Category: New York Jets Football
October 16, 2010 at 11:59 am by Charles Costello
 From the Greenwich Time:
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Brett Favre addressed his teammates before the game amid all the distractions. Hours later, the record-breaking quarterback put all that aside and nearly led the Minnesota Vikings to another of his classic comebacks. The New York Jets would have none of it.
With Favre trying to rally his team, Dwight Lowery returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown with 1:30 left as the Jets beat the Vikings 29-20 on Monday night.
“Disappointing, I suppose,” Favre said. “I was expecting we were going to win this football game. It was a great football game and I wish we would have won it.”
Nick Folk kicked five field goals for the Jets (4-1), two after fumbles by Favre.
“That’s a heck of a win,” New York coach Rex Ryan said.
Now, the 41-year-old quarterback is left wondering if an even bigger punishment is in store from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Favre finished 14 for 34 for 264 yards for the Vikings (1-3) hours after he reportedly apologized to teammates for the distraction caused by an NFL investigation into allegations that he sent racy messages and lewd photos to a Jets game hostess in 2008.
“I said what I had to say,” Favre said, refusing to answer questions about the situation. “I’m disappointed we lost this football game.”
Brushing off those issues, he became the first NFL player to throw 500 touchdown passes and for 70,000 yards. But two early fumbles against his former team helped put the Vikings in a 12-0 hole.
“I don’t think anyone wanted to win this game more than him,” wide receiver Percy Harvin said. “He was well prepared, so I don’t think any of that outside stuff had anything to do with how he played.”
Favre, who played for the Jets during the 2008 season, threw three touchdowns, including two to Harvin. The second — an 11-yard pass — brought the Vikings within two points with 3:09 left in the game.
“We were brilliant in the first half and we knew you have to play four quarters,” Ryan said. “This guy is as good as it gets.”
The Vikings had the ball with 1:43 remaining and poised for a winning drive — until Favre’s last big mistake sent Minnesota to its seventh consecutive loss to New York.
“I think everyone who watches us play sees flashes of a team that can be 3-1, 4-0,” Favre said. “Not that we’re not capable. We’re very capable.”
Favre also played through some mild tendinitis in his throwing elbow.
“This is probably the worst it’s felt in four games,” he said. “I missed some throws the last drive I think I make in my sleep.”
The game marked the Vikings debut for Randy Moss, who finished with four catches for 81 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
With the Jets leading 12-0 and the Vikings facing third-and-17 from the Jets 37, Favre reared back and lofted the ball perfectly into Moss’ hands in the back right corner of the end zone with 2:10 left in the quarter. Favre zipped down the field and jumped into Moss’ arms in the end zone to celebrate the score.
“When I threw that touchdown to Randy Moss, I had been thinking about that for eight to 10 years,” Favre said.
Favre also became the first to reach 70,000 yards passing on the drive that cut the Jets lead to 12-7.
Moss, acquired from New England last Wednesday, was defended mostly by Antonio Cromartie despite the return of Darrelle Revis from a strained left hamstring.
Adrian Peterson had 88 yards on 18 carries for Minnesota.
Less than 5 minutes after connecting with Moss, Favre hit Harvin for a 34-yard touchdown that made it 15-13. But Favre’s tying 2-point conversion try was intercepted by Cromartie in the end zone.
Shonn Greene’s 23-yard touchdown run with 4:30 left in the game gave the Jets a 22-13 lead that appeared to seal the victory, but Favre still had plenty of time to try for a comeback.
“We just hung in there to the end,” Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez said. “I don’t think we win this game last year.”
New York’s offense struggled for the first time since Week 1, failing to get much going — other than field goals — until late. Sanchez was 21 of 44 for 191 yards, and still hasn’t thrown an interception this season, although he came close a few times.
Santonio Holmes played his first game with the Jets after being suspended the first four for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He finished with three catches for 41 yards.
LaDainian Tomlinson had another solid game for the Jets with 94 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Folk’s fifth field goal, a 31-yarder, made it 15-7 with 49 seconds left in the third. The score was set up by Brad Smith’s 86-yard kickoff return.
“You have to hunker down and bear through those things and we did that tonight,” said New York’s Jason Taylor, who had one of four sacks of Favre. “We were mentally tough enough to do that.”
Notes: The Jets improved to 5-0 at home against the Vikings. … The last time the Vikings beat the Jets was in 1975, when Bud Grant was Minnesota’s coach. … Jets LB Calvin Pace had 1½ sacks in his regular-season debut after missing the first four games with a broken right foot.
