Just a quick update to get some things off my mind:

Terrell Owens missed someone in his apology to the world the other day: Fantasy Football Owners of Terrell Owens. He really screwed up my season. Maybe I was dumb to draft him, but by the time I had my draft, things seemed to be settled with the Eagles, I thought he would play out the season. What a jerk.

Wayne Chrebet is expected to retire after suffering another concussion on Sunday. As soon as his head hit the turf, I knew his career was done. It's a little sad - a big change for the Jets. But it would be even more sad if Chrebet winds up brain damaged. We'll never know, because he kept to himself as a player...in retirement, I doubt we'll ever hear from him again.

Brooks Bollinger will start for the Jets in Carolina on Sunday. About four weeks too late. That's the first mistake I will peg Herman Edwards with in his head coaching tenure - not turning the reins over to Bollinger sooner. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a bunch of jerks for not blowing out the Jets when Vinny returned....I can't believe the Jets won that game. It ruined the season. Bollinger throws a nice-looking ball. His only problem is he's short. He's been able to make runs late in the games where the Jets have trailed and he's replaced Testaverde. If he had started, the Jets might have won a couple. I don't care about a high draft pick...if that's going to happen, fine, it's going to happen. But let Bollinger throw the ball, and anything could have happened a few weeks ago - this division was wide open, a couple of wins could have put the Jets in first place. Now it's too far to climb, and that's not fair to Bollinger. It'll be fun to watch him play a game where he will be free to be a quarterback, not a hander-offer (like he was in the Baltimore game, where the Jets wouldn't let him throw the ball). Tough thing, though, with this start coming against the Carolina defense.

Speaking of Carolina and defenses...as in defense attorney....the Panthers' cheerleading squad will be short a couple of members. I wonder if Kevin, the JJDBSDC Southern Bureau Chief, got to cover that story. And I also think the blonde cheerleader could have done a little better for herself than the brunette she was with. If there are 33 members of the "Top Cats" (and there are - I counted), I'd rank the girl she was with at about number 30. Shoot higher, blondie.

Picks on Friday.

Surprise!! A mid-week writing on the page. I'm going to try to be better at this...we'll see how that turns out.

As though it didn't already seem that the Jets were headed in this direction with the whole Vinny Testaverde thing...now Kevin Mawae is out for the rest of the season (and the Jets couldn't even make the center-quarterback exchange with the Pro Bowler at center), and Ty Law looks like he might not play in Monday night's game versus the Falcons...at Atlanta. This season is now headed in the same direction as....well, it's easier to list the seasons that this season is NOT headed in the same direction as - 1968, 1998, 2002, and 2004. Yup, such is the sad life of a Jets fan. You could toss 1986 in there too...but it only makes it sound like they're a better franchise than they are.

With all that said, this blog will become more of an NFL recapper, instead of focusing on the depressing, slowly maddening Jets. And this was some weekend for us DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers (especially those with TiVo - well, not really, but I had to work TiVo in). I'll start with the Monday nighter, because I didn't stay up to see how the Colts came back - but you just had a feeling the Rams weren't exactly going to blow the doors off of Indy, in Indy. After jumping out to a 17-0 lead, Saint Louis lost Marc Bulger, and things just weren't the same. They also couldn't stop Edgerrin James, apparently, because he ran for 143 yards and 3 TD's. The Colts are 6-0 - the only undefeated team left in the NFL. The way the rest of the "favorites" are playing right now, they should win the Super Bowl. I think the next best team out there is the Falcons, and I don't think the Falcons could beat the Colts in the Super Bowl. I wouldn't mind seeing the Colts win it. I like Peyton Manning a lot - I only hate him when he's playing the Jets. And I only wouldn't want to see the Colts win if they had to go through the Jets in the playoffs - but since that's NOT going to happen, "Go, Indy!"

