So it looks as if the New York Jets are not all talk.  The New England Patriots showed up at the Meadowlands on Sunday to teach the Jets a lesson and were punched in the face by a fast and smart Jets defense.  This was the first time the Jets have beaten the Patriots at home since the 2000 season.  The Jets came out swinging from the opening kickoff and did not let up during the game.  In the process, they sent a message to the league that they should not be overlooked.

We have to start this off by talking about the defense.  What a performance by Rex Ryan's bunch, holding the Patriots without a touchdown in a game for the first time since December 2006.  The defensive line held strong all afternoon, limiting to the Patriots to 83 rushing yards.  Laurence Maroney and Fred Taylor only ran the ball 14 times in the game for a total of 69 yards.  The defensive line, with the return of Shaun Ellis, was able to shut down the run and keep pressure on Tom Brady as well.  Kris Jenkins and Shaun Ellis are looking as strong as they did midway through last season when the Jets had one of the most solid defensive lines in the NFL.  Not only are they plugging the holes for the running backs, they are creating openings for the line backers to bring the blitz.  The line is looking very good to start the season.

The secondary also looked great on Sunday.  With the defensive line taking away the running game, Brady was forced to pass the ball 47 times.  Darrelle Revis is becoming one of the top three cornerbacks in the NFL.  He was matched up with WR Randy Moss and was able to hold Moss to 4 catches for 24 yards.  Late in the first quarter, Brady threw to Moss on a streak down the right side and Revis took the ball out of Moss' hands for the interception.  Last week, Revis held Andre Johnson to 4 catches for 35 yards.  Just to be noted, in week 2 against the Titans, Johnson hauled in 10 catches for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

The rest of the secondary is playing great also.  Jets CB Lito Sheppard, who was flagged in the second quarter for interference, followed up the penalty on the next play by knocking the ball away from a Patriots receiver in the back of the end zone.  New England had to settle for a field goal.  The only negative on the secondary was the coverage on Patriots rookie WR Julian Edelman.  Edelman was filling in for injured WR Wes Welker, who did not play due to a sore knee.  Edelman was able to 98 yards on 8 catches, mostly out of the slot position.  Other than that, the secondary was as good as advertised.

The offense was able to manage the game for the second week in a row.  Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez again started off a little shaky but rebounded in the 2nd half to lead the Jets to the win.  It did not start off that well for Sanchez though.  He was sacked on the first play from scrimmage for the Jets and fumbled the ball.  The Jets were able to recover the ball on their own 3 yard line avoiding serious damage.  New York was unable to get anything going in the 1st half.  Sanchez only had 15 yards passing in the 1st half of the game, but they came out firing in the 2nd half. 

The Jets received the ball to start the 2nd half and made an impact right away.  After starting on their own 44 yard line, Sanchez hit WR Jerricho Cotchery down the middle for a gain of 45 yards.  Two plays later, Sanchez hit TE Dustin Keller for a 9 yard touchdown in the back of the end zone.  On the next possession, Sanchez hit WR Chansi Stuckey for an 8 yard touchdown, but the score was called back on a challenge by New England.  The Jets settled for a field goal.  Overall on the day, Sanchez was 14-22 for 163 yards and a touchdown.  He is not making stupid mistakes and is protecting the ball very well so far.

The running game was solid although no one stood out in particular.  Jets RB Thomas Jones was able to gain 54 yards on 14 carries, while RB Leon Washington gained 58 yards on 14 carries.  Neither, Jones or Washington was able to break off any huge plays from the line of scrimmage.  They did do their best to control the game clock.  Both teams controlled the game clock for about 30 minutes a piece. 

The Jets talked trash all week leading up to the game and backed it up in a big way.  They were able to keep Brady on his toes all day.  He was never able to get into a groove, constantly looking at the defense trying to read the blitzes.  Jets S Kerry Rhodes said that the Jets wanted to "Embarrass" the Patriots.  They didn't embarrass them, but they did hang with them.  And in the end they were the better team on Sunday.  It was the first time since 2003 that the Jets defense has gone two games without allowing an offensive touchdown.  It was also the first time in 2 years that Tom Brady completed under 50% of his passes.  The last time that happened was against Rex Ryan's Baltimore Ravens defense. 

