The Jets, Mark Sanchez, Revis Island and You

"Did you know guys that the New York Jets are the best team in the NFL?  They're even better than the New England Patriots!"

"What?!?"  Both boys cried out as I extolled the mighty virtues of this year's Super Bowl Champions, the New York Jets.  All of the other teams are just fighting to make the AFC Championship Game (in the AFC) and the Super Bowl (in the NFC).

"Are the Jets going to win the Super Bowl?" my 8 year old asked. 

"They think already won it.  Didn't you watch Hard Knocks?"  I was only half kidding.  The half that believed that my 8 year old would watch something on HBO that HAD to air after 10pm.  Honestly, I had listened to Rex Ryan for so long that I started believing that the Jets had already won it, too.  I mean who cares if the Jets' Quarterback is mediocre on his best days, or that the Jets running game consisted of an untested young player (Shonn Green) and a washed up veteran (Ladainian Tomlinson) or that the Jets defense was anchored by a guy playing on one leg (Kris Jenkins) and a cornerback who didn't arrive until the last day of camp (Derrelle Revis).  These Jets are going to turn their magical 9-7 season from a year ago and become the beasts of the AFC.  They might even challenge the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 New England Patriots as the only teams to go undefeated during the regular season.  I think Mercury Morris is already warming up the RV and checking out his "neighborhood."

"Dad, can we watch the game now?  Seriously?"  They got tired of me blathering on about the best team in the history of football.  Despite my personal feelings, I do have to admit that I have Shonn Green and the Jets Defense on my Fantasy Football Team, so I was rooting for them in this game no matter what was coming out of my mouth.

But I definitely don't have Mark Sanchez on my team.  Unfortunately, he has the weight of the entire city of New York on his shoulders and despite him being the biggest media darling for the Jets since Joe Namath, this guy had a very pedestrian season last year. 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions?  A completion percentage of 53.8 percent and a passer rating of 63.0?  Ugh.  I'm not sure how long the Jets will stick with them if they start the season losing three or four games in a row, but if continues with these kinds of numbers, he'll shoulder all of the blame.

And Revis Island?  For someone who has accomplished relatively little in the National Football League, he certainly has gotten a lot of media attention.  One of the best corners in the league?  Yes, absolutely.  But is he so good that you center an entire TV show around him?  No.  Let's look at the stats.  Commonplace tackles for a Cornerback, although I will say his solo tackles have dropped from 74 in 2007 to only 47 in 2009.  That's alarming.  Also, his interception numbers have not jumped off the stat sheet (14 in three years).  Some backers will say that teams just don't throw his way and that stat is all that matters.  Come on!  He's matched up against the best receivers in the league - Randy Moss, Chad Ocho Cinco, Andre Johnson.  They are going to be thrown the ball no matter who is covering them.  Teams will call plays designed specifically to get the ball to these guys.  I'm sorry, I just don't buy this argument as the reason for the ordinary statistics - and that's goes the same for all elite Cornerbacks.

Back to the game.

Because storms caused a slight delay in the opening kickoff, we only watched a couple of series before everyone went to bed.  I continued to watch until the end of the First Half.  In that time, we saw the aforementioned Sanchez look tentative on the first two drives, managing a field goal however, after a crushing sack of Joe Flacco led to a turnover on the Ravens 20 yard line.  A couple of more turnovers and the Jets defense looked as good as advertised.  They lost, however, 10-9 after some ridiculously bad penalties gave the Ravens first downs two different times and eventually led to the lone touchdown being scored.

Don't get me wrong.  Maybe the Jets will win the Super Bowl.  But I'm not even sure they'll get into the playoffs.  Remember the Patriots and the Dolphins both improved from last year, too.  In any event, I'm just happy that Football is back!

Photograph courtesy of newyorkjets.com