| Brandon Contes. 13th January, 2009 - 1:25 pm
 We all know the story, or nightmare as it turned out. After week 12 the Jets were riding high. They had won their 5th game in a row in excellent fashion. Coming back from what could have been disaster against the Chiefs, beating the division leading Bills in Buffalo, dominating the Rams by over 40 points, beating the Pats in NE in OT, and for their grand finale, they crushed the undefeated Titans.
Brett Favre was playing great with 20 touchdown passes and looked as if he could play for another five seasons. The Jets were just hitting their stride and who knew how far the darling of the NFL Brett Favre could take the Jets this year. Everyone was talking about the prospects of a Jets vs Giants Super bowl.
Little did they know that the Jets would perform one of the worst collapses the NFL has ever seen, and one of the worst collapses that even Jets' fans had never experienced. Even most Jet fans who are used to something going wrong and are used to having their hearts broken, could not have guessed that this 8-3 Super bowl contending team would fall as dramatically as they did and finish just 9-7 watching the playoffs from home.
Living in New York and being a Jet fan myself, I hear all of the opinions. In 2006 Eric “Mangenius” could do no wrong. Bringing a team that was projected 4 or 5 wins to the playoffs, fans were expecting him to be around for the next 10-15 years. How quickly his nickname disappeared after a dismal season of coaching.
Whether it was week 2 running the ball from the 2-yard line and being stopped three straight times settling for a field goal while you have the all time leading quarterback in touchdown passes sitting behind center,or in week 16 when he chose to go for it on 4th down from their own 20 instead of being logical and punting. This entire season Mangini showed New York that he can prepare as much and as hard as he wants, but when it comes to making in-game decisions he does not have a clue. Good luck to those fans in Cleveland who are one of the only other cities who know suffering like the Jets' fans do.
Who should coach? Cowher is out, and don’t kid yourself to think that had the owner shown an interest and held off on his vacation to meet with him that Cowher may have come to New York. He never had any interest in coaching this year, and Woody being on vacation was irrelevant. Since Parcells we have had Al Groh, Herman Edwards, and Eric Mangini, it's time we go a different route and bring in a guy with experience. Try to lure Shanahan, or at least interview Marty Schottenheimer. But the Jets will probably drop the ball again and choose a first time coach who will give Jet fans nothing more than 3 years of pain.
Who should quarterback? Forget about Kellen Clemens; he showed us 2007 that he is not capable of running an offense as he had a QB rating of 60 in his 8 starts. Stop telling me how Brett Ratliff was so great in the preseason and deserves to be the quarterback; yes, he put up great numbers, but do you remember how Matt Cassel was awful this past preseason? Or how about the fact that the Detroit Lions, the team that went 0-16 this year, went 4-0 in the preseason! The preseason tells you absolutely nothing; Brett Ratliff is not the answer. Stop mentioning Matt Cassel, no team is dumb enough to let a very good quarterback walk right to their division rival. Wait a second, I believe the Jets actually did that last year with Pennington. You can try to draft a quarterback but don’t start to think that the Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan stories are the norm. Drafting and developing a quarterback takes patience, which is something New York does not have as we saw last season when Giant fans were ready to toss Eli to the side and bring in Jared Lorenzon. The best option is for Brett Favre to come back. Yes, the man who threw 2 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions over the final 5 weeks of the season is the man that would be best fit for the job. He showed a span of greatness this season too; let's not forget his 6 TD's against Arizona and his phenomenal play during their 5 game win streak. Favre’s arm strength is still there. It's not the best in the league, but it is certainly in the top 5. With one season under his belt along with a training camp and full preseason, Favre would be much more in tune with the Jets and much more consistent. Getting him a speed receiver would be crucial. The team has talent and could still make a run next year.
What is more likely to happen, however, is that Favre retires, the Jets bring in a dud of a coach, and they go the next decade without making the playoffs struggling to find a franchise quarterback. Hope for a miracle, but expect the usual pain as a Jets' fan. |
