I SUPPOSE IT COULD BE WORSE...

The NFL certainly provides plenty of fodder for someone looking to put in perspective their team failing to make the playoffs (I am aware it isn't official that the Jets aren't in...but it might as well be...). So I present to you a list:

At Least:


1) Laveranues Coles didn't shoot himself in the leg and then have David Harris try to cover the whole thing up.

2) Then later find out that Coles was uninsured when he had a traffic accident in the off-season.

3) Shaun Ellis didn't punch Brett Favre in the weight room.

4) There is no such thing around the Jets as "Mustache Monday".

5) Eric Mangini's children are too young to have columnists question their decisions about who they married.

6) A slew of Jets wasn't suspended for using a banned substance hidden in another substance. Of course...there was that one instance.

7) They're not the Oakland Raiders.


The Jets do have their own problems, coaching and off-the-field (both involving one Shaun Ellis). But looking at the landscape of the league, those are a little more run-of-the-mill than the things going on elsewhere.

NFL WEEK 8 RECAP

And you thought Week 8 was over. Another squeaker for the Jets in Week 8 - more exciting than it should have been. But we addressed that already earlier this week. So straight to the recap:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 8: The Jets-Chiefs game, sadly, might have been the best...or at least the best ending - it wasn't a well-played game. Giants-Steelers was good, but I don't think it was as good as it could have been. Maybe because it was so defensive.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 8: I think the nod might go to none other than Chad Pennington. I didn't think the Dolphins would pull it out against the Bills, but they did, mostly thanks to Pennington's 314-yard, 1 touchdown performance.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 8: Not that anyone's really expecting much out of them, but the Bengals were a disaster last week against Houston.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 9: A pretty good slate - Jets-Bills, Giants-Cowboys, Patriots-Colts, and Green Bay at undefeated Tennessee.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 9: My mouth is watering for Atlanta's Michael Turner. An easy 153 yards and 2 TD's vs. Oakland.

-Last Week: I came pretty close with this one (and just realized I'm picking on Oakland a second week in a row - let's call it revenge for the Jets' loss to them) - I said Baltimore would smoke 'em, 44-13. It was 29-10.

NFL WEEK 7 RECAP

The Jets would obviously be one of the most disappointing performance of the week, but since I care so much about them, they get a whole separate dressing-down.

I didn't write it, I guess because I was sidetracked by baseball, but if you had spoken to me over the weekend, you would have heard trepidation in my voice when I spoke about the Jets going to Oakland. Nothing good ever happens to the Jets in Oakland. So even though the Raiders are terrible and secretly I thought the Jets would rebound from the subpar outing against Cincinnati and blow their doors off, in the back of my mind I thought they might lose.

But that doesn't make the fact that they lost any more acceptable.

Brett Favre had a horrendous day. And even though to help my fantasy team I wanted him to keep throwing, I thought it was a horrendous decision to have him keep throwing when Thomas Jones was just having his way with the Raiders defense. The fact that the Jets couldn't score more than a touchdown on the Raiders is horrible.

It's even more horrible for the Raiders that the Jets were able to force overtime. The Jets had no business being in that game in the fourth quarter. The fact that they were able to force OT was a minor miracle. And I guess that's what Brett Favre brings to you - because even though the Jets wouldn't have been in that position were it not for Brett Favre (any other quarterback on Sunday leads the Jets to a blowout win), I'm not sure there are many QB's in that last minute situation who get the Jets to a game-tying field goal.

Bottom line on this Jets game - when I'm thinking, "You know, a tie in this situation is actually going to look pretty good, all things considered", just before the Raiders kick a game-winning field goal....it's just not a good Jets Sunday.

The Jets are making things very hard on themselves as far as the playoffs go. Their only route, after losses to the Chargers and the Raiders, might now be through a division title, and they fell two games behind Buffalo on Sunday. Here's how hard they've made things - they probably have to sweep the rest of their division games (2 vs. Buffalo, 1 more each against Miami and New England), at least, to have a shot.

BEST GAME OF WEEK 7: Not many good ones, to be honest. I guess for entertainment value it could have been the shootout between the Bears and the Vikings, which the Bears won, 48-41.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 7: I'm thinking Steven Jackson of the Rams. He led the team's offensive charge, with 160 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, in the 34-14 upset over the Cowboys.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 7: The Cowboys. The only loss of the week worse than the Jets' - and the Jets' was pretty bad.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 8: I like Buffalo-Miami, and San Diego-New Orleans (in London) would be intriguing if those two teams weren't so hard to figure out...but Giants-Steelers is the marquee matchup. It's a 4 o'clock game...and should be a good one.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 8: Oakland, full of false confidence after winning a game they had no business winning against the Jets, heads to Baltimore. The Ravens are coming back home off a good road win in Miami. Doesn't matter what the spread is, take the Ravens. Baltimore 44, Raiders 13.
-Last Week: I said Brandon Jacobs would have 117 yards and 3 touchdowns. I was off by a TD and 48 yards. He had 69 yards on 17 carries, with just 2 touchdowns. I still classify this one as "pretty close".

ON TO THE PLAYOFFS....

Jets 23, Raiders 3 (NYJ: 10-6, OAK: 2-14)

The Jets beat the Raiders on Sunday, 23-3, to finish at 10-6, and clinch a playoff berth. I can't believe that I'm actually writing playoff previews now.

First, Sunday's game. It wasn't as dominating as I expected. The Raiders couldn't do anything, but the Jets weren't doing much for the first three quarters either. At no time was I afraid the Jets would lose, but I really wanted them to just blow the doors off the Raiders, and that didn't happen until the fourth quarter.

Later on Sunday afternoon, the Broncos blew their lead to the 49ers, and the Colts, Chargers, and Ravens all won, setting up this week's playoff matchups of the Colts versus the Chiefs, and the Jets versus the Patriots. I can't believe the Jets are going to be playing the Patriots. There's a lot to write about this week - I'll have an entry everyday. But first, today, I'm going to revisit Sunday before looking ahead to the playoffs.

There's a reason I don't break my back to go down to New York (actually, New Jersey for the games) for every Jets home game. And I always forget what that reason is, until I'm sitting there in Section 336 at Giants Stadium. The people in my section are idiots. It's nearly impossible to focus on the football game. There's a guy who sits behind us - for years this guy has been sitting behind us - but somehow, his son hasn't aged...the kid is like Bart Simpson. This guy, who my dad aptly, perfectly, called "Nitwit" on Sunday, has been insulting Jets quarterbacks from the upper deck since Ken O'Brien. Anyway, this guy is the most annoying person in sports fan history (but he's not the only one in our section). (And I know that there are probably other sections in the stadium that are bad, and there are other sections that are probably great to sit in, but I don't sit there. I have to sit with these people.) It's hard to enjoy the game when this guy is behind you yelling at Chad Pennington all game to "Throw the long pass Chad! The 10-yard one!" Followed immediately by, "Chad! Throw the medium pass - the 6-yard one!" It's funny, ten times a game, you see, because Chad Pennington doesn't have a great arm. But at least when he yells that he's watching the game. 90% of the game this guy is watching the scoreboard, making sure everyone knows who he bet money on (and in my case, who we're really rooting for to lose). Sunday, it was Cincinnati. I was quite pleased when I came home to find out how the Bengals lost. Oh - and he had the "over" in the Jets game - so he's the only nitwit in the stadium rooting for the Raiders to score. My dad made a funny observation - this guy has never won a bet in all the years he's been sitting behind us. He must win the weeks we're not there.

OK, then there's the drunk people. Way too many drunk people. It's dangerous. We also sit two sections over from the section they sell to fans from the opponents' city. So there are also a lot of fights. I don't feel safe a lot of the time.

Two more complaints, then I'll focus on the football. Two rows in front of us, there's a group of grown men, I'd say in their late fifties, early sixties, and their sons, maybe my age...maybe everyone's a bit younger than I'm estimating. But they look like good football fans. They look like people who'll be paying attention to the game. But, no...they spend the entire game making paper airplanes and seeing if they can get them to fly onto the field. And they don't just buy a program (or take the free one we're given at the door) and rip out pages...they bring their own white paper with them to the game. IT'S PRE-MEDITATED, PEOPLE!!

And my last one - the guy who brought a sign to the game. In the past few years, they've installed a camera at Giants Stadium above the tunnel in our section. I'm not really sure why, we're in the corner of the end zone - it's not a great view, but it does offer a decent panorama of the field. (If you're ever watching a Jets or Giants game with me, I'll point out the shot - they use it like twice a game.) Anyway, once in the game this camera turns around for a crowd shot, and this guy and his 12-or-so-year-old son have a sign that says "JETS - Come Back Season" - a good CBS sign, you figure probably this guy will get on TV. He's up every commercial waving it at the cameraguy - fine, whatever. Every commercial. Then he starts doing it during the game. Then -this is hilarious - the cameraguy has the camera pointed at him, and it looks like they're going to show this guy on TV, and people start gathering around the camera and waving, as they are wont to do (and totally in their right to do). And the guy starts yelling at all the people in front of him, "HEY! THE GUY IS TRYING TO TAKE A PICTURE! F-IN' PEOPLE." Classic. I'm not sure the people in front of you knew that the guy was taking video there. They thought they were waving into a mirror, you moron.

