The End is Here

After an "ass-whipping" by the hands of the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, Rex Ryan started his press conference by apologizing to Jets fans "...if there are any left". Rex however, shouldn't be the one apologizing. Rex is right, this loss is on "one man" and it's not the jolly not-so-fat man. Instead, John Idzik's failures to put a competitive football team on the field the past two years turns the temperature up on Ryan's hot seat.

This Jets season is teetering on the brink at 1-4. A team that we thought would be different, even when neon lights as bright as the Vegas Strip were telling us otherwise. The secondary is ATROCIOUS and the lack of playmakers on offense lead to a lethal combination.

I'm going to hold off Rex's obituary until Idzik decides to bring the hammer down on him, even though it isn't fair. This franchise hit a high point in January of 2011. It hit a major bump in the road when Victor Cruz went 99-yards on Christmas Eve of 2011, hit another bump when Sanchez butt-fumbled on Thanksgiving of 2012, and before Halloween of 2014 the back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances feel as old as Joe Willy wagging his finger in 1969.

The tragic R-word seems to be where the Jets are headed. Rex is going to be gone, Geno is going to be gone, but the architect (not George Costanza) John Idzik is going to get a free pass. It's insane to me how a team playing in the swamps of East Rutherford, just a few miles from Manhattan are saving over $20 million in salary cap space when there are clear holes on this football team (Idzik have you met Mr. Wilpon?).

I'm not going to go into go into the franchise's long term plans yet. We still have 11 games left on the schedule for this season. The first question we need to answer is who should start at quarterback the rest of the season? Geno Smith has been under a lot of fire both for his poor play and off the field incidents. After snapping at a fan last week, Smith forgot how to tell time and missed a team meeting this past Saturday, inexcusable for any player (let alone a quarterback under siege).  Smith was benched for the second time in his career on Sunday, this time for Michael Vick.

Vick is some fans' wet dream, but at 34 years old he isn't a long term solution. If Rex is going to try making a move now is the time to do it though. At 1-4, with games against the Broncos and Patriots 4 days apart, Gang Green can't afford to go 1-6 behind a shaky Geno. However, Vick looked either rusty or old himself against San Diego, going 8-19 for 47 yards, but was held until his last drive with the game clearly out of hand. If you keep Geno in for these next two games, a quarterback change at 1-6 doesn't make any sense. I'd rather just die with our second year player and then go after someone in the 2015 Draft.

At the end of the day though, it's clear that the offense the way it's currently constituted isn't ready to start winning football games (no matter who's at quarterback) . Eric Decker, who we brought in to be a major playmaker, has been hampered with a hamstring that continually gets worse instead of better. Chris Johnson has been a huge disappointment, with his fumble on Sunday pretty much ending any chance we had of a comeback. While Chris Ivory has ran the ball hard, we abandon the run too early because of the early deficit we dig ourselves into.

There's no denying that this team has one foot in the grave, but this NFL season has been crazy so far, and any team can win on any given Sunday. That's what I have to keep telling myself at least.

Ge-NOOOOOOOO

After a week where everyone and their mother were writing about how Derek Jeter has always acted with class on and off the field, Geno Smith and the Jets decided to do the complete opposite on Sunday. After another Jets loss (their third in a row), and with the Murderers Row of Rivers, Manning, and Brady coming up, the Jets took out their frustrations on those rotten bastards who paid hundreds of dollars to watch this sorry excuse for a football team. Geno told a fan to fuck himself, and Sheldon Richardson took it a step further, saying fans shouldn't boo unless they can father an NFL player themselves. Great way to re2pect.

Geno is starting to crack under pressure, and that isn't a good sign if he wants to have a long career in New York. If the Jets have to bring the "bad Geno" out the next few weeks we'll be staring at a lost season at 1-6. I criticized the Vick move during the offseason, but I'm not afraid to say when I'm wrong. I don't think it's time to bring in Vick just yet, but he should start taking some practice snaps away from Geno with the first team (and give Geno a short leash next week in San Diego). The time is now for Geno. If he continues to be thin-skinned and tries to pick un-winnable fights with fans and the New York media Gang Green will be using their first round draft pick on a quarterback again in 2015.

This all happened after a report by Adam Schefter came out earlier on Sunday that there is a "disenfranchment" between GM John Idzik and many in the franchise. We are a team built to win now with a head coach on the hot seat, while we have a GM and QB set on rebuilding. Same. Old. Jets.

