First of all, I want to say that Sunday's loss to the Patriots was a bitter defeat and that I am certainly not denying that it was a big dissapointment and a very tough game to watch in it's entirety (something i did AGAIN early this morning). I expected the Jets to find a way to win that game and I was very displeased with a number of things I saw from them throughout the afternoon. However, I believe the overall state of panic on this board is way out of proportion with reality. Let me start out by saying that, as bad a loss as Sunday was for all the known reasons, it was just one game. Let me also remind everyone here that the defending World Champion New York Giants started off 0-2 last season. (As a matter of fact, so did our beloved 1998 Jets - a team that finished 12-4 and was within a bad quarter and half of reaching the superbowl) So making a blanket statement like "The Charger game is now a must-win" is not only absurd and devoid of logic but it is rather strongly contradicted by the historically unpredicatable, unstable nature of an NFL season. Secondly, I want to address a major issue of concern raised on this board as a direct reaction to Sunday's defeat. One sentiment that I am seeing over and over again on this board is expressed by the following: "The play-calling is terrible and Mangini has lost all his balls. In his first year here, he was a great coach who was not afraid to gamble and trusted his players to make things happen on the field. The play-calling was the biggest reason the Jets lost the game this Sunday. We need a new coach, etc" It is my opinion that the play-calling is being made into way too big of an issue on this board. Yes, the 3 runs from inside the 3 yard-line REALLY SUCKED. Yes, they should have called a play-action pass at least once there (Probably on second down). But to boil the game down to three play calls in the middle of the second quarter is utterly absurd. The two main reasons the Jets lost the game on Sunday were the AWFUL special teams play (which directly allowed the Patriots to start drives in Jets territory FOUR different times! - btw, i also believe that if Feely didn't miss the 31 yard kick after the impressive opening drive, the whole complexion of the game may have been different) and untimely penalties and other UNFORCED errors. (By the way, in my opinion, the two biggest calls of the game went againsnt Jets and were both BULLSHIT calls - the offensive Pass interference on Cotchery and the roughing the passer call on Pace, which moved the Pats into field goal range and effectively ended the game) The Jets had all kinds of opportunities in this game. Don't forget, they OUTGAINED the Pats from the line of scrimmage. To me, the Favre interception was one of the biggest plays in the game, because before that point, NEITHER team had scored a touchdown. When he turned it over there and they had a short field, that really propelled the Pats to finally break through in the redzone and score a touchdown. I'm not sure that they ever would have crossed the goal-line wihthout that play and it was an UNFORCED ERROR that had NOTHING to do with Mangini. Also, I didn't mind them pounding the ball early and often against the Pats. They actually ran it pretty well for a change against New England. Again, other than the 3 straight runs at the goal-line, I really didn't have a problem with the Play-calling. The jets had a million other chances and Favre had plenty of opportunities to throw down the field. As a final comment on Mangini, a good coach doesn't forget how to coach. (Certainly, not at his age, anyway) And he hasn't "lost his balls". His team executed extremely poorly in some big spots with some horrendous unforced errors. If this continues from game to game, THEN it becomes a direct indictment of the head coach and his staff. But there has to be a pattern first. The opening home game, in which the team makes the errors that it made, and STILL has a chance to win the game, does not make for the right time to start calling him gutless or a bad coach. (It's funny because if Rodney Harrison doesn't make a pro-bowl play on 3rd and goal and stop Thomas Jones from walking into the endzone, nobody would be saying shit about the playcalling) You guys want to know a secret about football ? (I admit I only played in high school, so I'm not trying to come off like an ex-pro or anything), PLAY-CALLING IS VASTLY OVERRATED. ANY PLAYER WILL TELL YOU THAT EXECUTION IS 99% OF THE GAME. IF THE PLAYERS EXECUTE THE GAMEPLAN EFFECTIVELY, THEY WIN 99% OF THE TIME. Ask yourself this important question, if playcalling was such a key, wouldn't trick-plays be a lot more common and be a lot more EFFECTIVE???? By the way, none of this is to suggest that Play-calling is not important enough to decide the outcome of games. Of course it is. It's just that I believe that it played a FAR smaller role in this game than many of you (and much of the NY media) seem to