The Hot Teams Cool Off

Game #1

The real Cowboys showed up Sunday and did not disappoint.I at least felt that it would be a close game with Romo blowing it at the end. But it was the opposite but Tony Romo and his stats did come back down to earth on Sunday. Romo lost two of his three fumbles and threw an interception in a 34-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But if you were to take away those turnovers then Romo had his best individual season of his career completing 22 of 35 passes for 198 yards. There was a more impressive stat though and it was the Vikings had six sacks and 10 hurries. I don't know if the bigger story is Favre and his pants on the ground song or the Cowboys crying about the score being run up. First of all there is no such thing Keith Brooking who was complaining when the last touchdown was scored. But to call one of the best quarterbacks ''classless'' is terrible. We aren't playing recreation or middle school. You get paid to stop things like that. But in other news (as of right now) Wade Phillips is currently going to return as the coach of Cowboys.

Game #2

So maybe Rex Ryan was not crazy about his whole pre-playoffs statements. But I am not even going to lie I thought they were going to be out in the first round. I mean they barely made the playoffs to begin with and now they are 1 game away from the Super Bowl. The Jets gain was the Chargers lost. The Chargers made several key mistakes in the Jets’ 17-14 victory. One is their kicker missing field goals that he normally make. Then you have players causing penalties and just doing dumb things. For the second straight week though, rookie Shonn Greene ran for over 100 yards, while Thomas Jones picked up key yards when the Jets needed them. The rookies have been quite a surprise for the Jets. And what is sad for the Chargers is that, that may have been LT's last game in a Charger uni. This was suppose to have been the Chargers year but it looks like it is Joe Namath, I meant Mark Sanchez.

Wildcard Day 1

Playoff Matchup #1

I am surprised at the first game. Not at the lost but at how the Bengals lost.For the second straight week, Darrelle Revis and the Jets silenced Ochocinco. He had two catches for 28 yards in the Bengals’ 24-14 loss. Ochocinco did not record his first catch the fourth quarter. Revis said he saw Ochocinco getting frustrated as the game went on. Except for Cedric Benson (who rushed for 160+), the Bengals’ offense sputtered all day. Palmer looked awful, overthrowing and underthrowing receivers. I mean he was missing wide-open receivers and then they want to drop passes when he did get it to them. Then you have kicker who wants to miss two field goals. But the game wasn't lost by the Bengals the Jets just played equal as good. Mark Sanchez played nothing like a rookie. He played way beyond his 23 years. Then on top of that, rookie Shonn Greene,had a dynamic 21 carries for 135 yards. Yeah the Jets looked good but the choice next week is either the Chargers, who have won 11 in a row, or the Colts, who have won the last 23 of the last 24 games they’ve played in which they actually tried to win. Should be interesting though. If Sanchez keep playing mistake free, the defense will come to play.


Playoff Game #2

Who would have ever thought that Felix Jones would come on strong at the right time. Jones ran for 148 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown. Jones' 148 yards were the third most for a playoff game in team history. Even if you would have told me that the Cowboys would have dominated I wouldn't believe you. I mean I thought the Eagles were coming to play. At least McNabb and his dancing during pregame. But fact there is no NFC team looking more dangerous than the Cowboys right now. Four consecutive wins. Three over playoff teams. And most impressive, they seem to be getting better. For the Eagles, it’s another painful way to end a season in which many NFL experts had them going to and winning the Super Bowl. The Eagles were pounded by the Cowboys defense. The only bright moment of the game was when Michael Vick threw a perfect strike to Jeremy Maclin where he broke free for a 76-yard score to tie the game at 7. Other than that it was all she wrote. Now the Eagles have to figure out if they want to bring Vick back now.

J-E-T-S

It is crazy how funny the NFL season can turn. Just a few weeks ago, everybody was bashing on Sanchez because he was losing games and they didn't think they would make the playoffs. Now look at him. But Sanchez will face his most difficult challenge yet, becoming the first Jets rookie quarterback to start a playoff game. Of course the comeback wasn't in part of him but more of the defense and him being able to control his turnover ratio. The Jets rely on their ability to stop the other team more than they need Sanchez to carry them. But Gang Green does need the rookie to avoid the kind of mistakes that plagued him in almost all of their seven losses. Ryan, however, was more confident in the rookie quarterback, saying: "Next year probably, we are going to all be talking about how he's the strength of our team and not look at him as a negative." But stats do not lie, Jets were 5-2 when he went without an interception. Speaking of Rex Ryan though, he declared that the NY JETS were the team to beat in the playoffs. He has more confident for a team that barely got into the playoffs than I have ever seen. These are the Jets, who finished 9-7 to claim the fifth seed in the AFC. They should be glad that the Colts didn't want to go undefeated. That's another story all in itself but more than likely they will be one and done.

Staying Alive

The Jets who snapped a three-game losing streak, got a few lucky breaks on the day, starting with the Jake Delhomme pass that deflected off Steve Smith's heel and into the arms of Darrelle Revis. Their luck continued, as the Dolphins, Jaguars and Texans (all AFC wild-card contenders) all lost, putting the Jets back in the playoff chase. They committed three turnovers but yet managed to win because Delhomme played like Sanchez did last week in New England. Delhomme was intercepted four times, twice by Revis and twice by the demoted Kerry Rhodes. At least the Jets feel better about Sanchez (13-for-17, 154 yards), who rebounded from last week's four-interception nightmare.