The Giants blew a great chance to win in Dallas, but that game was still pretty exciting for a Giants game. Actually, only the final minutes were exciting, but that's all I watched, so it's all good. The Giants had a chance to tie late, needing a touchdown. And after Tiki Barber got them to the three, Brandon Jacobs fumbled on the 1, and the Cowboys recover, and it looks like it's over. But remember, the Cowboys' QB is Drew Bledsoe, one of the dumbest men alive, so you always have a chance in this situation. Two handoffs got stuffed by the Giants, then Time Outs, and then Bledsoe threw an incomplete pass out of his own end zone, stopping the clock. The Cowboys punted, and Eli Manning proceeded to throw two great passes and got the Giants into the end zone in the final minute to tie it. Unfortunately for the Giants, they blew a bunch of chances to blow this one open early and lost on a field goal in overtime. The Cowboys had been driving on the Giants all day - they just couldn't get into the end zone - that didn't matter in OT.

Atlanta and New Orleans was sort of an unexciting exciting game. It ended anticlimactically, with a Falcons good field goal after the bad field goal was taken back by a bad Saints penalty. I don't know how Jim Haslett still has a job - he's as bad a coach as Mike Tice.

Pittsburgh was brutal this week, led by Tommy Maddox. Maddox threw three picks, the last coming in overtime, and returned for the game-winning touchdown by the Jaguars. That came after the Steelers took the overtime-opening kickoff (or a punt, I forget), into field goal range, only to fumble it away. Then the pick on their next possession. Is it any wonder that the Steelers will start Roethlisberger next Sunday?

The Jets game I won't dwell on, I will just say that I logged my first-ever correct prediction this week - Curtis Martin ran right through the Bills defense. They stink against the run. And the Jets stink, period. Willis McGahee is the worst thing ever to happen to them in the division. He owns them...every time they play him, he has a big game. He's like Michael Jordan was to the Knicks back when I gave a crap about the NBA.

Here's my favorite game of the weekend - Carolina at Detroit. I don't know, first of all, how Detroit was favored in this game (by a point), and I don't know how they almost won. But they led the Panthers by 6 late, late, late in the game, and Jake Delhomme is driving the Panthers down the field. He takes off on a run, slides feet first, and gets laid out on the field...15-yard penalty, and in comes Chris Weinke. I don't like Weinke, but I enjoyed seeing him lead the Panthers to the win - a touchdown with about a minute left. Maybe it's because I picked the Panthers...I can't say. But it was exciting.

My final thoughts - Dom Capers is going to get fired. The Texans stink, and who else can be more responsible than him?...Shaun Alexander is a touchdown machine - it's ridiculous - but he's still the guy who put himself before the team in last season's final game, and that's just bush league....LaDanian Tomlinson is definitely the best player in the NFL right now...I wonder if my jersey jinx would work on other teams - like if I bought a Tomlinson jersey, would he start to be brutal?...Tampa Bay is done - Chris Simms isn't a winner, and Tim Rattay isn't good...I was actually right on another prediction - the Broncos are a different team at home. They have an almost unfair home-field advantage.

It was a very exciting Sunday in the NFL, and it was a very exciting Saturday in college football - but I won't get into all that. Monday night was also a very exciting night for the NLCS - for more on that, check out johnnymets.blogspot.com.

So, I'm going to hop onto this Vinny Testaverde train for a couple of stops. It helps that the Jets are playing Buffalo Sunday, and week one was a huge aberration for the Bills. I have no idea how they won that game at all - they actually looked OK. Last week, they beat the Dolphins. Even Chad Pennington's one arm beat the Dolphins. I think this is a great opportunity for the Jets to get some confidence back and beat a team soundly.

The game is in Buffalo, so that's a slight drawback - but it's only October - the Jets have struggled in Buffalo in much colder weather - I don't remember the last time they went to Buffalo in the early part of the season - actually, yes I do. Chad Morton returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, and the Jets won in overtime in the first week of the season a few years ago. I think that was one of Vinny's last starts - I think that was the year Pennington took over in Week 4. So the timing here is right for the Jets.

This week will also be a test for the Jets' running game. If they can't run on Sunday, they're not going to run all year. The Bills' run defense is one of the worst in the league. I'm banking on them getting the running game going, because I think Curtis Martin will somehow get to 1,000 yards again this year, and this is where it starts.

