On Sunday the Lands resembled more of a masoleum than a football stadium. Utters of "same ol' Jets" and "40 years-- nothing's changed" resonated through the parking lot upon conclusion of the game.

If getting swept by Miami (a team we have owned this decade), and losing to Buffalo at home (who just hired a guy that has zero HC’ing experience) wasn't bad enough, yet another disheartening loss was suffered. This one was on Rex—Giving the guys 6 days off obviously contributed to them coming out flat.

While the loss was a crushing one to the GangGreen Nation, and the negatives have continued to haunt us throughout the week, the J-E-T-S did improve upon a couple things:

The Good: 

Thomas Jones- Continues to show us he can still be a workhorse in this league. After Leon was injured in the OAK game and they were no longer splitting carries, a lot of questions arose surrounding the 31-year old’s age—regarding whether or not he could still carry the ball 20+ times a game. In the L3 weeks, he's rushed 74 times/300 yards. I’d say he’s silenced the doubters. Granted he was going up against a weak Jax front-7, and didn’t break any big ones, but he was hitting holes well and thought he played his role nicely.

-Third Down Conversions- Did a much better job of setting up "third-and-manageable", and it showed. They were 7 of 13 on 3rd downs… a big improvement on previous weeks: 3-14 vs MIA, 3-15 vs Buff, 4-11 @ MIA. A step in the right direction, no doubt.

The Bad:

 Lack of Pressure off the Outside/Inability to Create turnovers-This IMO has been a recurring theme this year. They’ve been good against the run,(although the LB core uncharacteristically missed a lot of tackles on Sunday).. but terrible regarding pass-rush. This is a 3-4 defense that is predicated on getting pressure on the QB and making the secondary’s job easier., The lack of pressure from the outside by Pace (who has yet to show up this year..) and Thomas is certainly not helping our turnovers. Seven INT’s and Five recovered fumbles just isn’t characteristic of a 3-4 Rex Ryan Defense. Not cutting it guys.
 Regarding the secondary, they’re getting a lot of tipped balls but just can’t finish the job and come down with it! Frustrating, but hopefully they’ll start picking more off.

Slow start/Unprepared defense- This is just completely unacceptable when you are coming off the bye week/have an extra week to prepare. You can’t go wrong with setting the tone by stacking the box early and forcing Garrard to throw. Would have much rather see him beat us w/ his arm rather than watching the Jones-Drew-show on their first possession (5 carries/55 yards/TD). Jax did not throw the ball once on that drive, and they punched us right in the mouth. We all know this Jags’ team’s WR core is awful-- we should have not only been ready for the run but also bottled it up. Again, understand some of this was because of their 6-day-vacation, but that’s no excuse.

The Random:

-Losing Leon was as catastrophic as we thought it was. The stretch plays were totally ineffective (albeit against a Jags defense that has pretty good speed on the outside), and the only pitch that worked was an excellent call on 4th & 1 when Greene set up the go-ahead TD late in 4Q.
We’re really going to miss him this week vs NE, great weapon for countering the blitz with some misdirections/screens.

-Sanchez- hard for me to rip on the kid, as he seems to continue to grow and improve upon his mistakes, BUT..Throwing balls at guy’s feet, lack of vision/weak pre-snap reads, and that INT on the screen pass were rough. All rookie mistakes, so we look past it and move on.
 GRANTED, there is a positive spin on this: he looks to be trying to improve upon his early downfall of staring down receivers, which may be why his vision is suffering. He’ll get there… I still believe he’s the chosen one.
 Also, the chemistry between him and Keller is improving (although he dropped a couple), but the two seem to be getting on the same page, which is a big improvement from the Buffalo game. Hopefully he’ll improve on his accuracy, because his ball security seems to be improving a bit (although this week will be the test).

 -Two wasted timeouts due to 12 men on the field. That just can’t happen. One of them was on 2nd & 6.. 

 -Secondary giving up 8.0 YPP to GARRARD makes me want to puke–Again,  this is due to lack of pass rush. 

Moving on to NE this week, GangGreen, and we need a miracle to save our season.....

From Sporting News/Yahoo Sports:

Yeah, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan shed tears in front of his players. You wanna make something of it?

The New York Daily News does, giving us this account of Ryan’s past few days:

Three days before the Jacksonville game, Ryan was all confidence, telling the Daily News the Jets would make the playoffs. On the eve of the game, he lashed into the team with his no-more-excuses speech. On Monday, he parted ways with his defensive-line coach, told reporters he accepted blame for the defensive meltdown and closed his team meeting with tears.

"Surreal," is how Jets safety Kerry Rhodes(notes) described the situation to the newspaper:"It’s like seeing your dad cry. You never think you’ll see that … but to see it was surreal. To know that he takes it that much to heart, us losing and us trying to be a winner, it makes you want to keep going."

