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.

Rams 32, Jets 29 OT

So the Jets lost. So they lost a long and torturous game. I don't really care - they're going to THE PLAYOFFS!!!

I'm psyched. Let's make one thing clear, because I can sense a negative vibe uprising. The Jets did not back into the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings backed into the playoffs. The Jets MADE the playoffs. They won 10 games, they played a good (not VERY good, but a good) game against the Rams, and they deserve to be one of 12 teams with a shot at the Super Bowl.

The Jets should have won this game in regulation. It would have been nice for the Jets to punch it into the end zone on their final drive and stick it to the Rams, eliminating them from the post-season. But Chad Pennington didn't look too sharp, and the Jets settled for the game-tying field goal. Then, I think, the Jets knew they were already in the playoffs when overtime came around, and their defense played pretty well for most of OT, but I think the Jets knowing they were in the playoffs had an effect on some of the gameplan in OT. For example, I don't think the Jets would have settled for a 53-yard field goal if they had to win the game to get into the playoffs. They just left the Rams in such good field position after missing the field goal that it wouldn't have been a smart play. I guess what I'm saying is, overall, I'm happy with the loss...but boy, would it be nice someday for the Jets to be in a position where they had a playoff spot wrapped up in the final week.

Curtis Martin and LaMont Jordan had nice warm-ups going into the playoffs. Pennington didn't play too well, and got lucky when a big interception was dropped at the end of the game, and he still couldn't throw the ball long, but he's shown he can win in San Diego, so I'm not too worried about him....right now. I am worried about the defense. They played pretty bad for most of the game - in particular, the secondary. Granted, the Rams came out a lot more fired up then I thought they would, but the secondary let those guys get way too open - especially on the touchdown passes. Erik Coleman and Jon McGraw had decent games, but David Barrett, Donnie Abraham, and Terrell Buckley did not play well. (McGraw also dropped a key INT late.) The receivers had good games, and it looked like the Jets wanted to work the tight ends into the offensive game plan a lot more, which is a good sign heading into the playoffs. That might open up the wide receivers a bit more. I don't think the coaches had a good game. The Jets should have run out the clock more in regulation, but had two very quick three-and-outs at the beginning of the fourth quarter, after the second of which, the Rams scored the go-ahead touchdown.

Jerricho Cotchery is showing he might be a weapon on kick returns (although the Rams special teams were very bad). Wayne Chrebet doesn't look like he'll be a factor - he suffered a minor concussion. The talk this week was that he wanted to come back next year - I hope he re-evaluates now, and decides to retire.

A word or two on the announcers. According to Dick Enberg:

"Curtis Martin is on his way to his fifth straight Super Bowl." (meaning 5th Pro Bowl)

After the Jets kicked the tying field goal with :03 seconds left on the clock, they were getting ready for the ensuing kickoff and Enberg says, "The Rams have won the toss and elected to receive." Good call, Dick.

And Dan Dierdorf was so blatantly biased towards his (L.A.) Rams that it was ridiculous. Just ridiculous. Too many examples to mention. Let's hope Dick hangs 'em up like Wayne, and Dan never does another Jets game ever.

So it's Jets-Chargers, Saturday night at 8pm. I'll do my best to preview this all week. Remember, though - the Jets beat the Chargers in Week 2, 34-28. Erik Coleman had a big game, intercepting Drew Brees on the final drive, and also chasing LaDanian Tomlinson down from behind on a big run and stripping him of the ball.

The 34 points the Jets scored in that game reminds me of something. The Jets seem able to score when they want to (I guess I should qualify that by throwing in - 'against certain teams'...and the Chargers should be one of those teams). My problem is, if they can drive right down the field when they need to play catch-up, as they did when they were trailing the Rams on Sunday, why can't they just jump out to a big lead on teams like the Rams and then bury them? The answer to that is Paul Hackett's play-calling, and that's why he deserves to be fired.

One last note for today - the 49ers scored first on the Patriots on Sunday, ending their consecutive-game scoring first streak. I really would have loved for the Jets to do that last week.

Oh well. On to San Diego. I'll try to read the San Diego papers this week and keep you up on all that's going on on both coasts.

