Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size

They sure look like same old Jets

Shaun Powell
September 15, 2008

Same old Jets- Patriots. That's what we learned yesterday when the Jets opened for business at home and instead of making a case for who they are, they emphatically demonstrated who they are not.

They're not the Patriots, not now, maybe not tomorrow, no matter who's quarterbacking for Bill Belichick, be it Tom Brady, Tom Hanks, Tom Thumb or someone even more unbelievable, like Matt Cassel.

Yes, in a stadium soaked with anticipation, in a setting ripe for a big reversal of fortune in the AFC East, Matt Cassel's team beat Brett Favre's team.

A guy who didn't even start at USC, and probably couldn't start there right now if he went back, beat a future Hall of Famer. And Cassel beat Favre mainly because the Patriots were better prepared to win with someone like him than the Jets were prepared to win with someone like Favre, strange as it sounds.

Shaun Powell Shaun Powell Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

And so the Patriots, wounded but smug as ever, walked into the Meadowlands, took a 19-10 victory and left with ... well, the best way to describe how they left is to describe the way Pats defensive back Ellis Hobbs left.

"Why did we even bother showing up?" Hobbs shouted to no one in particular while strutting off the field. "Tom Brady, he's not here. We can't win. We got no shot. Why bother?"

Well, to paraphrase Hobbs, if the Jets insist on blowing a chance to beat the Brady-less Patriots, as they did yesterday, why bother trying to be like them?

In their wildest dreams, the Jets will win multiple Super Bowls and keep retooling and reloading their roster for a glorious run that lasts a decade. That's what the Patriots have done, and the Jets, from owner Woody Johnson on down, idolize the Patriots. Johnson hired his head coach from the Patriots. The Jets model themselves after the Patriots. They want to be the Patriots when they grow up.

Now that's a pretty good example to follow, except at this point, in just about every way, the Jets are coming up considerably short, like that underthrown ball Favre threw to Chris Baker right after halftime.

The Jets spent $100 million-plus on upgrades in the offseason and added Favre and still never seriously threatened a team that was missing Brady, probably the most important player in football. Yesterday proved the Patriots are good enough to beat certain teams without Brady, and the Jets, at least this early in the season, aren't ready to flex. It also reminded everyone that the Jets are coming off a 4-12 regular season and the Patriots are coming off a 16-0 season and that one doesn't suddenly beat the other overnight, no matter who's not in the lineup.

Oh, and it says something else: The Jets really should ditch the Chad Pennington playbook and write a new one for Favre.

They had first-and-goal from the 3-yard line, trailing 6-0 just before halftime, and ran Thomas Jones three times up the gut. They have a risk-taking rambler for a quarterback and they asked him to hand off. In three carries Jones traveled six feet. The Jets had to settle for three points.

"We liked our opportunity" with Jones is all coach Eric Mangini said, but you would've liked the Jets better in that situation, and a few others, if they had maximized what Favre has to offer: a scramble, a pass on the run, anything but three runs up the middle.

It's still early, and Favre and the Jets are still getting to know one another, so you can excuse them for now. But the Jets must realize they'll probably have Favre for only one season and that it'll go quickly; therefore, why not go for broke?

Sorry if this comes off as anti-Mangini, but Belichick wouldn't put handcuffs on Favre.

Belichick tweaked his playbook for Cassel and it worked yesterday. Cassel stayed within his limits and leaned on former Jet LaMont Jordan to run the ball and keep the offense moving.

And that's another reason why the Jets aren't the Patriots yet. The Patriots in this decade under Belichick usually find a way to win, damn the circumstances; the Jets this decade have found ways to lose.

Based on two Sundays of football, the Jets are not the 4-12 team of a year ago because, as Favre said rather accurately, "there's a lot of room for improvement but we're not far off." But just the same, the Jets aren't quite in the class of the Patriots, either.

They had a chance to throw a scare into the Patriots and ran three times instead.

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

Hampton Roads Facts, Data and Statistics

Search restaurant inspections Search restaurant inspections
Property Transfers Database Property Transfers Database
Crime Database: JCC Crime Database: JCC

Blogs

Bacon's Rebellion - Op/Ed Blog for Virginia's New Economy Bacon's Rebellion - Op/Ed Blog for Virginia's New Economy
Pickerhead.com - Pickings from the Webvine Pickerhead.com - Pickings from the Webvine