Me and my buddies have a few day break from school in between our winter and spring terms, so we’re all driving down to Hilton Head. Nothing but golf and fishing for 3 days and 3 nights. Pretty much heaven on Earth. Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone, but hey, there’s really nothing exciting going on in Jets world right now anyway. It’s a shame I won’t be golfing the whole time during the Giants vs Patriots Super Bowl..
Giants/Patriots Super Bowl: another step back for Jets
With the New York Giants and the New England Patriots meeting once again in the Super Bowl, the New York Jets are officially back to square one. It’s been Rex Ryan’s goal ever since taking over as head coach of the Jets to beat the Patriots consistently and also win over the New York/New Jersey area. For the past two seasons, Rex Ryan has actually been pretty successful at his goal. The Jets made the playoffs in Rex Ryan’s first two years, while the Giants did not. Adding to that, the Patriots were one-and-done in the playoffs both years while the Jets were coached by Rex. Great progress for Gang Green right?
Well, it seemed that way for parts of this year, especially as the Jets were 8-5. However, the Jets lost at home to the Giants, much in part due to Mark Sanchez and a 99 yard touchdown from Victor Cruz. The Jets went on to miss the playoffs in an epic collapse while the Giants rolled into the playoffs and haven’t stopped. The Patriots have had an even longer win streak than the Giants, rolling into the Super Bowl with relative ease.
So, whats that all mean?
It basically means the Jets are back to Square One and so are all Jets fans. While an AFC Championship isn’t a Super Bowl, the Jets certainly had bragging rights over the New England Patriots and New York Giants the past two seasons. But those bragging rights from last year are now thrown right out the window because the Patriots and Giants are both in the Super Bowl, a place the Jets haven’t been since Joe Namath. All of Rex Ryan’s progress has been essentially been negated, all of his brash talking has come back to bite him in the ass.
What’s next for Jet fans?
A rough couple years. Either way, Jet fans are going to be getting shit from either Giant fans or Patriot fans. All we know now is that Rex Ryan has even more pressure on him to win in New York.
Unfortunately, the news is now official. Early this morning, January 22nd 2012, Joe Paterno had lost his two month battle with cancer. Rest in Peace Joe Paterno. Joe Pa died at the age of 85, holding the NCAA record for most wins in football by any coach, with 409 victories. I’ve been a fan of Joe Paterno ever since I was a little kid, when my grandpa was rooting for the Penn State Nittany Lions and Joe Paterno, because he they were both Italian and from New York. I’ve stuck with the team since then as well, even though my grandpa and Joe Paterno are no longer here.
Regardless of all the circumstances, Rest in Peace Joe Paterno. You were my favorite football coach of all-time and it’ll stay that way. I’ll leave off with some words from recent Penn State Football graduates on the subject.
Coach, you embodied so much more than just Penn State football! football was what u did but put so much more above it! I have learned more about the game of life from you than i ever did from football! The values and principles and life lessons are learned from
You will stick with me forever! Rest in peace my friend, my mentor and my coach! -AQ Shipley, current Pittsburgh Steeler
This is not easy. Not for me, my teammates, my family, or Coach’s University. This is a sad time, but let’s remember everything Coach Paterno has done for all of us and all the great memories he has created. Lets remember the things he has taught us, and continue to teach others his ways. Thank you for taking a chance on me, giving me a walk-on spot, and helping me to earn a scholarship. You made my dreams come true, and my thoughts and prayers are with Coach and the paterno family. -Graham Zug, recent Penn State grad and wide receiver
Well this week in Jets world, the New York Jets have continued the downward spiral in terms of the offseason. The Jets are tearing apart at the seams and new information is still coming out daily. In some of the latest news, LaDainain Tomlinson spoke on Showtime with the Inside the NFL team about the chaos inside the Jets locker-room. He called it, “As bad as I’ve ever seen”, specifically speaking about the tension between Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes. Here is the full clip below.
LaDainain Tomlinson made it pretty clear that Santonio Holmes was the root of almost every problem in the Jets locker-room, indicating he was unable to work with Mark Sanchez. So in light of all this, what does the Jets leadership say? They shower Santonio Holmes with praise! Yes, the Jets praised Santonio Holmes for essentially tearing apart the team and ruining the season. In a recent press conference, Woody Johnson called Santonio Holmes “one of the best players we’ve ever had” and also said “Holmes will be back”.
