NY JETS news articles- 11/ 24/08

[Kentucky Jet]

Brett Favre lines up, gets hit

BY RICH CIMINI

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, November 23rd 2008, 8:30 PM

NASHVILLE - Brett Favre in a three-point stance? Strange, but true.

In the first quarter of Sunday's 34-13 win over the Titans, the Jets used their version of the "Wildcat" formation. WR Brad Smith was behind center in shotgun, with Favre lined up split-left as a wide receiver. He got a little carried away, putting one hand down on the ground in a three-point stance.

CB Cortland Finnegan wasn't amused. Even though the play went the other way - Smith pitched to Leon Washington for a 5-yard gain - Finnegan knocked Favre on his rear end. That, no doubt, caused hearts to skip on the Jets' bench.

"They were ready to drill me on my sideline," Favre said, grinning. "I knew he was going to try to take me out - and he did. But it didn't hurt."

IMPERFECT ENDING: Favre wasn't perfect. He threw his first interception in three games, ending his streak of 71 straight passes without a pick. Finnegan - yes, him again - made a leaping, one-handed grab on a ball for Laveranues Coles.

Favre threw his 500th touchdown pass, counting the postseason.

DUSTIN A DIAMOND: Rookie TE Dustin Keller was a huge factor again. Not only did he make six receptions for 42 yards, giving him 20 catches over the last three games, but he drew three critical penalties for 17 yards. ... The Jets' five-game winning streak is their longest since 2004, when they also began 8-3. They've won seven of eight, their best eight-game stretch since 1998.

LAW IN ORDER: As expected, recently signed CB Ty Law replaced struggling rookie Dwight Lowery in the starting lineup. In fact, Lowery didn't see any time on defense, save for a stretch in the third quarter when Law was sidelined with what appeared to be a leg cramp.

CB David Barrett had a rough day. He was used primarily on TE Bo Scaife, who caught three passes for 40 yards. Barrett also was flagged for pass interference. ... So much for the coin-toss streak. The Jets lost their first toss in 11 tries, as Kerry Rhodes called it wrong before the opening kickoff. Because of the publicity his streak had garnered, Rhodes figured he was going to he jinxed - and he was right. ... Eric Mangini stayed with kicker Jay Feely, keeping Mike Nugent on the bench. Feely made two field goals, from 20 and 30 yards, extending his streak to 10 straight. Looks like Nugent will sit next week against the Broncos, too. ... Washington unveiled a new way to celebrate a touchdown. Instead of a conventional spike, he made like a tennis player, tossing up the ball and slamming it down. ... Rookie QB Erik Ainge, slapped with a four-game suspension for testing positive for steroids, took a banned diuretic given to him by his girlfriend, ESPN reported.

[Bergen Jet]

After his 5 reasons why the Jets were going to lose article this is the best he can do? I don't want our beat reporters to be fans... I want them to be impartial. This dude is further from impartial and Mark Cannizaro is from skinny.

[Kentucky Jet]

Tennessee Titans still say they are better than Jets after loss

BY OHM YOUNGMISUK

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Sunday, November 23rd 2008, 9:45 PM

NASHVILLE - After they had been stunningly manhandled in almost every facet of the game, the Titans' two defensive leaders said it's clear who the best team in the AFC is.

According to Albert Haynesworth and Keith Bulluck, the Titans, not the Jets, are still the standard in the conference.

BIG APPLE FOOTBALL: WEEK 12

Apparently not even a 34-13 whipping on their home turf can change their minds about that.

"I'm not going to sit here and keep complimenting them at all," Bulluck said after repeatedly crediting the Jets for being the better team Sunday. "Defensively we didn't answer the bell and that's it. Not to discredit them (but) I don't think that team is better than us. They were today, definitely by far. They put a lot of points up and held us to very few. They are definitely one of the top teams in the AFC."

According to Haynesworth, the Jets aren't the top dog in the AFC yet.

"I think we are," said Haynesworth, who had 1-1/2 sacks and a forced fumble but was otherwise held in check. "We just didn't have a good game. They played really good ball. We didn't show up. We didn't play nowhere near as good as we can."