think. Now, some brief points about the upcoming game in San Diego and the rest of the season. I have had numerous people tell me (and have heard in various sports talk shows since sunday) that the Jets don't stand a chance this week. The conventional wisdom seems to be that the Jets are playing a more-talented, more desperate team on the road, and thus, will get their asses kicked by a team desperate to put an ass-whooping on someone with ample talent to do it. I have a few counter points. One, the Chargers are a little overrated, in my opinoin. I live in San Diego and am quite familiar with the team (the only teams I know better are the Jets and everyone in the AFC east) They ARE a very talented football team but they are horribly inconsistent. They also are not a great home team. They have lost more big games at home than many care to remember. Also, their defense is the biggest front running defense in all of sports. They have the talent (with Merriman) to be the best defense in the league but rarely play even close to that. They got on a roll last year, upsetting Indy on the road (Like that has never been done before - I realize they didn't have Tomlinson or Gates or Rivers for a while. But the point remains, Indy is not the greatest Home favorite in the playoffs - they are now 0-3 in the playoffs when getting a bye-which is pathetic) on their way to the AFC championship game, and everyone fell in love with them. They have an excellent run defense but have an awful secondary. We can throw on them all day if our passing game clicks and becomes cohesive without dumb penalties. (Obviously a big IF) Also, Their pass protection is very mediocre and Rivers does not handle the rush very well at all. (Everyone fell in love with him, too, after the playoffs last year, forgetting that he really only had one great game in the playoffs and sucked all year) One thing we have really improved is our pass-rush. I expect us to give them and their porous pass-blocking offensive line a LOT of problems. Also, when they do not run the ball well, they almost always lose. Our run defense has been very solid and if we can slow them down (remember Tomlinson may not play - and he is not unstoppable like some people think), the game will be very competitve. Also, I happen to think that losing the way they just lost could be a HUGE negative. That kind of loss can break the spirit of your team. (While it usually doesn't happen this early in a season, it's always dangerous for a team's pshyche anytime they get robbed the way they did) People keep saying they will be "mad" about what happened to them and take it out on the Jets. But if they are still thinking about the Denver game when they line up against the Jets, they will get their asses kicked because the Jets are easily talented enough to compete with them on the field. As for the prevailing outlook of Doom about the rest of the season, let's all take a chill pill. The Jets are a team with A TON of new additions and a starting quarterback who has only been here a little over a month. Let's give him and the rest of the offense some time to gel and become the cohesive unit that they are capable of becoming. Right now, the defense is light years above where it has been in the past. We are much better against the run (jenkins has played very well in the first 2 games) and our pass rush has produced the 3rd most QB sacks in all of football through 2 weeks. We have a lot of talent and have a ton of room for improvement. Think about how badly we played on Sunday (how many unforced errors there were) and then consider how close of a game it was. We are 1-1 and there is a lot of football left. I think the Jets are primed to be a seond half team (our shedule certainly plays out that way) and if they become the cohesive unit they are capable of becoming, then the Jets will be the 10-12 win team a lot of us think they should be.
solid post- good to see your perspective especially since you are from san diego and know the team a lot better than probably anyone on the board.... we also have always played san diego pretty tough... I think we have a chance... plus we should come out fired up
haha, thanks man. You and me both . . . I was really upset about this loss because I really exepcted a win and have been dreaming about the Jets FINALLY winning another division title ever since Brady went down. However, I must say, after watching the game again, I realize how talented this team is. The Jets made a ton of mistakes in that game and still PHYSICALLY went toe to toe with the Patriots on both lines of scrimmage. It's the first time I've seen that in the Brady-era. (with maybe the exception of the game we won in NE two years ago in Mangini's first year) I also think the the passing game will be MUCH better in 3 or 4 weeks and the Jets will be one of the most balanced teams in all of football. There's a lot to like about this team. I think we just have to give them some time.