Former Ravens defensive tackle Tony Siragusa says he has seen Ryan tear up before and it’s nothing to worry about.

"Rex is an emotional guy. When a coach doesn’t give a (darn) - and I’ve been around coaches like that - that’s when you should worry. Rex, this is his life. A lot of us have a lot of things going on in our lives. Rex, he has a nice family, but ever since he’s been a little kid, football has been in his blood."

Trenches would like to remind you of several other coaches known for occasional waterworks: Bill Cowher, Dick Vermeil, Gunther Cunningham.

Continue reading this post »

Hey guys. I'm a Dolphins fan, so you probably all want me to die posting on your site, but I have a question for you.

Recently, there have been many rivalry games and that got me thinking. I know that you guys are OUR biggest rival, and I asked this on Pats Pulpit too, and they said the same (haven't asked the Bills fans yet). And I was wondering who YOU guys think is your biggest rival/who you hate the most.

I know you have all your division rivals (Jets, Dolphins, Pats), and you don't like the Giants very much either, so who do you despise the most.

I should probably stop writing now, I'm not really welcome here, so thanks.

PS I'm rooting for you vs. the Pats if that makes anything better.

Here are my ideas from my observances watching the Jets this season, and in particular these last few weeks, that could help change our fortunes. 

Defense:

I re-watched the Texans game from week one, and I saw a completely different group than I saw last week. Yeah, Kris Jenkins was playing, but Calvin Pace and Sean Ellis were out. There was something about this until that was more inspired and out to prove something to everyone. After the winning streak, and dropping a couple of games, It seems as if they're just out there trying to prove that they're not just a bunch of phonies. It's a completely different mindset, and I really think it is affecting their play.

Take the Ravens last year, for example. New coach, rookie QB, and coming off what I believe was a 5 win season (I'm probably wrong). No one expected them to be anywhere near the playoff conversation, but those guys played with a chip on their shoulder. With most people thinking the Steelers were the best defense (which was probably true), it still gave them that underdog factor.

Now talking more X's and O's, as each game passes, the less and less blitzing I see. The four-man rush only worked against a bad Raider team and Chad Henne playing like he should have in week 5. I understand you cannot blitz too much, because team will eventually figure you out, but it takes away from the aggressive mindset. And honestly, as good of a player guys like Calvin Pace and Sean Ellis are, they're not Elvis Dumervil and DeMarcus Ware. They just aren't going to beat the protection on a consistent basis. The lack of immediate pressure on the QB allowed teams to drive down the field at key moments, just like what happened Sunday. Against the Pats, however, Rex didn't back down and stopped any comeback by Brady in week 2. 

I honestly think this defense will improve over time. Rex's System is complicated and requires players to make decision on the fly, which is difficult to do coming from the bland defenses of the Mangini Era. It's easy to forget that the Ravens had several years to work in Rex's stem, so give this unit some time and they'll be the elite of the elite defenses out there, because the talent is certainly there. 

Offense:

Say what you want about Sanchez, but the kid looks good. Anyone who blames him for the loss of any games besides Buffalo and New Orleans does not know what they are talking about. I was especially impressed with the last 2 games, rallying back the team from multiple-score deficits to give us a chance to win, completing some key 3rd and even 4th down completions in the process. Sanchez will be a solid QB for a long time. 

As good as our running game has been, it really should be this good. Highest paid O-Line in the league, with 2 (well, now 1) pro bowl tailbacks and another talented rookie in Shonn Greene. Combine that with one of the better receiving tandems in Edwards, Cotchery, and Keller to stretch the defense, and Sanchez showing he can play better than most rookies do, plus the fact we run the ball more than any other team, you really had better have the best rushing attack in the NFL, if not one of them. 

Before this season,I had always had doubts with Brian Shottenheimer as a Coordinator. I was terrified when he was even rumored to take over as head coach. But he has really impressed me lately, making a lot of bold calls that worked. The one that has impressed me the most was a 3rd down and long against Miami 2 weeks ago,  calls a simple handoff. TJ ran for an easy 10+ yards for the 1st.  Shottty didn't make the call because he thought Sanchez couldn't get the job done, nor was he just accepting to punt. It was just a brilliant call after watching tendencies and clearly shoed great preparation. 

But In general, the Jets are still a good team. You look at this team on paper, and there isn't really a glaring weakness, aside from injuries. Its just a few plays here and there and this team could easily be 7-2. Nonetheless, there's a solid foundation here, and 2010 should be a great year for the Jets.  

It is funny how they say Sanchez is undersized as a QB meanwhile they have two GIANTS waiting in the wings. Or would that be irony ? Don't get me wrong, i'm not calling for either of the two, i'm a big Sanchez fan and see him doing big things in this league, BUT, on paper, Kevin O'connell is arguably the best QB prospect in NFL History and remains a valuable "chip" for the team. What will the Jets do with O'connell? Also, they must LOVE Ainge to keep him on the roster, considering the other 3 QBs. I know he looked good in the preseason, but it's tough to justify keeping 3 QBs with 0 combined NFL starts.

