Is it me, or has there been a rash of posts complaining about "how" the Jets win? Seriously, does anything other than Ws and Ls really matter? I have seen several posts complaining about the Jets lack of running game or Chad throwing the ball in the middle against the Bills, etc, etc. I find this strange considering that the Jets only won 4 games last year. When the "substance" of wins are scarce, it seems out of place to start complaining about the "style" of victory. All the more disturbing with this is the fact that there easily recognizable reasons for alot of these concerns. Consider the following: The Jets threw the ball in the middle against the Bills because- 1. The wind was really bad. 2. We have a weak-armed QB coming off of 2 shoulder injuries. 3. The Bills have a great set of corners but have young rookies at the safety and LB positions (with Spikes out) that could be exploited. The Jets run game has not been on track all season because- 1. They are basically starting 3 new players on the left side of the line in Ferguson, Katnick and Mangold. 2. The "feature" back they traded for in Barlow has only been with the team about a month and had no meaningful camp or pre-season time with the team. 3. Other teams know this and will basically attack the Jets run game and force them to pass. The Jets run defense is abyzmal because- 1. The are moving to a 3-4 base vice a 4-3 base system. 2. They don't have the personnel at LB or D-line that fit this system. 3. They haven't made the hard choice to either bench Robertson or move him in the DE rotation, in favor of the much more effective Rashard Moore. Given the above, is it really a suprise that the Jets have "done" what they have "done" on the playing field? They have basically no margin for error and absent a special teams miscue last week by Graham, they arguably could be undefeated. I think that is pretty amazing considering where this team was last year at this time. That being said, what does this mean for the future? Well if their current level of play can be sustained, I think the Jets will win anywhere from 6-8 ball games this year. I think 9-7 or 10-6 maybe a bit out of reach given the circumstances. However, this team will get better each week...though it may not necessaryily show up in the W-L column or in the "pretty win" column that everyone seems to keep track of on this board. I think in the coming weeks you will see three things: #1 - A team thats o-line will begin to jell and the running game will become more effective. This doesn't mean that they will turn into OJ and the Electric Company, but they were certainly begin to pick up quality yards and take some pressure off of Pennington's arm. #2 - A defense that picks up the 3-4 scheme and becomes a credible threat to stop the run. This will only happen when the inevitable decision is made to start Rashard Moore in place of Robertson. I expect that no later than the bye week, if he hasn't made any progress, that Robertson will be relegated to the DE rotation permanently. In the off-season, depending upon the cap ramifcations, they will try to move him to a 4-3 base team for a 3rd or 4th rd pick and cut their losses. #3 - A pass attack that will become even more creative and effective, especially in play action. As the o-line develops and the running game picks up, the pass attach WILL become more lethal. The fact that the pass game has become as effective as it has been without the run makes these more likely than ever. I have to give credit to Schottenheimer...this is not Marty ball and the Jets are willing to throw the ball even with a lead in the 4th. I have to say, I have not been this optimistic, long-term wise, about a Jet team since Parcells took over in 1997.
^Absolutely, All.........I am not complaining at all. W's are W's. At the end of the year, they determine whether you are in or out. They don't give out style points.
I don't think Robertson is likely to be moved for a pick. Given the trends this year I suspect a player-for-player deal is more likely if we can find a trading partner with a need at DT and a player we fancy for ourselves that isn't fitting in just right on their roster.
i feel like we are playing towards our strengths and trying to make things work, instead of forcing a certain style of play and not adjusting, which i always hated herm for, never adjusting. throwing in the middle, dink and dunking is not a big deal, aslong as you win the game, however you won doesn't really matter.
I tend to agree with you, I just think people like to complain and often think they are smarter than the coaches. BTW, love the signature. :up:
my darksider brain has been shelved for at least this year and probably the 1st half of next year...... after that though - i expect some serious progress and come year 3...... i may even turn into a sunshiner jil
I'm psyched about us winning... so please change the title of the thread to "some people" or " a lot of you" instead of everyone... because I'm included in "everyone" and as I stated, I'm giddy as a school boy, as Dr. Elsa Schneider would say.