Jets 41, Dolphins 14

Well, I was hoping the Jets would get some offense going...I didn't think it would happen this week, though. After a slow, excruciatingly conservative first and most of the second quarter, the Jets finally showed what they can do on offense. (I only wish they had opened it up like this last week - they might still be undefeated...Thaaaaat's right, Al Montoya - I'm "would've" and "could've-ing" again...we'll get to you later.) Chad Pennington threw for only 189 yards, but that's mostly because the Jets didn't throw the ball for the first 27 minutes of the game, nor the last 27 minutes. The big number with Pennington is his 3 touchdowns - for the first time since week one, he threw a touchdown to a wide receiver - and he did it twice! I have a feeling this is the turnaround game for the Jets' offense, which is a good thing, because the tough games are coming up.

Curtis Martin showed the national television audience what he's been showing regional television audiences all season long - that he's friggin' unstoppable. Martin rushed for 115 yards in two and a half quarters of work, including a 25-yard touchdown run where he just exploded down the sideline. Martin left with a bruised leg, but there was also plenty of garbage time (I have a feeling that if the game was close, Martin would have been in there). And in that garbage time, LaMont Jordan once again showed why he's a valuable member of this team: 115 yards and a touchdown for Jordan. He looked great too...it's tough to imagine what the Jets are going to look like next year without Jordan to pick up where Martin leaves off.

Wayne Chrebet dropped Pennington's fourth touchdown pass, but other than that the Jets' receivers had their best night of the season - at least as far as catching passes. Santana Moss had a big 47-yard catch-and-run - his first big play all season. Justin McCareins made a nice play on a slightly overthrown ball by Pennington, and then made an acrobatic play to get across the goal line for the touchdown; he had 56 yards receiving to lead the team. And Chrebet did catch the first touchdown of the game....before dropping one of the best passes I've seen Pennington throw all season.

The Jets' defense played another outstanding game. The only touchdown Miami scored that meant anything (their second TD came with 0:00 left in the game) came when John Abraham was on the bench tending to a dislocated finger. It's really unbelievable what Abraham means to this defense - the pressure he puts on the quarterback improves the whole unit. Jonathan Vilma had 9 tackles, leading the team, and Jon McGraw started in place of Reggie Tongue - McGraw had an interception.

Let's get to the mailbag, since the Monday night game is pushing everything off slightly:
First, an angry e-mail from a Michigan alum, referring to the Jets-Pats recap:

"From johnnyjets.blogspot.com, 10/25: "...The Jets should have won this game. That [Sowell] fumble is what makes this loss so tough. Still, the Jets had a chance to win it late, and didn't come through.... So all in all, the Jets matched up well with the Patriots. Which is what most of us, I think, expected. They should have won, which is what I expected, but I don't think most others thought that..."

I'm getting to this late b/c I am not as dedicated a reader of your site as I should be (and of course now the Patriots' whole season could go in the toilet if their injury situation doesn't improve even though they did it with back-ups all last year, but I digress), but I wanted to chime in on the above commentary from your site...

Those are the comments made by almost every player and fan of almost every team the Patriots beat during their 21 game winning streak. Sorry, but Sowell DID fumble. Brady DID lead the Pats right down the field at the end of the first half. Pennington's pass WAS woefully short and thrown into double coverage on fourth down in the closing minutes. Those are the plays or non-plays that decide games. The Patriots have repeatedly made the late game plays to win games (AND PROVE THEY ARE THE BETTER TEAM) while their opponents have not. I expected a higher appreciation for that from your esteemed web site. For shame!

-Al Montoya
Ann Arbor, MI"

Hey Al, first of all, Monday night - B.J. Askew - 6 carries, 23 yards, and Victor Hobson, 2 tackles. Second of all, it's johnNYJETS.blogspot.com, not johnNEPATS.blogspot.com. I'm here to talk Jets, not to praise the opposition. The Patriots did prove they were the slightly better team last week...but they're not much better. Last year they were much better - not this year. You'll see what I'm talking about on December 26th....when the Jets will NOT make the mistakes that will cost them the game.

