It's the same story every year with this team. They win a couple, lose a couple, win a couple, then when they have a chance to separate themselves from everyone else they go down in a bad way. Two seasons ago after losing to Atlanta and Jacksonville at home the playoffs looked long gone. The team though, rebounded winning its last few games and even got help from other teams in the league. They went into the playoffs hot and this led them to a road win vs the Bengals, followed by a win in San Diego vs at the time the best team in the NFL and then a halftime lead over Peyton Manning in the A.F.C Championship game. Last season, at 9-2 they were going into New England on a Monday night vs the 9-2 Patriots. A win would give them a sweep of the season series and probably the A.F.C East title. Boy did that night go wrong- losing 45-3 every Jet and Jet fan was brought down to reality. At 9-3 they looked fine though but then the very next week they lost a home game vs an inferior Miami Dolphins team. All of the sudden they looked like pretenders. Going into a hostile Heinz Field to face the steelers everyone counted them out. During the week Sanchez lost reps at practice but in the end that led to what would come next. The Jets went in and upset the Steelers giving them their 10th win. They finished that season 11-5 and on the hotter side of the scale once again leading them to another AFC Championship game.
This year, it all looks the same. They started out 2 and 0, lost their next 3, won their next 3 going into a game for first place vs the Patriots but this time at home. This time they had all of the advantages and they were considered the favorites. A pathetic showing on the field brought them yet another prime time loss vs Tom Brady's crew and once again the Patriots took over the division. To make matters worse just 4 days later in Denver they let Tim Tebow go 95 yards in the final 5 minutes to win the game. Now sitting at 5-5 the playoff race is tighter then ever. The media is all over this team calling them frauds and phonies. Many believe Mark Sanchez is a bust and doesn't deserve to start anymore. The offensive line is being called out and the defense "can't make the final stop." In my mind everything is being blown out of proportion. The Jets are one game out of a playoff spot with one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NFL. They should very well win there next 3 games vs Buffalo, at Washington, and home vs the Chiefs. This leads them to a trip to Philadelphia, then a "home" game vs the Giants. The Jets should at least split those two games, they could even sweep those. They end the season at Miami which will be tough but very winnable. This team has proved they get hot at the end of the year. They are built to play there best football as the season winds down because of the schedule Rex Ryan puts them on throughout the season. Mark Sanchez plays his best with his back against the wall. Just by listening to the radio, you get the feeling he's tied to the wall. Rex is at his best when everyone says his team is out of it. When everyone starts calling him a fake he turns it up. When Mark is hearing rumblings of being benched he shuts up that question the very next week. The defense is one of the best in the league and keeps the team in every game. The ground and pound really starts to make it's mark in December because this is the prime running month. This Jet team the last 2 years has entered the last few weeks with a lot of doubts. This is a team that is known for it's come from behind wins but also it's end of the season heroics. I have a great amount of confidence that this team, and this coaching staff can go on a run to end this season. They need to finish at least 5-1 to have a chance as I do believe the likes of the Bengals, Broncos, and Titans will lose at least 2 more games. This Jets team may have had a tough week losing 2 games in 5 nights but that's in the past. This team now can see they are not unbeatable. They see that they simply aren't dominant. What they know is that they can be dominant. They know they can be unbeatable. They know time is running up. We saw them win improbable games to claw their ways into the playoffs the last 2 seasons. We've seen this team go on the road and play their best football when they need to- not only in the regular season but also bringing it into the playoffs. They have a quarterback who has played his best when the season depends on it. Whenever you have a defense led by Rex Ryan playing in the grueling month of December, the team always has a chance. This team doesn't go away no matter how much every other fan in the league wants it too. The Jets for the third straight season will go on a December run that catapults them into the playoffs. For the third straight season, the NFL will see a team playing it's best football heading into the playoffs. The Jets are ready to make another playoff push.
To all of the NFL analysts making their playoff/SuperBowl picks I ask one question:
Why Not Us?
No comments:
Post a Comment