October 11, 2010 at 4:42 pm by Charles Costello
 Who: Minnesota Vikings (1-2) at New York Jets (3-1)
When: Monday, 8:30 p.m.
Where: New Meadowlands Stadium; East Rutherford, NJ
TV and Radio: ESPN, Channel 9 locally; 1050 ESPN Radio
Line: Jets -4.5
Preview: From newyorkjets.com:
After reaching the quarter pole with a 3-1 record that included a sweep through their division rivals, the New York Jets start Quarter No. 2 tonight against the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings stole the headlines in the past week with their trade for WR Randy Moss, but the Jets will add at least a pair — hopefully a trifecta — of big-time reinforcements to their own arsenal as WR Santonio Holmes and OLB Calvin Pace will see their first regular-season action in 2010.
“We’re getting closer and closer to being full strength,” said OLB Jason Taylor. “And by what was evidenced in the first few weeks, we’re a pretty good football team and we’re only getting better with the guys we’re getting back.”
After serving his four-game suspension, the 5’11’, 192-Holmes will don his Jets green jersey for the first time in meaningful action after coming over from Pittsburgh in an April trade. Since a disjointed nine-point performance in a Week 1 loss to Baltimore, the offense has come alive and then some while averaging 32 points a game the past three weeks. And now here comes Holmes, a dynamite talent who can change games in an instant.
“What you have is a complete receiver — he has the ability to be a deep threat, he is a route runner. It’s almost like Braylon and Cotchery had a baby. It’s that type of thing,” said WLB Bart Scott. “He’s one of those guys who can take a bubble screen to the house and a quick slant to the house. But then again, he can get you with the double moves, he’s a route runner and he’s also a great vertical receiver. I think what they’re getting is the total package.”
The Vikings have perhaps the best front four in football with Kevin Williams and Pat Williams in the middle flanked by Ray Edwards on the left and sack artist Jared Allen on the right. They will provide a stiff test for a jelling Jets O-line, which has helped the Green & White rush for 167.8 yards a game and given ample time for mistake-free Mark Sanchez to go through his progressions and make the right reads in the pass game.
“It’s imperative this week to keep two hands on the football because they’re so notorious for strip-sacks. You have that thing in one hand and they’ll be all over you,” Sanchez said. “They apply pressure up the middle with both Williamses at defensive tackle and then on the edges with Jared Allen, obviously. It’s an important game for ball security and we need to be ready to play, make plays on the edge, run the ball well and keep them off-balance a little bit.”
The Jets’ defense, allowing just 15.2 points per game, is starting to round into form and now welcomes Pace back in the lineup. He made it through practice all week and is ready to test the repaired right foot he broke in preseason action.
While Pace has the green light, the Jets are hopeful Revis will see the field for the first time since Week 2. Ironically, Revis’ sore hamstring tightened while attempting to cover Moss on the latter’s 34-yard scoring reception for the Patriots in the Jets’ 28-14 triumph.
“It’s like we’re Voltron right now. We’re missing an arm. You bring those three quality pieces and we got our arm, we can pull our sword out and we can end the fight,” said Scott. “That’s what you would like to think, but we have to be careful of leaning too much on those guys, like they’re back and the guys who have been doing such a great job kind of relax. We all have to stay on our toes and let those guys coming back from injuries work their way back into it.”
Both Revis and Antonio Cromartie called out Moss this week for a lack of effort in that Week 2 contest. But the Vikings, missing a vertical threat in Sidney Rice and averaging just 14.3 points during their 1-2 start, needed a downfield target for Favre and the deal made sense. The Vikes have plenty of skill weapons — RB Adrian “All Day” Peterson, TE Visanthe Shiancoe, WR Percy Harvin and Moss — to test the Jets, but can Favre find the time against Rex Ryan’s overloads and blitzes?
“Stay after it,” Taylor said of the pass rush. “He doesn’t want to run. Brett is going to throw the ball from all different angles, he’s going to get rid of the football, he’s going to go to hard counts and he’s going to pump-fake you. He knows all the tricks — he’s actually been in this league almost as long as some of these guys have been born.”
Favre, who is averaging two INTs a game, last competed against a Rex Ryan defense on Dec. 19, 2005. The result was a 48-3 Ravens win as No. 4, then a Packer, completed 48.3 percent of his passes and was picked twice. And the last time Favre, who spent the 2008 season leading the Jets’ offense, came to the Meadowlands grounds as a Jets visitor? Oh, that was a 42-17 thrashing by New York’s AFC representative on Dec. 12, 2002, as the legendary passer completed 48.5 percent of his passes and was intercepted once.
