The Steelers run defense was good in the first half of the regular season game. We would have gotten into bad third and long situations regardless but they never had a reason to fear the running game in the first half and they never needed a break in the second half. They were juiced to go for the full 60 minutes. Letting Greene pound the ball up the middle a couple of times would have at least hurt them and forced them to respect the run. They were playing pass most of the game. The Jets were never going to win a game this season when Tomlinson and Greene combine for 18 carries between them. This team should have been built around running the ball, WR corps not withstanding.
The second part of my post that you deleted explains my thinking. SOJ is long dead. Whiny SOJF's like yourself are alive and kicking. Congrats.
Dead on Cato. Lets face it...we overachieved last year...we had no business ending up where we did. This year..was a first round game we should have won..a second round game many thought we would never win...and a third round game that was a true toss up...and it played out that way. We sucked in the first half and had no right being a stop and touchdown from going to the Superbowl. That shows me we are still on the rise and next year will be the year for this team. They say football is strange and you never know when you will be back...but this qb..and this team will be back and this is not the same ole same ole. I do not look at this as two straight AFC defeats because of what I mentioned above. I look at this as major improvements two years in a row and a year 3 for Mark Sanchez will be the difference. A new coach and a rookie qb is what started this and expecting it to happen in two years was overachieving but we are on the cusp now and real help on the d line and a few tweaks here and there....Im fine with the direction. EDIT: I do agree with 3rd and 15 that Schotty would be the only thing that will hold back this kid from being a true star.
same old jets dont make the afc championship two years in a row, especially against some of the competition we've faced during these runs. our sophomore qb and head coach have a pretty decent resume right now beating 3 future HOF quarterbacks on the road and another solid one in palmer. this loss stings even worse than last year did, but there's no reason why we shouldn't have a ton of confidence in this team going forward.
We're not going to agree on this. The fact is that nobody runs the ball well against the Steelers. Brady has absolutely slaughtered Pittsburgh over his career by spreading out the WRs and shredding the defense with quick hitting precision passes. How this is not the game plan of every team going into Pittsburgh is mind boggling to me. Whether or not Sanchez would've had the accuracy needed to pull this off would've remained to be seen(based on how he played today I think he could've) but the Jets thinking they could run it down Pittsburgh's throats and win is pretty ridiculous to me.
I don't much feel like saying next year is the year when it seemed that this year might be it. What I do know is that we have not seen the peak of the Rex/Sanchez era of this team. This was just the opening act. Both of them still have plenty to improve on after 2 years and they have managed to get the AFCCG in both years despite their weaknesses. The Jets are still a team on the rise.
You're probably right but I can't sleep right now and I'm bored so I'll just keep going. We never were that team this season. When we tried to be a throw-first offense we failed or came close too it. Sanchez can run the 2-minute drill no problem but Brady's experience and his skill is the reason he was able to shred the Steelers' defense like that. I never said nor thought the Jets were going to win by running it down the Steelers' throats. However, running the ball more in the first half would have played into the Jets' favor in the second half. Give them less time on the field in the first half and they don't put up 24 points. Give Sanchez less exposure to their pass rush in the first half and they don't have a sack-fumble to return for a touchdown. My whole point about running the ball early in the first half was that it would have tired the defense out more and forced them to respect the run more, if even marginally so. I still think that if the Jets ran the ball more with Shonn Greene it would have taken the gas out of the Steelers' defense and opened up better passing options in the second half and better options overall on third down. Abandoning the run early hurt the Jets. That was what the Steelers wanted to force the Jets to do and Schottenheimer played right into their hands. Let the HBs take some pressure off in the first and the Steelers have less time to work with on offense and more to think about on defense. Going to the Patriots' game plan would not have worked for the Jets in this game because the Jets are not the Patriots in that they don't have the Patriots' offense or talent at QB. Brady might be a complete bitch when it comes to the refs and huge fucking asshole in every other aspect but he can pass on defenses like this. Sanchez isn't there. Not yet.
I hear you UK....Im sick to my stomach quite honestly. But like you said...this team is on the rise and Tanny needs to make some really great moves in the offseason and keep the right people. I would love to see him use the entire draft. He might even have to do some unpopular things concerning Edwards, Holmes, Taylor, LT, Smith, Harris etc. While some are no brainers...there are some tough moves he will have to make. For instance, keeping both Edwards and Holmes seems perfect but you keep hearing you cant keep both. Well if thats the case, can you imagine this offense with just an Edwards or a Holmes with Keller and Cotch and still have the high offense potential? Perfect world is to have two high end receivers. Im not sure what direction I would go in tonite...but this roster will be much different next year...but the core is the core...and thats the key.
