Life is hard when you're a Jets fan.

I've been pretty busy these past two weeks, too busy to pay much attention to football.  But now I'm home and catching up, and wishing I hadn't.

It is a good thing we still have Doc Brown's time machine around here somewhere.  I need to go back in time and prevent the Jets from… well, from doing pretty much everything they have done of late.

Letting Antonio Cromartie leave was a mistake.  Not going after Darrelle Revis when Tampa Bay cut him loose was a worse mistake.  Letting him get picked up by Evil Little Bill and the Patriots was the worst mistake of all.

Instead the Jets signed Eric Decker from the Broncos.  Well, okay.  Not a bad move.  They desperately needed wide receivers.  Geno Smith was pretty bad last year, but he wasn't helped by having no one to throw to.  So now we add Decker.  Who was a good, solid receiver for Denver, but nothing special… until Peyton Manning came to town.  Then his stats went through the roof.  Unfortunately for Gang Green, he does not get the bring Peyton with him to New York, which means that he is going to go back to being a good, solid receiver again this year, but nothing special.  And maybe a notch below that, since he will have Geno throwing to him.  Oh, and then there are those two games against New England.  Expect Evil Little Bill to assign Revis to cover Decker.  Odds are good that in those two games, Revis will catch more of Geno's balls than Decker does.

Decker improves the offense a bit, yes.  But the defense, which was responsible for most of the Gang Green's Ws last year, has gotten a lot worse.  No Cromartie, no Revis… no shutdown corners.  It will not be pretty.

That was bad enough.  But then…

I expected them to cut Mark Sanchez.  Hell, everybody expected that.  I still think it's a mistake.  Sanchez took the Jets to two straight AFC championship games, and he would have won the starting QB job last year if he hadn't gotten hurt in preseason.  If he's healed, and they gave him a chance this season, I expect he might have won the job back this year, in an even competition.  I have seen nothing from Geno Smith to make me think he's better than Sanchez.  Maybe that's why he got cut: it would have been pretty embarassing for the Jets front office if Mark outperformed Geno in preseason.

But no, he's gone.  And to replace him, we've brought in…

Michael Vick?

Really?  REALLY?

I have been rooting for the Jets since they were the Titans, but I don't know that I can bring myself to root for Michael Vick.  Football wise, he's old, he's battered, he's gun-shy… a "mentor for Geno," I hear, but really?   Thing is, though, it is impossible to consider Vick purely from a football standpoint.

All in all, considering what the Jets have done this pre-season, I have only two words:

GO GIANTS!

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It's here at last!  Super Bowl Sunday, the holiest day of the year… and this year, in the swamps of New Jersey, we will get the confrontation I have so long dreamed of, the SUBWAY SUPER BOWL, pitting the New York Giants against the New York Jets for all the….

Oh, wait.  That;s not this world, that's the alternate world I like to visit from time to time, the one where GAME OF THRONES has won three Emmys in a row, THE WINDS OF WINTER was finished a year ago, there's a base on the moon and a spaceship headed for Mars, and I don't have enough space on my mantle for all the Hugos, Pulitzers, and Nobel Prizes.

In THIS world, the real one, it's the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.

Should be a pretty good game in any case.  Offense versus defense, the classic battle.  Can Eli's big brother win another ring, to match Eli?

Enjoy the game, folks.  Enjoy the commercials, if you're not a football fan.  Enjoy the pizza, beer, brats, chips & salsa, chile con queso, hot wings, etc.

Happy Super Sunday.

AFTER THE GAME.  Wow.  Didn't expect that.  They must be dancing in the streets in Seattle.  Great defense beats great offense, once again.  Wasn't much of a game, though.  Denver looked awful.

On to the NFL Draft!

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So the final Sunday of the NFL season has come and gone.

Considering that both of my teams were eliminated from the playoff hunt weeks (or months) ago, the ending was about as sweet as could possibly be expected.  The Jets and the Giants both won their closers.

Meaningless games, you say?  Well, yes and no.

The Jets game was not meaningless to the Dolphins, who could have gotten into the playoffs with a win.  The Dolphins are Gang Green's oldest rivals — yes, the Patriots have been the bully boys of the AFC East for the past decade and a half, but the Fins were kicking sand in the Jets' faces for many decades before that, and thumped us solidly a few weeks ago when we still had a shot at the postseason, so it was satisfying to take them down with us.

Even better, the Jets announced that they are bringing Red Ryan back.  And damn well they should.  He's the best coach they have had since Parcells, and this season is a testament to his ability.  Before the season began, all the "power rankings" had the Jets listed as the worst team in the entire league.  They finished 8-8, with a rookie QB who was throwing almost as many INTs as… well, as  the other NY QB… and I doubt anyone but Rex could have pulled that off.

The Giants won too.  Over the Washington Redskins.  Or the Hapless Redskins, as some call them.

