Greenberg of the Post doesn't think you should get too excited over Sunday's win.
But in all the euphoria at a wired Meadowlands yesterday at the ending of a reasonably-hideous eight-straight home losses streak to New England, easy to overlook was two Jets wins in the last three years at Foxboro, and the fact that they were a lot better than 2-0 last year, actually 8-3.
That was when Kris Jenkins and Brett Favre ran out of gas and when Eric Mangini became Rich Kotite, never mind the fact that he got a Jets team with practically nothing to the post-season in 2006, along the way humiliating in Green Bay a Packers team one season from the NFC title game, and last year similarly put away at halftime a Cardinals team that went on to the Super Bowl.
In other words, in two of the last three seasons, the Jets were looking a lot better than just 2-0, one of which resulted in a post-season berth, too. So not to be skeptical about two excellent wins, or about the players taking on this coach's personality -- hard to take on the last one's personality since essentially he didn't have one -- but all this greatest win in years stuff is a little over the top. In the buildup-psyche-up of last week, it was entirely convenient for the Jets to ignore their recent success in Foxboro, which in turn became convenient for the media to ignore.
I don't think Greenberg is putting things in the proper context. Yes, the Jets won at Foxborough in 2006 and made the Playoffs that year, but they were a scrappy, undermanned underdog. Yes, the Jets won there last year and started 8-3, but the Pats had no Tom Brady, and the Jets were renting Brett Favre. There was no clear indication this team was built to contend for the long haul in any event. This time the Jets stood toe to toe with a relatively healthy Pats team. There was no smoke and mirrors. They showed they have a franchise quarterback who can stand tall in games like these and will for a long time. This left a more enduring statement, that the Jets are here to contend for the long haul, not spring a spunky upset.
And if he thinks the way the Jets schemed under Mangini is equal to the gameplans under Ryan, I don't know what to tell him. Think Browns fans would want to trade coaches right now?