I think Vinny will again be OK, but not spectacular. The big difference right now between Vinny and Brooks Bollinger is that last week, receivers caught the ball for Vinny. If they can do that again, the Jets win again. The Jets are also getting three points. I say they win outright. Jets, 27-17. (Dave in Brighton and the wife also both pick the Jets.)

The standings in our picks league here thus far are:
Wife: 40-32-2 (10-3-1 last week)
Me: 36-36-2 (9-4-1 last week)
Dave: 23-33-2 (7-6-1 last week)

We all improved a lot last year (Despite being one game over .500 last week, Dave did improve a lot - it was his first week being over-.500).
The rest of our NFL picks for Week 6:

In Dallas, the Cowboys are three-and-a-half-point favorites over the Giants. I don't know how the Cowboys did what they did to Philadelphia last week, but I think with the extra week to prepare, the Giants come on strong and beat the 'Boys. I take the Giants getting the points. (Dave takes the Cowboys, wife takes the Giants.)

In Detroit, the Lions are one-point favorites over the Panthers. Are you kidding me? Are the Panthers that bad on the road? This is a steal - the Panthers win big. (All three of us take Carolina.)

The Falcons are 5-point favorites over the Saints, at the Saints (which I believe is San Antonio). I take the Falcons to win by at least a touchdown...so do the other two.

The Bears are 3-point favorites over the Vikings in Chicago. It's rough to look at the Bears being a favorite...but the Vikings are in rocky waters - no pun intended. Mike Tice is not a good coach - and I don't think he unites his team in the wake (again no pun intended) of this scandal. I take the Bears giving the points. (Dave takes the Bears, wife takes the Vikes.)

In Kansas City, the Chiefs are five-and-a-half point favorites over the Redskins. I just can't buy into the Redskins being good. It's in Kansas City, too, so despite the fact that Washington has a good run defense, I'm going with the Chiefs...but in the back of my mind I feel like Washington can win this game and prove to all the naysayers (like me) that they are actually good. (The wife is buying into the Redskins - she takes them and the points...Dave takes the Chiefs.)

In Tennessee, it's the Bengals giving 3 to the Titans. I think the Bengals bounce back from their loss last Sunday night to the Jaguars. Another tight loss for the Titans - I say about 24-20 Bengals. Dave and the wife also take Cincinnati.

Tommy Maddox will start for Ben Roethlisberger as Pittsburgh hosts Jacksonville. The Steelers are favored by three. I don't think the quarterback change makes much of a difference. I take the Steelers, as do the other two.

In Baltimore, the Ravens are five-and-a-half point favorites over the Browns. I don't see this one. I'm not sure how the Ravens can be favored, let alone by more than a field goal. They'll probably be lucky to score 5-and-a-half points. I take the Browns, getting the points. (Dave takes Cleveland as well, the wife takes Baltimore.)

Tampa Bay is a four-and-a-half-point favorite over the Dolphins in Tampa. I feel like the Dolphins are going to have a rough go the rest of the year, especially trying to balance their running attack between Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Tampa is going to pounce on them, as revenge for last week's loss to the Jets. I take Tampa giving the points, as do the other two.

Denver is a three-point favorite over the Patriots. It's in Denver, and that's the only reason I'm picking the Broncos. I don't think the Broncos are very good, I don't like picking against the Patriots....but the Broncos have some kind of home field advantage out in Denver, and I have to take them. The other two homers take the Patriots.

In Oakland, it's the Chargers favored by two over the Raiders. Oakland is a home dog against the Chargers. I'm all over the Raiders in this one. The Chargers came close to beating the Steelers last Monday night - I actually didn't see the end of that game. I saw most of the game, though, and found myself not hating the Chargers as much as it seems like I would, based on the fact that I don't think they're going to be very good this year, and they're still playing O.K. But I'm picking the Raiders to beat up on the Chargers and prove me right. (Dave and the wife take the Chargers.)