Most Jet fans were expecting and still may get 6 wins out of this team. That we're 2-1 and are seeing Chad play well are all a bonus. After experincing Herm's "play not to lose " philosphy, Mangini is a breath of fresh air. We may be on the verge of winning football for years to come.
I just want W's but its no good saying 'yay we won' when we know we are going to come up against teams that can negate our throwing game...we have to dissect the game to learn where the team can improve and one is the running game etc etc...just my 2 cents
i don't think people (including myself) are necessarily complaining how we won; but there are areas that need improvement/adjusting. i hopped on the Mangini bandwagon immediately after he was hired, and i'm still on it. but he's not doing the things Defensive i thought he'd be doing. i can understand implementing the new 3-4 system, but it's not working particularly well. it'd be different if we were 0-3 because then i'd say, "okay, we don't have the personnel to be playing this, but he's intorducing it a year early, preparing for the learning curve so we won't have to endure it next year." but now that we're winning, i think he needs to adjust and use that hybrid D we heard so much about. cheers
Listen I hate to be the one to bring up the Patriots again but during their run everytime you play them after the game you are asking yourself how they beat you. Thats exactly the type of win the Jets had this past Sunday and I will take that every week if we come out on top.
Actually that's the coaching staff's job. We just need to enjoy the wins when we can get them and hope they give us meaningful games to watch all the way through.
Well written post. The Jets, so far, are competitive this year. At least they played 60 minutes in buffalo Sunday. The next two games are tough however, I will not be mad if we give the same effort.
For the first time in years, I saw the Jets play 60minutes of football. In Orchard Park no less. That in itself should be cause to take a day off and celebrate. I don't see how anyone can complain outright about a win on the road in a place we rarely win at. Again, this is a rebuilding year and it looks like we're on the right track. '08 just might be our year. We still have alot of work to do on both sides of the ball however, things aren't as bad as I thought they were going into the season.
I think there are several things at play here. I've complained and as I posted on another thread, I think it's partly a matter of trust. I've been a Jets fan for 35+ years and have seen good teams destroyed, marginal teams play over their heads and year after year of the SOJ finding a way to fall apart or defeat themselves. Some of us show our passion for our team in different ways. Many are happy with the notion that nothing really matters as long as we won this week. Others who can't approach it from such a superficial level get too close and think a 30-3 blowout all hinges on that one missed block in the first quarter. People see things differently. People approach things differently. Of course much more matters than a W or an L in a particular week. A team that has won some games based only on turnovers, for example...not something this team has done, but you see teams that can't stop anyone from throwing or running, but goes through a streak where they get a lot of turnovers and win because of it. Or an offensive team that wins with some big plays, but can't move the chains otherwise. Neither of those teams are the Jets, mind you, but neither of those hypothetical teams is built for the long haul. But some folks are going to be happy with the outcome those teams produce. Others are going to want to add turnovers and big offensive plays to an otherwise solid defense and offense, rather than relying only on the home run plays. I could say that means that some people are simply happy with an occasional win while others want to get inside of why and where things aren't working and to see those things get better so that we can have a great team, but that wouldn't be totally accurate. But I think most Jet message boards can take all sorts of fans...the rah-rah homers who believe nothing can ever be improved and could care less about whether a trap play or a counter play will gain more yards against a particular defense. Others want to sit down with the play by play printout and rewatch the game over and over while taking copious notes to get a better sense of who's good and who's not. But as long as they're Jets fans and they care enough to post their opinions, it's all good to me. The homers will learn something from the detail guys and the detail guys will sometimes find out that they were wrong and the homer had it right. Doesn't mean either set's more or less passionate about our team. So sometimes I'll complain about stuff no one else cares about. And other times I'll say, Fug it, I'll take the play, no matter how they got it. But mostly I'm a detail guy and I'm going to want a good foundation of coaching and play to build on. If that's a problem, feel free to skip my posts. I'm lovin' how the national media is falling all over themselves trying to figure out how the Jets can be 2-1. I don't think there's much chance to win both of the next two games, but I sure hope we can sneak away with a win in one of them. I'd sure like to over-analyze things all the way into the playoffs, somehow. :jets:
