There's nothing "improbable" about what the Jets are doing. Time to face reality, guys: the 2009 Jets are the reincarnation of the 2008 Steelers. They have a good enough offense and the #1 defense in most of the categories that matter. They've had an easy path through the playoffs against the Bengals (who hadn't beaten a good team in two months, Jets included) and the January Jobbers of San Diego. Now they get Peyton Manning, who did NOT have a good outing against them in Week 16, and annually chokes in the playoffs. Folks, we could be looking at the Jets coming to LandDolphin Stadium (or whatever it's called by February) to play against the Brett Favrkings. And in that matchup, the best we can hope for is Jared Allen to suplex Mark Sanchez on the 50 yard line while Roger Goodell complains about the stadium lighting making Favre look old. If you've got a paper bag, wear it.
Jets are playing very well. I hate the Jets, but you have to admire what they are doing. I took them today because I have no faith in Norv Turner. Only thing Norv Turner needs to be complete is Tony Romo as his QB, two chokers.
I'm sure it will be close but I still like the Colts only b/c Peyton will be the best player on that field.
The jets have been one of the most unimpressive teams to make the AFC championship game ive ever seen. They are simply in the right place at the right time. They played the colts when they rested their starters, they played a fairly average bengals team twice and they caught san diego on their worst game of the season. The jets are an average team that has caught a lot of luck. Unfortunately, sometimes thats all it takes.
you cant run the gauntlet to the SB trophy on just luck. At some point the Jesters will actually have to step up. So far they faced two teams that self imploded. There is no way the Colts or the NFC representative are aslo going to self implode. Their ride ends very soon
They know as well as we do, that their path this year has been paved with cherries, ripe for the taking, yet nevertheless haven't choked away the opportunity to place themselves in the Conference championship. When, and how they lose to the Colts however, will determine just how soft those cherries actually were. If they somehow manage to defeat the Colts, I'll acknowledge "that" as justly earned, and tip my hat to them in due regard. ..paperbag at the ready.
I'm all for giving credit when credit is due, but really? You could maybe say they're a POOR man's 08 Steelers, but they're not their reincarnation...not by a loooong shot. The steelers D was downright dominant. The Jets aren't near their level nor do I think they will be.
The Jets D is ranked near or at #1 in pretty much every victory-relevant category, particularly against the pass. Last year's Steelers were the same way, again, particularly against the pass. Offensively, are the Jets really worse than the Steelers? I think everyone would take Thomas Jones over Willie Parker or Rashard Mendenhall, and Shonn Greene is only getting better. The Jets have a better offensive line, better running backs, and the WRs are about equal, give or take. The question comes down to Roethlisberger or Sanchez. Everyone takes Big Ben right now, but, interesting fact: both have reached the AFC Championship Game as rookies. Sanchez has also elevated his play quite a bit, one of the main reasons why the Jets are in the AFCC in the first place. No, I don't think it's a stretch to say the 2009 Jets are the equivalent of the 2008 Steelers. I'll go a step further: the 2009 Jets might actually be better on the whole. Might. Next Sunday will be very telling in this regard.
No shot in hell the Jets WRs can sniff the skills of Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. Not even close. Even overrated Dustin Keller isn't better than Heath Miller. And Big Ben that season is way better than Sanchize. The Steelers were a dominant 12-4 team. The Jets squeaked into the play-offs. The 08' Steelers didn't have any softballs in their play-offs either. They beat a pretty amazing Ravens team 3 times on their way to the championship. Actually, they went 12-4 with one of the most difficult schedules in NFL history. The Jets coasted and threw up some stats on an extremely soft and convenient schedule.
Hines Ward is on the decline, and no one cares about Santonio Holmes if not for his catch to win the Super Bowl. Edwards has more talent than either one, and Cotchery has always been a reliable target. The Steelers might have more depth at WR--looking at you, Mike Williams--but it's a draw at the top. Agreed. Roethlisberger as a rookie relied on a ground game and low-pressure passing situations, just as Sanchez has. There are a few parallels in how their rookies years have unfolded. That's not to say Sanchez is the next Roethlisberger, just that so far, Sanchez is following in the trail Roethlisberger blazed. I don't like it either, but there it is. So did the 2005 Steelers, who went on to win the Super Bowl. And? Playoff teams usually have the convenience of a not-too-difficult schedule. This is routine, not anomalous. Look at us last year: we went 11-5 with a schedule against the AFC West and NFC West, two of the worst divisions in the NFL. I don't recall anyone here last year saying we coasted and didn't deserve to be in the playoffs. Another example: Arizona got into the playoffs both last year and this year in the exact same manner, by playing a relatively soft schedule. They made it to the Super Bowl last year. Few if any said they didn't deserve to make it, especially considering the strength of their run through the playoffs. Sorry, guys. The Jets are the most annoying, pathetic, bottom-feeding troll of a franchise the NFL has to offer... but they earned their way to the AFC Championship Game.