I've been saying this shit for the past few days. If the Jets came out and played a technically sound game all around, and the Pats did the same, you could tell which team is better by who wins. But the Jets losing a terribly sloppy game, by a slim margin, doesn't bother me all that much being it week 2. If this happens week 10, then I'd be concerned. I'm quite impressed the defense didn't give up more points considering field position favoring the Patriots heavily. Does the loss suck? Yes. Was the game frustrating and miserable to watch? Yes. Were there some questionable play calls? Seemingly. But I'm not ready to pack it in just yet. Not with the Chargers 0-2, Colts 1-1, Jaguars 1-1, Browns 0-2..nothing is etched in stone yet.
I agree. The game will close and hard hitting. When I went over the Patriot game play by play, I saw that we moved the ball well but a mistake would stop us cold. I also saw how the defense was able to control the Patriots. I also feel that each week we will get better. Hopefully we will see an inprovement them week. Especially cutting down on mental errors.
I would elevate you from Starter to Totally Addicted just on that post alone. Well Done. Come on Mods; this guy needs to be promoted. This is the kind of poster we need to clone around here.
Yeah, this board is kinda funny -- this is the first I've read here since the Sunday loss, and it sounds like the sky is falling. But the funny thing is, if you go and look at the "predict this season outcome" thread, I think you'll see that the majority opinion was that the Jets would win week 1 and lose week 2 (and I think many picked them to lose wk3 -- well, I did anyway). Now granted the wk2 game assumed Brady would be under center, but that aside, these last two results results were exactly what most forum members expected.
i have to admit...I let my emotions get the better of me after Sunday's loss....I was angry, i was in disbelief, and the frustration i felt after last season came flooding back 10-fold. After reading your post...i have a better perspective now..the Jets DO have the talent to compete, they just need to learn how to harness it properly..thanks again.
Great post..........Im reposting what I posted in one of the MANY negative threads in here. I for one am very excited about Monday and Ill tell you why. First off, I like most of you, was very depressed and just pissed in general since the game on Sunday. However, I just had a wave of new emotions come over me. I have a feeling that this team is very pissed off after that loss as well. Not to mention the flack Eric is taking over the play calling and not using Brett to his potential. I have a strong feeling that things are going to open up this week. Eric doesnt want to look bad again and he will change his game plan. Trying to keep it positive. This team has a lot of talent and a lot of potential, they just need some time to learn how to work together better.
Some people are starting to come back to reality. We have a team with a lot of new pieces adjusting to each other and not to mention a coach adapting to having a real qb for once. The Pats run since their first superbowl is one of the best ever. They have have an incredible team and are so well coached that they have lost 1 game in their last 20.
what year was it when the bolts were like 9-0 and the jets were like 0-9 and the jets flew out to the left coast and blew them out of the water?
true, but a better #24 and a LT with a bad toe are now in that picture. Fun Stats for the evening Jets: 25th ranked offense, 8th ranked defense. Bolts: 5th ranked offense. 30th ranked defense. who beats who... defense wins championships right?
Excellent post. I think if this team can stay afloat until the by, then the second half will be very good. It really is just a matter of time, not like the usual wondering how we're going to manage with smoke and mirrors...
o.k you converted me.but if we don't try to air it out mon nite against a team carolina was able to pass against(without steve smith mind you)then there is seriously something wrong.
Y are you trying to bring down this thread? Can we have one thread on this board where we try to stay positive? I am not trying to be unrealistic with expectations, i know there are negative aspects of our game but its a little relieving to hear some positives.
I agree there. We are not going to be able to pound the Chargers because the one thing they always do is stop the run. But their secondary is awful. And without Merriman, their pass rush is a shell of it's former self. I can really see us hanging tough and stealing this game if we play smart and get some breaks.