“You want Favre throwing or Adrian Peterson running? This has got to be a complete game from our defense,” Ryan said. “We’re going to be challenged up front, the back end and everywhere. Again, I feel confident. This is a great group that they’re going against as well when they look at us, so it ought to be a heck of a game.”
The Jets hope to move to 4-1 overall and even their Monday night mark at New Meadowlands Stadium. At halftime, the organization will honor the 2000 Monday Night Miracle team and although Taylor (for obvious reasons) doesn’t have too many fond memories of that contest, he hopes the Jets will again have something special in store for their fans.
“As they honor that as a game the Jets won,” Taylor said, “let’s go give them something else to honor and go beat Minnesota and move on to the next one.”
CC’s Prediction: Jets 27, Vikings 23
October 3, 2010 at 7:05 pm by Charles Costello
Here’s what you need to know:
 LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 133 yards on 19 carries in today's win over Buffalo. He also ran for a touchdown. (AP photo) - Shonn Greene did exactly what I said he needed to do today. He rushed for 117 yards on 22 carries and looked good every time he touched the ball. This was by far his best game of the season, and it came on a day when LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 133 yards. Tomlinson scored twice, once in the first quarter and once on an unbelievable 26-yard run in the third quarter. He also caught three passes. LT has got a lot left.
- Mark Sanchez was sharp once again. He was 14-of-24 for 161 yards, with a few of those incompletions coming in attempts downfield. Sanchez threw two touchdown passes, including a 41-yard strike to Braylon Edwards in the second quarter.
- Right now, is there a better tight end in the league than Dustin Keller? He caught two more touchdown passes today and had four catches on the afternoon. One TD pass came on a ball thrown by Brad Smith.
- Shaun Ellis injured his knee in the third quarter and did not return to the game. It would be a huge loss if he has to miss any time.
- Kyle Wilson didn’t look so good. While Antonio Cromartie did a nice job all afternoon, Wilson seemed to have trouble keeping up with the Bills’ receivers. We have to remember he’s still a rookie.
- The win was so convincing that head coach Rex Ryan was able to insert Mark Brunell and Joe McKnight into the game in the fourth quarter. Even Vladimir Ducasse saw action late.
- The Jets are 3-1, good for first place in the AFC East.
October 3, 2010 at 11:25 am by Charles Costello
5 THINGS I’D LIKE TO SEE FROM THE JETS TODAY
 1) A strong game from Kyle Wilson. The rookie cornerback has been picked on this season. He was thought to be a nickel back but has played more due to Darrelle Revis’ holdout and injury. Today he returns to nickel situations as Drew Coleman will get the start. Buffalo doesn’t have a strong receiving corps, so today is a good day for Wilson to gain some confidence.
2) A dominating defense. The offense has carried the Jets the past two weeks as the defense has given up 37 points. Calvin Pace and Revis are out, but this group is talented enough to dominate. The Bills’ quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, is inexperienced. The Jets should be all over him today.
3) The continued progression of Mark Sanchez. He’s starting to make big plays and his accuracy has improved. The Jets have opened things up for the second-year QB, and he’s responded. While I’d like to get the running game going today, another big game from Sanchez without the mistakes would be nice to see.
4) A breakout game from Shonn Greene. LaDainian Tomlinson has been the Jets’ No. 1 back so far this season. I’m looking for that to change today, meaning Green needs to have a 100-yard game. Buffalo has allowed 87 points in three games. This is your chance, Shonn.
5) A convincing win. If the Jets get to 3-1 you have to be happy. But how about a blowout win today. I know that may be asking a lot. After all, this is a road game against a divisional opponent. But New York has beaten New England and Miami the past two weeks, and both are much better than the Bills. As I said earlier, my prediction is that the Jets win, 27-12.