OK, it feels good to get all that out. My final thoughts on Sunday's game, then the rest of the week is a playoff preview:

• The Jets played a video montage of Curtis Martin towards the end of the game. The crowd gave it a standing ovation. I scanned the sidelines with the binoculars, but it didn't seem like Martin was there. A shame if he's played his last game (as a Jet or otherwise). But it was nice that they gave him the tribute.
• The Jets do have cheerleaders (I forgot if I speculated on that here or talking to someone). The women in tight green outfits replace guys who use to run around carrying flags when the Jets would score. I told my dad, "Eric Mangini has done a nice job re-doing the Jets' image this year, but I don't think you can credit him as a 'genius' for this move. How smart do you have to be to say, 'You know how we have those fat guys running around carrying flags after touchdowns and field goals? What if we replaced them with hot chicks?'"

This thought occurred to me yesterday, because when we left the Jets game, we thought there'd be no way we'd be going back. But that was when the Jets were the lowest seed. Now the Chiefs are the lowest seed. And they could beat Indy, what with Larry Johnson running (though I'm not sure they will). Anyway, if the Jets win out, and the Chiefs win out, the AFC Championship will be at the Jets. Welcome back, Herman Edwards. Wouldn't that be something. I would even put up with the bozos in Section 336 to go back to the Meadowlands to boo Herm Edwards.

COMING UP THIS WEEK:

WIN AND IN

In honor of the Jets' opponent this weekend at the Meadowlands, the slogan for the Jets this week is simple - "Just Win, Baby". If the Jets beat the Raiders on Sunday at 1pm, they clinch one of the more unlikely playoff berths of my lifetime.

And the Jets will win - I can't imagine a scenario where they lose to the Raiders. It's New Year's Eve, near New York City, so the Raiders will have other things on their minds - they'll mail this one in, and finish 2-14. For the Jets, it's all on the line. So I say, Jets, 27-3. Not even close, which would be uncharacteristic of the Jets' season.

I mentioned how unlikely this playoff berth would be. I talked about how early in the season I thought the Jets would be competitive, but I didn't think their possibly finishing at .500 would get them near the playoffs. Turns out, they're heading for 10-6, and that's going to be good enough. I started to think the Jets had a shot about midway through the season - remember when the Jets lost that heartbreaker to the Browns in Cleveland? I thought that would come back to haunt them, because instead of heading into their bye week at 5-3, they were 4-4. Then the Jets ripped off 5 wins in 7 games, and here we are.

I don't want to jump to conclusions, because these are still the Jets we're talking about, but if the Jets win on Sunday (which I think they will), how will they do in the playoffs? I really think they have a shot at doing some damage. Here's what will happen at the VERY LEAST: The Jets lose in their first game, and for all the young guys on the team, it's valuable playoff experience. But the core of the Jets have been to the playoffs before, especially Chad Pennington, and I think that's really important. They remember the hard lessons from two years ago, where a conservative game plan and an unreliable kicker did them in. I think Pennington will take control and lead the team to some playoff wins.

The road will be a tough one - most likely taking the Jets through Indianapolis and New England, and possibly a Baltimore or San Diego, but the Jets can beat all of those teams. I won't get into the playoffs too much right now, since first the Jets have to make it there, but I will say I can't wait. I think the Jets will do well. Hopefully I'll have the chance to do a Raiders wrap (I'm going to the game on Sunday), and a Playoff Preview sometime next week, somewhere in between the busy back-to-school week.

One last thing- here's the standings through 16 weeks in the johnnyjets League:

1. Cousin Eddie: 123
2. The Wife 114
2. Justin 114
4. johnnyjets 111
4. Dave in Brighton 111
6. Southern Bureau 94

HEADED FOR THE PLAYOFFS?

Jets 13, Dolphins 10 (NYJ: 9-6, MIA: 6-9)

That wasn't pretty. It wasn't as dominant as it should have been. But it was exciting, and it was a 'W', so the Jets are one win away from the postseason.

I can't really believe I'm writing this, considering the way this season should have gone. It should have been a rebuilding type of year. I thought the Jets may have pulled out a .500 record, based on Chad Pennington coming back, healthy for the first time in two years, but I didn't think they'd sniff the playoffs. Here's what I wrote in August/early September:

Chad Pennington is back to his old self, I guess. He's throwing the ball well, and has all but won the starting quarterback job back, which is very exciting. That alone gives Jets fans hope that the Jets might not be as bad as everyone thinks - Pennington knows how to win. I'll leave it at that.