Seattle, in Seattle, is giving nine-and-a-half to the Texans. The Texans are brutal, but the Seahawks aren't that great. It's tough to take the Seahawks giving nine-and-a-half, but I will, only because they're home. Dave also takes Seattle, not tempted by the big spread, but the wife takes Houston.

On Monday night, Indianapolis is giving 13-and-a-half to the Rams in Indy. The spread is a lot, especially considering who the Colts are playing. I'm taking the Rams, because even without Mike Martz, and probably Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, they're capable of scoring a lot of points. This will be a big test for the Indy Defense, and if I'm wrong, more power to the Colts. But I take the Rams getting the big points. Dave takes Indy, the wife takes the Rams.

Enjoy the weekend.

Just a reminder - this is not the place to come for a sensible pick. I'm here to give Jets fans a reason to believe their team might win on Sunday, every Sunday. This task is getting tougher and tougher. The running game looks brutal. The passing game is non-existent. Vinny Testaverde is the quarterback. All signs that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should crush the Jets on Sunday. But no. The Jets will ride the momentum of Vinny's return to a 7-3 victory! (Jets, plus 3-and-a-half at home). (Dave in Brighton takes Tampa Bay, the wife takes the Jets.)

The wife says she will no longer trash talk. This after saying rubbing in her recent success over Dave and myself...then pulling out a 3-11 with her picks last week. Dave was 6-8, I went 7-7 (also my birthday). Overall, it's the wife at 30-29-1, then me, 27-32-1, then Dave, 16-27-1.

The rest of the picks:

Cleveland, at home, is favored by three over the Bears. Across the board, we take Cleveland. They should easily beat the Bears, I say.

Green Bay, 0-4, is a three-point favorite at home against the Saints. Again, this is the Saints. They only show up to play once in a while. I take Green Bay, -3. Dave takes the Saints, wife takes Green Bay.

Saint Louis is at home to the Seahawaks, and the Rams are -3. I take the Rams, because they're home, and the Seahawks lost last week on the road to the friggin' Redskins. Come on. Dave and the wife both take Seattle.

Atlanta is home to New England, and the Pats are 3-point underdogs. You think they'd respond pretty well to last week's drubbing. But I think the Falcons are legitimately very good. I take the Falcons, the other two take the Pats.

Buffalo is a 3-point favorite at home against Miami. Buffalo's in big trouble. J.P. Losman is benched, at 1-3, and Kelly Holcombe is starting. All three of us take the Dolphins, probably thinking like me, that the Bills are that bad.

Detroit hosts Baltimore, and gives a point. Baltimore's not good...Detroit is about a point better. I take Detroit, so does Dave, wife takes Baltimore.

Houston is home to Tennessee, and the Texans are -3. Houston's a tough place to win, but Houston's not good either (despite last week's showing vs. Cincinnati), and Tennessee's playing pretty well this year. All three of us take Tennessee.

The Colts are -14 in San Francisco, for Alex Smith's first NFL start. The Colts' D + NFL debut = more than 14 points win. I take Indy -14. So does the wife. Dave takes San Fran - maybe it's the lure of the big spread.

Carolina is on the road, favored by two-and-a-half in Arizona. I can't believe Arizona beat San Francisco last week...there's no way they'll beat the Panthers. I take Carolina. Dave and the wife seem to agree with my reasoning - they both take Carolina.

Philadelphia is favored by three in Dallas. Tough call here - I actually think Philly wins by 3, so it'll be a push. But I'll take Dallas, plus-3, because they're home. Dave and the wife take Philly.

Denver, in Denver, gives Washington six-and-a-half. A couple of factors at work here - the Broncos have played well at home, and the Redskins are somehow 3-0 despite the fact that they stink. I take Denver, winning big. So does Dave. The wife takes the crappy Redskins.

Jacksonville is home to Cincinnati, giving three. I can't pass up Cincy as an underdog - they're the new New England. They're going undefeated. I take Cincinnati plus the points. So does Dave. The wife takes Jacksonville.

Monday night, San Diego is giving three in San Diego, to Pittsburgh. We all three take Pittsburgh - my reasoning being I don't buy into the Chargers this year - despite back-to-back big wins. Pittsburgh will bring them back to earth. Dave says "it'll be nice to root for Pittsburgh for once."

