Expert ESPN analyst Teddy Bruschi (who is completely impartial) says that Mark Sanchez gives up when the going gets tuff. Experts everywhere were counting the Jets out this season because of one loss... a 1 point loss.
After one game we learned that the Colts, Cowboys and Jets were not going to be making post season appearances, and the Ravens, Titans and Patriots were the teams to beat. Why do people try to analyze this league after 1 game??? The Pats stomped the Bengals and made them look like a CFL team, and the Ravens held off the Jets and took the wind out of their blustery sails. But, the Bengals beat the Ravens this week, so obviously the Patriots, who beat the Bengals are the best team in the AFC.... but the Jets just beat the Patriots, definitively. The Jets lost to the Ravens, who lost to the Pats, who lost to the Jets.... OMG, my eyes are crossed!!!!!!!
What we know is that all 4 of these teams have talent and a good shot at the post season. IMHO the Jets are by far the most complete team in the AFC. The Colts have issues on defense (Sanders takes a powder yet again) The Ravens offense is a nightmare (trust me... my fantasy team was built around Flacco and Rice= FAIL) The Patriots are flirting with the idea of dumping Moss mid-season and making a move for Vincent Jackson (desperation anyone?) and the Titans and Bengals have coaches who should have been replaced years ago. It's disgusting how Fisher benched Young this past week and Marvin Lewis is the poorest excuse for a leader I have ever witnessed in the NFL. I am not sold on the Texans yet, but they are making some early season noise. Like Rex said last year before our first playoff game, we should be the favorites.
What did I see this week? I saw a defensive line that has lost it's heart and soul to a season, and probably career ending injury last week, step up and not make any excuses. The Pitoitua injury is so amplified now that Big Jenks is a goner. DeVito and Pouha are both off to an excellent start, picking up where they left off in 2009. I saw a dynamic LB squad rotating Thomas, Taylor, Harris amd Scott. Even without Pace it's a scary playmaking group. I also saw a secondary who lost it's best player.... the guy we supposedly couldn't play without, make a statement led by our 3 major offseason acquisitions Cromartie, Pool, and 1st round draft pick Kyle Wilson. Only our defense could lose Jenkins and Revis and still shut down Brady and Belichick. Kudos to Ryan, Pettine, Sutton and Thurman. Wow.
I also saw #6 Mark Sanchez handle the enormous weight on his shoulders and stand up straight and proud, throwing 3 TD's. He didn't play to not look bad, he played to win (I know I have heard that somewhere... you play to win the...). His reads were excellent, the play-calling was fluid, and everyone had a chance to contribute. Keller looked elite, Cotchery was money, like usual, and Ladainian Tomlinson was our real X-factor. LT was the spark that we needed and helped to keep our drives alive. Shonn Greene is having a hard time getting started this year, but I am confident that he will be a very important part of our offense as the long punishing regular season progresses. LT can be a nice change of pace and will be worth his weight in gold in the post season, but he can't touch the ball 15-20 times a game. There simply is not enough gas left in the tank. We need him fresh in January.
Right now I have only two major concerns. The first is simple, I think Nick Folk is pure garbage. He will cost us games this year, no doubt. The other is more complicated. We have a huge gaping hole on our O-line. The RG spot is currently occupied by a matador masquerading as a football player. Slauson politely allows pass rushers a clear path to Sanchez's blindside. #6 took a massive hit from Gerard Warren because of our inferior RG, and as I watched Mark rithe in pain on the field my heart was in my throat. It was overlooked how Sanchez picked himself up off of the ground and got right back into the huddle after the punishing blow. That was one of many moments that impressed me with Mark on Sunday. Sanchez is not a big QB by NFL standards and, he has proven to be a bit fragile. I really think the Faneca decision was completely about money, and in an uncapped year it is not the time to start pinching pennies. I know Faneca was declining, but he is still much better than the players we have to replace him. That one decision could cost us our QB and a run at the Superbowl in 2010.
Oh, and one final point regarding Braylon Edwards, the taunting call, and Joe Namath. The Pats have some of the worst sportsmanship of any pro team I have ever seen. The aforementioned Teddy Bruschi made it a habit of standing over Jets players after one of his dirty hits, commonly taking cheap shots at players knees. Somehow he and his teammates never seemed to get called for any penalties. But if our WR catches his first TD in the new stadium to start a comeback, he isn't allowed to celebrate a little??? Whatever, it didn't cost us the game. But, the "taunting" I have been puzzled by is Joe Namath's public attacks on #17. The greatest Jet of all time has been using his new twitter account to openly criticize Braylon and the Jets as a whole. I love Broadway Joe, but this is unacceptable. He has made it a lifetime of always staying loyal to the green and white, why start taking low blows now? Keep it classy Joe!
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