There was also a game that was played Sunday, not that you really missed anything after our first offensive drive.

Good

I wasn't at the game, so Geno Smith didn't curse at me. The defense did a good job of holding Megatron to just 12 yards on 2 catches, after holding Brandon Marshall to one catch on Monday night. Chris Ivory continues to run the ball well until Mornhinweg decides to stop running the ball for some God-forsaken reason. Eric Decker looked healthy grabbing a TD on 4 catches for 48 yards.

Bad

Where can I start? Geno had a interception and lost a fumble, bringing his total to 7 turnover on the season. Rex continues to make rookie mistakes with his clock management (what is Herman's friend Dick Curl doing now (yes, the Jets hired a guy named Dick Curl tss tss)). First, he took a livin' on a prayer challenge on a fumble by Reggie Bush, then wasted 10 seconds before calling his second timeout, which would have forced the Lions to run another play before the 2 minute warning. 

Ugly

Can Rex stop praising his defense. They are a JOKE!! While Geno is giving up the football, the best defense in football can't force a single takeaway!! Just like we've seen over the past five years, when we need our defense to get us a big stop, they falter. After Decker's touchdown brought us within 7, the Lions marched down the field with a 90-yard touchdown drive. The offense was just as bad. Ryan Quiggley was our MVP with 6 punts for a 51-yard average. 

What's Next?

The Jets fly out West for a meeting with the San Diego Chargers and Phillip Rivers. The Chargers picked apart the Jaguars on Sunday, and are on a 3-game winning streak after dropping the opener against the Cardinals. The Chargers have the 5th ranked passing offense in the league, and does anyone have any faith that our secondary will slow them down? I wouldn't be shocked if we see Vick on Sunday.

Yeah Jeets!!!!!

DE-REK JE-TER

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DE-REK JE-TER

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DE-REK JE-TER

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No one would have thought that on May 29, 1995, the next Yankee Captain was taking his first major league swing at the now demolished King Dome in Seattle. No one who saw Derek Jeter that day would've ever predicted the 5 rings, the 3,463 hits, or the 14 All Star Game Appearances. That day in 1995, no one knew about Mr November or Captain Clutch. In 1995, no one thought that the 21-year shortstop would become a 40-year old icon before leaving the game that he loves. 

Thursday night in the Bronx, the House that George Built felt more like the old place across the street, to give Derek Jeter a proper farewell. The Captain didn't disappoint the sold out crowd, who paid a mini-fortune to see him one last time. Despite Hiroki Kuroda giving up a home run in Jeter's last roll call, and Dave Robertson blowing a 3-run lead in the 9th, Jeter had to send the fans home happy one last time. With the winning run on second, Jeter did what he does best, lining the ball into right field for the walk-off win, cuing Frank Sinatra. If this were a movie, you'd have said that it was too phony. 

After the game, Jeter gave fans a rare glimpse into his closely guarded persona. In an interview on YES, when asked what he was thinking when he went up to bat in the 9th, he said "to not cry". Jeter admitted he was a mess the whole game, forgetting his shin guard and giving signs to Stephen Drew even though there weren't any runners on base. After being serenaded by the fans with a Thank You Jeter, he responded, "Everybody, the fans, are saying ‘Thank you, Derek.’ I’m saying to myself, ‘For what?’ I’m just trying to do my job. Thank you guys.”

What can I say that hasn't been said before about Derek Jeter. His retirement tour showed how revered he is, even by the Red Sox, where he will play his final game on Sunday. Jeter is the last of a dying breed in the Yankees organization. The last member of the Core Four, and the 5 World Series victories. Like a lot of Yankee fans my age, my youth died last night too. Jeter is the Yankees, and I don't really know where the future of the team lies, but that is for another day. 

The last 20 years have been amazing as a Yankee fan. I'll never forget the dive into the stands, the flip play, the leadoff home run against the Mets in the World Series, or the walk-off agains the Diamondbacks in 2001. I'll never forget the way you gave the game 100 percent every day. I'll never forget the class you showed both on the field and off it. Thank You Jeter!!

The Time Out Game

 

I've lived through buttfumbles, fake spikes, Vinny's achilles, and Doug Brien, so it really shouldn't surprise me that the Jets found another embarrassing way to lose a football game. Quite frankly, as a 27-year old Jet fan, I should come to expect it. Why would the football Gods ever give the Jets a pass? We're the Charlie Brown of the NFL, every-time we're about to kick the football, Lucy pulls it from right under us. 

