But that's what I'm saying we DON'T have a better team.. Hell, even when we made our AFCC game appearance in 1998, we didn't have a great team.... Let's face it, our organization has never been all that good at building, but we have put together some solid teams in the past.... In 1998 it is my belief that it was Vinny Testaverde's play that lifted us from a decent team (see 8-8 in '99) to one of the top 4 teams in the NFL.... Chad lifted us in 2002 from lousy to good, but since then he has done nothing more than help this team play to its potential.... The way I see it, we're not New England, or Denver, or Pittsburgh, or Indy... We're not one of the teams in the past decade who has proven to be good at building a great organization that has all the parts in place for a playoff run every year. No. We're an organization that typically needs a little extra something from our leaders if we ever dream of making a run.... That's why I'm impatient with Chad.... Mangini and Co. can build this team into a 10-6, maybe even 11-5 caliber football team, and with Chad at the helm, we'll win 10 or 11 games.... With a QB who CAN step up, take it to the next level and beat the best teams will win 12 or 13 games, beating a team or two that he shouldn't. He'll win more that one out of every 3 playoff games he appears in. Is Kellen that guy? I don't know..... Maybe Is Chad that guy? No
That first debate is obviously going nowhere.... You and I disagree, but I'm glad you were decent enough to give me some real information as to WHY you feel the way you do, as opposed to everyone else, who just spouts 'Chad wins, he spikes the ball, we love him!' and is done with it.... So as far as when/if Clemens is coming in, I'm going to leave this debate here, because I get where you're coming from, and it makes sense, and, quite frankly, now that Chad's back in the starting lineup, I don't see Clemens lining up behind center in the 1st quarter again this season.... It's too late for the CS to make their move.... And like I've said, Chad isn't going to lose games for you, so he's definitely not going to play himself out of a job.... So we'll agree to disagree on this one.... And as for the playoff runs, and the conservative passing games, the lack of stepping up vs good teams.... The reason why I believe it is Chad that brings this is because I've seen the way the Jets offense is run under any QB not named Chad or Brooks the last few years.... Under Quincy Carter we opened up the passing game, and, although Quincy wasn't great, he went 2-1 as a starter because he made th ebig plays when he needed them.... When Vinny came in in 05, we opened up more too. He was too old to really do much, but he did an okay job, beating a then undefeated Tampa Bay team.... And even under Clemens in week 2, the CS opened the playbook. We saw throws to the sideline in the 2 minute drill that we NEVER see with Chad, along with throws over the middle we never see with Chad... Under all these QBs, none of whom I'd say is as good as Chad (not yet for Kellen anyway) the CS had more confidence in the physical ability of the QB and was able to open up the passing game and win, or co me close to winning, ballgames in situations we really looked like we shouldn't have had a shot in.... The playbook's nice and thick, but, the way I see it, we can only use a portion of them with Chad at QB, and that's a big reason why we haven't done much against the better teams in football with Chad in there....
I'm not convinced this whole stat really proves anything, whether it's Chad's 6-15, Palmer or anyone else. When you think it through, playoff teams have to have winning records, otherwise they aren't playoff teams. That means the teams playing against them have to have losing records, mathematically there is no way around that. You might find an exception here and there, or maybe a team in a given year, but overall I don't know how many people are going to have winning records against playoff teams. Especially when you play the stat out over a guy's career, I don't know how many would actually have winning records vs playoff teams. Maybe guys like Montana or Aikman that were part of dynasties, but not many. Off the top of my head I know that Brady was the losing QB vs us and Indy last year, that's two losses right there. I don't remember if they played San Diego or not in the regular season, but hopefully you get where I'm going.
I think I see where you are coming from here. We haven't done a whole lot in terms of building this team up. Well I think we have, just not everything is working out as maybe everyone has hoped. I think they could do better in this area and they are going to have to if they ever expect to come out on top. The top teams that make it to the big dance are not going to be led by one-trick ponies. Maybe by nothing but sheer luck one gets there, but it won't keep them there that is for sure. Teams that are at the top regularly are going to be balanced teams that play well on both sides of the ball. In the meantime I want my team to win as many games as it can... to do that you have to start your best players, which is why Chad is starting. KC's time will come, maybe even sooner than some of us expect, but until then it just isn't his time.
We can all agree that the % of football players that will ever even put on an NFL uniform is extremely low. The % of players that will ever make a team is even lower and so on etc. With that being said, each year each team attempts to get better by fielding the best 53 man roster and the best coaching staff. Oddly enough a team such as this years Saints with the highly regarded Brees can essentially field the same team and same staff a season after huge success and start 0-3 and look abysmal. What contributes to such vacillation year in and year out? It is the same reason that Pro Football is my favorite sport--there are so many variables to consider when dealing with 53 men plus the coaching staff. I would say that, more than anything else, consistency is the key to success in sports--one component that is truly lacking in all of pro sports these days due to the business side of the games. Looking back at the Jets over Chad's career one can see that only the fans insatiability for a scapegoat has truly been consistent. Parcells', much like he did in Dallas, left us a nice roster to work with which Herm and Bradway eroded over their tenure here. Herm has now moved on to destroy the Chiefs and we have unproven Mangini and Trader Mike at the helm. Last year we exceeded expectations, and this year is too young to be decided at this point. The only thing really left from the 2004 team so many of you talk about is Chad's passion and determination to win. Oh yeah, and the fans need for a scapegoat when we are not 3-0 to start the season. This argument of Chad or Clemens won't be over until one is off the team, but then it will begin anew either at the QB position, or HC, or some other position. We are intelligent fans that want our team to win ultimately, but many of us want certain players to fail to prove a point so that we can look cool on a message board. Obviously, I am a Chad supporter, but moreover I am a Jets supporter. Let's realize that the weight of the team isn't resting on the shoulders of one player or coach, and that the best thing we can do as fans is support the team each week. I am sure many of you have seen times as Jets fans that I have not in terms of misery and failure, but we are not the laughingstock anymore and are certainly headed in the right direction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSHlxWRnx6Y