Its only week two in the NFL, but the Jets look good.  As long as the defense keeps playing like they are, then rookie QB Mark Sanchez will not have to do more than just manage the game for the time being.  The running will be better than is was against New England and the defense will continue to improve.  With the addition of LB Calvin Pace in three weeks, this defense will be very scary.  The win against the Patriots was huge, but there are still 14 games remaining.  And after last season, its never good to get too excited too early.

To quote Terrell Owens, "Get your popcorn ready!"  The New York Jets and the New England Patriots will renew their heated rivalry this weekend in the Meadowlands.  Both teams come into the game atop of the AFC East, both posting a 1-0 record.  New England, in true Bill Belichick form, are treating the game as just another game on the schedule.  While the trash talking, Rex Ryan led Jets are treating it like Armageddon.  Which as a Jets fan you have to love.  He sure does talk a good game.

The Jets are coming off a very dominating performance in Houston last week and are amped up for Sunday.  They totally shut down a very good Texans offense.  While the Patriots were two minutes away from a loss against the Bills, until Buffalo KR Leodis McKelvin fumbled a kickoff which led to another Tom Brady comeback win.  Both teams will be ready to play and play hard on Sunday.

Mark Sanchez is now being called "Sanchise" after his solid performance in his first game last week in Houston.  The Jets rookie quarterback picked apart the Texans for 272 yards and a touchdown.   191 of those yards came on 3rd down.  But just like the Jets teams of the past, Sanchez will have his hands full with the Patriots defense.  Rookie quarterbacks always seem to have a hard time with Belichick's defenses.  The offensive line should have a slightly easier time then in the past with the absence of DE Richard Seymour, who was recently traded to the Raiders.  Sanchez has a pocket presence about him after watching last weeks game.  As long as the offensive line can give him some time, he will be able to find his open receivers.

The Jets receivers did a good job of finding openings in the Texans secondary and they will need to do the same this week.  Jets TE Dustin Keller was the teams leading receiver last week with 94 yards.  He should be able to find openings across the middle with Patriots LB Jerod Mayo out with an injury.  It's not that the Patriots do not have good role players, but the loss of Mayo and Seymour is something the Jets need to take advantage of.

Jets number one receiver Jerricho Cotchery will most likely be matched up with CB Shawn Springs, so don't expect a huge game from him.  Chansi Stuckey, who had a good game himself last week, will need to take pressure off Cotchery and make some plays himself.  I think the key for the Jets will be to have Brad Smith and David Clowney involved in the passing game this week.  Neither one recorded a catch last week.  Smith could be a key for Sanchez and the offense this week.

The passing game may be tested in a big way if Gang Green can not get the running game going.  Thomas Jones picked up right where he left off last season by posting another 100 yard game last week.  He will be leaned on to get the offense started this week behind a strong offensive line.  He will be up against a Patriots defensive line that surrendered 90 yards on the ground against the Bills.  Since the start of last season Jones has been pretty consistent at putting up 90 yards a game and I don't think that will change this week.

It took two season, but Leon Washington finally got more than 10 touches in a game.  He was able to gain 60 yards on 15 carries against the Texans.  Throw in 4 catches for 24 yards and I'd say he had a good day.  And that does not include what he does on special teams.  Any way you slice it, Leon has to get the ball at least 12 times against New England.  Even if it's in the "Wildcat" which the Jets ran a few times last week.  He is a main key to any success the Jets will have in 2009.