For those of you living under a rock, and don't know what I'm referring to,  trailing the Packers 31-24 at Lambeau Field on Sunday, they faced a 4th and 4 from the Packers 37, when Geno Smith threw a game-tying touchdown to Jeremy Kerley. For about 5 seconds or so Jets Nation was on top of the world, until we got kicked back down to where we belong. Apparently, Marty Mornhinweg didn't think Smith knew where the running back should be on the play, so he started running down the sideline asking Rex to call our last timeout. Rex didn't hear him because he had the defensive channel on his headset (big shock there) so Sheldon Richardson called for a timeout. The ref, with his back to the sideline, thought Rex asked for time, and stopped the play before it started. Touchdown off the board. Jets go to 1-1.

Yes, it shouldn't have come to that play. Gang Green was up 21-3 with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter. Maybe things would have been different if the Packers didn't go 97 yards in the blink of an eye after another backbreaking interception from Geno Smith right before halftime,  resulting in a 10 point swing in the game. Maybe if our best defensive player, Mohammed Wilkerson didn't start throwing punches like he was Floyd Mayweather, resulting in his ejection, the game would be different.  Maybe Dee Milliner wasn't ready to come back when Jordy Nelson torched him for an 80-yard touchdown after Nick Folk tied the game back up at 24-24. 

But what us Jets fans will always remember from this trip to Cheese Head Nation will be the touchdown that was called back because of Marty's timeout. After having a couple days to stew over this loss, I can tell you that the Jets are a decent football team, much better than our co-tenants at JetsLife Stadium. Hell, I'm sticking with my prediction that we can still be a playoff team. This is just another kick in the balls from a team that has been kicking their fans in the balls since Namath in 69.

What's Next

Matt Forte and the 1-1 Chicago Bears come to Jersey for a date on Monday night, after their comeback win Sunday night against the 49ers. Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall will cause matchup problems for the Jets inexperienced secondary. The Bears offensive line is shaky, and Cutler has been known to turn the ball over when faced with a heavy blitz. Chicago is stout on the defensive side of the ball, and will take advantage of any mistakes Geno Smith makes. This is going to be a tough game, but one the Jets should win.

The Haves and the Have Nots

I know it's still very early, however only 12 percent of teams starting off 0-2 have made the playoffs, while 63 percent of 2-0 make it to the dance. There are seven 2-0 teams and seven 0-2 teams, leaving the other 18 teams at 1-1 (you like that math?).

If you told me before the season that Denver, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia start 2-0, I would've believed you, but the Bills, Panthers, Cardinals, and Texans are 2-0, FUGHEDABOUIT!

On the other side of the spectrum, the Giants, Raiders, Bucs and Jaguars all look like 0-2 teams. The Wild Card winning Chiefs of last season are in a deep hole, losing Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry this week, brings their grand total up to 7 starters who are out with injuries. The Colts are happy to see the Jags this week, dropping their first two games to probable playoff teams (Broncos and Eagles). That leads us to the most surprising 0-2 team, the Saints. New Orleans lost their first two games in excruciating fashion to the Falcons and Browns, who both hit "walk-off" field goals.

Fantasy Epidemic

I don't think I want to play fantasy football anymore. Between arrests, injuries, sex change operations, and pets heads falling off, if you're like me your scouring the waiver wires before some douche in your league steals your injured players backup. RG3, Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Knowshown Moreno, Mark Ingram, AJ Green, Eric Decker, and DeSean Jackson are just some of the big names who are likely miss time from your fantasy team, and it's only week 2 . I think a lot of people are going to run to those one-day fantasy sites more and more this season as more guys go down. 

The Time Out Game

 

I've lived through buttfumbles, fake spikes, Vinny's achilles, and Doug Brien, so it really shouldn't surprise me that the Jets found another embarrassing way to lose a football game. Quite frankly, as a 27-year old Jet fan, I should come to expect it. Why would the football Gods ever give the Jets a pass? We're the Charlie Brown of the NFL, every-time we're about to kick the football, Lucy pulls it from right under us. 