I just said I don't praise the opposition...but I will say this. Tom Brady is a class act. I hate to respect an opponent I should hate, but I can't hate this guy. (I fell into this same trap with Peyton Manning a few years ago, but I've learned to dislike him, we'll see if the same thing happens with Brady.) But I happened upon the crappy Boston sports radio station Monday night, and I have to say why, because I hate listening to that station. I was setting my car radio to the sports station so that when I got out of my class, I would be able to hear the Jets game as soon as I turned on the car (I had a class from 7-10pm). Anyway, while I was doing that, they replayed a conversation from earlier Monday morning with Tom Brady on the morning show. He's just a class act - he's always a good interview, and here he is the early morning after a tough loss on the road (the first loss in 22 games), and he's giving good answers to somewhat tough questions. I understand he's under contract to do that sort of thing, but it's not like he's telling these guys that Pam Oliver needs a spanking or anything like that - he's a class act. But so is Chad Pennington.

OK, next e-mail:

"Dear Johnnyjets,
After hearing all this weekend's excitement over Terrell Owens copying Ray Lewis' dance, I was wondering if you ever do a dance in your classroom after accomplishing something good.
For example, when you taught the kids order of operations, did you spike a blackboard eraser on somebody's head? Did you do the worm after teaching them you can't divide by zero? Have you ever copied another teacher's dance, and if so, how did that teacher vow to get back at you?Just wondering,
Dave in Brighton"

Dave - actually, I'm not a fan of showing anyone up. However, if I tell a school that I would never teach at that school ever, and then I end up teaching a lesson against that school, and I teach a good lesson on that big stage, then I might steal one of their teacher's celebratory dances to rub it in a little more. And, no that teacher has never vowed revenge......yet.

So, that's it for tonight. I need to tend to some homework...The Jets are again in a tie for first place in the division at 6-1. Next week, it's at Buffalo. I can't imagine a scenario where the Jets lose that game.

Jets 22, 49ers 14

I forget if I ever mentioned this, but Jonathan Vilma has an on-line diary running on ESPN.com, on the NFL page. I read it a lot during training camp, and I thought it ended before the season started. I thought it was a "life of a rookie during his first NFL training camp" sort of thing. But last week I was tooling around the NFL page on ESPN.com and I saw the diary, and read it. It was right after the Jets-Bills game, and if you remember, at the end of that game, as the Bills were driving late in the game, Vilma had a pass in his hands but dropped it. It would have been his first career interception. He wrote about that in his journal, saying something along the lines of, "If you saw the game, you know that I almost had my first career interception. That would have been a big one. I hope when I do get it, it is a big one, and I return it for a touchdown." Something along those lines. Go look it up if you want to read exactly what he said. (But not until you finish reading what I have to say.)

The point of all this is that Vilma got his first interception on Sunday, against the 49ers. And it was a big one. HUGE. Granted, it was partly a bad decision by Tim Rattay, partly a great play by Vilma, and although he didn't return it for a TD, I'm looking forward to see what Vilma has to say about his first career INT.

It came with 1:30 left in the game, after the Jets were forced to punt after another unsuccessful attempt to put away an opponent. After the interception, the Jets FINALLY put the game away on a touchdown run by Curtis Martin, his second of the day.

I partly take the blame for this game being so close. There was an event at my school that caused me to miss the first half of the game. I made it to a bar to catch the entire second half, which included all of the Jets touchdowns, and, now that I think about it, perfect defense. The 49ers didn't score once. So, I think if I had been watching the entire game, it probably would have been a blowout.

For the first time in their history, the Jets are 5-0. So I don't really know how to react. I, like every other Jets fan, have never seen the Jets start a season this well. My concern (because when you're a Jets fan, there always tends to be a concern) is that the margins of victory are getting narrower. This game was a 1-point game, not 8, as the final score indicates. Last week, of course, was 2 points. There's not much more margin for error.

The other thing about the final score is that it didn't have to be that close. It could have easily been a three-point Jets lead towards the end of the game, as opposed to one. Trailing 14-3 at halftime, the Jets scored a touchdown early in the third quarter. Instead of just kicking the extra point, the Jets went for two to try to make it 14-11. They failed, so it was 14-9. When the Jets scored their next touchdown, they had to go for two, and failed again. Hence, the 15-14 score late in the game. This type of game management is one of Herman Edwards' weaknesses as a head coach, and I thought it would be solved this year. But apparently it has not been. The fact that he's going for two in that first instance shows a lack of confidence in his offense, to me. By trying to make it a 3-point game, instead of accepting a 4-point deficit, I am led to believe that Edwards doesn't think the offense can get another touchdown. Maybe it's just me...but I don't think so. And if I'm sitting there knowing that the Jets should NOT be going for two, how come he doesn't know that. That's all I'm wondering. I still love ya, Herm.