I must admit - I'm into hockey right now. It helps that the Rangers are off to a 1-0 start, and as my friend Steve in New York says, it's also going to be a long winter - they're all we have. But I still pick the 1-3 Jets over the 4-0 Bucs this weekend.

I know, I know...it's very, very, very unlikely that the Jets will win this weekend. A number of factors are working against them - Baltimore is a very tough place to win, their defense is very tough, and...I feel like there was one more thing...I forget...oh, no wait, that's right: the Jets are starting Brooks Bollinger.

But remember what I've told you - if you want a legit pick, read me, and then go somewhere else to see people pick the Ravens. I pick with my heart, not with my head, and looking at this game with my heart, I can figure out a way the Jets will win (or at the very least, cover the spread).

The backup for Bollinger this weekend will be Vinny Testaverde. I don't think Vinny's appeared on the blog before - I think the blog was born in the post-Testaverde Jets era. He says he wants Herman Edwards to stay with Bollinger the entire game, or something to that effect, so Bollinger's not worried about Testaverde breathing down his back. That's a good thing, because the entire Ravens defense will be breathing down his back - he doesn't need that extra breath. I will say this, though - Testaverde had one of the greatest games in his career against the Ravens. I believe it was in 2000 - and the Jets played the Ravens with a chance to make the playoffs (like their entire December schedule that year - Al Groh's year, when they lost to the crappy Lions, et al., and missed their chance), in Baltimore, and they lost, on Christmas Eve, 34-20. Testaverde passed for 481 yards - and that was the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl, so racking up some yards against the Ravens isn't impossible...especially this year.

However, the key to victory for the Jets this week will be in the running game. Both running games. Curtis Martin versus Jamal Lewis. Lewis has been absolutely awful this year - but the Ravens have had a week to figure things out after a bye. Martin hasn't been good, but the Jets' offensive line has been brutal - I don't know if it's Jamal Lewis, honestly, or if it's the Ravens' O-line...but these two teams have sort of mirrored each other early on. Both teams have had quarterback problems, and running problems, and offensive problems in general. Both teams are supposed to have good defenses, and both haven't played to their potential thus far.

It's going to come down to defenses, I think, on Sunday. Neither team will find the end zone, I predict. The Jets' defense will step up big time for the next couple of weeks, before they get tired from carrying the team. The Ravens defense will keep Bollinger from doing anything big, but I expect him to play smart, to throw short passes that will open up a little room for Curtis Martin to run, and I think the Jets will out-field-goal the Ravens, and win, 9-3. With the Jets 7-point underdogs, I pick them to win outright (here, anyway - in another pool I picked the Ravens to win...and I'm starting to regret that - I just convinced myself the Jets can win).

As for the rest of the NFL - last week was a bad week - the wife was 9-5 - she had a good week, and overall, she is 27-18-1. Dave from Brighton had a brutal week, at one point standing at 1-8, finishing at 4-10, and he's 10-19-1 overall. What's worse? Not only did the Jets lose both of their quarterbacks...but I went 3-11!! Yikes. I'm at 20-25-1 overall. The wife likes to point out she has almost as many wins as Dave and I combined. I need to tell her that Dave didn't play week one. Anyway, for this week, both Dave and the wife also pick the Jets - I'm not sure why. Oh, and Brooks Bollinger sent in an e-mail with his picks - but he only gets to make his pick if both the wife and Dave go down with season-ending injuries.

So, away we go:

The Patriots are five-point favorites over the Chargers at home. All three of us pick the Pats - me, because I'm not buying into the Chargers' hype this year, the other two because they like the Pats.

The Jaguars are three-and-a-half point favorites over the Broncos, in Jacksonville...I think the Jags carry the momentum from last week's overtime win in New York into this week, and bring the Broncos back to earth after their big Monday Night win. Dave and the wife agree.

The Bengals look to go 4-0 as 9-and-a-half point favorites over the Texans, in Cincinnati. I'll pick the Texans when they show up one week...so it's Cincy giving the points for me. Dave also takes Cincy, the wife takes Houston.