Folks,

Sorry to say but our beloved Jets are looking pretty pathetic, making Jacksonville look like they're playing Indy or Minnosota.

Should send the "Sanchize" back to UCLA for a couple of more years. Throws a pretty spiral but has many

negatives.

Oops maybe I spoke too soon, 3rd Q 3 mins left and the Jets trying to drive for a score.

GO GO GO Jets !!!!

I'll leave further venting till the end of the game.

As most everyone knows by now, I co-host a 100% commercial-free, no one makes a dime from it Sports Talk radio show on Long Island.

Here's the audio of the Jets Midseason Report that we did with Newsday's Jets Beat Reporter Rod Boone last night.

It's 32+ commercial-free minutes of nothing but Jets talk in MP3 format and can be found at http://sportstalk903.libsyn.com

Here's a breakdown of the topics discussed:

--What does the 4-4 record tell us?
--Braylon Edwards
--Cotchery's Hamstring
--Lack of conditioning because of certain common injuries?
--Thomas Jones/Leon Washington/Shonn Greene in 2010
--Any chance the Jets look past the Jags this week?
--Should the Jets have gone with a more experienced backup QB?
--The Offensive Line
--Alan Faneca
--Replacing Kris Jenkins
--Vernon Gholston
--Lito Sheppard
--Rex Ryan's confidence
--Steve Weatherford
--Kicking to Ted Ginn Jr./Special Teams changes
--Tony Richardson
--Danny Woodhead's WR Training
--Remaining Schedule (small margin for error/what record makes the playoffs?)
--Is the Jags game a "Must Win?"
--The Days off during the Bye Week
--The relationship between Ryan and Tannenbaum
--Ticket sales for the new stadium
--Stopping Maurice Jones-Drew

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy.

From Sporting News/Yahoo Sports.  Just had to post this.  Been waiting for something like this for the past few weeks:

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan hasn’t been happy with his team on game day lately, and he excoriated the team at the end of Thursday’s practice, the Star Ledger reports.

When the offense faltered in one of the day’s last drills, Ryan told the team he’s tired of excuses.

‘‘The biggest thing is we’re at a point now that through eight games and a bye week, there’s no more room for excuses,’’ fullback Tony Richardson(notes) told the newspaper.

‘‘Rex doesn’t want to hear, ‘but this happened, but that happened.’ Forget that. He’s ready to roll. I think he wants to put some pads on and go play himself. Obviously, he can’t do that and he’s relying on us and we want to go out and play well on Sunday.’’

The Jets play host to the Jaguars Sunday at xx ET. Check out SN’s matchup of the two 4-4 teams.

‘‘What Rex said was taken to heart by a lot of the guys,’’ defensive end Marques Douglas(notes) told the Ledger. ‘‘We know we need to win games. There are no more excuses. No more self-inflicted wounds. He was telling us the truth and you can’t fault a guy for that.’’

In a loss to the Bills QB Mark Sanchez(notes) had five interceptions, the team was penalized 14 times for 96 yards, and the Jets had two fumbles, though neither was lost.

Is anybody out there dumb enough to travel over 150 miles to Jet home games, week after week?

I'd like to hear a little frustration from fellow fans on this one.  

Will somebody please describe a worse travel situation than leaving RI at 8:00 am, parking, no tailgating, then leaving at the beginning of the 4th to avoid excessive traffic.  I'm sick of hearing about gut-wrenching  losses from Bob Wischusen. 

Make me feel bad for you and slightly better about my situation.

Rex Ryan cost the Jets the game plain and simple.why why why ? go for two with so much time left in the game you get the XP and get a stop.

The scenario is Ginn returns for TD, Jets go down and score kick for XP,Ginn returns for 2nd TD, Jets go for another TD kick for XP that would of made the score 30-27 with Jets having the ball, in which they drove to Miami 15 ,kick the field goal 30-30 with a little more than a minute left on the clock, defense can get big play or stop use time outs they punt to Jets with time still left on clock send Clowney deep and toss it up even if he don't get in for TD maybe close enough for FG and win game.

I know this is speculation and should of, would of ,could of, but going for two twice and failing is what really lost that game.  In short poor decision making on Rex Ryan's part cause if it wasn't for his decision to sit Carrol, Cole, and Murrell our SP Team would have been at full strength maybe no KO returns for 2 TD again maybe's and hindsight. It 's a learning curve we as fans must deal with.We fans which is short for the word fanatic, must keep the eye on the big picture! the Jets are on the right track we must be patient we have waited this long we can wait 2 or 3 more years and just think that next year will be uncapped and hopefully Woody will open the bank to help the cause and get younger as well as deeper.