What more can you say about the way New York's defense played last week.  They totally dominated the Texans offense and shut out that side of the ball.  If that was their "A" game, then they need to bring their "A+" game this week.  Unfortunately for Rex Ryan and the Jets defense, Tom Brady is no Matt Schaub.  Brady is a master at picking apart a weak spot in a defense, so the Jets better not show any holes in their defense.  Just like last week, the defense needs to send a message early.  On the Texans first series, Jets LB Bart Scott buried his helmet in Shaub's chest after a pass attempt to set a tone.  And it worked.  They must send a similar message this week.  A good thing for the Jets is the return of DE Shaun Ellis from his one game suspension this week.  The defensive line was great last week and now you add Ellis back to it.....scary.

CB Darrelle Revis will be matched up with WR Randy Moss and should be able to keep him in check most of the game.  The key for the secondary will be to keep an eye on WR Wes Welker and TE Benjamin Watson.  Watson put up 2 touchdowns last week and is always a threat in the red zone.  Welker had 12 catches for 93 yards last week, but did have a few key drops on 3rd and 4th down.  With a potential neutralized Moss, stopping Welker and Watson is crucial.

The Patriots running game is inconsistent at best.  RB's Laurence Maroney and Fred Taylor did not have the best showing against the Bills.  Combined they were only able to rush for 55 yards.  Kris Jenkins and the Jets "D" line was able to hold Steve Slaton to just 17 yards on 9 carries.  They totally dominated the line of scrimmage.  With the way they played and the return of Ellis I don't really see the Patriots running game being a huge factor in this game.

Patriots - Jets is always a huge game for both teams.  The main reason is the divisional matchup and the standings afterword.  It just always seems to be a little bit bigger for the Jets.  They are the ones with something to prove, not New England.  The Jets need to focus on: 1) controlling the game clock.  Let the running game do its thing and eat up that clock.  2)  Try to contain the Brady to Welker connection.  They wont be able to stop it, but try to limit the damage.  3)  Start drives with good field position.  This is something the Jets have done pretty well over the past two seasons with Leon Washington.  If they can execute these things, then I think they can win this game and stop the 8 game losing streak at the Meadowlands.  If they don't execute, then Brady can have a field day and this game could be over by halftime.  I say the Jets stick to the game plan from last week and squeak out a 20-17 win on Sunday.  They have the talent and the attitude, but they need to execute.

So here we go again.  The 2009 New York Jets season is about to start and a lot has changed since the end of last season.  The Jets will take the field at Reliant Stadium on Sunday to take on the Houston Texans.  They will be led by new head coach Rex Ryan, who brings his defensive mind to New York from Baltimore.  The Jets will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing end to the 2008 season and it all starts Sunday in Houston.

Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez will at the helm for the Jets offense on Sunday.  Sanchez beat out Kellen Clemens for the starting job in the pre-season.  Sanchez will be starting with some lofty expectations from the Jets fans.  Since New York moved up in the draft to get him, he will be counted on to try to get this team in the playoffs.  It wont come easy though.  The Texans have one of the NFL's best pass rushers in Mario Williams.  Williams did have 12 sacks in 2008.  He will be going up against a very solid Jets offensive line.  This unit will be entering it's second season together after a strong 2008 campaign.  It will be up to them to keep Sanchez upright this season.

The Jets also return a strong running game this season with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington.  Jones led the AFC in rushing last season with 1312 yards.  He also had a personal best 15 touchdowns as well.  He will be up against a Houston defense that ranked 31st against the run in 2008.  And with the way the offensive line blocked for him last season, we should expect the Jets to have a good game on the ground on Sunday.  Mr. Everything, Leon Washington, should also have a good overall game as well.  If the Jets are smart, they will find a way to get Leon the ball 10-15 times on offense.  Whenever he touches the ball he seems to make something happen.  Ryan has said since he was hired that Leon needs to get the ball more.  So lets start off on the right foot on Sunday and get Leon some touches.