For those of you living under a rock, and don't know what I'm referring to,  trailing the Packers 31-24 at Lambeau Field on Sunday, they faced a 4th and 4 from the Packers 37, when Geno Smith threw a game-tying touchdown to Jeremy Kerley. For about 5 seconds or so Jets Nation was on top of the world, until we got kicked back down to where we belong. Apparently, Marty Mornhinweg didn't think Smith knew where the running back should be on the play, so he started running down the sideline asking Rex to call our last timeout. Rex didn't hear him because he had the defensive channel on his headset (big shock there) so Sheldon Richardson called for a timeout. The ref, with his back to the sideline, thought Rex asked for time, and stopped the play before it started. Touchdown off the board. Jets go to 1-1.

Yes, it shouldn't have come to that play. Gang Green was up 21-3 with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter. Maybe things would have been different if the Packers didn't go 97 yards in the blink of an eye after another backbreaking interception from Geno Smith right before halftime,  resulting in a 10 point swing in the game. Maybe if our best defensive player, Mohammed Wilkerson didn't start throwing punches like he was Floyd Mayweather, resulting in his ejection, the game would be different.  Maybe Dee Milliner wasn't ready to come back when Jordy Nelson torched him for an 80-yard touchdown after Nick Folk tied the game back up at 24-24. 

But what us Jets fans will always remember from this trip to Cheese Head Nation will be the touchdown that was called back because of Marty's timeout. After having a couple days to stew over this loss, I can tell you that the Jets are a decent football team, much better than our co-tenants at JetsLife Stadium. Hell, I'm sticking with my prediction that we can still be a playoff team. This is just another kick in the balls from a team that has been kicking their fans in the balls since Namath in 69.

What's Next

Matt Forte and the 1-1 Chicago Bears come to Jersey for a date on Monday night, after their comeback win Sunday night against the 49ers. Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall will cause matchup problems for the Jets inexperienced secondary. The Bears offensive line is shaky, and Cutler has been known to turn the ball over when faced with a heavy blitz. Chicago is stout on the defensive side of the ball, and will take advantage of any mistakes Geno Smith makes. This is going to be a tough game, but one the Jets should win.

The Haves and the Have Nots

I know it's still very early, however only 12 percent of teams starting off 0-2 have made the playoffs, while 63 percent of 2-0 make it to the dance. There are seven 2-0 teams and seven 0-2 teams, leaving the other 18 teams at 1-1 (you like that math?).

If you told me before the season that Denver, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia start 2-0, I would've believed you, but the Bills, Panthers, Cardinals, and Texans are 2-0, FUGHEDABOUIT!

On the other side of the spectrum, the Giants, Raiders, Bucs and Jaguars all look like 0-2 teams. The Wild Card winning Chiefs of last season are in a deep hole, losing Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry this week, brings their grand total up to 7 starters who are out with injuries. The Colts are happy to see the Jags this week, dropping their first two games to probable playoff teams (Broncos and Eagles). That leads us to the most surprising 0-2 team, the Saints. New Orleans lost their first two games in excruciating fashion to the Falcons and Browns, who both hit "walk-off" field goals.

Fantasy Epidemic

I don't think I want to play fantasy football anymore. Between arrests, injuries, sex change operations, and pets heads falling off, if you're like me your scouring the waiver wires before some douche in your league steals your injured players backup. RG3, Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Knowshown Moreno, Mark Ingram, AJ Green, Eric Decker, and DeSean Jackson are just some of the big names who are likely miss time from your fantasy team, and it's only week 2 . I think a lot of people are going to run to those one-day fantasy sites more and more this season as more guys go down. 

Oakland Raided by the Jets Defense

It wasn't pretty, but the only stat that matters is Rex's Gang Green is 1-0 after beating the Raiders 19-14 at Jetlife Stadium on Sunday. Never a dull week in Florham Park, the Jets continue to play with chips on their shoulders and more often than not come through. From Mark Schlereth's comments about Eric Decker, to the media's attention on our lack of a secondary, and finally former Jet, Austin Howard, saying Oakland would push us around.

Great

The defense dominated the Raiders offense at the line of scrimmage. The heralded group of MoJo and Darren McFadden were held to just 25 yards rushing on 15 carries against the Jets front seven. Derek Carr was under duress the whole game, going 20-32 for 152 yards, while being sacked twice. Before the Raiders final drive, the only time they crossed into the Jets side of the field was after an interception thrown by Geno Smith. Our two-headed rushing attack, Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory ran for 212 yards, including a 71 yard gallop by Ivory to put the game away.

Good

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called a really good game. The offense seemed to have a rhythm that has been missing for quite some time. The short passing game was very successful, and made Geno Smith look like a franchise quarterback. Smith was 23-28 with a touchdown, while making plays on his feet as well. Eric Decker caught five passes for 74 yards in his Jets debut.