October 3, 2010 at 8:18 am by Charles Costello
 Who: New York Jets (2-1) at Buffalo Bills (0-3)
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Where: Ralph Wilson Stadium; Orchard Park, NY
TV and Radio: Channels 2,3; 1050 ESPN Radio
Line: Jets -5.5
Preview: For the first time this season, the Jets are overwhelming favorites as they head into Orchard Park this afternoon to take on the Bills. Buffalo is one of five teams in the NFL to start the season 0-3. Despite putting 30 points on the board in last week’s loss to the Patriots, there’s really nothing about this team that scares you. Ryan Fitzpatrick is now the starting quarterback after Buffalo let go of Trent Edwards following two poor performances. The Bills have a three-headed attack out of the backfield with Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, and C.J. Spiller, but the Jets have shut down opposing running backs in their first three games. Meanwhile, it’s the offense that’s carried New York in wins over New England and Miami. Today is the perfect day to get the defense back on track. Calvin Pace and Darrelle Revis are still out, but the Jets won’t need them against the weakest team in the AFC East. Jets 27, Bills 12
September 27, 2010 at 6:14 pm by Charles Costello
 Mark Sanchez (AP photo) Here’s what you need to know:
- The Jets won on the road against a divisional opponent that had won its first two games of the season. After a disappointing performance in Week 1, the Jets have now put together seven quarters in a row of quality football. With Buffalo on deck, New York is in good position to be 3-1 after a quarter of the season. Not bad considering that just two weeks ago the Jets looked over-hyped.
- Mark Sanchez has put together two good weeks in a row. His touchdown passes to Dustin Keller last night showed how far he’s come as a quarterback since the Jets decided to open things up for him a bit. The first was a touch pass to the corner of the end zone where Sanchez hit the spot he had to hit. If he didn’t, the ball either goes out of bounds or gets intercepted. Instead, 7-0 Jets. Then, in the second quarter, Sanchez threw the most accurate pass he’s thrown as a pro, splitting Miami defenders and hitting Keller in stride in the end zone. 14-0 Jets. Sanchez threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns.
- Keller has emerged as an elite tight end. He had six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
- Braylon Edwards should never have played, but he did, and he caught a 67-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter after the defender slipped after Edwards caught the ball and made a cut to the inside. Edwards finished with two catches. By the way, we don’t need Braylon celebrating after his touchdown. If he was going to show any class, last night was the night. I guess not.
- Right now, LaDainian Tomlinson is the Jets No. 1 running back. He had 70 yards and a touchdown last night, and also caught three balls. Shonn Greene had 36 yards rushing.
- On special teams, Brad Smith averaged 37 yards on kickoff returns and Eric Smith blocked a punt.
- The defense allowed 436 yards, 363 coming in the air. Who ever thought it would be the Jets’ offense picking up the defense?
September 26, 2010 at 12:50 pm by Charles Costello
 Who: New York Jets (1-1) at Miami Dolphins (2-0)
When: Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
Where: Sun Life Stadium; Miami, FL
TV and Radio: Channel 4 (NY), Channel 6 (CT); 1050 ESPN Radio
Line: Jets +2.5
Preview: Marc Anthony and Fergie, two of the Dolphins’ limited partners (no wonder why Bill Parcells stepped down), will sing the national anthem. Then, the game will begin, and what a night it will be. Braylon Edwards, fresh off his arrest this past week for driving drunk at five in the morning won’t start, but he is expected to play. Jason Taylor, who played 12 seasons in Miami, makes his homecoming tonight as a Jet. And head coach Rex Ryan returns to the area after flipping his middle finger at a fan at a mixed martial arts event last January in South Florida. Darrelle Revis is out with a strained left hamstring, Calvin Pace is still sidelined with a broken right foot, and Kris Jenkins is out for the year with a left knee injury. As the AP headline said in this morning’s Greenwich Time, the Jets are a soap opera. But this, unfortunately, is real life. The Jets appear to be a bit out of control, yet after beating the Patriots last week, the New York’s Super Bowl aspirations don’t seem as silly as they did after its Week 1 loss. The Jets face a team tonight that has allowed only two touchdowns this year, one on a 1-yard drive after a turnover. The Dolphins have opened the year with two road wins – at Buffalo and Minnesota – giving them their best start since 2002. Chad Henne has wide receiver Brandon Marshall to throw the ball to, but the Dolphins are known more for their ground attack, with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the backfield. New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan wants to blitz and attack. So far, it’s worked. The Dolphins have allowed just 20 points in two games, and they forced four turnovers last week, one for a touchdown.
Prediction: The Dolphins have been too good on the road to pick against them at home. The Jets need to prove that they can overcome the off-the-field distraction (the one they handled poorly; Edwards should not play in this game) of this past week and once again refocus on football. Dolphins 16, Jets 14
September 22, 2010 at 2:15 pm by Charles Costello
Does all the talking and brashness - that begins but does not end with the head coach – lead to situations like the one Braylon Edwards got himself into? How much should we blame the “culture of the Jets” for this latest embarrassment?
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From the Greenwich Time:
