Both of my football teams won this weekend.

New York Jets 24
Miami Dolphins 6

New York Giants 27
Buffalo Bills 24

A victory is a victory, and two victories is nice… but these two did not leave me wanting to post “life is magical and full of joy.” I still have hopes, but I have fears as well.

The final score of the Jets game on Monday Night Football looks convincing, but that’s misleading. It was a pretty shaky win over an awful opponent, a winless team starting a backup quarterback. And even so, it was far from convincing. The Jets O began the game with four three-and-outs and did not get a first down until midway through the second quarter. The only Jet who truly impressed was Darrell Revis. Revis is the best cornerback in the NFL, almost everyone agrees, and yet the Dolphins came out throwing at him and kept it up all game. Miami squandered at least three TD chances in the first half, and their star receiver dropped balls, ran out of bounds on what might have been a long TD, and gave up a pick-six. I really don’t know if the Jets won the game so much as the Dolphins lost it.

(FWIW, I think Miami may be a top contender in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. I just hope they don’t win it. I suffered through a couple decades as a Jets fan, having to face Dan Marino twice a year. I don’t want to go through that again, should the Fish get this kid who is supposed to be the best QB prospect since Elway. So please, win a few games, Miami. Just so long as one of them is not against the Giants two weeks from now, or the Jets in the rematch. You can beat anyone else you please. Starting with the Pats and Bills).

The real test for the Jets will be next week, when they face the Chargers. San Diego is not Miami. If Gang Green can take them down, maybe they are for real. If not… well, it could be a long season. The schedule from here on is a meatgrinder.

As for the Giants… they defeated a much stronger team in the up and coming Buffalo Bills. Corey Webster had a Revis-like afternoon, the pass rush looked fierce (and will get fiercer when Justin Tuck returns), Ahmed Bradshaw came alive and ran the ball well, and Eli was sharp. Even so, it was a near thing. With the score tied, the Bills were driving deep in Giants territory and were already in range for a go-ahead field goal when Ryan Fitzpatrick threw his second INT to Webster. Great play, Corey. The G-Men are now 4-2 and leading the NFC East, which is pretty good for a team that many people said would finish at the bottom of the division. So they’re in it. But I’d be lying if I said I was confident in their prospects going forward. That lost to Seattle leaves lingering doubts, and they have some tough tough games coming up.

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Life is meaningless and full of pain.

I hate it when both my teams lose.

The Giants loss was especially painful. To the Seahawks and their backup qb… ack… and with victory only eight yards away…

Still love Victor Cruz. Even more so.

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Finally at home again, and able to enjoy both of my football games on my own TV.

Except “enjoy” might not be the operative word for what I saw today.

The Jets game was a horror. Maybe it was two great defenses tearing at each other. Or maybe two awful offenses stinking up the joint. Probably a bit of both. Ack. Fumbles, interceptions, missed tackles, more fumbles… there were a few exciting moments, but the Jets plainly did not want this one, since they kept giving it away. (I don’t think Joe Flacco wanted it either, since he kept trying to give it back). Rex said this was going to be Gang Green’s year, but after last week’s loss to the Raiders and this nightmare, I’m not so sure. And next week they have to go to Foxboro to face the Patriots. That could be ugly. Nick Mangold better heal fast.

The Giants… well, the Giants pulled out a miraculous win, though not without a little help from the refs. Eli played well, as did Hakeem Nicks, and it was great to see Osi back in action and wreaking havoc in the backfield. But the game turned on the Victor Cruz reception just before the last of Big Blue’s TDs, when he caught the ball, broke a tackle, then went down (untouched) and popped back up again… leaving the ball behind, on the belief the play was over. The Cardinals pounced on the abandoned ball, claiming a fumble. The refs ruled no, Cruz had given himself up. That ruling was not reviewable, so the G-men kept the ball and Eli promptly threw the game-winning TD to Nicks (a great catch by Nicks, by the way, a pity it is getting lost in the controversy over the Cruz play).

Needless to say, lots of controversy over the Cruz ruling, with detailed discussions on all the postgame shows. Even Eli said after the game that he thought the G-men caught a break there. That’s certainly true. Bottom line seems to me it all comes down to a judgement. The rules do allow a player to give himself up, at which point the ball is dead. Cruz was on the ground, and had plainly stopped trying to advance. He did not “fumble” the ball. He had it, he fell on it, and then he popped back to his feet for the next play, figuring that this play was over. That’s good enough for me.

I really like Cruz, by the way. He’s an undrafted free agent. Joined the team last year, had a sensational camp, then got hurt in the last preseason game and was out for the season. But this year he’s back and making the most of his opportunities. He seems to have great hands, and he fights for the ball and makes the tough catches. It would not surprise me to see him beat out Mario Manningham for a starting job by year’s end. So I’m certainly glad that his mistake did not cost the Giants the game. Something like that can weigh badly on a kid still trying to make his mark.

All in all… four games in, the G-Men are 3-1 and the Jets 2-2. Not at all what I would have predicted before the season. But that’s why they play the games, as Chris Berman likes to say.

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