Jets Arrival at Cloud Nine Nixed by Turbulence
No worries ladies, he's still cute, even when dumbfounded
It had to happen at some point. And wouldn’t you want it to anyway? Sure 16 - 0 sounds nice but when was the last time that won a Super Bowl for anybody? The New York Planes ran out of fuel during their flight towards perfection and the Foul Weather Fan has run out of shame with these ubiquitous fixed wing references. You might just get a “red-eye” from ‘em…ha.
But really, let’s get off the Jet jokes and stick to the flight plan, Er, agenda.
Both the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints came into the day at 3-0. Both firing on all cylinders. Both excelling at what they’re supposed to excel at. For the Jets the defense had done a remarkable job with overload blitzes to complement the overloaded smack-talk they’re so deft at. Only surrendering 2 offensive touchdowns in 3 games. The Saints on the other hand have been stuffing the scorecards with Drew Brees spearheading the NFL’s most prolific offense, leading the league in points and yards per game.
An added bonus for both teams has been the performance on the other side of the ball. Mark Sanchez, although far from careful with his ball handling, hadn’t cost the Jets a game and in fact his play has routinely put them in place to win a few (3 to be exact). As for the Saints` their defense had done enough to keep opposing offenses at bay and in fact a Brian Moorman TD pass is all that light the Jumbotron for the, albeit lethargic, Bills in week 3.
But as that Sir Isaac Newton guy said, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and there just ain’t no way both teams can leave 4-0!” That’s pretty much verbatim, I believe. He wasn’t quite a master of the double negatives…
In the eerie fluorescent luminescence of the Big Dome Down by The Bayou the Jets sent the opening kickoff tumbling towards Courtney Roby and with that, the tale of two-half’s began. This may destroy any hopes readers had of light foreshadowing, but the Saints won both, sorry.
As any avid sports fans will know, there are a whole host of pre/post-game “Dos and Don’ts” slogans that are preached by Coaches, ESPN personalities, and self-indulgent bloggers. “Defense wins championships,” “Establish the run,” “Blogging about your sports team makes said team better!” In this game though, a combination of two reared their ugly heads. “You can’t commit turnovers” and “You must manage the clock.”
If you had told the Foul Weather Fan that the Jets could hold Drew Brees to under 200 yards through the air and 0 TD’s through the first half, he would be thrilled, but to do it for an entire game? Chalk up the win and let’s scheme to stuff the Wildcat under the Monday Night lights next week. But to no avail. To use another cliché that is so popular amongst the analysts and so despised amongst anyone who fashions him or herself a wordsmith, “The best defense is a good offense.” And yessir when your defense is quite literally putting up points like a high-powered offense, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself in a position to win more. Darren Sharper stepped in front of a TD earmarked for Dustin Keller to pick-6 Mark Sanchez for a 99-yard return. (Note: Mark Sanchez is now 2-for-2 on INTs for TDs and 15-yard personal fouls for hitting defensive players low during the return. At least he’s…consistent?) Later in the 1st half, after an inspiring Jets goalline stand, on the first play from scrimmage Mark mistook the ringing in his ears that was his “internal ‘GET RID OF THE BALL!’ clock” for a little birdie saying “Continue to hold onto the ball in your own endzone, this feels like a good idea, let’s ride this wave out.” Needless to say, a strip-sack and fumble recovery paved the way to a 17 - 0 start for New Orleans. Ball control: absent in the first half. Check.
With the second half though, came great hope for the Gang Green faithful. A rare hitting-of-the-hole and a glimmer of 2008’s running abilities later and Thomas Jones (much to the surprise of the Foul Weather Fan and probably to Thomas, himself) found himself in the endzone. But as with any great hope looms the opportunity for dashed expectations, and the latter the Jets held in great supply this Sunday.
In short, the Saints tacked on another 7 and the score for the day was settled at 24-10. But more fully the Jets crashed and burned on the next 5 series (3 offensive possessions for NO and 2 offensive possessions for NYJ) following the Thomas Jones TD. The 5 series proceeded as such:
NO: 7-play drive. Time of Possession: 3:56
NYJ: 3-and-out. T.O.P.: 1:22
NO: 5-play drive. T.O.P. 2:15
NYJ: 3-and-out. T.O.P.: 1:43
NO: 11-play drive. T.O.P.: 6:49. Capped with a Pierre Thomas TD
The Jets inability to snag a first down late in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th ultimately was their undoing. Rex Ryan’s D was stuck on the field for a total of 13 minutes during a16 minute stretch and this put them in a position to finally be broken. After stuffing the Saints on 2 previous 4th Down attempts the 3rd time proved the charm as a Kris Jenkins penalty on 4th and 1 gave the Saints a fresh set of downs and the opening they needed. Soon after, New Orleans completed the 74-yard drive with a score from Pierre Thomas. Clock management: absent in the second half. Check.
All in all the New York Jets had a rough day but with the trials and tribulations comes an opportunity to learn about the team and their makeup. Mark Sanchez’s 4 turnovers (3 INTs, 1 Fumble Lost) proves he’s human and Rex can’t sack every quarterback game-in and game-out (0 Sacks, I’m sure you guessed that though), but those withstanding, the Jets still have some fight in ‘em. Even with the two major “Don’ts” faux pas and a small sampling of errs along the way the Planes still found themselves with an opportunity to win a ball game and that’s an encouraging sign for any supporter. It seems as though the Jets may be poised to strike next Monday Night against the Dolphins.
Hopefully it’s not a bird strike though, I hear that’s not too good for Jets…or really the birds for that matter.
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