The Colts are giving 7 in Tennessee. It's a tough place to win, but the Colts are a well-rounded team now with a good defense, and they can beat the Titans. I take Indy -7. So does Dave. The wife takes the Titans.

The Chiefs are two-point favorites at home against the Eagles. I can't pick against Philly - they should win outright. Both Dave and the wife also take the Eagles.

In Tampa Bay, the Bucs try to go to 4-0 against the Lions. They are favored by six-and-a-half. I take Detroit getting the points. They probably won't win, but I feel like they can keep it close. I don't want Tampa to be 4-0...so maybe that's motivating my pick too. Both Dave and the wife take Tampa.

The Giants are giving three at home against the Rams. I take the Giants, because I've been impressed by them so far (last week notwithstanding). Dave takes the Giants, the wife takes the Rams.

New Orleans hosting Buffalo is a pick-'em. All three of us take Buffalo. The Saints are still the Saints (not to say Buffalo is much better...but they're a little better).

Washington is a 2-point favorite at home against Seattle. Seattle wins outright, ruining the Redskins' hopes of an undefeated season. Dave and the wife agree.

The Falcons host the Vikings, as five-and-a-half point favorites. Back down to earth for Culpepper after crushing the Saints last week - Falcons win, big. The wife and Dave agree.

The Raiders are three-point favorites over Dallas. Another trip out west for the Cowboys? They can't win...and the Raiders are dying for a win - they'll get it this time at home. Dave also takes Oakland...the wife takes Dallas.

In Mexico, it's 49ers versus Cardinals. Arizona's the home team, favored by 3. The 49ers should win this game. All three of us take San Fran.

Monday night, Carolina is at home, 7-and-a-half point favorites over the Packers. I take Green Bay to cover, but not win. I say Carolina, 27-20. Dave takes Green Bay, the wife takes Carolina.

A lot of similar picks for Dave and I. That means we can pick up lots of ground on the wife with a good week....or else hand the season over to her as she runs away with it.

I wasn't going to write anything today, but there are two things: First of all - Vinny Testaverde...are you kidding me?

At least the Arizona Cardinals have shown they read the site - they signed Rohan Davey Tuesday.

Secondly, this e-mail was too good not to post:

"Dear JohnnyJets,

So it looks like I might finally get my big shot this Sunday and I was writing to ask if you could hype me up a little bit, or at least stop writing that the Ravens are "salivating at the thought of facing" me.

A lot of the players and coaches read the site (Heimerdinger hates you, by the way), and I thought that if you were on my side it would both help settle my nerves and build a little support in the lockerroom.

How about some crazy prediction, like that I'll have a 370 yard, 4 TD performance. Or maybe you could say I'll be like the Jets' Tom Brady. I'll leave the specifics up to you since you're the writer and I'm the NFL quarterback.

Thanks,
Brooks B."

I find it hard to believe this is the real Brooks Bollinger - first of all, the "sender" section of the e-mail has the real person's first initial and full last name - you may want to change that. Secondly, there's no way Heimerdinger hates me.

People keep trying to make me believe this is the Jets' Tom Brady situation. It's not. The Patriots lost a fading older quarterback in 2001. They replaced him with a young up-and-coming backup (no one knew that at the time, but at least Brady was young). The Jets lost their up-and-comer and replaced him with a faded oldest quarterback.

Brooks, you might win your first NFL start. The Ravens are in a bad spot at quarterback as well...and your defense might carry you. Especially if Jamal Lewis' legs keep doing an impression of Chad Pennington's arm (ouch...I think it might be too early to make those jokes...I just upset myself). But the only 370's you'll be recording are the ones you get when you're spun around and sacked. (I do know a circle is 360 degrees - he'll get spun one full rotation and another ten degrees.) Maybe you'll accumulate 370 yards and four TD's on the season. Those are the best encouraging words I can do.

Good luck, Brooks. Remember, if you see Ray Lewis coming at you, tuck the ball away and run for your life. Just try to run forward, and not backwards.

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.