The Jets are definitely going to be an improved football team this year, and I think they'll be better than a lot of people are picking them to be (I've heard 4-12 again, or 5-11). I think there's a chance the Jets could squeeze out 8 wins, maybe even 9. The problem is their schedule is tough. And I think once the Jets figure out what they have in Cedric Houston, their running problems will be solved.

Not sure what I was thinking about there with the "tough schedule" part - maybe because of their division. But now the Jets face a "win and in" scenario next week - beat the Raiders, and they're in the playoffs.

As I wrote here, I thought the Jets would beat the Dolphins on Monday night. But watching the game Monday, it was the type of game that you felt would end in heartbreak for the Jets. Scoreless through the first half. Then a 3-0 lead quickly turned into a 7-3 deficit. But Chad Pennington showed why the Jets have to be considered a threat if they get into the playoffs - because he led the team right back down the field to a 10-7 lead, then again to the game-winning field goal. Leon Washington was huge, too, showing incredible bursts and moves to gain some big yardage. Parts of that game, though, especially when the Dolphins brought in the backup quarterback, had "Typical Jets loss" written all over it.

Now there are other worries. The Jets should beat Oakland, at home, next week. It is certainly an easier task than when they had to beat the Raiders, in Oakland, in 2001, in order to make the playoffs. (They did, then lost the playoff game back in Oakland the following week.) This Raiders team is nowhere near as good as the rest of the NFL - this shouldn't even be a contest. (The good news is that the NFL's flex schedule did not make this game the Sunday nighter on New Year's Eve, so I will be going to the 1 o'clock game to cheer the Jets into the postseason.) The problem is, the Jets have a history of losing games they should win...especially when something huge is on the line.

One positive - that hasn't happened in a while. In 2002, the Jets needed to beat Green Bay at home to win the AFC East - they did, and they blew them out. The Jets haven't choked away a playoff spot since 2000, so that's good news. I'm sure Eric Mangini will have the team properly motivated, considering his playoff experience recently with New England.

And then it's playoff time (hopefully). If the Jets make it, they'll likely draw New England or Indianapolis. The way Indy has played recently, the Jets could win that game, and they've already showed they can beat the Patriots in New England. This could be an exciting playoff run. (There's an outside chance it will be Baltimore, but they'd probably have to lose and a couple of other things would need to happen. That might actually be the toughest matchup for the Jets.) I can hardly wait.

My pick for the Jets-Raiders game on Sunday - find something else to do. This is when DirecTV's Sunday Ticket comes in handy - the local offering is Patriots-Bills, which does nothing for me. The Jets-Raiders game will be my permanent switchback, just to keep tabs on what's going on, but I can watch the Colts go for 13-0, and the Steelers-Bears game instead of the other games...without leaving home.

So last week, a pretty good week all around for picks - the wife was 8-8, Dave was 11-5, and I pulled off a 13-3. Dave now stands 4 below .500 at 84-88-4, the wife is 94-94-4, and I pulled exactly even with her last week after the 13 wins. So for this week:

I have Carolina, at home, -5 against the Buccaneers - so does the wife.

I have New England, -4, at Buffalo - so does the wife.

I have Minnesota giving 6 and-a-half against the Rams, in Minnesota, the wife has Saint Louis.

In Pittsburgh, the Steelers are giving 5-and-a-half to Chicago - I take the Bears plus the points. The wife takes the Steelers.

The Raiders are 3-point-favorites over the Jets - I take Oakland, the wife takes the Jets.

Indianapolis is giving 8-and-a-half to the Jaguars - I take Indy, the wife takes Jacksonville.

In Tennessee, it's the Titans minus-6-and-a-half. I take Tennessee, the wife takes Houston...again.

Cincinnati is giving 11-and-half to Cleveland. I take the Bengals, the wife takes Cleveland.

Washington is a 4-point favorite over the Cardinals in Arizona. Both me and the wife take the Redskins.

The Giants are 9-point favorites in Philly. Both me and the wife take New York.

Some big spreads ahead:

I take Seattle giving 16 at home to San Francisco. The wife takes the 49ers.

I take San Diego giving 13 to the Dolphins. The wife takes Miami.

I take Denver giving 14-and-a-half to Baltimore. The wife takes the Ravens.

In Dallas, the Cowboys are three-point-favorites over the Chiefs. The Chiefs should win outright - I take K.C. The wife takes Dallas.

Sunday night, the Packers are 6-point favorites over the Lions, in Green Bay. I take Green Bay, the wife takes the Lions.

Monday night, the Falcons are 10-and-a-half point favorites over the Saints, in Atlanta. I take the Falcons, so does the wife.

Where are Dave's picks this week, you ask? They weren't worth printing - he's taking all favorites. So go back and figure out where his picks differ from the wife and I's. I took a lot of favorites - but I didn't take all of them.