The Jets Front Office and leadership is taking the ol’ sweep everything under the run and hope it magically gets better approach. And guess what Jets fans? It’s certainly not going to work. Because if Santonio Holmes has another couple games where he isn’t catching touchdown passes, he’s going to pout and cry like a little baby again and tear the team up once more. But it’s okay, the Jets already paid him $40+ million, so let’s just pretend nothing happened during the 2011 season and hope for the best. It’s going to be Week 17 in Miami, over and over and over gain, with Santonio Holmes pouting and trying to fight teammates. Below, you’ll find Rex Ryan speaking with Mike Francesca recently on Santonio Holmes and the Jets situation.
I think Rex Ryan has finally learned his lesson on toning down the brashness after this season’s collapse. I’m not saying were going to see a “new” Rex Ryan, but we’ll see a Rex Ryan that’s not going to make the Super Bowl guarantees and crazy statements per usual. And you know what? It’s probably for the best. It’ll take some of the spotlight and media hype off the Jets and just let them relax and play football.
For now, that’s all I have. More sitting back, more waiting. Let’s all hope that further changes come, because watching the Jets collapse at the end of this season wasn’t fun.
Along with the JETWay, our favorite video series here at Jersey Jets Fan is the “Jersey Sports Fan”. Bernie Hatefield and Bryan Severance continue to bring the heat, with the Jersey Sports Fan in utter disbelief about Mark Sanchez and the Giants new found success. Without further introduction, here we go.
Best Quotes
“I think at this point, I would take a paralyzed Peyton Manning over what we saw from Sanchez week 16.”
(Drinking a Heineken) “You’re the only thing that wears green that I know that still does its job.”
Serious question, is there anyone on the Jets as respectable as Nick Mangold? Just listening to this interview, you can tell the kind of player and teammate that Nick Mangold is, a clear leader. When “anonymous players” were quick to bash Mark Sanchez recently in a piece from Manish Mehta, Mangold was the first person to come to Mark’s defense on Twitter. He immediately followed up the report by Mehta, which called Mark Sanchez “lazy” and content”, also saying that Jets players wanted to trade him for Peyton Manning, with the following tweet:
This nydn.us/xnShGZ by @TheJetsStream is false. If “unnamed sources” want to attack Mark, man up and put your name to it #JETS -@NickMangold
It was easy for the media, fans and players alike to blame Mark Sanchez for the end of the season troubles, but when you really boil it down, it was a total team effort. The team itself didn’t play well, not just Mark Sanchez. It was the offensive line, it was the running backs, the defense in 3rd down, etc. The Jets just didn’t play up to par. If only there were more players on the New York Jets with the team-first attitude shown by Mangold, the Jets might still be playing.
Firing Brian Schottenheimer and bringing in Tony Sparano was the first of many necessary changes that occured with the Jets and I’m sure we’ll see more as the off-season develops. There are a host of players who have finished out their contracts including aging veterans such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Plaxico Burress, Bart Scott (contract isn’t over but the Jets may terminate it), and Jim Leonhard (who is coming off another serious injury). This off-season will surely be a crucial one for the general direction of the Jets franchise for years to come, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all pans out. Who stays, who goes, and why did it “all go wrong”, stay tuned!
Here’s to hoping it won’t be another 43 years until the New York Jets next Super Bowl victory. I’m only 21 years old, the Jets have to win at least one Super Bowl in my lifetime right? Well, raise up your beer to Joe Namath, because once upon a time (before he had a Twitter [...]
Tony Sparano, who presided over one of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history, has a new challenge: Fixing the New York Jets’ dysfunctional offense. The Jets made it official Wednesday afternoon, hiring the former Miami Dolphins coach as their offensive coordinator. He replaces Brian Schottenheimer, who resigned under pressure after a tumultuous end to six [...]
Marty Schottenheimer, whose last season in the NFL ended with his firing in 2007 after a 14-2 record in 2006 as coach of the San Diego Chargers, will interview Tuesday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their head coaching vacancy, according to league sources. Schottenheimer’s career record is 200-126-1 during the regular season, but he [...]
