.). So I'll do the best I can.

First things first, let's go to the mailbag. Thanks for writing...

"Dear Johnnyjets.
Three weeks into the season may be a little early to play the
surprise/bust game...but I'd like to get your read on a couple of
teams.
Jacksonville is 3-0. But with 35 points scored and 28 points allowed,
and what seemed like a lucky pass interference call this past week
against the Titans that set up the game-winning touchdown. So...are
the Jags a contender or pretender?
On the flip side, K.C. looks absolutely abominable at 0-3, with 86
points allowed the most in the NFL. Is there any hope for the Chiefs?
Do you have a "dark horse" in the AFC, somebody flying under the radar
who you think can run off 10 wins and get into the playoffs as a wild
card? (And don't say the Jets.)
Love your show,
Dave"

I wouldn't say the Jets, Dave, because you said "dark horse in the AFC"...and everyone knows I consider the Jets an AFC favorite. To be honest, I was big on Jacksonville this year. (I might have written that in one of my previews before the season, but I don't know. Scroll down and check that out - I can't do that while I'm writing this.) I didn't think the Jaguars would start 3-0, but I thought they'd make a late-season push. But you're write about Jacksonville...not only did they luck out against the Titans, but they lucked out in week 2 against the Broncos when Quentin Griffin fumbled deep in their territory, and they lucked out in week 1 on a last second Touchdown to win the game against the Bills. (Their defense is great, so it isn't all luck, but a lot of it is.) Speaking of the Bills, they've been a couple of plays from being 2-0, instead, they're 0-2. They would have been a crappy 2-0 team, but they're barely losing games...for whatever that's worth. As for Kansas City, I think there is a little hope, because their defense can only get better, and I don't think Oakland and San Diego are better. Once the Chiefs get a little healthier, they'll climb the division - but Denver will probably still win the West.


"John,
Curtis Martin is putting up huge numbers. I don't think he will sustain this pace the whole year. Do you think now would be a good time to start utilizing Lamont Jordan a little more, specifically on screen passes. Also, look for me at the Jets game this week in Miami. I will likely be the only one standing and cheering in my section, based on the way the Dolphins looked the last three weeks.
Sincerely, Fireman Mark"

First of all Mark, glad to hear from you...I've been meaning to give you a call to talk Jets and to see how you did with all the hurricanes, but school's been busy. Glad to hear also that you're going to this weekend's game. Give Jay Fiedler hell. Those Dartmouth people are awful. I wrote in one of my more recent postings that as a Jets fan, you just have to feel that Martin is going to wear down at some point. And I would think we should start seeing more of LaMont Jordan, but I think the Jets are intent on running Martin into the ground this season. I'm fine with that - I think Martin is in some of the best shape of his career, so I think he might not wear down, even though the pessimistic Jets fan deep inside me says he's going to get hurt in Week 9. All of the newspapers had big articles during the bye week on Martin's offseason training regimen (he took flights to California for the weekend just so he could run some steep steps in a cliff somewhere). So I feel good about Martin...but Jordan is fun to watch when he gets the ball on the screen...I just hope Herman Edwards gets over the preseason difficulties he and Jordan had, and uses him to give Martin some down time.

For the record - I went 8-5-1 with my picks last week against the spread (for entertainment purposes only). Also for the record, I won my office pool for the second time in three weeks, and my fantasy football team is 3-0. I need to go do homework now. I'll give a weekend preview hopefully by Friday.