It seems that fans and experts alike tend to have short memories when it comes to the NFL. This trend has never been more apparent than the lead up to the AFC Divisional match up between the Jets and Patriots. Despite the fact that the Jets handily defeated Tom Brady's Patriots in their Week Two meeting. In the "what have you done for me lately" environment that is the NFL; fans, analysts, and even Vegas odd-makers got swept up in the hype machine surrounding the Patriots that stemmed from their 45-3 drubbing of the Jets in Week 13. In the week leading up to the game everyone and I mean everyone with the exception of former Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson buried the Jets saying they had "no shot." Even the well-respected, former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Steelers said the Jets had a "snowball's chance of winning, a perception only exacerbated by the preposterous 8.5 point spread.
Yes, the Jets did lay an egg in Foxborough the first time around however; there are number of factors to take into consideration aside from the final score.
Leonhard goes down:
First and foremost, the injury to strong safety and "quarterback of the defense," Jim Leonhard. The injury occurred on a Friday after the Jets had already installed their gameplan, leaving backup Eric Smith with limited time to adjust which was evident by the blatant lack of communication in the secondary, exemplified by his killer pass interference call in the end-zone, which led to a New England touchdown.
Questionable Coaching Decisions:
It was arguably Rex Ryan's early coaching mistakes that caused the game to "snowball" and get out of hand so quickly. First, the decision to take the ball first and not defer until the second half despite the Patriots high-powered offense and the Jet's inability all year to score points in the first quarter. When the offense sputtered early, Ryan unsuccessfully challenged the spot of the ball only to go for it on fourth down. He later opted to have the shaky Nick Folk attempt a 50-plus yard field goal in the swirling wind, needless to say he missed terribly, giving New England a short field which they then turned into points. We would be remiss if we did not mention Brian Schottenheimer's questionable play-calling, opting to go with the hurry up, pass-first offense that yielded 3 points.
Special Teams:
Jets fans figured out why its called "Special" Teams, both kicker Nick Folk and Steve Weatherford were dreadful, which gave Patriots a short field several times and each time they came away with points.
Belichick and Brady run up the Score:
After Mark Sanchez threw a back-breaking redzone interception to Brandon Spikes, the team just gave up opening the door for Brady and Belichick to throw salt into the wound by running up the score. The game was already in hand but the Coach and Quarterback combo were relentless in their onslaught, resulting in the 45-3 score that won over the hearts of almost everyone in football, who were convinced that the Patriots were the best team in the league, bar-none.
The Rematch:
The Jets were not phased by the 45-3 beatdown, the 8.5 point spread, Tom Brady, or Bill Belichick and went out and shocked the football world. Rex Ryan and his defensive think tank that included the aforementioned, Jim Leonhard, devised a scheme that baffled Brady by combining and disguising zone and man coverages while only sending three and four man rushes. Brady had all the time in the world to make a play but the coverage was airtight, allowing the Jets defensive line, led by "Patriot Killer," Shaun Ellis to rack up five sacks and rattle the sure-fire MVP. Brady was uncomfortable all game and it showed, making some uncharacteristic, arrant throws.
The Jets offense was equally impressive scoring 28 points in the air and on the ground. Mark Sanchez thoroughly out-played Brady throwing for a shade under 200 yards and three touchdowns. None more pivotal than when he connected with Santonio Holmes on a perfectly thrown fade to the corner of the end-zone and an equally spectacular catch by Holmes that put the Jets up by 10 in the fourth quarter. The "Greene Machine," Shonn Greene provided the knockout blow when he scampered down the right sideline for a touchdown giving the Jets a 28-14 lead with under two minutes to go. The win flaberghasted the fickle-minded football world and has the Jets 60 minutes from their first Super Bowl appearance in 42 years.
Looking Ahead:
The Jets travel up to Heinz Field to take on Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers for the right to go to Super Bowl XLV. The Jets beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh 22-17 in Week 15 however; as we have already seen regular season success means nothing in the playoffs especially with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Look for an extremely physical game this week as it will be a matchup of strength on strength, the Jets offensive line against the Steelers tenacious front seven. For Rex Ryan this will be his third straight appearance in the AFC Championship game, the second straight with the Jets and the second against the Steelers hopefully the third time proves to be the charm. Ryan himself admitted "For myself, I’ve been there three years in a row, I don’t know if I can handle not winning it. I need to win this game," whether that happens or not will be determined come 6:30 on Sunday.
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