A couple of breakout games on Sunday. Martin continues to be great - he had 110 rushing yards and the two touchdowns. But LaMont Jordan finally saw some action. I only saw one drive where he touched the ball a couple of times, but that drive ended with Jordan taking the ball into the end zone from about 15 yards out. So the calls for Jordan to get more playing time are going to pick up again (from more than just Mark in Miami). Also finally getting some balls thrown his way was Anthony Becht. I think the Jets finally lit a bit of a fire under Becht by using Chris Baker so much. And I think Becht was given a shot after a key Baker fumble last week. (Becht has been the starting tight end, but Baker has seen the majority of balls thrown his way.) In this game, Becht had four catches for 47 yards, but it wasn't just that. Becht was thrown the ball on the run, and each time that happened, he barreled over a defender. That hadn't been happening in recent years - Becht would catch a pass and be tackled right away. In short, he looked like an NFL tight end on Sunday. I don't know whether his performance merits the Jets keeping him when he becomes a free agent at the end of the year, but it definitely meant he should have more passes thrown his way. (I have a feeling this also depends on whether or not Santana Moss is back in the picture anytime soon. I don't think he played in this game at all, unless it was early on. But, obviously, Chad Pennington had to find other targets.)

So it's finally here. The Patriots beat the Seahawks, the Jets beat the 49ers. They will both meet next week at 5-0. And, as I wrote here a few weeks back, the Patriots will have the added burden of trying to wash away the bad sports taste left by the Red Sox in New England fans' mouths. The Jets will try to end the Patriots' record 20-game winning streak. I am going to have to be on my A-game this week. Can't miss a posting. No excuses. Send your e-mails by Monday night...they'll be here for Tuesday. Let the hype begin.

Rather than a San Francisco 49ers-focused preview here, this entry is more of an injury report. Yesterday I wrote about Pete Kendall and Brandon Moore. Today, Santana Moss' name appears on the injury list for the Jets. Moss strained his hamstring late in the third quarter of last week's game against the Bills on one of his best punt returns of the year so far. He returned to the game for one play, then we didn't see him again. Moss is listed as questionable for the 49ers game. The Jets should be able to beat the 49ers even if Moss doesn't play. My fantasy team, unfortunately, I can not say the same for.

The good news for the Jets on the injury front is bad news for San Francisco. I mentioned before, Julian Peterson is out for the year. Now it appears the 49ers' leading receiver so far this season, tight end Eric Johnson, won't play on Sunday because of broken ribs. That makes a thin team even thinner.

One last football note - Mark, you'll get your wish this week. The Daily News reports that Herman Edwards will give plenty of playing time to LaMont Jordan this week. No word on why he decided now is the time to do it, and it remains to be seen whether or not it actually happens, because we've been hearing this for three years now.

Let's shift the focus to baseball for a minute, since 100% of my readers root for either the Red Sox or the Yankees. If I write something baseball on johnnymets.blogspot.com, I will direct your attention there. Being that I haven't written much football today, I'll just finish up here with a couple of baseball notes.

I'll mention this again before the post-season ends, but I have an obsession, which some of you know about. If I have no rooting interest in the post-season, I want the World Series to feature two teams who have never played each other before, so that eventually, every team will have faced every other possible team for the championship. (This doesn't just apply to baseball - it applies to every sport. And even when I do have a rooting interest, I root for a team to face my team that they've never faced before.) I hope I'm not confusing you. For example, we've had a good run in baseball and football the past few years:

Baseball: Yankees vs. Marlins, Angels vs. Giants, Yankees vs. Diamondbacks, Yankees vs. Mets.
Football: Patriots/Panthers, Raiders/Buccaneers, Rams/Patriots, etc..

The Yankees are by far the world leaders in this category. By my unofficial count, I think the Yanks need to play only the Expos, Brewers, Rockies, and Astros to complete the full set. So, needless to say, I am rooting for the Astros to win the NLCS, get to their first World Series, and set up a new matchup, no matter who wins the ALCS.

Speaking of the ALCS, I don't want to upset any of my loyal readers, but the Red Sox are absolutely cursed. If they didn't win in 2003, they're never going to do it. I maintain that. This year's curse appearance definitely has to be Schilling's ankle, in case you're looking for something to point to. I wish you Sox fans good luck...but I also offer my condolences.

