By Tom Rock
A couple of Jets fans were on the flight home from Nashville this morning. They’d been grinning since Sunday at about 4 p.m. and didn’t seem to be anywhere near close to stopping. One of them even boasted that he didn’t see any reason why the Jets can’t go 3-0 to start the season. I chalked that up to having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the early plane.
The Jets beat a team that was less-disciplined, less-organized and less-talented. And they needed a late comeback to do it. It was a good win for the team, an important win to establish the tone of the Mangini era, but it’s not enough to start printing “2006 AFC East Champions” T-shirts. Let’s all slow down, take a deep breath, and relax. Were there positives? Of course. Chad No. 1 among them. Were there problems that teams better than the Titans would have taken advantage of? Definitely.
Of course, that’s the fun of the NFL. There are six days to not only dissect the previous game but anticipate the next one.
Now that the Manning Bowl is over (and as an older brother I was pleased by the outcome), the NY attention will focus squarely on the Mentor Bowl. Get ready for a week of stories about Mangini’s relationship with Belichick, his plans for stopping Tom Brady, and all the hoopla and hype that can be wrung out of two of the most un-hype-ish coaches in the NFL.
As for my picks, well, not a terrible start. I won seven of the first 14 games and still have the Vikings and Chargers tonight. The Niners needed all 7 ½ points they were taking to bring me up to .500.
Comments (11)
Tom, I say this with all due respect....ARE YOU OFF YOUR ROCKER??!!! Pennington is the #2 passer in rating and #1 in yards this week and coles is the #1 receiver (not including the Monday night games). Chad threw for 319 yards to 7 different receivers...2 TDs (one to a tight end), no INTs, threw a 41 yd to Coles...and they had a rushing TD. Sure, the running game wasn't perfect, but a C+ rating?!!! You give the special teams a D and the offense a C+??!!!!! I don't know...maybe you weren't watching the same game as the rest of us. Sounds like this is typical bias against the Jets. Oh, and in case you missed the end, The Jets also WON THE GAME!!!!
I bet if Eli Manning threw for 319 YDS, 2 TDs and no INTs, the team had 2 passing and one rushing TD and the #1 receiver caught for 153 YDs, and they won the game, they would be ranked higher than a C+.
Stop the bias and grade the team on what they actually did, not how the media thinks they should be viewed. If you predicted they were going to lose the game and you were wrong, then correct it by grading the team for what it was, a good performance, not a poor one in an attempt to prove your theory the team is not going to be competitive.
There were a lot of things to be happy about as a long time j.f., 2 of them - the team looked really prepared (sorry Herm), and innovative on offense (sorry Herm, Heimie, Hackett). We chased the win rather than playing scared, especially when we got near the goal line. No more predictable 2 runs up the gut, 1 fade to the corner, when we get inside the 10. Plus the no huddle was beautiful. Get to the line quickly, and let Chad audible. Their defense can't relax a second. One game only, but kudos to Schottie. Kudos indeed. I also love how Mangini plays no favorites, as his 3rd rounder this year Schlegel is inactive for the game. Yeah, we drafted you on the first day, but you're not going to help us win this Sunday, so you're out. That shows Tangini has no ego to protect come Sunday afternoon. I love you Herm you're a great guy, but that's 'playing to win the game'.
Chad was unbelievable yesterday, especially with the struggling running game. I don't understand how our O-Line was so great with Pass Protection and so bad with Run Blocking??? (it can't be just the running backs, the Titans were in the Jets back field for many of the runs...this is a huge concern.
Maybe not 3-0, but 2-1 sure. It will be an interesting game next week. We only needed a late comeback because Nugent is doing his best to make our 2005 draft a complete bust.
"blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah..... 1-0 Go Jets!!!
There's no way Tom Rock is your real name. Are you really Eugene Grossman????
Tom,
One major point of contention - the Jets did not need a comeback. They never trailed. And, if you can complain about their offense after what Chad did yesterday, you are obviously new to Jets Nation.
Holy crap! These comments are auto-posted. They'll post anything! Watch..."Today-ay-ay, I consider myself-self-self, the luckiest man-an-an, on the page of this message board-oard-oard." See?!
Agree with The Desert Cat - never trailed, no INTs, 300+ yds passing, 3 TDs (2 passing, 1 rushing), solid protection from the line (2 sacks, but that's not bad, certainly not a C+) - they won...again, if the name of the team was the New York Giants they would have been praised more for the same performance.......and i agree with that Ted guy...what is your real name? Tom Rock sounds too WWE
Amen Desert Cat New, and not long for...too bad fishing season is almost over
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