One problem the Jets will run into on offense is the passing game.  They only have one proven wide receiver and that is Jerricho Cotchery.  And the problem with that is that Cotchery does not seem to be a number one receiver, he is a very solid number two though.  This puts Chansi Stuckey as the number two receiver this season.  Stuckey had a couple of big catches last season as he became a favorite target of Brett Favre for a few games, but in no way does that make him a proven receiver.  The Jets round out the receiving corps with Brad Smith and David Clowney.  Smith, a converted quarterback, is someone who the Jets are high on and will be counted on to come up big as the slot receiver.  Clowney brings plenty of speed with him.  He had a very good pre-season for the second straight year.  However, he was hurt for a big part of last season and does not have that much experience behind him.

A man who could become one of Mark Sanchez favorite targets is second year tight end Dustin Keller.  Keller started out slow last season but really emerged as a very solid option in the passing game for the Jets.  He proved that he can handle pressure situations last November in Foxboro against the Patriots, catching a few key passes in overtime to help the Jets to the win in New England.  This season Keller will be counted on to be a relible option for Sanchez.

New York's run defense returns with a few new pieces in 2009.  Free agent Bart Scott joins David Harris, Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas to form one of the strongest linebacking core's in the NFL.  Scott, a key in the Ravens defense for the past few years will be looked upon to help lead the Jets to one of the best run defenses in the league.  The run defense will be led by Kris Jenkins and Shaun Ellis.  The Jets had one of the best run defenses in the league last season until the beginning of December when they started to wear down.  The will have a tall order in week one against second year running back Steve Slaton.  Slaton is coming off a rookie year in which he ran for 1282 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Jenkins and Scott will need to shut down Slaton and make Matt Schaub beat them through the air.

Which brings us to the Jets achilles heal from last year, the Secondary.  Last season the Jets secondary surrendered 234 yards per game, good for 29th in the league.  To address this issue, New York brought in cornerback Lito Sheppard and safety Jim Leonhard to join pro-bowl corner Darrelle Revis and safety Kerry Rhodes.  These upgrades should bring the secondary back to respectability.  They will be tested on Sunday against the Texans' Andre Johnson.  Johnson is coming off a season where he had 1575 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.  He will be matched up with shut-down corner Revis while Sheppard will be on Kevin Walter, who had a good season himself in 2008 with 899 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The few keys for the Jets this week will be to: A) protect Mark Sanchez.  The offensive line needs to try to keep the pressure off the kid so he can make some plays.  B) Establish the running game.  Jones should put up good numbers against a weak Texans run defense.  C) Get Leon Washington the ball more than 10 times.  The more he gets the ball, the more plays he is able to make.  This is a key for the whole season.  D) Get pressure on Matt Schaub.  Get the pressure on him and let the revamped secondary make some plays.  With Ryan's new attack style defense, the secondary should be able to make some key plays. 

The 2009 season is about to begin and the Jets are an enigma.  The have a very good defense on paper and have a very good running game.  The question this season is how fast Mark Sanchez will develop.  If he can settle in and have a season like Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan did in 2008, then the Jets will be in good shape.  If not, it may be another long season for Gang Green.  But for this week, the Jets will rely on the running game and should come out of Houston with a win to start the season.  I see the Jets winning 21-17.  Sanchez just needs to manage the game and let the running game and the defense do the rest.

So the news just broke that Brett Favre has decided to hang it up for the 2nd time in two years.  This being said, let me be one of the many fans to say thanks for the memories.  Favre has had an amazing career since 1992 and has left Jets fans with a season of memories, both good and bad.

Favre was traded to the Jets from the Green Bay Packers back in August and brought with him a cannon for an arm and a breath of hope for Jets fans.  And we Jets fans were excited.  It was evident at the first practice that Favre attended.  About 10,000 fans showed up to see the Jets latest acquisition.  The Jets have always been known as a franchise that was 2nd fiddle in their own city.  So the acquisition of Brett was just what the franchise needed.  The Jets were all over the pack pages of the papers all the way until week 1 of the season.

It was not easy for Favre in the beginning.  There were some major bumps in the road during the first month of the season.  It took a while before Favre was able to really get a grasp of the playbook.  That was evident by the Jets 3-3 start of the season.  New York had a rough time establishing whether they would be a running or a passing team. 