God, was that a dismal game.  Eli hurt his ankle and went out.  Probably good he has has a whole off season to recover.  The Giants D played well, the offense not so much, but that's been the story of the season.  Justin Tuck ended the season on a high note.  Terrific game.  Also, a young wideout named Jerrel Jernigan — who has done little more than warm the bench during his first two seasons with the club — continued his amazing end-of-season heroics, pretty much winning the game single-handed.  Since coming in for an injured Victor Cruz, Jernigan has played like… well, like Victor Cruz.  He's a keeper.  And next season, if Reuben Randal continues to improve and Hakeem Nicks comes back and recaptures his old form (not sure he will, on either count), the G-Men will have an elite and very dangerous receiving corps.  Now all they need is an offensive line to keep Eli from getting killed and give him time to throw… that has to be the big off-season priority, along with… oh, a running back, and a linebacker, and some young defensive backs.  The G-Men need more speed if they are going to keep up with Chip Kelly's fast-break Iggles in the years to come.

Speaking of the Iggles… congrats to them and their fans for their victory tonight.  Helluva game.  I thought you guys were going to blow it at the end there, until Kyle Orton channeled his inner Tony Romo and threw the game-losing INT.  Normally, of course, I hate the Eagles… but not half as much as I hate the Cowboys, so tonight I was with them all the way (next week, I'll be rooting for the Saints to take them down).  Actually, I feel sorry for Orton, who stepped in and played an incredible game.  Not many backup QBs are equal to the challenge.  You have to applaud the effort.  Jason Whitten played very well too.  I was yelling the same thing I yell every time the Giants play the Boys — "why doesn't anyone ever cover Whitten!"  In the end, though, Dallas choked once again, and we all got to enjoy watching Jerry Jones get That Look on his face once more.

(There were some other great games and thrilling finishes today as well.   But I am glad I am not a Bears fan.  Ouch, that must have hurt).

And now the playoffs.

The teams I love are out of it, so I have no strong feelings on who I want to win the Super Bowl… so long as it is not the New England Patriots.  That's the last thing we have to look forward to this season: the defeat and elimination of Evil Little Bill.

Meanwhile… hey, when's the draft?

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Life is… well, tolerable.  On this Sunday, at least.

The Jets and the Giants both won today, but somehow, considering the dismal seasons they've had and the fact that both have long since been eliminated from the post-season, it is hard to summon up a "life is magical and full of joy."

The Jets thumped the Browns pretty solidly.  Our rookie QB Geno Smith looked… okay.  He ran for the winning TD, which was good.  And he didn't throw any interceptions, which was better.  I am so sick of INTs.  Maybe if Gang Green upsets the Dolphins next week to finish 8-8, that will save Rex Ryan's job.  But I doubt it.  I think Rex has been set up to be fired since before the season began.  The new GM doesn't want him.  He wants "his own guy," all the talking heads keep saying.  Pfui.  I don't know who "his own guy" is, but I doubt very much he'd be better than Ryan, who has been the best coach the Jets have had since Bill Parcells.  Firing him would be insane.  Which likely means the Jets will do it.

The Giants won in overtime.  They looked awful, and suffered several more injuries.  I think they have just about to run out of offensive linemen and running backs.  They tried to give away the game several times.  But the Detroit Lions kept giving it back.  Someone had to win eventually, and it turned out to be the Giants, which eliminated the Lions from the playoffs and assured that the G-Men will have a somewhat worse draft choice.

Win, win.

Yay, yay.

Guess I need to wait a little longer for that Subway Superbowl.

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Finally home from all my travels, no major events to fill up my weekend, a Sunday free for football… and both my teams go down in flames.

The Jets at least put up a fight against the Panthers.  Their D is for real.  And there was one cool moment, when Rex used huge DT Sheldon Richardson to pound in a TD.  But I still don't believe in Geno Smith.  How did he get back in when I wasn't looking?  Last I heard, he'd been benched and they were going to give Matt Simms a try.

The Giants game… I have called in the Men in Black to have that wiped from my memory.  5 INTs??  Oh, Eli, where are thou…

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Okay, I cheated.  In between packing and answering emails and paying bills and otherwise getting ready for our trip down under, I watched a little of the Jets game.

Seven hells.  The Jets won.  Over the Saints.  Who'da thunk it?

And they won the way they were winning a couple of years ago, when Rex took them to the AFC title games: with killer defense and a running game.

Ivory was unstoppable.  I hope this guy stays healthy.  He's a terrific RB when he's not hobbled by injury.  And I can't say enough about the D.

On other football fronts, however… you know, it's a good thing I don't follow college football.  I just learned today that my alma mater, Northwestern, lost to Nebraska on a Hail Mary in a fashion that would surely have given me a heart attack if I'd been watching.  Ah, Northwestern… I'm a member of the Class of 1970 (BSJ) and the Class of 1971 (MSJ), which means I went to school there in the 60s.  During my tenure, the student body voted overwhelmingly to change the team nickname from the rather cliche "Wildcats" to the much more distinctive "Purple Haze."  Now you see why.  (Alas, the university  ignored the will of the students, in favor of the will of the alumni donors).

