Are there moral victories in the NFL?
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- December
- 18
Not sure if there can be in a league with only 16 games. Plus all the parity means every team is capable of beating anyone else on a given Sunday. It’s not like a Fordham can come within a point of LSU and jump for joy over nearly slaying the beast. The Jets lost. That’s the bottom line. They lost a game that, while not in their fingertips, could have been won with a couple more plays. The Pats are still undefeated, and the Jets didn’t get the upset to salvage their crummy season.
But you have to take some pride in how close they kept it. This Pats team isn’t your average behemoth. It’s about to go down as the best team of all time. The Jets were supposed to get butchered like the cheerleaders in a horror movie. Instead this turned out to be a legitimate football game. Sure the weather helped. So did Clemens’s injury, which a lot of people suspect was a blessing in disguise. Not that Clemens shouldn’t start next Sunday; he just wasn’t ready to face the Pats. The Jets showed a lot of heart, and a very good gameplan, in keeping it close. NFL people have been laughing for two months about the massacre that would unfold in Foxborough. How Brady would throw TDs at will, how the New England punter would never see the field. None of that was close to true. If McCareins doesn’t bobble that end zone catch, if Baker doesn’t fumble, if Ben Graham’s punt isn’t blocked, if Nugent makes the late field goal, the Jets could have put a real scare into New England.
So I say yes, if ever there was a moral victory in the NFL, this was one. Brady was held without a touchdown, Moss was blanketed, and the Pats scored a season low. That’s an achievement.
On a more sour note, I have to agree with Debbie’s lead about McCareins. This guy is terrible and getting worse. I don’t think I’ve ever seen worse hands on a receiver. And it’s not like he’s fast or athletic or a great route runner. So what’s his purpose? Pennington puts that touchdown throw right in his hands and he lets it spring up to practically hit him in the face. Even on the punt coverage he lets a ball bounce right through his hands. Forget catching a cold, he couldn’t catch VD if he spent a month in Bangkok. Which is exactly where I hope he lands next season. Get him as far away from the green uniform as possible.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 1:15 am by Jake Thomases.
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Jane McManus 
I’ve always cut McCareins a lot of slack-
we’re all human, we all hope we can redeem ourselves after a mistake, we hope we can do better in the future-but no more. He simply does not do the job he gets paid for. Catch the damned ball!No more chances for him.
Lets not go overboard with the kudos, while they did play their heart out and that should be respected, they were helped quite a bit by the weather which was essentially another defensive player on the field.
As for Kellen, I was hoping for results mixed enough to give me confidence he would be the one with some reps, but right now he simply has confirmed my worst fear, that he is too small and too inaccurate. Needs to have Chad’s intangibles to overcome those weaknesses, so far he has not showed them. I fear the worst and am not comfortable at all going into next year with him starting.
Of the top QB’s this year, neither is regarded as highly as the Big Three in 2006, and all of those guys are struggling. Jets simply can not waste their top pick on a player that will not contribute for years to come.
So it comes down to Kellen and hope for the best, or do they start Chad the rest of the season and hope he is willing to bury the hatchet and stay around?
IF they are willing to spend the money on Faneca, draft he big OT and sign and a large red zone threat type reciever, perhaps they can give Chad another chance?
That will be the big offseason decision. This week I would reluctantly start Chad. It is a big game for the league, Jets should put their best players on the field, and Chad is their best QB right now.
EVEN THOUGH THE JETS LOST,I WAS REAL PLEASED WITH OUR DEFENSE…WE TOTALLY SHUT DOWN MOSS AND WELKER,AND DID A BETTER THAN NORMAL JOB ON STOPPING THE RUN.LETS NOT USE THE WEATHER,AS AN EXCUSE TO EXPLAIN THE PATHETIC OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE FROM THE PATS…IT WAS OUR DEFENSIVE SCHEME AND OUR PLAYERS THAT SHUT THEM DOWN!!!OUR OFFENSE ON THE OTHER HAND IS TERRIBLE.JUSTIN WILL NOT BE WEARING GRREN AND WHITE NEXT YEAR,AND I DOUBT SCHOTT WILL BE EITHER…CHAD WAS AT HIS BEST,WHEN WE HAD OUR RUNNING GAME GOING…REMEMBER MAWAE ROLLING OUT ON SCREENS AND SWEEPS??? THAT WAS A GREAT OFFENSIVE SCHEME,COOKED UP BY CHARLIE WEISS.THE BRAD SMITH TRICKERY WAS NOT PRODUCTIVE,AND OUR O LINE LOOKS VERY WEAK AND VERY CONFUSED…ALL DUE TO POOR OFFENSIVE COACHING.I HOPE NEXT SEASON WILL BE OUR MOST PRODUCTIVE…WE NEED TO GET BACK TO SMASH MOUTH FOOTBALL,WITH A GREAT DEFENSE…THIS WAY WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GIVE CHAD THAT SUPER BOWL RING HE DESERVES.
We will know for sure about the defense in two weeks.
If the weather had little impact and they are really as good as they played last week then they should hold TN and KC to under 20 points, agreed?
We’ll see if that happens.
Tough for me to totally buy into the defensive improvement after doing so last year during the second half only to have them look terrible this year early.
Why so inconsistant?
Why look great vs. PIT, CLE and NE but not so great vs. MIA, BUF and of course DAL?
IF they are for real show me.
Shut down TN and KC, hardly offensive juggernauts.
IF they do that I am willing to draft offense first.
SUPER BOWL RING*SUPER BOWL RING*DID YOU SAY SUPER BOWL RING. This team will never win a SUPER BOWL RING with Chad at the helm. As much as I love the guy, it will take 4 or 5 years before this team may be ready for a SUPER BOWL apperance. They need to rebuild the offense and upgrade the defense. One draft will not do it. And who do you think (free agents) can’t wait to play for the J*E*T*S. Most top players want to go to winning teams. Name one top, I mean top free agent we have signed since Woody bought the team. Every year we hear the J*E*T*S are talking to some great free agent and that is it. Just talking never signing. I have rooted for the J*E*T*S since they were the NY TITANS. Since 1961 I can count on 1 hand the great players they have brought in. And most of them are on thier down-side. Ronnie Lott and Ty Law were shells of what they were before coming to NY. More great players have left than came in. John Riggins, Thomas, Fabini, Jason Ferguson and Kevin Mawae just to name a few. So before you talk about SUPER BOWL RINGS. This organization better start to spend some money and convince top FAs there is a future with the NY J*E*T*S. And isn’t it ironic the two biggest stories in NY this week contain players named Clemens
The Jets have to just focus on the O line and the D line ( maybe a another good corner too ). The rest will come. Thomas Jones cannot be expected to gain yards, if there is no hole. The reason he ran so few times is that the Jets O line cannot move the opposing D line. The O line barely gives the qb any time.
So once those deficiencies are dealt with properly, we have a chance to see how good our qb and rb’s are or are not.
Improving both the off. and Def coordinator wouldn’t hurt either.
I give Tangini one more year to straighten things out. This year was a big step backwards. More problems were created than solved this year by management and the coaching staff.
Having said all that, I think Revis is a keeper.
As is David Harris…..
It’s amazing. two weeks left in the season. NE going for the perfect season and the JET & Giant BLOGS are getting roughly a high of 12 replies compared to the Hundreds of replies on the Yankees BLOG. Do you think MLB planned this report to come out in the downstretch of the NFL season. There are more front page articles and talk shows on baseball than there are on all of football. I guess NY is a baseball town after all. SAD
YES JOE B I SAID SUPERBOWL…WITH AN EASIER SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR,AND A FEW GOOD TWEAKS HEAR AND THERE,WHY NOT??? OUR DRAFT PICKS HAVE BEEN STELLER,AND THEY PLAY LIKE SEASONED VETS…AS FAR AS FREE AGENCY IS CONCERNED,HASNT IT ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE MONEY???