Let's get right to the mail, because we have an unfortunate situation here. I'm going to start with an e-mail from our own Mark in Florida, which somehow just appeared in my inbox this week, even though it's dated October 6th. You may remember I asked Mark to share his experience at Pro Player Stadium with us, since he attended the Jets-Dolphins game there last week. Well, I was wondering where his response was - turns out, it must have been stranded somewhere in cyberspace. Here's what Mark said:

"Like I said, I was at the game and it was hilarious. I would say there were at least 40% jet fans in the stands, but walking through the parking lot, it seemed like a lot more. It was great.
Some good fights in the stands. The Dolphins suck, and the Jets didn't play well, but you are right, a win is a win. And come December/January, all you need is about 10 wins give or take and you should be in the playoffs. In short, it does not matter how good or bad you look doing it.
Pennington did not look good, nor did the Jets receivers except for Chrebet. I will say it again, give lamont jordan the damn ball. I suggest the Jets go to a two running back set and keep the defense guessing a little. Lamont could be the king of the screen pass if Herm would give him the "green" light.
Mark"

Good pun. "Green" light. That sounds a lot like the atmosphere in Miami the past few years - more and more Jets fans - and when the Dolphins are winless, it doesn't help matters. Funny thing, Mark could have been talking about this past weekend's game - substituting Bills for Dolphins. The only difference is that Chad Pennington (aside from a couple of mistakes) looked better against the Bills than he did against the Dolphins. But the Jets receivers didn't look great, except for Chrebet, and LaMont Jordan was again a non-factor. I am not a huge fan of Jordan, personality-wise, but you're right, Mark, he would be a huge plus ripping off 60-yard screen passes for touchdowns every now and again. The only thing I'll say about his lack of playing time is perhaps he is being put in store for later in the season, this way the Jets will be pulling new plays out of their hats that we haven't seen (and neither have opposing defenses) all season. Just a guess...otherwise Jordan just really is in the doghouse, and we'll never be seeing him again outside of kick returns.

OK - back to the ol' Inbox - this e-mail actually traveled instantly, without a week's delay:

"Dear JohnnyJets,
As a Pats fan, I have to say I miss the era when the Jets could be
counted on to blow a game here or there.
Yesterday's a perfect example -- it would have been so easy to roll over after giving up 14 points
and the lead in the 4th quarter. What jumps out at you as different on this year's Jets team, so those types of mental errors aren't hampering the team?
Dave in Brighton."

Dave - good point. I think I forgot to mention this in the recap yesterday. The Jets reversed roles in Sunday's game. Usually, it's the Jets who rally to take a late lead, leaving time enough for the other team to have one last chance to score at the last second. The other team inevitably does, and it's the Jets who come up on the short end of the desperation pass. Sunday, of course, the Jets gave up the late touchdown, fell behind by a point, then came back down the field, kicked a field goal to take the lead back, then held off a drive by Buffalo in the final minute to win the game. And I've said it before, I'll say it again - the difference is Chad Pennington.

Vinny Testaverde is a good quarterback in many ways. But he's not very smart, which is a little surprising, considering he's in Bill Parcells' good graces - you wouldn't think Parcells would love an unintelligent player. But Testaverde didn't think quick when he was with the Jets. He was king of the "burn-a-timeout-with-11-minutes-to-go-in-the-first-quarter-because-you-can't-figure-out-which-audible-to-call". True, Testaverde led the Jets to his share of late comebacks, and the AFC Championship Game, but whenever Vinny was leading a late drive, he was always looking for help from the sideline. Now, I'm not saying that Pennington never looks to the sideline for help, but I think that's mostly to appease the coaches. Pennington could make things up as he goes if he has to, and I think he takes advantage of that from time to time. Pennington is also very, very smart. He was very nearly a Rhodes Scholar at Marshall. And he rarely makes a mistake on the field. That's why these past couple of weeks have been so surprising - Pennington hasn't played very smart football. But give him the ball with five minutes remaining and his team down by one, and Chad Pennington will take his team to victory nine times out of ten. (Maybe ten out of ten, I don't know.) That's what he did on Sunday - he's very cool under pressure, and makes smart decisions when it counts.