Bad

The turnovers and penalties have to stop if the Jets want to come out of this their next three games with their heads still above water. The Jets were flagged 11 times for 105 yards, with most of those coming on the offensive side of the ball. Charles Woodson made a great play on his first quarter interception of Geno Smith but it could have been avoided. While Geno could make moves on his feet, he has to know when you just have to give up on a play. He took a sack that cost Nick Folk a makebale field goal attempt, and had a fumble inside the Raiders five. 

What's Next?

You have to think that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will test our secondary more than Carr and the Raiders did this week. Add to the fact that the Pack had an extra 3 days to stew on their loss to the Seahawks in Thursday's Opening Kickoff game. That being said, the Packers have a weakness on their offensive line that could be exploited by our defense, and Eddie Lacy could miss the game with a concussion.

Jet Up!!! 2014 Season Preview

With football coming back this week, I am officially back from my hibernation. I will try to update the blog every week during the season. 

Jets Preview

Jet Up!!! The 2014 Jets are ready to takeoff and should be able to compete for a Wild Card spot in a top heavy AFC this year. For the first time since Rex Ryan took over the team in 2009, there are more questions about the defense than the offense, and I think that's a good thing.

Offense

Geno Smith looks to have matured a lot in the preseason, and should have a good sophomore campaign, with an offense that should benefit from the additions of Eric Decker and Chris Johnson. Smith finished last season with 3046 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, along with 6 rushing touchdowns. It is pretty obvious, but the key to his season is to get those TD and INT numbers a little closer to each other. If not, I could see Rex Ryan bringing in Michael Vick by mid-season.

Eric Decker is a nice addition to the passing game, but I am still a little skeptical that his success came with Peyton Manning. Decker had 619 yards in 2011 with Tim Tebow, and almost doubled that with 1,046 yards in 2012 with Manning. He's going to share the outside with David Nelson who doesn't really keep defensive coordinators awake at night. Jeremy Kerley is an underrated player coming out of the slot. Kerley is a very good posession receiver and should get a lot of opportunity in Marty Mornhinweg's west coast offense.

After rushing for over 2,000 yards 2009, Chris Johnson hasn't lived up to his high expectations. Sharing a backfield with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell he won't be expected to be the star of the team and should have a good bounce back year. He will also add another dimension to the Jets offense as a good pass catcher, with 42 reception with the Titans last season. Chris Ivory is a bruiser and will help wear down defenses for the speedy Johnson to take advantage of. 

Defense

You can argue that the Jets front seven could be one of the best in the league. Muhammad Wilkerson was the MVP of the defense last year with 10.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Damon "Snacks" Harrison is a run stuffer in the middle, and is one of the main reason the Jets defense finished third last season in run defense. The third guy on our line, is only the defensive rookie of the year Sheldon Richardson. With only six seasons combined of NFL experience there is no reason to think that the defensive line will only get better.

David Harris leads the linebacking corps in the middle alongside second year starter Demario Davis. Calvin Pace returns for his 12th season in the league after racking up 10 sacks last season. Rounding out the linebackers is Quinton Coples who has transitioned well from defensive end to linebacker last season.

Now we get to the biggest problem this team has. After losing Darelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie in consecutive offseasons the secondary is a huge question mark for this team. Dee Milliner, who had a less than impressive rookie campaign and is already hampered by a high ankle sprain could be off to a rough start. Kyle Wilson might be our best corner coming into the season, get your tissues Jets fans. It's gotten so bad that Dimitri Patterson disappeared when he realized who he was playing with. The Jets used their first round draft pick to bring in hard hitting safety Calvin Pryor from Louisville. He should be a perfect fit on a Rex Ryan defense. Dawan Landry did a commendable filling in for his brother LaRon last season at the other safety position. 

Intangibles

Rex Ryan knows how to get more with less than almost any other coach in the NFL. He gets his players to believe in a us vs them mentality and has them whipped into a frenzy every Sunday. That mentality does get us into trouble sometimes with stupid penalties. After starting off against the Raiders, the next 6 games are rough, including trips to Green Bay and New England and a home game against Peyton and the Broncos. If we could survive that stretch then we could finish nicely in the second half of the season. 

Prediction

All things considered I see us going 9-7 this year, and that should be enough to be in competition for a Wild Card spot.