Now I want it all

Here we are, one victory from a return to the AFC Championship game.  We were last there during the 1998 season, under the guidance of Bill Parcells and the emergence of Vinny Testaverde who stepped in for Glenn Foley and never looked back.  He went on to have one of the best years of any QB who put a Jet uniform on.  He threw 29 Touchdowns and only 7 picks, it was amazing.   The Jets had a 10-0 lead in Denver in the 3rd quarter after a blocked punt by Blake Spence was followed by a 1 yard touchdown run by Curtis Martin.  After that, Denver took over.  Elway marched Denver down the field for a touchdown and the normally sure handed Keith Byars and Curtis Martin lost fumbles, which were just 2 of the 6 turnovers the Jets had that day.  They lost the game 23-10, and dreams of a return trip to the Super Bowl ended. 

Here we are, 11 years later, hard for me to believe it's been that long since that AFC Championship game in Denver.  Some may say the Jets are playing with house money.  Some may say that anything the Jets do from here is gravy.  They have a rookie quarterback.  The Jets have a rookie head coach.  They have a rookie running back by the name of Shonn Greene who stepped up after the Leon Washington injury and had a huge game against the Bengals this past Saturday.  It's all nonsense.  You never know when you might get back here.  Yeah, despite what Rex Ryan  says, the Jets are an underdog.  I say so what.  Now is the time, this is not playing with "house money", you have to cease the opportunity.  The Jets have arguably the best defense in football this year, statistics say it's number one.  They have the best cover cornerback on the planet.  Darrelle Revis; who has shut down the likes of Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Steve Smith, T.O., Ochocinco and anyone else who has come his way.  He will have another big test this week in Vincent Jackson, but I think he's up for yet another challenge and another receiver will find himself lost on Revis Island.

Am I setting myself up for more heartbreak?  Jet fans will remember 2004 quite well.  We were an underdog team, backed ourselves in to the playoffs big time that year.  We had a chance to clinch a spot on the final Sunday of the season.  We lose an overtime game to the Rams and finished the season at 10-6 after a 5-0 start that year.  Luckily, shortly before our game ended, the Steelers who had nothing to play for that day beat the Bills and we squeaked in to the playoffs despite the loss.  We went into San Diego and beat the Chargers.  We went into Pittsburgh and had them beat as well.  Unfortunately our kicker missed two kicks that would have won the game for us and our coach didn't help matters out by getting ultra conservative making the kicks longer than they should have been. 

The opportunity is right in front of this football team.  If the Jets can do what they do best, run the football and play defense.  If our rookie QB can make good throws when called upon and protect the football; there is no reason the Jets can't go into San Diego and win.  Now is the time. 

Here we go again

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in again.  The season looked over several times this year, but this past Sunday the Jets caught break after break after break, now the question is when does it turn around and bite all Jet fans in the rear end.  Miami needed to lose, we got that as the Texans beat them 27-20.  The Jaguars needed to lose, our nemesis, the Patriots, took care of that.  The Steelers beat the Ravens, thus meaning that at kickoff  at 4:15 against the 14-0 Colts in Indianapolis, we controlled our own destiny. 

On to the game against the Colts.  The Colts were leading 15-10 and right around the 6 minute mark in the 3rd quarter after the Jets punted, Manning did not put on his helmet, instead rookie quarterback Curtis Painter, from Purdue, trotted on the field along with many other Colt backups who came in the game.  Colt fans are outraged, Jet fans felt elated.  I don't care how the Jets won it, the bottom line is they outscored the Colts 19-0 after Manning left the game and went on to a 29-15 victory over the previously unbeaten Colts. 

So what happens now?  We have a date on Sunday night in prime-time on NBC against the Bengals.  A team that probably won't have anything to gain, other then maybe a chance to move from the 4 seed to the 3 seed.  However, if the Patriots beat the Texans on Sunday afternoon the Bengals will be locked in to the 4 seed.  It is likely that the Bengals will not play their starters, if they do I expect a quarter or two at most.  Another reason the Bengals might not go all out is due to the fact that if the Jets do win, we will have a rematch between the Jets and Bengals on Wild Card weekend in Cincinnati.  This is a similar scenario for the Jets.  Back in the 2001 season they needed a victory in Oakland to clinch a wild card spot, they beat the Raiders in Oakland on a game winning field goal by John Hall which setup a re-match the following week in the first round of the playoffs against the same Raiders.  The outcome the following weekend wasn't as pretty as the Raiders beat the Jets 38-24.

As a Jet fan, I'm waiting for the heartbreak, the heartbreak wouldn't be a playoff loss.  The heartbreak would be losing to a Bengals team and all of their backups, and trust me, I can see it happening.  So how will this play out?  I do know this, this franchise once again has me all pumped up for a big game, and I wouldn't be shocked if that hope came crumbling down next Sunday night. 

Bud Adams says Titans number 1

If you want a good laugh watch the video above. 86 year old Titans owner Bud Adams was caught on tape in his suite throwing up the middle finger several times apparently towards rival owner of the Bills Ralph Wilson, after the Titans 41-17 win over the Buffalo Bills. Both owners go WAY back, owning their respective teams going back to the AFL days. On Sunday both teams were wearing their AFL throwbacks but the attention after the game was at the middle finger "throw-ups" by Adams. After the game Adams said the following "I obviously have a great deal of respect for Ralph Wilson and the history we have shared. I also understand there will probably be league discipline for my actions and I will accept those."

I'm sorry, but I can't help but crack up when seeing a tape of an 86 year old man reacting this way after his team wins, absolutely hilarious! Is it the right thing to do? Probably not. However, it's damn funny. Have fun Bud, enjoy the win!