By Tom Rock
Check out this story on the Patriots dominance not only on the field but in Vegas. Here's a quote on the point spreads to get you going:
Anyway, the Jets have a few games to go before we get to the Patriots. Two of those immediately upcoming games just happen to be against elite NFL teams, so consider them a warm-up for Foxborough.
Shaun Ellis was talking about the Steelers' running game today, and it didn't sound good for the Jets. He said the Steelers give "great tips" about where they are going to run, so basically they just say Here it is, try to stop it. He also said their running backs are good at "mushing" after contact, which I think means they keep going forward like sled dogs mushing through snow. Nice word. He said the Jets have to "man-up" against the Steelers.
Chris Davis practiced with a red no-contact jersey today stemming from his shoulder injury in the game against the Redskins.
Curtis Martin is coming in for a presser in a few minutes. He's being honored at halftime of Sunday's game. I'm not sure we'll get anything new out of him, but it's always good to see Curtis.
Oh, and on the topic of the Jets-Chiefs game for those of you who like to plan things a month and a half in advance, I've been told that there is no way that the stadium can be turned around for a 1 p.m. start. And since NBC wants no part of the game at 8, that leaves only one time slot open. So as of now, the Jets have only two 1 o'clock games left on their schedule: at Miami and at New England. We suspect the networks could be looking to un-flex the 4:15 start of the Browns-Jets game, and they could bump the Pats game up just for the curiosity factor and inherent drama that consumes those games.
Comments (3)
The Jets were once 17 point underdogs to the Baltimore Colts and won. Remember that, anyone?
I'm not jumping on the Anti-Mangini bandwagon. Let's be clear about that. As a matter of fact, I prefer Mangini to the previous regime.
OK, we're looking at a possible 1-15 season, fine, we suck this year. How often do you see 1-15 teams keeping games as close as the Jets have this year? So obviously, the guys are playing hard for Mangini. To me, that means the coach has these guys motivated to play on Sunday, but the personnel isn't quite the fit for the scheme, mainly on defense. Figure, we get a left guard and right tackle next year and a big body at NT, throw in a couple of monster LBs and we're back in business.
Anyway, does anyone really think Herm and Bradshaw would have built a team that could beat this year's Patriots? Or for that matter, could Lombardi assemble a team to beat this year's Patriots?
This is basically the same schemes and players from last year. And we added a stud running back.
So, that doesn't somehow point to coaching as part of the problem?