Back on Track

Mark Sanchez came back strong from his worst performance in his short pro career, effectively managing the offense in the Jets' 31-27 loss to the Dolphins Monday Night. The rookie quarterback, who threw three interceptions and had a critical fumble a week earlier against the Saints, took good care of the ball against the Dolphins. Sanchez connected on 12 of 24 attempts for 172 yards and a touchdown, and got into a comfortable rhythm with new target Braylon Edwards immediately, tossing him a 3-yard touchdown pass on the Jets' initial drive. "I felt comfortable out there and wanted to be smart with the football," said Sanchez, who soaked up the Hispanic Heritage Night atmosphere. "I definitely was that, and we had our chances to make plays down the field. I thought we made a couple of great ones. Braylon was lights out, just unbelievable. I've never seen anyone catch the ball like that. We did miss some opportunities on offense. We're not thrilled with our performance and have a heck of a lot of work to do." Edwards was solid in his Jets' debut with 64 yards and a touchdown on five catches. He immediately injected life into the offense, giving the Jets a big-play threat with his 6-3, 215-pound frame. But Edwards did have more than a few butterflies flying around inside his stomach. "I was excited," Edwards said. "I haven't been this nervous since my first start in college. So it was anxiety, nervousness a little bit. But once the whistle blows, it's football. It was fun." It was a big night no matter the outcome for the former Michigan players.

Oh by the way, Sanchez is still my Rookie of the Year.

Stepping Up as a Rookie

Jets held the ball for only 20 plays in the first half, managing all of four first downs and minus-2 passing yards. By the time it ended, Sanchez completed 14 of 22 passes for 163 yards, no interceptions and a 101.1 rating. In the process, he might have developed some chemistry with some receivers. "I think we opened things up," Sanchez said. "We threw the ball a little more, and it balanced our attack ... We needed to set the tempo and make a statement on offense, and I felt like we did." He can take credit for avoiding interceptions while relying on the Jets' defense to maintain control. In fact, watching the Pats' Tom Brady falter under pressure from the Jets' defense, Sanchez said he "felt" for the man regarded as one of the best QBs in the NFL. "Our defense is full of studs," Sanchez said. "I play against them every day, and I know how hard it is. It feels like you're playing against 20 people."

Former Trojans

For more than two years, Mark Sanchez and Brian Cushing were typical roommates, with the typical pranks. Now Cushing will be trying to rattle Sanchez on Sunday, when Houston hosts the Jets at Reliant Stadium. The two former USC standouts will be making their NFL debuts on the same day. "He’ll be coming full speed, I know it, off the edge," Sanchez added. "That’s going to be fun to play against him for real because in practice at SC, I was wearing that yellow jersey so he couldn’t touch me, but now it’s on.""Yeah, that’s a first," Cushing said when asked about potentially hitting Sanchez. "I’ll be excited." And on the field, he respects Sanchez just as much as Sanchez respects him. "He’s a real competitive kid," Cushing said of Sanchez. "He’s done a great job in his four years developing as a quarterback. He’s in the perfect system and he flourished.

Named Starter

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan made it official Wednesday, saying that rookie Mark Sanchez has been named the starting quarterback.Ryan made it clear that his decision to go with Sanchez was his decision. “I think this is the appropriate time to make the decision,” Ryan said. “I feel very comfortable with my decision to go with Sanchez as a quarterback. I’ve relied on a lot of people, but more than anything, I’ve relied on myself. My instincts as a coach — I’ve been around the game a long time. I feel that the best move for our franchise and for our team is to go with Mark as our quarterback. I think we can win with Kellen also as a quarterback. But, right now, I think Mark gives us the best opportunity to win."

Starter by 3rd Preseason

After Wednesday morning's practice, Rex Ryan revealed his timetable for the first time for naming the Jets opening day starting quarterback. "Obviously, you want to make that decision as fast as you can," Ryan said. "Because now that guy gets all the work with the first group. But we're not there yet. I'm not ready to do that. ... Ideally, you like to have a pretty good idea going into that third preseason game who the guy is." Translation: Ryan hopes to have a definitive starter heading into the Jets' Aug. 29 game against the Giants. Neither quarterback has set himself apart through the first six days of training camp. Rookie Mark Sanchez, who was 6 of 13 this morning, took more first-team snaps in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. Kellen Clemens completed 6 of 10 passes and didn't throw an interception for his second consecutive practice. Not surprisingly, Clemens, the four-year pro has slightly outplayed Sanchez to this point. Expect to see Sanchez to get more reps with the first team moving forward.

Starting QB is...

Ryan admitted that he won't hesitate to make rookie Mark Sanchez the Opening Day starter if warranted. Then again, he won't hesitate to start Kellen Clemens either. "I got to do what's best for this football team," Ryan said. "That's the easy thing. I feel confident that the guy that wins that job and comes out of there and is our Opening Day starter,he'll have earned it. It won't be just because he's had experience or just because he was a first-round pick. The guy's going to have to earn the job. Competition brings out the best in everybody. You're going to get the best that Kellen Clemens has. You're going to get the best that Mark Sanchez has. And that's a good thing." He should just start Sanchez and be done with it because we all know he will play at some point during this season. The Jets is Sanchez's team now & the future. Ryan just is making it easier on Clemens.

Signed

The Jets's future has finally been sign. Mark Sanchez signed a 5 year deal worth $60 million with a $28 million guranteed signing bonus. It was surprising that he was signed this early because usually high picks take some time to be signed. Now that Sanchez has got this out the way he can fully concentrate on become the starter and the face of the Jets.

J-E-T-S

Former Jets quarterback, Joe Namath said that Mark Sanchez should have a great career on the field and off the field. He believes that the Jets will go as far as Sanchez growth goes. Namath believes that since he was at USC and they won, that it will help his confidence since he is use to winning. Sanchez still has to beat out Kellen Clemens for the starting job though. Sanchez off the field career as already started as he was in the magazine GQ. He hasn't took a snap yet and is already the man in New York. I know Jets fans are hoping he can be like Namath and lead his team to a championship.