If the past is any indicator, the Jets will be breathing fire Sunday against the Bengals.
Since Eric Mangini took over in 2006, the Jets are 2-0 coming off their bye weeks. And those two wins were both spectacular and unexpected.
In '06, the Green and White traveled to Foxboro and dumped the Patriots 17-14. That win came after the Jets stunk it up in Cleveland and lost to the Browns 20-13. The
Jets entered that game with a 4-3 mark and had a chance to beat up on
the 1-5 Brownies. Didn't happen.
In '07, the Gotham Green stunned the Steelers 19-16 in overtime. The script was flipped for the Pittsburgh game. The Jets limped in with a pathetic 1-8 record and were coming off a tough 23-20 overtime loss to the Washington Redskins. Meanwhile, the Steelers came at 7-2 and boasted the No. 1 defense in the NFL. The Jets pulled off the upset special.
So, looks like a win for the Jets Sunday against Cincinnati, right? Well ...
On paper -- definitely. The Jets have a little hop in their step after beating up on the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago. And everybody seems real loosey-goosey.
Brett Favre apparently likes to play practical jokes and pulled a prank on Eric Barton that got PETA up in arms. Eric Mangini named his third son
Zack Brett in honor of No. 4. Coincidentally, little Zack was born on the same day that Favre celebrated his 39th birthday.
Meanwhile, the Bengals will be going with second-string quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday. The once high-powered Cincinnati offense is ranked 30th in the NFL in rushing yards per game, 29th in points per game and 31st in the NFL in total offensive yards per game.
They are also 0-5 on the season.
Oh, I
hate it when the Jets play winless teams.
I always want a team to have at least one victory when the Jets face them. Yeah, I guess I'm a bit of a fraidy cat. Let's take a quick trip back in time. The year is 1991. Bruce Coslet was at the helm for Gang Green (God help us). The Indianapolis Colts came into the Meadowlands at 0-9 and walked out with a 28-27 win. It was their only win of the season. Embarrassing.
Anyway, this has all the makings of a trap game. The key for the Jets will be to get out to an early lead. Nothing crushes the spirit of a team that isn't going anywhere like a 21-0 deficit. The Bengals maybe scrapping, but they've been in almost every one of their games this season. I saw them play against the New York Giants on Sept. 21 and they could (maybe even should) have won that game. I also caught their game last week against the Dallas Cowboys. The Bengals also had several opportunities to take control in that contest, but fell short.
And lost in the giddiness of Favre's six touchdown passes two weeks ago against the Cards was the Jets nearly blowing a 34-0 halftime lead. Gotta fix that, fellas.
Here's a
Bengal booster's look at the upcoming game.
Finally, the Jets will be donning their Blue and Gold Titans uniforms again on Sunday. I don't hate the uniforms. They certainly aren't the worst throwback unis I've seen since the NFL started doing this. Check out this abomination that the
Philadelphia Eagles wore last year. Or the
Pittsburgh Steelers in 1994. How about this crime against nature from the
Chicago Bears that same year.
Maybe the guys in green believe there's some magical power in the old uniforms. The Jets are 2-1 when they play as the Titans and have scored a total of 105 points in those games.
But it's just not the Jets I know and love. It's also nearly impossible to read the numbers on those damn things.
Then again, in 1994, the San Francisco 49ers went on a tear after wearing their old 1951 uniforms and never went back to their regular ones. They ended that season with a Super Bowl victory over the San Diego Chargers.
Hey, if the Jets can equal that feat, I'll have no problem picking up a Blue and Gold jersey in February.
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