That would be an understatement. The Titans went into this game ranked in the top 10 of 12 different defensive categories. They had surrendered an average of 13.1 points - best in the league - and 281.8 yards per game.

But from the first drive of the game, Tennessee's monster defense found itself chasing the Jets and was kept guessing virtually all afternoon.

Besides scoring 34 points, the Jets hammered the Titans for 409 total yards, 192 coming on the ground alone. That's almost 100 yards more than what teams had averaged against the Titans all season (95.1).

Tennessee's bruising running game managed a measly 45 yards as the Titans were forced to throw after falling behind 20-3 with 3:02 left in the third.

And even though Kerry Collins had managed to rise to the occasion earlier this season when defenses focused in on the running game, the Titans' quarterback couldn't overcome several dropped passes by his receivers. Collins' receivers had dropped five balls by the first drive of the second quarter.

By the time Collins found the end zone for the team's only touchdown, that to fullback Ahmard Hall, the Titans were down 27-13 with 9:43 remaining.

Their 10-game winning streak was history, snapped by the AFC's hottest team - the Jets.

Haynesworth said he fully expects to see the Jets again in the playoffs. Bulluck hopes to see the Jets again in Nashville when much more is at stake.

"We got embarrassed at home," Bulluck said. "(But) we are going to do our damndest to make sure anything playoff-wise in the AFC is coming through Tennessee. Football is a mentality. A game like this toughens an already tough team."

[Kentucky Jet]

Broadway Brett Favre is Jets' driving force

Sunday, November 23rd 2008, 9:10 PM

Cox/Getty

Brett Favre points Jets to top after thrashing previously undefeated Titans.

Russell/AP

Eric Mangini congratulates Favre as the Jets show they are contenders in the AFC.

NASHVILLE - Brett Favre has transformed the Jets into the best team in the AFC with the playoffs just one month away. Back-to-back road victories over the hated Patriots and undefeated Titans in 10 days have made them legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

And with the guessing games already starting about whether he plans to return in 2009, Favre made one thing very clear after Sunday's 34-13 victory: This could be it for him and he's going for it all right now.

BIG APPLE FOOTBALL: WEEK 12

After declaring that the domination of the Titans felt "as good, if not better" than any of his big wins in 16 years in Green Bay, he explained it by saying, "My career in Green Bay was awesome. Was better than awesome. Will I have a 16-year career in New York? I doubt it. But I'm going to lump 16 into one and see what happens."

And the way the Giants and Jets are playing, the first-ever Subway Super Bowl has gone from being far-fetched to realistic. The Giants have won six in a row. The Jets have won five in a row. They are the two hottest teams in the NFL.

BITTER BILL: SETTLE DOWN, JETS FANS

Now the Jets surely want Favre back next year and it's dangerous to read between the lines with him when he doesn't know himself what he wants to do, but he was pleased some of the home folks traveled from Mississippi to see Sunday's game because "there's not many games left for old Brett Favre."

Old Brett Favre is the best thing to happen to the Jets since young Joe Namath. In the 40-year anniversary season of the only championship in their history, the Jets not only are red-hot, I think they have emerged as the AFC favorites to get to the Super Bowl after back-to-back wins over the defending, yet depleted AFC champs and the previously unbeaten Titans.

They probably won't make up the two-game deficit on the Titans for the AFC's best record, but here's what Sunday proved to the Jets: They can come back to Tennessee in January and beat these guys.

Each week, the goals and stakes get a little higher. The Jets need to concentrate on beating out the Steelers for the No. 2 seed, which would give them a bye and a home game in the divisional round. They have not lost since the low point of the season in Oakland, when Favre's body language seemed to be saying that he should have stayed home in Hattiesburg.

But Favre has changed everything for the Jets. He plays the game with the enthusiasm of a little kid - and it's genuine. He came racing up the tunnel after the game, high-fiving and back-slapping teammates. He was chest-bumping on the sidelines. He has wiped away the losing mentality that had overtaken the Jet locker room last year.

