Wilson and Coleman doubling Branch? I also wouldn't give Harris a gamelong coverage assignment on anyone...that takes away what he does best.
This is a post about the connection between that ESPN poll, meaning the public perception of how likely it is the Jets beat NE this Monday, and those who say a Jet loss is not the end of a possible SB run. Normally I am one here who doesn't give two turds what fans of other teams or bloviating talking heads think. And yes, the point is valid that on paper the Jets are still likely to get to the playoffs even with a loss this Monday, and going into the playoffs the Jets and Pats would only be 1-1 head to head. But this is different, I think. I think despite the normal blah blah about how these players ar professionals, how if you're in the playoffs you have the chance to win it all, how well the Jets did last year with less talent, going further than the Pats despite not sweeping them last year, either, I think this is different. Every player on the Jets knows they have more talent than last year. They have the experience of this CS taking them to the Champ game last year. They have more confidence in Sanchez. Meanwhile the Pats have lots of younger, unproven in pressure situations, players. Their CS has stitched together a season where they've been able to overcome a mediocre pass defense, mid season dealings effectively trading out Moss for Branch, and squabbling over Mankins's contract, and have gone 9-2. There's reasons to be skeptical of how strong the Pats really are. Yet, there is the perception that the Pats are the better team. Why? In fairness to that perception, until the Jets beat them consistently, end up the division champs and draw the bye, they have not yet proven they are the better team. Intangibles are hard to measure, and I would hardly say a loss this weekend leads inevitably to a disappointing end of hte season for the Jets. But I think the players know how important this game is, and the risk is too high that it eats at them, undermines their confidence, if they lose. So forget about the usual notion who cares what others think, and particularly forget about the playoff math. A loss to NE this Monday imo would be something worse than the usual loss to them. I think that means the Jets have to win it if they want to maintain a realistic rather than merely theoretical chance of winning it all. That, and beating the hated Pats, is what this game is all about.
Interesting implication, I don't really know the answer to, but I assume you would only see Wilson and Coleman out there in dime packages, if that. How many times have the Jets put two safeties out there with four cb's? Can't be very many.
I wouldn't say it has NO bearing. In fairness, if the Jets had beaten a couple of winning teams since then, call me crazy but we as Jet fans might draw some comfort from that. More to the point is the Jets lost a game to a winning team in their worst performance of the season against a very good team, but have since rebounded, including a win over a team that killed NE.
These polls are really for front-runners. Two weeks ago they had the Vick-led Eagles as an unstoppable force of nature. I am sure that more then a few experts will pick the Jets to win. I would be very surprised if that doesn't happen. I think people are high on the Patriots because they've seen them win some big high profile games. They must be a good team because the stats say otherwise. Right? Anyone who doesn't think the Jets can win Monday in Foxboro is crazy.
You like stats? The Pats' third-down defense has reached historic lows. It has allowed opponents to convert 50.7 percent of the time and is ranked 32nd in the NFL. The Pats defense is also ranked 32nd in Pass Yards allowed per game. And a pedestrian 16 in Rush YPG.
I think this is the best post I've ever seen you make. :up: I wouldn't go to the psychological extreme in regards to if the Jets lost for one reason: the Jets may very well end up playing New England again this season... no matter the outcome. If that scenario were to occur, this game will end up seeming like a preseason game when its all said and done.
The good news is that the Jets are down to 36 percent on 3rd down defense. In the beginning of the year it was at 44.
Unrelated : I've been banned two or three times now from patsfans.com for making posts questioning their allegiance to the Pats. They get so pissed off when you call them frontrunners.. it's great. Some of those guys are legit but there are clowns from all over the nation that act like the Patriots 2000s dynasty didn't lead them to become a fan of the team.
Thanks for the compliment. But again, not to violate ANOTHER of my principles, I am not only concerned about another head to head between these two, but also what if anything a loss will do to the Jets in playing out the remaining regular season games. We all know every week can be one offs, seeming to bear no relation to even the week before. But in fact teams do have trends in performances for the most part. Wouldn't we all feel better about the rest of those games if the Jets beat the Pats? I have to think the players would, too. Their confidence would be higher. It's an intangible we are talking about, but that doesn't mean it is not for real. Psychology matters, at least somewhat. To be frank I have no patience with the idea that this is not a huge game. Of course it is. You can hardly imagine how it can be overstated. When was the last regular season game that the Jets played with a playoff bye potentially at stake as well as the division lead going into the last quarter of the season? I can't remember... Not to mention getting a chance to end NE's run as the team to beat in the division.
They think that EVERY Jets poster is an automatic troll/homer. They don't know what those words mean. Pretty much if you don't agree with everything they say and give the Jets no shot at winning....they think you should get banned for trolling. I'm assuming you were Brady's Baldspot? haha
Yep.. one of the mods, forgot his name, sent me a warning and a private message for trolling. All I did was say at the time (week 8?) that the Jets were deservedly #1 in the power rankings and the Pats were 2 or 3. I told him to stop being such a pussy/I didn't troll or do anything wrong so he banned me. That board is full of tools. It's a patriots hivemind, if you disrupt the groupthink they grab their pitchforks and bibles to kick you out. edit: Yeah I was brady's baldspot