The season took a turn after Favre threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown against the Chiefs late in the 4th quarter back in October.  With about 2 minutes remaining, Favre led the Jets down the field and hit Laveranues Coles with the game winning touchdown.  After that the Jets took off.  The won the next two games against the Bills and Rams to improve to 6-3 before heading up to New England with first place on the line against the Patriots. 

The Jets owned the 1st half of that game and the Patriots owned the 2nd.  Favre owned overtime.  On the 1st possession of the OT, the Jets received and Favre went to work.  He led the Jets down the field by hitting Dustin Keller on a few key 3rd downs.  That set up the game winning field goal, which led the Jets to sole possession of 1st place in the AFC East.

The old gun slinger then led the Jets to Tennessee to face the 10-0 Titans.  All he did was throw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns, while leading the Jets to a 34-13 rout of the previously undefeated Titans.  He had the Jets flying high and on a 5 game winning streak where it looked like they could do no wrong at 8-3.  Then the "old" Brett got old in a hurry.

Over the next five weeks the Jets went 1-4 and should have gone 0-5.  The defense could not stop the run, the running game was slowed and Favre was way off.  Over that span Favre threw 2 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.  The Jets who were once 8-3 finished the season 9-7 and out of the playoffs. 

I still believe that the Favre trade was the right move for the Jets.  He brought hope to a franchise that always seemed stuck in the middle of the road.  Finally, the Jets had some juice in New York, the type of juice that the Giants and Yankees usually occupy.  Now the Jets will move on with their new coach Rex Ryan and have to find a new quarterback.  They seem not to be sold on Kellen Clemens and there is not much available on the free agent market this year.  The draft may not be an option either, as the Jets will be drafting around #20.  So we see what happens from here.  The one good thing about Favre retiring is that the Jets, who with Brett are $5 million over the cap, now save $13 million and will be $8 million under the cap.  Thanks for the memories Brett Favre.  Even though we only got to see you live in NY for 16 games, it was worth it.

So the New York Jets have their new head coach, Rex Ryan.  The Jets were able to lure the defensive guru away from the Baltimore Ravens, where he has been for the past 10 years.  New York offered Ryan a 4 year deal worth about 11 million dollars.  He now takes over a Jets defense that was all over the map in 2008.

The Jets pass defense was the team's achilles heal all throughout the 2008 season.  They ranked 29th in the league in passing yards against, giving up 235 yards per game in the air.  A very odd stat considering you have Kerry Rhodes and Darelle Revis in the secondary.  This is an area that needs to be addressed for the Jets to be successful in 2009. 

The Jets defensive line was very successful for the first 11 games of the season.  With Kris Jenkins leading the 3-4 defense, the Jets were ranked in the top 4 in the NFL throughout the first 11 games, surrendering about 78 yards per game on the ground.  During that same time period, they did not allow a rusher to top the 100 yard mark.  Over the final 5 games, the Jets allowed three 100 yard rushers and the other 2 games; they allowed over 100 total yards to multiple rushers.  The defensive line just seemed to be tired and worn down at the end of the season.

We all have seen what the Ravens defense has done over the past 10 years.  They always seem to be ranked near the top of the league, especially against the run.  Baltimore has always seemed to have very talented players on their defense, including Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs to name a few.  The question is:  Is Ryan that good of a defense guru?  Or is he only as talented as the players he is coaching?  I personally would like to see Ryan call a lot of the defensive plays, but we shall see what the Jets do about hiring a defensive coordinator. 

In January 2006, the Jets hired the Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini as their head coach after seeing what he did with a beat up defense in New England.  As we all saw, one year as a defensive coordinator was obviously not enough to lead a defensively challenged team such as the Jets.  Ryan has been the Ravens defensive coordinator for the past four years and was a defensive assistant for the six years previous to that.  He has been on a Super Bowl winning team, a team that won a division once and a team that made the playoffs 5 times during the past 10 years.  Only time will tell how Ryan fits with the Jets.  And from what we have seen in the past with these Jets, he will have his hands full.