THE ONLY PLAYERS WHO WANT TO BE TRADED TO A “WINNING TEAM”
ARE THE ONES ON THE DOWN SLOPE OF THEIR CARRERS….JUST ASK EDGEREN JAMES…ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.I ALSO BELIEVE,THAT TEAMS NOW HAVE THE PATRIOTS FIGURED OUT…MIAMI IS NOT GOING TO GET BLOWN AWAY EITHER,AS MANY OF THE “CRITICS” HAVE STATED…THE JETS ARE KNOCKING ON THE BACK DOOR OF BOB CRAFTS OFFICE,READY TO KICK THE SON OF A BITCH IN,AND THEY CAN FEEL IT…
RETIRE #28/80.. It is great to see your enthuasism. You sound like me 20 years ago. But have you noticed not one J*E*T*S player made the Pro-Bowl. Sure we have some very good players. But not enough to reach the AFC finals less the Super Bowl in the immediate future. I have thought the way you do since Super Bowl III. I wish we could win a ring for Chad. But,unfortunately that’s not going to happen. By the way…how long have you been a J*E*T*S fan. With all that enthusiasm it sounds like not too long
Please, using the pro-bowl is a terrible barometer of player talents.. Its like the gold glove—- completely politicized and once you get in a couple times its like you are a lock for life… John Lynch last year?? Pro-Bowl means nothing… I really do not think it is about individual players in football—its the ultimate team game in every sense of the word—ultimately nothing can happen on both o and d if the lines fail. I still have that enthusiasm and i have been a Jets fan for about 8 years… I can certainly understand how 40 years of very little success can make you jaded, but we can be very competative next year—- dont know about the super bowl, but i think we have a good coach and a good core. And seriously, the NFL is a crazy league—every year it seems like almost everything changes..
Evean,
You are right about Harris. He is good and hits hard. The problem I have with management is : how did they think they had the O and D lines to compete? I also wonder about some of Magngini’s decision making.
As for the pro bowl, who cares ? Does anyone really watch it ? It’s as meaningful as a punt , pass and kick competition.
JOE B…WHAT IS SO WRONG ABOUT BEING ENTHEUSIASTIC ABOUT THE GREEN AND WHITE??EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE 3-11,I STILL WEAR MY JETS COLORS EVERY DAY,AND THERE IS NO DOUBT TO ANYONE,I BLEED GREEN….HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN A FAN?? I HAVE A CUSTOM #56 JERSEY…AND IM NOT TALKIN ABRAHAM,ITS LANCE MEHLS NUMBER…THE ONLY TRUE #56.THE CURRENT #52 IS FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR GREAT JET LINEBACKERS OF THE PAST…I REALLY MISS WATCHING LANCE,KYLE CLIFTON,BUTTLE,ETC…DAVID HARRIS IS CUT FROM THAT SAME GREAT MOLD…WERE NOT FAR AWAY…OUR JET GLASS IS HALF FULL,NOT HALF EMPTY!!!
Retire #28/#80..I said it was great to see your enthusiasm. However if you think our run defense played better on Sunday you better get a new TV. And remember the weather had a lot to do with that game being close. Yes Harris and Revis are legit. But open your eyes. This team is definitely not a Super Bowl contender. They may have a descent record next year. But that will be because they will play a losers schedule. Same as last year. But once they got to the better teams you saw what happened. If you really bleed green like you say you do.you are going to need a lot of BANDAIDS. But keep that enthusiastic approach and keep your fingers crossed.
ANDREW GROSS..PLEASE COME HOME
JAX and TB have ZERO pro bowl players between them, nuff said about pro bowl players as an indication of team ability.
Pats are built to win NOW. Moss is a free agent next year, and the defense continues to age. They are capped out, will probably trade all their picks again as there is no money to sign them.
The offense has covered the defensive weaknessed of this team and they will be exposed in the bad weather playoff games. Colts, SD and JAX all capable of beating them with the right gameplan and some help from mother nature.
As for Jets run defense, here we go again Joe. You were right last year, the improvement was a mirage. But I am hoping it has truly improved this year. Harris and Revis and I believe Elam are for real. If they find a true pass rusher watch out.
Last week was the result of an excellent scheme by Mangini. Played a 2-4-5 all game, daring the pass happy Pats to run the ball, which of course they did. It worked, if only the miserable Jet offense had scored some points the upset was in order.
Yes the weather helped, as I posted above, but they have improved on defense. Remember most teams have been losing by 30 points.
Question is, will Woody open his vault and spend some of the money he saved the last two seasons?
Add two, maybe three(trades) top 40 draft picks. Pass rusher, OT, big wideout.
Then in free agency Faneca? Moss? Berrian or another big wideout?