Tennessee was allowing 13 points per game in its 10-0 start. The Jets had 13 midway through the third quarter and then tacked on three touchdowns. The offensive line took care of the Titans' top-ranked defense. The Jets rushed for 192 yards. The defense made Kerry Collins look like he did in his final days with the Giants, although his receivers didn't help with so many dropped passes. The most impressive stat: The Jets controlled the ball for an astounding 40:30. Hard to lose that way.

Here's the statement Favre believes the Jets have made:

"I think it says we are 8-3, way better than probably a lot of people gave us a chance to be at this point. What that means for the future remains to be seen, but it definitely puts us in a good position at this point. I don't know what these guys were last year at this point, but they were probably looking forward to this year, the offseason, whatever."

Who knows when the Jets will be in this position again? They must take advantage of whatever time Favre gives them. He put the game away with a vintage Favre fastball to Lavernaues Coles in the back of the end zone from the 2 to give the Jets a 20-3 lead late in the third quarter. Coles happened to be triple-covered on the play and got blasted after he caught the ball.

Coles says he kids with Favre that when he throws it in such tight spots, they play the "military trumpet" song for him. Otherwise known as "Taps." "When I got to the sideline, I played it for him," Coles laughed. "He said, 'That's okay, you caught it.'"

Favre has won over Coles, who sulked after the Jets dumped his buddy Chad Pennington. He's not sulking anymore. "He enjoys the game, he enjoys the guys, he enjoys the locker room," Coles said. "It's a great experience. Anybody who has ever played with him would probably say the same thing. He's a great person, a great guy and he's fun to be around. I don't have to say he's a great football player."

Favre can sense the players starting to believe they can do big things. They always believed in him. In the last two games, he's completed 51 of 65 passes for 582 yards with four TDs and just one INT. Now they are believing in each other. That can be very powerful and take a team a long way. Maybe even to Tampa.

"I'm not going to sit here and say that we've established ourselves as the best team in football," Favre said. "All it says is I think we beat the best team in football today. Definitely if you go by record and the way that they've played, they had been the best team in football."

The other New York team may not agree. Perhaps the Giants and Jets can settle it themselves in Tampa on Feb. 1.

[Kentucky Jet]

Thomas Jones gives thanks for group effort with Jets running game

BY OHM YOUNGMISUK

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Humphrey/AP

Leon Washington celebrates after scoring a touchdown on a 4-yard run.

NASHVILLE - After the Jets' convincing win Sunday, Thomas Jones sounded like an award-winning actor at the Oscars trying to thank as many people as he could at the podium. All that was missing was the orchestra starting up to hurry him offstage.

The running back wanted to credit his entire offensive line - name by name if he had the time - his fullback, running mate Leon Washington, his offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and anybody else he could think of.

BIG APPLE FOOTBALL: WEEK 12

After all, it took a collective effort to flatten what was considered to be the best defense in the NFL.

The Jets ran for 192 yards against Tennessee, which had given up an average of 95.1 per game this season.

Jones rushed for 96 yards. Washington gained 82 yards, 61 coming on a touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that sealed the 34-13 rout against a team that had given up a league-best 13.1 points a game.

"Now, we are finally coming together," said Jones, who caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. "We have a great offensive line, one of the best in the league. I think we have the best fullback in the league, hands down, in Tony Richardson. Anytime we get out there we expect the run the ball well.

"Their front seven is one of the best in the league. But I think our guys just came off the ball and were physical and gave us cracks to run through."

At times, it looked like Jones and Washington were running through craters created by an offensive line that showed it was worth every penny the Jets invested in it in the offseason.

All week long, the Jets heard about the Titans' dominant defensive front featuring Albert Haynesworth, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jevon Kearse.

But the Jets attacked the Titans on the first drive with a series of quick and effective passes. Brett Favre was 14-of-19 for 149 yards in the first half. Those short balls would set up the run in the second half when the Jets needed to control the clock and wear out Tennessee. "They had us off-balance from the first series when they drove it down on us," said Haynesworth, who saw the Jets win the time of possession, 40:30 to 19:30. "We tried to make checks and they made some adjustments and two series later were still moving the ball on us. We woke up real late. I don't know if we still woke up."

"The offensive line once again this week did a really good job of controlling up front," Washington said. "It was pretty hard early on. We kind of wore them down. I did the easy part."

