September 25, 2006 Jets remain must-see TV By Mark La Monica Could any Jets fan reasonably expect Matt Chatham to recover the onside kick Sunday afternoon in Buffalo? Or any other Jet for that matter? Sorry, but that notion would be impossible to fathom. The Jets doing something properly to seal a win in the final minutes? That's just not Jets football. Jets fans wouldn't know how to handle that visual. Chatham had to fumble that onside kick and the Buffalo Bills had to recover it. You see, a touchdown and a two-point conversion for the Bills would have tied the score at 28 in the final minute. After that touchdown run by Cedric Houston gave the Jets a 28-13 lead late in the fourth quarter, Lawyer friend Steve said, "I don't recognize this game." Quick backtrack: In Week 1, when Chad Pennington fumbled and the Titans recovered on the Jets' 1-yard line with 6:11 left, then scored on the next play to get within 16-14, Lawyer friend Steve said, "I've been watching the same game for the last 25 years. Sometimes the Jets win, sometimes they lose. But it's the same game every week." Correct. This is why the Titans scored the two-point conversion to tie it at 16. It's why the Jets blocked the field goal against the Patriots in Week 2, keeping it a one-possession deficit and giving the Jets one last hope. It's why Chatham didn't recover the onside kick in Week 3. It's why something ridiculous will happen against the Colts in Week 4. It's why every impersonation of WFAN's Joe Benigno begins with "You just knew . . . " We know. The Jets. Fourth quarter. Something will happen. The New York Jets maximize every minute of football. The game is 60 minutes and they will make every one of them count for their fans. It's truly the best entertainment money can buy. It's not a Jets game if fans are relaxed in the final minutes, which is why the team's slogan should be "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Noooooooooooooo!" It's part of the joy (and pain) of watching the Jets. You may not get to watch them in the Super Bowl, or even the playoffs, but you're guaranteed to get your money's worth for 16 weeks. Heck, the Jets can make the bye week exciting if they put three man hours into it. Even in blowout losses, you can't change the channel because you know you have a better than average chance of witnessing something you've never witnessed before on a football field. Mathematics boggles the mind of many people. But no one can calculate numbers better than Jets fans. When the Jets made it 28-13 with 3:20 left in Buffalo, many Jets fans thought: "This is coming down to a missed two-point conversion at the end, isn't it?" That's why we love to watch the Jets. Forget blockbuster action flicks from Hollywood. New York Jets football is the real thrill a minute.
Oh man is this right on target. There have been so many games in Jets history where the men in green snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. TBTF
My wife said to me on Sunday "Todd, Why can't we watch a game where at 5 minutes left we know the Jets will win and it's over?" I said "41-0" She said "What???!!" I said "41-0...last time I remember..Jets/Colts playoffs" She said " Oh, when we saw the game at Hooters...and the big boobed Red head hit on you!" I said "41-0....Want a beer?"
the year we went 10-6 , the one where we lost to pittsburgh i felt every game that year we were always tehre till the end anything coulda happened
The funniest part was I was saying this. Me, my father, and a few friends were watching the game. When it became 28-13 they changed the channel to another game. I called them crazy and turned it on in another room screaming at them "this game aint over!". and then once they recovered the onside kick i came out screaming, "I KNEW IT!" lol.
I was watching the game with my brother-in-law and after the Houston TD he said, "This game is over, right?" I said, "I think it is, but you never know." After the botched on side kick, he then said, "I guess this game isn't over." This quote from the article says it all:
Tremendous. Anyone who thought that game was over at 28-13 -- hasnt been paying attention the last 25-30 years. My ten year old says to me -- they won -- I said -- DONT TALK -- I have seen these cards before. In 1974, my dad and his friend had season tickets. Invariably, at the end of a game that the jets were "in", they would make a mistake (fumble, etc). He would stand up and turn around (having bet against the jets) -- and say something like: We were waiting for the mistake. I knew it. You knew it. It was coming. It always does. I sat here for three quarters with my mouth shut. But here it is -- thank you very much.
And there's no team more likely to reel off 3 TD's in a row and win a lost game either. This all started in the early 90's when the Jets made a habit of getting back in almost every game they were out of before they (usually) lost. Under Parcells they won a few of those and under Groh and Edwards a few more. These days if the Jets are down 3 TD's in the first half all I want to see is them get one score before halftime. Then I know it'll be a game in the second half.
this is a great article. it's so on target. and explains why i'm a fan. we could be 15-1 or 2-14.... you can NEVER REALLY say for sure. every year, every game, every play is such a roll of the dice. any schmuck can jump on a bandwagon team (ie: bengals, colts, pats) cause they're easy. but true football fans stick with the excitement. that's why even after a 4-12 season... we stick around. and i'll tell ya... the greatest game we could witness would be the jets and texans in the AFC championship. who would you root for? LOL
you have to give the ST coach in Buffalo kudos for that formation. Actually Chatham was hit by his own man while he was trying to wrap it up. You cannot expect him to know where the ball is as far as the 10 yard makrk is concerned. Those guys are taught to jump on the ball wherever it is if they feel thay can get it.
