It may not be Super Bowl Sunday, but it's as close as the 2007 New York Jets are going to get.
Gang Green's mission, should they choose to accept it, will be to march into New England with their 3-10 squad, which has been consistently inconsistent the entire season, and hand the 13-0 Patriots their first blemish of the season.
Any given Sunday, right? That's why they play the games. There are no easy games in this league.
Yes, those are all cliches, but they are cliches because they have become commonplace. Upsets happen. Did anyone expect Buster Douglas to knockout Mike Tyson in 1990? The Americans to defeat the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympics? The Jets to shock the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III?
All right, before I rip into a sports themed William Wallace speech, let's take a quick peak at why the Pats are still undefeated this late into the year.
1. Tom Brady. His stats look like mine when I was at my Madden-playing prime: 4,095 yards, 45 TD, 5 INT and a 70.2 completion percentage. He's only been sacked 16 times in 13 games. The sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan should send former Jets linebacker Mo Lewis a royalty check for every touchdown pass he throws. It was
Lewis' pop on Drew Bledsoe's lung in 2001 that gave Brady his shot.
2. Randy Moss/Wes Welker. Moss has been reborn after suffering through two lackluster years in Oakland: 82 receptions, 1,264 yards and 19 TDs. If Moss is Batman then Welker is playing a pretty good Robin: 93 receptions, 974 yards and 11 TDs. And both these guys were traded to the Patriots in the off-season. It's almost enough to make a person sick.
3. Stingy D. The defense is taking a backseat to the record-setting offense, but they are ranked fourth in the NFL in points allowed this season. Linebacker Mike Vrabel leads the team with 9.5 sacks and cornerback Asante Samuel is fourth in the league with six picks. This unit also likes to deliver
cheap shots from time to time.
OK, enough! Obviously this team is a powerhouse, but I'm not kneeling and kissing the ring and neither should the Jets. If they head into Foxborough with their tails between their legs then they are going to get beat. Bad. If I'm the Jets, I would refuse (refuse!) to go into New England with that type of mentality. This a chance to make a horrible season count for something. To go down in the annals of professional football as the team that stopped the Patriots run at history. To dig deep and overcome a team that is vastly superior on paper and hand them a big slice of humble pie even though you're headed home for the playoffs. Who's with me?!!
Some members of the Green and White were angry at being underdogs to the winless Dolphins a few weeks ago. Well, if they were pissed at that then they should check out the line for this game. Vegas had the spread at
26 points earlier in the week, but I'm sure you could find different lines if you're a degenerate.
Speaking of degenerates, madman Bill Belichick
snapped back in the never-ending spy-gate saga. A ton of stuff has been written on the Belichick-Mangini fallout, but Belichick has had it in for the Jets ever since he left them high and dry after the 1999 season. Mangini is just the vessel that Belichick uses to keep kicking the Jets in the groin. If you don't remember, Belichick
resigned as HC of the NYJ on the day he was to be announced as the new head coach for the 2000 season and then bolted to New England. He's done a pretty good job up there (three Super Bowl trophies) so his unabashed hatred for the Jets perplexes me. It's the Jets that should have the vendetta, not Belichick.
I'm convinced that the reason Belichick and Mangini are on frosty terms is because Mangini headed to the Green and White. I don't believe this "bad blood" situation would have occurred if Mangini decided to become head coach for any other team (I think the Jets were the only team looking to hand him a head coaching gig, but still). If Mangini was Belichick's "boy" going back to the Cleveland days, why would he hold him back from a head coaching opportunity? Doesn't make sense to me. But then again, nobody has been able to make sense of what Belichick does.
Anyway, here's a
Pats' fans view of the upcoming showdown.
And finally, in case you haven't heard, the weather is supposed to be awful in New England on Sunday. The latest report has it snowing in the morning before switching to rain and freezing rain in the afternoon. Snow accumulation could reach 3 to 4 inches. Temperatures will hover in the 30s and the winds could blow up to 20 mph.
That could put a damper on the high-powered Patriot passing attack, but the Jets haven't exactly been world-beaters with their rush defense. The D has played a lot better since their bye, but Gang Green still ranks 30th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed a game. New England's Laurence Maroney hasn't been getting a lot of carries and has missed time this season due to injuries, but he's still averaging 4.2 yards a carry. Would it shock me if Maroney carries the ball 35 times on Sunday because of the harsh conditions? Not in the least.
For the Jets, the inclement weather could pose more difficulties for an already struggling offense. Quarterback Kellen Clemens hasn't been the most accurate passer this season (52.2%) and a wet field certainly won't help matters. Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery were limited in practice this week, but both guys will most likely gut it out and take the field. I admire their grit, but I wonder how effective they can be, especially in sloppy conditions. Running back Thomas Jones may have to carry the Gotham Green on Sunday.
And maybe, just maybe, onto the list of greatest sports upsets ever.
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