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 13, Cardinals 3

The Jets really needed their defense to step up since Chad Pennington went down. The whole team collapsed in the game against the Baltimore Ravens...but since then, the defense has been BIG. On Sunday against Arizona, the defense came through late, stopping the Cardinals three different times in the last 6 and a half minutes, causing turnovers on three plays. Jonathan Vilma picked off a pass and recovered a fumble, and it doesn't hurt that the Cardinals stink, but the Jets won another game they had to win, and now they're 8-3.

Another highlight from Sunday's game was Quincy Carter hooking up with Santana Moss on a 69-yard touchdown pass that helped put the game out of reach. It was quite possibly one of the greatest offensive plays in Jets history, just because there hasn't been much out there to choose from. Another positive out of the Cardinals game was that when Carter got hurt early on, in stepped Brooks Bollinger, and he didn't do a bad job. I think by next season he will be a very capable backup, and it's a bonus that he got to see some NFL game action against a very non-threatening team like the Cardinals.

A couple of notes on the defense. First of all, they really have played well all year. And the past two games they've been very good against two sub-par teams. They gave up 3 points this week, and 7 points last week. Next week will be a test against Houston, and they need to respond, because things only get tougher after that.

The most upsetting thing about Sunday's game was what was happening in New England. The Ravens played horribly against the Patriots, and it made you realize that there's no way they should have scored 20 points against the Jets, let alone win that game. That loss against the Ravens still hurts.

Luckily for the Jets, though, they came out on top no matter who won the Ravens-Patriots game. A Ravens win would have put the Jets closer to catching the Patriots, but since the Patriots won, the Jets now have the upper hand in the wild card chase. (It's getting to be that time of year, where Wednesdays are going to be Wild Card Scenario days.) It would also help tonight if the Raiders beat the Broncos, but I'm not counting on that. I'm actually looking forward to the game, though, because it's snowing in Denver!

Time to get back to the homework. The Jets are 8-3, they need 10 or 11 wins to be in good postseason shape. We'll be talking about this some more in the coming weeks, but the remaining games are Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, New England, Saint Louis. After Seattle got crushed by Buffalo on Sunday, that game and the St. Louis game look a lot less daunting. Hopefully the Jets still have 3 or 4 wins left in them...and hopefully next week marks the return of Chad Pennington.

We'll have your e-mail tomorrow. Oh wait, before I go - I saw on the ESPN crawl that the Jets worked out a contract for Shaun Ellis, so that takes care of one of their big name free agents. That's very good news. I'll try to have more on that tomorrow.