So much for Tennessee's vaunted defense.

"That is a fun day for us to go out there and be able to accomplish that," said Jets guard Alan Faneca. "That is an offensive lineman's dream."

[Kentucky Jet]

FAVRE'S ENTHUSIASM EASY FOR JETS TO CATCH

Steve Serby

November 24, 2008

NASHVILLE - You can call it Favre Fever, and the New York Jets have caught it.

It is an infectious disease, and suddenly the rest of the NFL will be scrambling to find a cure.

It starts with the 39-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback chest-bumping teammates and jumping into the arms of a Damien Woody and high-fiving Jay Feely after a killer third-quarter touchdown pass to Laveranues ColesLaveranues Coles and generally acting like a high school senior.

Before you know it, they all feel it:

An offensive line that absolutely dismembers the Titans and unleashes the two-headed monster of Thomas Jones (27-96) and Leon Washington (8-82, 2 TDs), 192 rushing yards in all, 4.9 yards per crack.

A defense anchored by Kris Jenkins that limits rookie gamebreaker Chris Johnson to 45 rushing yards.

A rookie tight end named Dustin Keller who catches six passes for 42 yards and draws three penalties against defenders that can't match up with his freakish skills.

A head coach who, with 10 days to prepare after beating the Patriots in Foxborough, is Mangenius again.

It didn't take a perfect game to end a perfect season, but this was damn close. The Jets dominated the trenches and kept the Titans on their heels all afternoon, thanks to a gameplan that Bill Parcells and the Super Bowl XXV Giants would have: a 40:30-19:30 time of possession advantage.

"I'm not gonna sit here and say that we've established ourselves as the best team in football," Brett Favre said after Jets 34, Titans 13. "All it says is that I think we beat the best team in football today - definitely if you go by record and the way that they've played, they had been the best team in football."

Had been. The Titans are 10-1 now. The Jets are 8-3, and in the driver's seat for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Favre (6-for-6) shredded the Titans and demoralized their pass rush with his deadly quick passing game on the opening drive, and it was 7-0.

"I tried to get it to our playmakers underneath, and let 'em make plays," Favre said. "That first drive was really a tone-setter, if you will. It sure sent a message that we were capable of scoring against this defense."

The Titans, meanwhile, played as if the prospect of a perfect season was an albatross. Kerry Collins wasn't about to beat the Jets without a running game and his receivers dropped five passes in the first half, anyway.

Favre (25-32, 224 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) recalled that the '96 Packers won a Super Bowl more by chemistry than talent alone.

"This team," Favre said, "I start sensing a belief: 'All right, we can get it done.' That's where it starts. When we stepped on the field, we were 14 points ahead before the ball was kicked off. I mean that from a mental standpoint. No one wanted to play us."

Favre's interception was his first in three games, an underthrow for Coles down the left sidelines. But his two-yard TD pass to Coles that made it 20-3 is why no one will want to play his Jets if he remains disciplined. Favre looked left for Keller first as he rolled right and wound up throwing across his body to Coles - vintage fearless Favre - in back of the end zone.

"When I threw it, I thought, 'This is gonna be tight,' " Favre said, "but I felt like it had a chance. I always called it the (ex-Packers coach) Mike Holmgren Syndrome: 'Oh, no, no, no, no, - GOOD!' "

Favre smiled now. "It was good today," he said.

Favre even got drilled early on by cornerback Cortland Finnegan when he lined up left in the Jets' version of the Wildcat. "It didn't hurt," Favre said. "I've been hit a lot harder, but no offense to him."

The first question for Favre in the interview room had been: "Where should the '72 Dolphins send the champagne?" now that their perfect season remains in the history books.

"I don't drink," Favre said with one those mischievous smiles. "Twelve years ago I . . ."

Favre and the Jets are driving the rest of the league to drink. Favre Fever is running rampant.

[Kentucky Jet]

JETS' O-LINEMEN TRUE TITANS IN WIN

By BRIAN COSTELLO

November 24, 2008

NASHVILLE - The hype all week centered around Albert Haynesworth and the Tennessee defense. The New York Jets ' offensive line gave its answer yesterday: Don't believe the hype.