Tanny is a big reason why I am not worried about the future of the team. He does a lot of things that are initially unpopular but turn out to be good things when they are looked back on. Odds are the Jets are losing at least one key player this offseason and whoever that ends up being will have their supporters who think Tanny is an idiot for making the move. I still remember when Tanny was sniffing around Miles Austin when he was a RFA and nobody had heard of him. We all thought it was ridiculous he was even considering giving up the picks it would have taken to land Austin. That year he blew up and at that time I said I would never question any weird stuff Tanny does. He hasn't done anything to make me change that stance in the time since.
The thing is it's not an either/or with the Steelers defense. That's why they're so good against the run. Their OLBs are so good and fast that teams are afraid to run to the outside against them. And if you're just going to run it up the gut(which was all the Jets did) there aren't going to be any holes even if they're just bringing pressure expecting a pass. The only time Greene had any room to run was in the 2nd half when the Steelers were sitting back and playing soft with the big lead. Not to mention that all the 0 or 1 yard rushes for the Jets in the first half were a big part of the reason Sanchez was put into so many third and longs.
No sir. SOJ would've gone in with a 21 point lead at the half and lost the game. We're evolving. Pretend like the last 30 years didn't happen bro. We're 0-2 under Ryan. Next year, 1-2. You'll see. He'll keep knocking until eventually that fuckin door falls in. After watching the first game, I honestly didn't think we could beat GB (if the same teams show up that did today) if we advanced anyway, neither can Pittsburgh. Sanchez will only get better. Can you really ask more of a 2nd year QB than two consecutive AFCC appearances? You know we'll be right back in it. Keep the faith, it was a good run, at least we were entertained.
I hear ya. I do agree. Tanny has been many times more right than wrong. This should be an interesting off season to say the least.
Type we have been friends for a long time but your post is crazy. We got beat by a team that has won 2 SB's in the last 5 years and was playing at home. The refs handed the Steelers a TD, we played as bad as we possibly could have played in the 1st half yet if we make a stop with 2 minutes to go we have the ball in our hands with a chance to so to the SB. Sanchez outplayed every QB in the playoffs with the exception of Rodgers. I'm pissed that we lost and I'm more pissed that they allowed a nothing more then an average running back piss all over us in the 1st half but this is anything but SOJ. There was no quit, no heads down. They fought their ass off and I knew Sanchez was our game when he got drilled, injured and came right back out for the next series and led us for a FG. Do you think Buc fans are saying same old Bucs? How about the Eagles? They're more snake bitten then we are? There's no Same Old Eagles. SOJ is dead, it's been dead.
As I said, I wasn't expecting much in terms of yards in the fist half, just wearing down the defense. The 3 and outs are more taxing on defenders when they have to work to take down a bruiser like Greene. Opening up the running game with the pass in the second half is a great strategy if you're up or at least close. When you're down, getting away from your strengths early only plays to your opponents' favor. I'm not saying it would have been a guaranteed win if the Jets followed my plan, just that I would have been happier to see the Steelers' defense take a little more abuse and get a little more winded and their offense been given a little less time.
Who cares about SOJ or if this is a new breed of losers. fail is fail. It was a nice run, but to come out that fucking flat in an AFCC game is pretty weak.
I guess we disagree about what the Jets strength on offense is as well. All year when they got down and needed points it was the passing game that brought them back and won the games. You've got to attack your opponents weakness regardless. Coming out in the 2nd half in Indy and attacking the awful Colts run defense that gave up 2000 yards and nearly 5 YPC in the regular season was absolutely the right move. Expecting to be able to "wear down" the best run defense in the league is foolishly optimistic to me.
Schotty never trusted Sanchez. It's time to bring in an OC who understands we've got the next Montana playing for us. I'm not saying let the kid call his own plays, but let him air it out a little bit when your 30 odd year star running back can't get more than 2.4 ypc.
Coming out throwing and running 3 times in the first half didn't exactly help, either. We're not going to agree on this but just try and look at it from my perspective. We didn't have the success passing on them. I'd rather have no success while hurting them than have no success while giving the a breather on every play.
I understand what you're saying but I think the Jets ran so few plays in the first half that I can't imagine it having any kind of impact on the 2nd half of the game. There were still plays to be made in the first half in the passing game, who knows what happens if they don't wave the white flag on the first drive at 3rd and 13 or if Cotchery holds onto that ball on 3rd down.