i remember reading an article in SI's nfl preview issue back in September where some psychic predicted the jets to win the SB this season last page of the mag laughable at the time scary now it wont happen crazy they made it this far though
i think its a huge stretch to compare them to last years steelers. last years ravens are a better comparison. run heavy offense, rookie QB, Rrookie head coach, aggressive blitz happy pressure defense. we all know how that ride ended. it will end the same next sunday
another interesting fact is big ben had waaaaaay more yards after the first two games and didn't turn the ball over. not to mention he also didn't have such a low number of attempts in 2008.
Hines ward had a thousand yard season this year and last. Santonio Holmes wad 800 yards in 2008. Not sure how he's irrelevant.
The 2008 Steelers would wipe the floor with the Jets simply because Big Ben is a better passer and that was even in 2005. This year's Sanchez versus last year's Ben is a massacre in favor of Ben.
The 2009 Jets D is better than the 2008 Ravens D. Even if their rushing offenses are presumed to be equal--and I won't contest that, because I'm too lazy to look up the numbers at this particular moment--the 2009 Jets D far more resembles the 2008 Steelers D than the 2008 Ravens D. And since defense defines these teams... yeah, I'm sticking with my comparison. Roethlisberger being better than Sanchez isn't being argued by anyone here. Hines Ward isn't the same player as he was a few years ago. He's tough, he still gets it done, but Holmes looks more like Ward than Ward does. And as for Holmes, he's turning into a very good NFL WR, but no one talks about him if not for the Super Bowl catch. Heck, no one talks about him anyway. And if we're going to bring up prior years, I submit Braylon Edwards' 2007 season. If the 2008 Steelers played the 2009 Jets, the result would look a lot like the game the Jets just played today. Except that Jeff Reed would make at least two of those field goals.
I would love to see what way you'll back that up. The Steeler's #1 defense is the equivalent of this Charger defense? That Steeler defense could not be run on period. It was a miserable affair running against them especially if you're one dimensional. It took two quarters worth of running for the Jets to even take enough pressure off of Sanchez for him to hit passes. The Steelers of 2009 by the Superbowl could run, pass, defend the run, and defend the pass (their worst aspect) all very effectively. The Jets wouldn't be able to run on them without any threat of a passing game. What notion gives you the idea such a hypothetical game would even resemble today's? Other than the fact that both were #1 defenses, you're ignoring the entire equation on the other side of the ball. The Steeler offense of their Superbowl run was balanced, their defense at least as good as this Jet defense.
im comparing to 2008 as that is the team you are comparing the jets too. You also said he was irrelevant. 800 yard season im pretty sure would make him relevant. Not to mention holmes this year had over 1k recieving yards along with ward,if you wish to keep it current.
If we get a Vikings-Jets super bowl I am not even watching it[Imagine-The JETS would be using the Dolphins' locker room and playing their biggest game since 1969 in our stadium]. I'll watch the animal planet Puppy Bowl. Or write an essay even if I dont have one. Or learn how to knit some $hit.
Vikings would dominate that. The Jets would not be able to move the ball against that kind of run defense.
Are we talking 05 or 08? My entire post was about the 08 steelers comparison. 05 team is a different story with many more similarities. And I keep waiting for Hines Ward to decline. He just hasn't stopped producing. I think he's pretty amazing, and both this year and last, put together really nice seasons. I disagree about the WRs. I think Braylon, save for one year, has been pretty bad...especially this year(except vs us).
Congratulations to the jets. I give credit where credit is due, they played good, Chargers made mistakes and Jets took advantage. Jets shouldn't of got in to the playoffs...but they did. And they are making most of their opportunity. Should they win next week, i will eat crow, because I said that there will be NO WAY colts would lose to jets. With that being said...They aren't beating the colts. Colts won't have 20 penalties, nor will they choke on 3d down. Colts just beat down Baltimore, a team that jets are modeled after.
the 2008 ravens defense gave up 15.3 pts a game/ 2009 jets 14.8 - that to me is the same defense. 1/2 pt per game does not make one "better" than the other 2008 ravens 24.1 pts per game/ 2009 jets 21.8 - if one is going to use decimal points to determine superiority than clearly the 2008 ravens are far superior since they have a 2.3 pts per game edge on offense. 2008 ravens are 4 times better than the 2009 jets if you're not using points per game, what criteria are you using? personally i prefer the eyeball analysis rather than stats.
