If I were to ask you how many times the New York Jets have finished with a losing record over the last 14 seasons, would you know the answer? If you were to listen to any media assessment of the Jets history, you would think that it's happened quite often, especially since our franchise and our fan base is mostly known for having lived through some humiliating and painful defeats over the years. The facts tell a different story. Since Bill Parcells took over football operations in 1997, the Jets have only finished with with a losing record 3 times (6-10 in 2003, 4-12 in 2005, and 4-12 in 2007). That's 3 times in 14 years.
Since Parcells turned around the franchise, the Jets have been a fairly solid organization. Their record over that time span is 120-104, with 7 playoff appearances (98, 01, 02, 04, 06, 09, and this year). We've been to 2 AFC title games, with a third one possible if we can find a way to beat the Patriots tomorrow afternoon in Foxborough. Due to the recent success, there's a fairly good chance that if you're not old enough to drink, you probably don't remember how disappointing the Jets were for the previous 28 seasons.
If you take a spin around any Jets message board, you'll see this generational gap unfold before you. Most young Jet fans curse the SOJ (Same Old Jets) fan, because the young folks haven't experienced the football version of Stockholm Syndrome, and they feel the old school Jets fan's negative reaction to any setback effects the team, opening a karmic wound that can not be repaired.
In their defense, the new school Jets fan has a point. It can be highly irritating to be constantly reminded that the sky is falling. If you're currently hanging out with any other Jets fans, look around the room and locate the SOJ fan I'm talking about right now. If you can't find that person, then you may be the SOJ fan in the bunch.
If you are that person (or you know that person), here's a little free advice. You need to remind yourself of the statistic in the first paragraph and lighten up a little. You are not responsible for the Jets playing poorly (a bridge too far), but you're bringing the rest of us down. We don't suck anymore, okay? Get your head out of the oven.
The Jets are a solid organization from top to bottom, with an owner who stays out of the personnel decisions and opens his wallet, a GM who is willing to make any move to help the team win and win now, while at the same time not mortgaging our future, and a head coach that most players would run through a brick wall for. We have a solid core of young talent, and there's no reason to think that we can't be a playoff team for the next 5 years.
Tomorrow's game feels like a culmination of what the Jets have been building towards over the last 2 seasons. After the 45-3 loss in Week 13, the Patriots have been receiving the type of hype usually reserved for only the most legendary of teams. I've been paying attention all week, and I've yet to see a national columnist anywhere who is picking the Jets to win. In other words, Rex Ryan should have them right where he wants them.
Some things you might want to remember for tomorrow...there's a significant portion of the Patriots team that hasn't tasted playoff success. The Pats haven't won a playoff game since 2007, meaning most of the young players (especially on defense) that New England has on the roster aren't battle tested in the postseason. Also, New England finished +28 in turnover differential. They are an opportunistic team, and they rarely make mistakes, however, there is an element of good fortune involved with turnovers. At some point this postseason, there's a good chance that one of their opponents will receive the good fortune that the Pats have had, and it will be interesting to see how they react. If they're going to have a few turnovers, tomorrow is as good a time as any.
I felt that Mark Sanchez needed to play well last week against Indy to win, and I was wrong. Sanchez was, at times, wildly inaccurate, but the Jets still escaped with a road playoff win. He'll need to be efficient tomorrow, and the Jets need to maintain their dominant running game from last week, as well. As for the defense, I would expect to see more zone from the Jets than we did in Week 13, although it's hard to imagine that Rex Ryan will be that patient two weeks in a row. The key against any dink and dunk team is to tackle well, and the Jets were miserable the last time we went to Foxborough. If we can limit the yards after catch and play well offensively on third down, we have a good chance to win. And it would be the sweetest of wins, I can promise you that.
Kickoff tomorrow is at 4:30 in Foxborough.
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