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I missed yesterday's NFL action.  I was up on Melinda's mountain with  my Wild Cards writers, hammering out the plot of HIGH STAKES, our next mosaic novel.  Didn't see a single play.

Probably a good thing.

The Jets lost ignominiously to the Bengals.  After a great game against the Pats, Geno Smith reverted to being terrible.  And Andy Dalton and guys in stripes shredded and embarrassed the vaunted Jets D.

The Giants won over the Iggles and their third-string QB.  Hard to celebrate this one.  They did not even score a TD, winning with five (5) field goals.  And yet somehow at 2-6 there are people talking about the G-Men making a run for the playoffs.  Hoo hah.  Yes, they are "only" two games out, but only because everyone else in the NFC East is terrible as well.  Even those two recent victories have not been encouraging… the Giants played badly in both, and only won because the other team played even worse.   So, no, I do not think Big Blue is about to make a Super Bowl run.  If you do, I have some great real estate on Mars I would like to sell you.

I'm off to Australia and New Zealand shortly, for almost a month of appearances down there, so I'm going to miss pretty much all of the NFL action in November.  The way this season has been going, I don't think I'm going to miss much at all.

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So the Giants finally won a game.  Yay.

I'm not taking the bag off my head yet, however.  Last night was the worst game I've seen in years.

The G-Men were horrible.  They won because the Vikings were even worse.  The Viking QB Josh Freeman especially.  He had no business being out there.  And sad to say, Eli did not look much better.  Yes, he finally had a game with no INTs… but I saw at least three balls that SHOULD have been INTs, including one that was a sure pick-six, only the Viking DBs dropped them all.  And speaking of drops, what the hell is wrong with Hakeem Nicks?  He dropped everything Eli threw him in the first half, and was only marginally better in the second.

Our running back of the week, Peyton Hillis, was the only bright spot.  Well, him and Victor Cruz, who is always a bright spot.  But even Cruz dropped a ball, on what would have been a nice TD.

Beat the Eagles next week and maybe I will believe Big Blue has woken up.  Until then… this win needs to be taken with a block of salt.

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Life is magical and filled with joy…

For this night, at least.  The Jets are only 4-3, true, but they beat the Patriots.  Any time we can take down Evil Little Bill and Tom Brady, it's a day for rejoicing.

Our rookie QB has been blowing hot and cold all season, as rookies will.  Today, aside from that one pick six, he was hot.  He looked really sharp, in truth.  And the Jets D just keeps getting better and better.  Whatever you say about Rex, he knows how to build a great D.

Even so, the Jets almost blew it, allowing Brady and the Pats to tie up the game in the final seconds and send it into overtime.  But in OT, the D came up big, and Geno and offense did just enough to get Nick Folk into range for the winning field goal… aided, I must admit, by a personal foul penalty that I am sure has all the Pats fans howling.  I'd be howling too if the teams had been reversed.

It was by no means the worst call of the afternoon, however.  That distinctiion has to be reserved for a totally bogus offensive pass interference call that negated a beautiful long TD bomb from Geno to Stephen Hill.  If that TD has counted, as it should have, there never would have been an overtime.  So I guess it all evened out in the end.

The Pats still lead the AFC East and will likely win it.  The Jets may not even make the playoffs.  As well as they played this week, they could be awful next week.  It has been that kind of up and down season.  But tonight at least gives Gang Green fans another whiff of hope.  Maybe Geno is for real.  That D sure is.

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Life is… hey, maybe there is some faint glimmer of hope.

NEW YORK JETS 30
ATLANTA FALCONS 28

Gang Green is 3-2.  Say, what?

All the talking heads had them picked as the worst team in the NFL during the preseason.  Guess that's why they play the games, as Boomer likes to say.

Not that they looked like the second coming of the Lombardi Packers tonight.  But they avoided turnovers, and the D looked stout, and the offense — unlike the Giants O — did not shoot itself in the foot.  They have a running game.  And Geno Smith looked… well, like a promising rookie.

The Jets actually had to win the game twice.  With time running out, and Atlanta driving, Rex and the D stopped the Falcons with a great goal line stand, breaking up the fourth down pass.  That should have won it right there.  But the refs decided to give Atlanta four more downs with a bogus penalty.  Given eight downs instead of four, the Falcons scored, as most teams would in that position, leaving the Jets with only a minute.  I thought Gang Green had blown it.  The slough of despond beckoned.  But what the hell, the Rookie moved the Jets right down the field, bing bang boom, and Nick Folk kicked the game winning field goal with 3 seconds left on the clock.

The Jets may not win the Super Bowl.  Or even the AFC East.  But right now, they sure look like the best team in New York City.  And NOBODY saw that coming, least of all me. 

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