If anything the Jets show that a team without exceptional pass rushers at OLB can field a great defense by means of having excellent personnel across the board. You can't have a scheme that depends merely on getting pressure. In the situation that that fails you'll be cooked. The Jets understand that. They play fantastic on defense. Their only vulnerability is being run over by an unbelievably powerful line with excellent RBs. Cough... Miami.. Cough... Against the pass they're one of the best I've seen. Two safeties with range. The top cover CB in the league, good CBs throughout the roster, LBs that can cover.
I don't understand why some have to take so much credit away from the Jets... I know, we hate them... but they're in the AFC Championship... they had to go through two very good teams to get there. I think Darrelle Revis is turning into the best corner in the NFL and Sanchez is turning into a pretty good quarterback before our eyes. I think the Fall of the Patriots and the Rise of the Jets and the Dolphins is very near as far as the AFC East goes. We may have the beginning of a revived rivalry, so to speak, on our hands... I want the Colts to win badly. I really don't want to see the Jets in the Super Bowl, but we really need to give them more credit than what we are doing so.
You are 100% correct we have to many homers on this site that live in a reality that we are better than them because we beat them twice. I think they will lose this week as long as manning doesn't choke like we have seen him do in the playoffs before.Even if they win whoever comes out of the nfc is going to beat them anyway.
Because their opponents have missed 5 field goals in two games, if Kaeding makes one FG they would have won the game...but he choked... Ditto the Bungles, Jest are a good team, but please, 5 missed FG's?
Now someone will tell you that's a part of the game. Five missed FGs in two games is amazing. Were five FGs even missed all season against Miami? Remember that 07 Houston game? Having 15 potential points taken off the board in two games is extremely fortunate. Especially when you won one of those games by three.
They deserve some credit. But it doesn't take a genius to see they've gotten some of this on chance as well. The missed field goals, two great qbs playing like bs (which I'm sure has something to do with their defense, but some of it I think also has to do with the qbs just not playing anywhere near par) , and the fact we are even having this conversation. Sanchez is far from turning into a good qb fyi. The guy had 100 yards yesterday.
Just curious, what has Sanchez done to make you believe he's becoming a good QB? The Jets offense was stagnant yesterday, and they have little to zero confidence in him throwing the ball unless it's 3rd and 6 or longer (when they have to throw). Hell, they even brought Brad Smith in on an 3rd and 4 early in the game to run the Wildcat. I'm not saying he won't be good down the road, but they're winning despite Sanchez right now.
Hats off to the Jets, Fatso and the kid, they are getting it done against all odds, nothing much to say here but that.
To be far, the Jets fans said we only won because of Ginns two kickoff returns and bad special teams coverage, and just about everyone here said special teams is part of the game.
There's more to defense than just scoring defense. And that's where we'll differ, because the numbers tell the story. Production can be measured. How the production comes isn't nearly as important as whether the production is there. In terms of how they play the game the 2008 Steelers and 2009 Jets are similar. But in terms of validating the Jets' AFCCG appearance, I'll cite whatever is necessary to get you to understand that there is no asterisk for supposedly fudging your way to the second-biggest game. Was Arizona not a legitimate Super Bowl contender despite going 9-7 last year? Were the 2005 Steelers not legit contenders (and winners) despite being the 6 Seed? Complaining about things like this is just whining about window dressing in my view; the Jets are in the AFCCG and they got there because they earned it, not because of some cosmic aligning of stars and the specific number of mold spores on the protein bars in Rex Ryan's pantry.
That is one game, not both. The Jets have taken advantage of terrible kicking in two consecutive games now. This would be more comparable if Ginn returns would have been the difference in both games. And yes special teams is one of the three main phases of the game. And even the worst kickers in the league have a higher pct. than the kickers in the past two Jets games. It's very unusual. More so than two kickoff returns for TDs. That was just bad coverage and missed tackles.
The Jets are actually looking to win the AFC Championship for the first time ever. There was no such thing as an AFC the last time the Jets made it to the Super Bowl.
The Cardinals last season had won their division by about week 14. This is not comparable. They earned their spot by beating backups. If they win the Super Bowl it won't change that fact. Beating Indy next weekend won't change it either, we all know what a difference over a month can make relative to a team's performance. The fact will remain that the Jets earned their postseason berth by having games against backups. The Jets had just been unable to beat a banged up Falcons team the week prior. They had no momentum going whatsoever. They were given free games to tune up with essentially. That is unprecedented, I don't think I've ever seen a team get a situation where all the right other teams lost and they only had to win two games against teams that weren't even trying to win. It is a cosmic aligning of the stars so to speak. If it's not site me one example where another team came into a similar situation. And the Steelers and Texans IMO could be making just as much noise in this year's tournament.