This years class of free agents is far superior to last. That was supposedly the strategy, lets see if they implement it.
All that still leaves the QB Question.
To reconcile my two post, my point is that I believe the defense IS improved.
How much so will be determined the next two weeks.
If they are as improved as I hope they are the next two offensively challenged opponents should be held under 20 points scored by the offense.
On offense, both opponents have solid, not great defenses. If Clemens does not play the only thing worth watching is weather any of the younger offensive lineman get some time and how they perform if they do. I want to see Bender, at the position he was drafted to play, Right Tackle. And the big kid they promoted from the practice squad should get a shot at LG. And the young wideouts should get a look, tired of watching Justin drop passes and Smith run bad routes.
Lets see Wright and Davis.
Otherwise, the weaknesses and strengths (if any) are known.
This team has gotten to the AFC championship game three times since 1969. And one was 1970. So twice in 37 years. Too many coulda, woulda, shoulda, years to mention. It’s great to see your uptomistic approach. However I like to use the realistic approach. Just show me one thing that would make me believe that Woody is going to spend some money and bring in high priced free agents. Plus as Kevin Mawae has stated that he was traded because he was a speak up guy. Same with Kendall. Why haven’t we heard about any contract extensions for our own top players like Kerry Rhodes. This team doesn’t allow its players to say anything without repercutions. Remember Chris Baker spoke up and all of a sudden he wasn’t playing. Nobody is foaming at the bit to play for Mangini. Plus if we play well enough to win one or even both of our last two games we will go from 3rd pick to possible 12th pick.the only thing left to look forward to this year is two more losses and then the DRAFT. And don’t be surprised if Herm the Worn doesn’t come in here looking to loose. A loss may move him ahead of the J*E*T*S in the draft order.
Herman Edwards will never play to lose, joe b. After all,
“You play to win the game!”
Micheal…You are right about Herm the worm..Just pulled this off my bulletin board..Nov 16… “I plan on being here, period. I plan on coming back next year with the same energy level that I had this year”...Nov 17… “Maybe I didn’t say it loud enough or hard enough, but I’m going to be here as long as I can be here”..Dec 29…”I plan on being here,I want to be here…LAST LINE…Edwards is set to be named Chiefs head coach tomorrow. So lets see if he plays “to win the game”. I certainly hope so !!!!!
Jake & Debbie…As a Jet fan I feel very slighted by your post. On the Giant Blog there were 3 post on the 18th, 4 on the 19th and 1 each on the 20th, 21st and 22nd. We haven’t heard a single word since Tuesday. Your last 5 posts were on the 18th, 16th, 12th, and 2 on the 9th. Thats 5 post in 2 weeks. The Giants posts had 7 on the 18th & 19th alone. Andrew always had a post of interest about the up-coming game. And he replied to some of our remarks. Your last post was about a moral victory last Sunday. If this is what your paper thinks of the J*E*T*S fan. I think it stinks. The high schools get better coverage than us. Not a single word about whether Kellen Clemens or Chad will be QB on Sunday. If we can’t get better coverage with 2 people doing job it’s not even worth having this BLOG.
Sorry about the lack of posts everyone. There’s been a computer problem all week. The blog site isn’t allowing Debbie or I to post. The tech guys haven’t responded to my messages yet and I’m guessing that won’t change before Christmas. We’ll post as soon as we’re able.
So far this month the Giants Blog has had 49 post and the J*E*T*S Blog only 12 post. That STINKS
Jake.. The Yankees have 124 Blogs, the Mets have 54 Blogs, the Giants have 49, the Knicks have 39, the Rangers have 38 and the J*E*T*S have 12 for the month of December. J*E*T*S fans come on your Blog every day looking for some sort of report on our team. We want to know what is wrong with Coles and Clemens and who was released. We want to know if there are any talks about extending the contracts of our younger players. We just want something.
joe there are plenty of other sources for information from reporters that actually cover the team.
this paper has abandoned the jets, time for all of us to move on. i for one begin today by deleting this link.
bye bye.
Jets should pick up FA WR Doug Gabriel, released from Raiders and has good height to get the redzone score. Also replaces the whole from the release of Justin Mccarines. Jets should also pick up FA Jermaine Wiggins, Te from the release of Jaguars. Thank you…