The Jets' O-line controlled the game, keeping the Titans' front four off Brett Favre and wearing them down by opening up huge holes for backs Thomas Jones (96 yards) and Leon WashingtonLeon Washington (82 yards) in Gang Green's 34-13 victory.

The Jets held the ball for 40:30, gaining a total of 409 yards, 192 on the ground.

The line - Nick Mangold, Alan Faneca, Brandon Moore, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Damien Woody - won the battle in the trenches and was a major reason the Jets are now 8-3.

"They did an outstanding job," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "I can't give those guys enough credit."

Favre was sacked just twice, both in the first half, and Haynesworth had only four tackles. Faneca spent most of the day against the big defensive tackle. The veteran guard was one of the Jets' major free agent acquisitions and he got the job done in this matchup.

The Titans defense tired in the second half as the Jets compiled long drive after long drive.

"I think when you run the ball as much as we did today and (are) as successful as we were, I think teams do start to wear down a little bit," Moore said. "That was one of our goals coming into the game . . . being able to have some long, consistent drives and not turn the ball over. Punt or touchdowns, that was the goal going in and I think, for the most part, we did a good job of it."

The line's outstanding performance was evident on two plays in particular. The first was Favre's 2-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles in the third quarter. The line gave Favre extra time after his first option was covered.

"We knew if we give him a little extra time he can move around and get a feel and he can get the ball downfield," Moore said. "We take pride in that being able to give him that extra half a second or whatever and being able to make those plays downfield."

The second play was Washington's 61-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Washington burst through a huge hole on the right side on his way to the end zone.

"The offensive line once again this week did a really good job of controlling up front," Washington said. "The hole was wide open and I tried to run as fast as I could."

[Kentucky Jet]

GRADING THE JETSBy Erik Boland

November 24, 2008

A Armed with a game plan that required mostly short passes, Brett Favre was nearly flawless, missing on just seven attempts. He made a poor throw on his second-quarter interception but the defense made sure the Titans didn't capitalize. The offensive line turned in its strongest game of the season, handling the Titans up front, something no team had done to this point. Strong running from both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, whose 61-yard yard TD run was the Jets' longest of the season.

DEFENSE

A- Though victimized by a slew of dropped passes, Kerry Collins never did get comfortable against the defense as he finished 21-for-39 for 243 yards and a TD. Many of those yards came at the end against the prevent. The run defense was superb against an offensive line that had been blowing holes open all season for Chris Johnson and LenDale White. The Jets hardly blitzed, daring Collins and his weak receivers - tight end Bo Scaife excepted - to beat them. They couldn't.

SPECIAL TEAMS

B+ For the first time in a while, a quiet game from Mike Westhoff's unit, though not a bad one by any stretch. Reggie Hodges punted just once and it went for 50 yards. Leon Washington had two punt returns for 8 yards and two kickoff returns for 39 yards. The coverage was good against Lavelle Hawkins, who averaged 18.6 yards on seven returns. Jay Feely hit field goals from 20 and 30 yards. A good, solid day on special teams.

COACHING

A Veteran linebacker David Bowens said when the Jets returned from their five-day break, the Patriots victory was never mentioned. Eric Mangini had the Jets focused on the task in front of them and it showed in a strong 60-minute performance that throttled the league's only undefeated team. And the killer instinct missing against the Patriots was very much in evidence yesterday.

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[Kentucky Jet]

Big day for Jets' defense not overshadowedBY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

November 24, 2008

Did the defense's effort get lost in everything the offense accomplished yesterday?

It shouldn't have. While the Titans' 10-0 start was in large part because of their defense, their offense, particularly on the ground, earned some headlines. Led by dynamic rookie Chris Johnson and powerful LenDale White, the Titans entered yesterday's game with the league's seventh-ranked rushing offense, averaging 132.7 yards per game. The Jets, who entered with the fourth-ranked rush defense (81.3), limited the Titans to 45 rushing yards.

It was no contest.

