Great win for Johnnies

Always a bit torn in these Duke-St. John's games. I'm always rooting for Duke, but I'm glad to see the Johnnies resurrection underway. Lavin has his team playing well and they're a great matchup for a team like Duke that likes to run an overplay man-to-man D.

If this can build some momentum for the Storm and they can string together a few wins, a return to the NCAAs may well be in the cards...

Can't Wait Fail

"Bart Scott, the one who couldn't wait to get to Pittsburgh, the one who talks like his pro wrestling heroes, kept whiffing on tackles and playing as if he was ordered to lose by some WWE script."

-Ian O'Connor

Rex's Stalingrad

Well, I think this article perfectly encapsulates my reservations about the Rex Ryan era.

Here's Ian O'Connor's take at ESPNY NY:

"After pushing all the right human buttons in Rounds 1 and 2, inspiring his Jets to knock out Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, Ryan suddenly lost the pulse of his team. The stunning disconnect between coach and player allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to score the first 24 points of the game, and ultimately guaranteed that a second-half rally would save face, but not the season.

"We played a good half," an emotional Ryan said. "We just never played a good game."

Rex has to take the fall for that. His chief responsibility as head coach is to have his team ready to play, and yet the Jets were a lifeless mess in the first half, finding inspiration in absolutely nothing...

The Jets' defense was playing flag football out there, lunging and grabbing for air, looking like a unit prepping itself for the Pro Bowl instead of the Super Bowl.

I've said time and again, that a players coach who spends as much time cheerleading his players as drilling them can end up with a team that lacks focus and discipline. A team that doesn't want to work for 60 minutes, but thinks it can turn its effort on and off like a switch.

This Jets team has loads of talent, but for what was seemingly the 7th or 8th time this year, played about 30 minutes of football. We still pulled out some of those games against mediocre opponents. We almost pulled out last night's game, against the AFC's best, in their own stadium.

But we're not the AFC champions. Champions bring discipline for 60 minutes. Last year's Duke NCAA championship team was probably the 6th or 7th most talented team in the country. But they brought 40 minutes of tenacious defense every night, and selfless, intelligent play on offense to most possessions. This Jet's team is probably, on paper, the best of the 4 teams that were left standing on Championship weekend, but aren't getting to the final game. To me, that's the difference between the GOAT (Coach K) and Rex. Rex is fun. Rex is a character. Rex makes the player's happy. Rex makes reporters happy. The GOAT wins championships.

This team, and this coach, will probably have one more run at the SB in them. But if they fail to advance beyond their high-water mark again, I think questions will definitely arise over whether this team, with its character and approach, is capable of getting it done against the league's best. And once those questions start to creep into the psyche of the Jets players, it's over. You turn into the Buffalo Bills of the 90's.

After failing to defeat the Red Army at Stalingrad, the Wermacht still controlled Europe from the beaches of Brittany to the suburbs of Moscow. On paper, the German army still appeared a formidable force. But their guts had been eviscerated on the banks of the Volga, and their aura of invincibility destroyed.

While I hesitate to use a military metaphor for something as trivial as a football game, the analogy captures how this game might be looked at, a few year's hence, when considering the Ryan era in retrospect.

Jets v Steelers

3 burning questions:

1) How do the Jets DBs matchup with Pats WRs? Put Ward on Revis Island? Or Wallace?

2) Will Sanchez be able to make his throws and keep his poise in 10 degree windchill conditions with the swarming Steelers D?

3) Will the Jets continue to play 3-3-5 defense, with only 5 in the box, as they have with regularity (and great success) the past two weeks?

Patsies

From DC: As much of a d-bag as Belichek is, at least he's smart enough to keep his cheating behind the scenes and not get caught on national tv in the middle of a game.

Oh, if only that were true. Unfortunately for the Patsies, both Fox Sports and CBS ran footage yesterday of the Pats in week 2 doing the same thing as the Jets. They also set a wall, and had the last guy try to trip a Jets player out of bounds.

Pats SB record with Spygate: 3-0. Without Spygate: 0-fer. Suck it, Pats. 0-3 in their last 3 playoff games, 2-3 against Rex Ryan and the Sanchize.

You can't be Sirius

Of all the things I look forward to tomorrow, listening to Steve Phillips eat it on the morning drive to work is perhaps #1. Sirius added him to the morning show on Mad Dog's channel a couple of months ago, and that guy has been hating on the Jets for weeks. He is such a Brady and Pats fanboy for some reason, and Jets hater. I can't WAIT to hear him have to eat it tomorrow from all the callers.

SHK on Jets/Pats

I'd also note that as crappy as the 45-3 loss was, the Jets are 2-2 against Pats under Ryan. With the notable exception of Brady, I believe the Jets players are better than their equivalents on the Pats across the board.

Thus, if Jets lose, they have only their under-performance or poor game plan to blame, IMO.

-SHK



You're crazy, man.

27-24

That's my call for Jets win over Pats on Sunday.

Look for some very physical play on both sides of the ball. I am curious about three game tactics: (1) Will Jets go with the conventional wisdom and blitz Brady or will they sit back like they did against Manning? (2) Will Jets go run heavy as against the Colts, or will they try to exploit Pats' 30th-ranked pass D and inexperienced secondary? (3) Will Pats come up with a new wrinkle on offense, or will they stick with their usual (attack middle under routes, with occasional deep fly pattern to Branch or deep slant to TE)?

I'd like to see Jets D try a tactic they did under Mangini one time he beat the Pats. Have the guys not settle into position and instead swarm around until the ball is hiked. Don't let Brady get a clear read on our D scheme, especially who (if anyone) is blitzing.

Road to the SB

Well, if the Jets want to make it the SB the road is @Colts, @Pats, and probably @ Steelers or Ravens (I'd guess Steelers but who knows). Certainly a tough road, although we split with Pats, won @Pitt and lost 10-9 to Ravens before our offense got going. Colts are a much weaker team this year, with a lot of players out. That said, I'd probably rather have gone first round against running Chiefs than passing Colts. Our pass D is still highly suspect.

I say we win @Colts, after that it's a crap shoot. AFC is very tough this year.