After the Broncos game 3 weeks ago, our season was over. Fans and media alike, were painting a gloomy picture for the Jets. There was talk of benching Sanchez for Brunell. People even booed Sanchez during introductions. With 3 games left in the 2011 regular season, the tone around town has changed. Why? What has changed so much, that we can be thinking Super Bowl? I'm still worried about making the playoffs. The Super Bowl might as well be light years away. It means nothing right now.
We still need to win out to make the playoffs. The Titans and Bengals have potentially soft schedules remaining. Anything but a perfect ending to our season could mean missing the playoffs. The last 3 games we won, were the games we were supposed to win. We were not underdogs in either of those games. The next 3 games of our season will determine what kind of a team we are. The Eagles are playing for their coach. The Giants are playing for a playoff birth as well. The Dolphins are playing much better football, and are probably salivating at the chance of ruining our playoff hopes.
Each week is a different challenge, and it's a different formula each game. The win last night was great, but I'm not going to make it something it isn't. We still have a long road ahead, before we can even think about the playoffs. Jim Leonhard is done for the season, which leaves our struggling safeties, very thin. When we lost Leonhard last year, we wet the bed against the Patriots. The advantage we have this year, is that it didn't come in the middle of the week. Pool, or whoever is taking Leonhard's spot, has the whole week to learn his role for Sunday. The Combination of Pool and Smith, didn't do too bad last year, after they settled into their roles. The next 3 weeks, will be 3 weeks of hardcore football. I am all for optimism, but let's get into the playoffs before we start talking about the Super Bowl.