"They had a great running game," said nose tackle Kris Jenkins, who, as he usually does, helped the Jets win the initial surge at the line of scrimmage. "We had to make sure we contained them. We had to play solid team defense, and that was what our goal was when we went out there. I guess we did OK today."

Speaking of Jenkins, everything OK with him?

The big nose tackle stayed down after a Kerry Collins incompletion early in the fourth quarter and was helped off the field. But he was able to smile about it afterward.

"I got cleated," Jenkins said. "Just one of those things. Sometimes you need a second to recover. It's kind of like getting the wind knocked out of you. I'm not out of commission; I just needed a second to get my bearings back."

Did the Titans find an answer for Dustin Keller?

Not really. The rookie tight end was a major contributor for the third straight game, catching six passes for 42 yards. Keller again was a weapon on third down and drew several double- teams. Once, when lined up as a wideout, Keller drew an illegal-contact penalty coming off the line, a rarity for a tight end.

Brett Favre repeated something regarding Keller he's said a couple of times already: "He has no idea how good he can be."

Favre said his first pass of the game came on a busted play, but the TD pass to Laveranues Coles was planned, right?

Well, no.

"Pulled that one out of the hat," Favre said.

On third-and-goal from the 2, Favre rolled to his right, bought some time and fired a dart into the back of the end zone that Coles - in tight coverage - caught and held on to despite taking a hard hit, giving the Jets a 20-3 lead with 3:02 left in the third. Favre said Keller was the first option on the play.

"It is kind of one of those things where me and Brett were on the same page," Coles said, "and when he came back to me and saw me, he rifled it in there."

Said Favre: "When I threw it, I thought, 'This is going to be tight.' But I felt like we had a chance."

SECOND GUESS

Tough to find much yesterday to parse, but here goes: The Jets, after carving up the Titans on their first drive, ran their version of the "wildcat" on their second drive, lining up Brad Smith in the shotgun. His pitch to Leon Washington gained 5 yards but the play was out of place based on what had been working, and what continued to work all afternoon.

ABRAM ELAM

The safety created his third turnover in four games that led to points. He stripped RB Chris Johnson in the third quarter and linebacker Bryan Thomas recovered the fumble at the Titans' 35-yard line. Eight plays later, Brett Favre hit Laveranues Coles for a TD that made it 20-3.

[Kentucky Jet]

Even Jets' mistakes became gains against TitansBY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com

November 24, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - On the first play the Jets' offense ran yesterday, Brett Favre tossed a beautiful short throw to the left side that Jerricho Cotchery caught and turned into a 16-yard gain.

Precisely how it wasn't drawn up.

"It was a one-man route to L.C. on the slant," Favre said, referring to Laveranues Coles. "Jerricho doesn't even have a route on the play."

Favre laughed. "A busted play," he said. But a play, he said, that "set the tone."

The Jets did a lot of tone-setting on their first possession, a nine-play, 76-yard drive that Favre ended by throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Jones.

"Not that we couldn't have gone on to win the ballgame had we not gone down and scored," Favre said, "but it sure sent a message that we were capable of scoring against this defense."

Favre went 6-for-6 for 72 yards on the drive, all of them short passes, the game plan against a fierce Titans pass rush that entered the game ranked sixth in the league with 28 sacks. It was an array of screens, slants and crossing routes requiring three-step drops to keep Favre upright.

Favre executed the game plan to near-perfection, going 25-for-32 for 224 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. It looked similar to his previous game, the 34-31 OT win over the Patriots in which he went 26-for-33 for 258 yards with two TDs.

"It was very effective, with the short passes, getting the ball out of Brett's hands real quick, not allowing our pass rush to get up the field," Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "They had a great game plan."

Coach Eric Mangini didn't put a number on it, but he said a portion of Favre's completions came when he audibled out of the play sent in from the sideline. It is another indication of Favre's increasing comfort level with the Jets' offense.

"Some of those quick passes came on called running plays," Mangini said. "That's one of those things that Brett's special at, his ability to assess the coverage, look at the fronts, figure out whether or not he thinks a run's going to work versus throwing a slant to J-Co or Laveranues. When you have that ability like he does, it makes it challenging defensively."