That's why Chad Pennington and Tom Brady are so similar. Brady has two Super Bowl championships to show for his intelligence, and hopefully Pennington is on his way to a first. We're kind of lucky to be seeing what we're seeing right now in the AFC East. Despite the fact that the Dolphins and the Bills are awful, the Jets and Patriots have two of the best quarterbacks in the league, and they're both young, and they're both not going anywhere for a long time. So the two, who are similar in so many ways (not the greatest arms, but they'll find a way to beat you; they're both very cool under pressure; and both very intelligent on the field) will be facing off for many years to come. (In one of those strange moments in life when you get a sign when you don't expect it, both my wife's Tom Brady bobblehead and my Chad Pennington bobblehead dolls are nodding in agreement as I type at the desk.)

So, Dave from Brighton, I think all that answers your question. Chad Pennington is the big reason, but also, it helps to have a guy like Herman Edwards on the sideline. Edwards is the type of guy who believes in his players, and I'm sure when the Bills took the 14-13 lead, he didn't get down on his guys - he probably built them up, and made them believe they'd be coming back. I love Herman Edwards. I should find a bobblehead of him.

In other news: Pete Kendall and Brandon Moore are both questionable, I think I saw today, for next Sunday's game against the 49ers. Hopefully their injuries are not too serious. The Jets are not very deep on the offensive line. They could probably get away with missing some key parts on Sunday, since San Francisco is not very good, and they lost one of their best defensive players for the rest of the season last weekend (Julian Peterson). But if these guys aren't healthy for the following week against the Patriots, that could be a big problem for the Jets....Just FYI (and for entertainment purposes only), the Jets are early 10-point favorites over the 49ers on Sunday. Yikes. I don't like that.

You stole my computer and thought you'd keep me from writing, did you? Well, you were wrong. My wife was kind enough to lend me her work computer for the night so I could check on my 1-0 fantasy football team, and my week one pool win. So I thought I'd update the site while I was at it. (And if you have any designs on breaking in again and stealing this computer, be ready to get a baseball bat across the face.) A special thanks to my sister for rooting the Jets to victory as she attended her first season opener, and then writing about some of it on the site. Thanks for being more grateful in the backup role than LaMont Jordan.

So, obviously, the weekly schedule is again in upheaval. There was no e-mail, but I forgot to print this one last week, so I'll do it now. It's signed Al Montoya, in Ann Arbor, MI...I think it's not the Montoya the New York Rangers drafted to play goalie, but since the NHL is out of business for the next couple of years, maybe it actually was him:

"There is absolutely ZERO chance that the Jets will make the Super Bowl. You know it. I know it. The American people know it. Save this email, so you can rub it in my face in January, but only if you also promise to re-print it when the Jets either a) get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs or b) fail to qualify for the postseason altogether. ("FAIL TO QUALIFY FOR THE POSTSEASON!!!" A little "Airplane" humor for you there! It would've worked better if several people could've written it at the same time. Oh well.)"

I got an angry e-mail from Montoya the next day after I failed to print this e-mail last mail day...I misunderstood. I thought I was only supposed to print this to RUB IT IN HIS FACE. That's right. I'm not backing down, buddy. You watch...just watch. And I will promise to re-print this if.....ah, it's not even worth writing...it's not going to happen.

Anyway, reading today's Daily News reminded me that I haven't even mentioned Paul Hackett in my season previews. Well, now he's been mentioned. I am not ready to give him too much credit, because he did what he's supposed to do - use his offensive weapons and win the game. The Daily News article had a weird stat in it though - Sunday's game was just the tenth time the Jets have reached the 30-point mark since Herman Edwards and Paul Hackett have been working together. That's 49 games. Just 20 percent of the time. I wonder what the league average is on that...but it seems like the Jets should be scoring 30 points a little more often. Hopefully it will be a common occurrence this season.

Last week I started a picks section, where I pick the games against the spread. I'll continue that, since I got no negative feedback (the good thing about no feedback at all is no negative feedback), and since I enjoy it. Last week, I started out 8-1, before losing every 4 o'clock game, and the last three 1 o'clockers, but rebounded to take the Sunday and Monday night games. 10-6 overall last weekend - that still would have won me some money - but, of course, this is for entertainment purposes only.

I can't make any promises about the next time I'll be writing, but hopefully I'll be able to post something again by Friday, previewing Sunday's 4 o'clock game in San Diego against the Chargers.