A Giant Loss

How two weeks can change everything:

Going into the Eagles game the Jets were in a situation where they just needed to beat the Eagles or Giants and then beat the Dolphins to make it in the postseason for the third straight year under Rex Ryan. They had so much control they could afford a hiccup vs one of those talented NFC East teams. That hiccup was clearly the Eagles game as sloppy mistakes and just terrible execution led to a blowout.

Then came the game that everyone was watching- Jets vs Giants. Two teams coming off very bad losses and each in desperation mode. The loser would be forced to need other pieces to fall into place going into week 17. This was the classic "who wants it more" type of game.

The Jets defense, I believe wanted it more then anyone on the field. The problem is their offense was flat all game and that stems from a terrible game plan. On their first drive they go down the field with runs and passes to score early. Met Life stadium exploded as the Jets defense added dominant drive performances to back up the Sanchez to Baker touchdown (First of career)

Enter Victor Cruz who on 3rd and 10 from the Giants one yard line caught an 8 yard slant and took it all the way for a touchdown. A 99 yard touchdown was the Giants first of the game but after a Nick Folk missed 44 yard field goal the Giants were winning at half. There only good play of that half was that touchdown and the blame falls on Antonio Cromartie for missing the tackle and allowing Cruz to run an extra 90 yards. This play truly changed everything.

The defense though, stayed strong. They really contained the rushing attack and didn't allow Eli Manning to have a good game. They also caused an interception by David Harris inside the Giants 20 with about 8 minutes left to give the Jets a chance. The defense kept this a game all day but the offense sputtered.

Mark Sanchez threw 59 passes. 59. I repeat 59 passes for a ground and pound team. Shonn Greene on his few carries was running hard and well. The Giants D was giving up 4-5 yards a rush. For some reason, the Jets thought it'd be okay to give that defensive line 59 chances to hit Sanchez. Actually it was 64 chances because they sacked him 5 times.

What killed me the most was they were down 20-14 with 5:30 left and at mid field with the Ball. They came out in shotgun and threw 3 incompletions to give the Giants the ball back. That's when the Giants iced it with a field goal. I was disgusted we did not give it to Greene there. We are 50 yards away with over 5 minutes left- all the time in the world. They decide to let their guard down and come out in shotgun- Greene not even on the field. A runner who has made his short career known for being a December/January running machine. A runner who can break the big one in a big spot as he proved vs the Bengals and Chargers in the playoffs 2 years ago. A runner who I believe would've set us up to go down the field for the game winning touchdown.

I have always backed up Brian Schottenheimer but when you drop back to pass 64 times and ignore a runner who is on a hot streak with the game on the line and plenty of time to be able to run then there is a problem.

In the end, the Giants wanted it more and now they are in a win and in situation at home vs the Cowboys.

The Jets though sure do need a lot of help as you can see in my next post.

If playoff hopes were a person in the emergency room, they would be on life support.