The Jets are officially on a roll, and Favre, 39, who after quite a few games earlier this season looked significantly older than that, exuded youth and exuberance yesterday.

"We've been faced with, it seems like each week, a bigger game than we had last week," Favre said. "And that's the position the Jets want to be in. That's the position that every team wants to be in and every player, I would think. This is what it's all about. It's just nice to be on the winning end of it."

First impressions

The Jets have scored on their opening possession in the last six games:

OPP. RESULT PLAYS YARDS TIME

Titans TD 9 76 4:35

Patriots TD 10 62 5:34

Rams TD 8 80 4:33

Bills FG 6 42 1:47

Chiefs TD 10 73 6:10

Raiders FG 9 58 3:19

Copyright

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets show they're real

Defense, line play give Titans 1st loss

November 24, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The New York Jets announced themselves as a legitimate contender for the AFC East crown with their victory over the New England Patriots on Nov. 13.

Ten days later, they made an even bigger statement.

Dominating the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans from start to finish, the Jets declared themselves an elite team in the conference with yesterday's 34-13 victory in front of a mostly somber crowd at LP Field. The Titans (10-1) hadn't lost a regular-season game since Dec. 16, 2007, in becoming the 11th team since 1970 to win its first 10 games.

But yesterday was about the Jets, 8-3 for the first time since 2004, and their most complete effort of the season in what was their fifth straight victory since an overtime loss in Oakland that looks more inexplicable by the week.

"We want to be taken seriously," nose tackle Kris Jenkins (Maryland) said. "We feel like we're a good team and that we can compete. That's all we're looking for. Every game to us is a big game."

"I'm not going to sit here and say that we've established ourselves as the best team in football," Brett Favre said. "All it says is that I think we beat the best team in football today, definitely, if you go by record and the way they've played. It's hard to win, period, in this league and hard to win on the road. It's hard to win at a place that's 10-0; it's hard to win at Foxborough. We found a way to do it."

But while the Jets built a 24-6 first-half lead on the Patriots only to be taken into overtime, yesterday never reached that level of drama.

After the defense forced the Titans into a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, the Jets moved easily downfield, scoring on their first drive for the sixth straight game. Favre capped the nine-play, 76-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Jones, who caught the screen pass at the 8-yard line and made his way into the end zone untouched behind space-clearing blocks from center Nick Mangold, left guard Alan Faneca and left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

"That first drive was really a tone-setter," Favre said.

In every way, especially considering the Titans came into the game having given up a league-low 23 first-quarter points and led the league in scoring defense (13.1 ppg).

The Jets' game plan to attack that defense called for mostly short passes and Favre executed it well, finishing 25-for-32 for 224 yards with two TDs and one INT. The Jets outgained the Titans 409-281 in total yards, including 192-45 on the ground.

Tennessee came in with a bruising reputation on both sides of the ball, ranking seventh in rushing (132.7 ypg) and 10th against the run (95.1), but were beaten up both ways by the Jets, whose front seven was stellar.

The defense twice shut down the Titans after first-half turnovers, yielding zero points and allowing the Jets to take a 10-3 lead into the half.

"It was incredibly important," coach Eric Mangini said. "To come out and hold them to no points after a sudden change [turnovers], that's key."

But the even bigger key was an offensive line that played its best game of the season. The quintet starred most of the afternoon - Favre was sacked only twice - and was the primary reason the Jets owned a staggering advantage in time of possession, 40:30-19:30.

"Our offensive line is one of the best in the league," said Jones, who rushed 27 times for 96 yards, just missing a third straight 100-yard game.

[Maxman]

After his 5 reasons why the Jets were going to lose article this is the best he can do? I don't want our beat reporters to be fans... I want them to be impartial. This dude is further from impartial and Mark Cannizaro is from skinny.

I put a detailed response to the five reasons why the Titans will win in yesterdays news thread. I should have probably started a new thread for it.

You would think after writing an editorial saying that the Jets would lose, that somehow he would address it. He does seem to be happy when he can write about them possibly losing.

[Maxman]

Thanks KJ!

[Maxman]

With Titans loss, nobody's perfect

Players say first defeat can help down road

By Jim Wyatt