Jets News 11/26/10

[SoFlaJets]

Don't call Revis 'average,' Butthead

By MARC RAIMONDI

November 26, 2010

There was nothing "average" about the job Darrelle Revis did on Terrell Owens last night.

After scathing trash talk by the Bengals' star wide receiver this week, Revis never let him get going. Owens had just three catches for 17 yards in the Jets' 26-10 win at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

This week, Owens called Revis, who has developed the reputation as one of the best cornerbacks in the business, "average."

"Not bad," Revis said. "Just trying to make ends meet out there for an average corner. They stuck me on the best receiver, Terrell Owens. I was kind of shocked that they put an average corner on one of the best receivers in the league. But I guess I managed to do OK against him."

Revis' best play against Owens might have come with 9:52 left in the third quarter. Carson Palmer handed off to Chad Ochocinco, who flung a ball deep down the right sideline to Owens on a trick play. Revis was there every step of the way and Owens was unable to haul it in at the goal line.

"I didn't like it," Revis said of the comments. "I felt that it was disrespectful. I mean I'm sure he felt the same way when I called him a slouch last year. So it goes vice versa with the feelings. I felt he was calling me out."

Owens was upset about comments Revis made last season about him and Randy Moss. Owens, who had six catches for 46 yards against Revis in two games with the Bills last year, initially said Revis was "great," then just "good," before demoting him all the way to just "an average corner."

"He's only done one thing for one year," Owens said. "You talk about shutdown corners, you need to repeatedly do it year-in and year-out. I think he did it one year and everybody made a lot of hoopla about it."

If Revis' talents are based solely on his performances against T.O., perhaps the hoopla is well deserved. The camp of Owens and Ochocinco had been referring to Revis and fellow corner Antonio Cromartie as "Ren and Stimpy." Ochocinco had just four catches for 41 yards.

Cromartie said the goal was to hold both stars under 50 yards. Mission accomplished in both respects.

"Ren and Stimpy did a pretty good job tonight," Cromartie said. "Batman and Robin."

[SoFlaJets]

Shoeless Brad goads Jets to victory

By MARK CANNIZZARO

November 26, 2010

Imagine what the Jets can do when they start playing with some urgency early in games.

Imagine what Brad Smith can do with both of his shoes on.

Give this to the Jets: They have developed a curious and annoying habit of oversleeping, but when they do wake up they put in a productive work day.

Give this to Smith: He's the most electrifying player on the Jets.

It all added up to a 26-10 Jets victory over the Bengals last night at New Meadowlands Stadium, some eight hours after the Patriots took care of their business in Detroit.

HUGGING IT OUT: Jets coach Rex Ryan hugs Brad Smith, who had a 53-yard touchdown run and returned a kickoff 89-yards for a score in last night's 26-10 win over the Bengals.

The end result of a compelling day of Thanksgiving football: The stage is now set for the 9-2 Jets to play the 9-2 Patriots on Dec. 6 in Foxborough, Mass., for supremacy in the AFC East in perhaps the most anticipated and hyped Jets regular-season game ever.

A Jets victory over the Patriots would essentially give them a two-game division lead over their hated rivals with four games to play because it would mean they swept the season series.

Coach Rex Ryan couldn't help himself from throwing a few coals on the fire.

"They're clearly the best team in football," Ryan said of the Patriots after the Jets' win. "That's what all the experts say . . . except me."

Let the hype begin.

But first, about last night and back to Smith, the Jets forgotten-man fourth receiver.

Smith was positively brilliant, displaying in the span of a single game why he has had staying power despite never having developed into a starting receiver.

After the Jets had played a sleepy first half, he ignited a rally with a 53-yard scoring run on an end-around just 47 seconds into the second half. That gave the Jets a 10-7 lead and awoke the quiet crowd.

"The whole atmosphere in the building flipped when Brad made that run," Jets safety Jim Leonhard said. "That's what he does."

Running back LaDainian Tomlinson said he felt something like that coming when the Jets left the halftime locker room.

"We talked at halftime about how it was time to stop messing around, that we're better than this and let's get going," Tomlinson said. "We came out with a sense of urgency. I think everyone just woke up."

Smith put the game away for the Jets with a scintillating 89-yard kickoff return for a TD and a 24-10 lead with 12:18 remaining.

On the return, Smith lost his right shoe at about midfield and still outran the Bengals' pursuers the rest of the way.

Now for a reality check: Smith's stupendous performance masked what was otherwise yet another uneven performance for a team that fancies itself as a favorite to go to -- and win -- the Super Bowl.

The Jets survived yet another lackluster first half, during which their offense struggled once again in the red zone, they committed too many penalties and their kicker, Nick Folk, missed a 44-yard field goal.

The Jets had trouble putting away a 2-9 Bengals team that led 7-3 at the half but eventually lost its eighth consecutive game.

The Bengals took that lead on a 4-yard Carson Palmer scoring pass to rookie receiver Jordan Shipley, who didn't appear to be covered around the goal line. The closest Jets defender on the play was cornerback Drew Coleman, who seemed to be covering another receiver.

All week, the Jets lamented the lack of communication on defense in their fourth-quarter meltdown against the Texans last Sunday. But on Shipley's TD, the communication appeared to be shaky again.

The Bengals' go-ahead score was made possible by a terrible penalty call on Coleman for a hit on Terrell Owens. Owens never complained about the hit and the Bengals huddled up as the late flag was thrown. Had the penalty not been called, the Bengals would have had to settle for a field goal.

Making matters even more inexplicable in the first half was the fact that the Jets forced two Bengals turnovers and got only a 27-yard Folk field goal out of them.

After Smith's first touchdown and a 13-yard Mark Sanchez to Santonio Holmes scoring pass, the Jets led 17-7. The Bengals got within 17-10 on a 28-yard Aaron Pettrey field goal with 12:33 remaining in the game.

That's when Smith took the ensuing kickoff and ended the Cincinnati's hopes with one quick strike -- while wearing one shoe.

[SoFlaJets]

Brad Smith's big plays bail out Jets

By Steve Serby

November 26, 2010

This is what the 9-2 Jets should be thankful for today -- that the Cincinnati Bungles accepted their invitation to play a football game at New Meadowlands Stadium last night.

Most of all, they should be thankful for Brad Smith.

Because it was the unsung Smith who took an end-around 53 yards to paydirt down the left sidelines, awakening the Jets from a disturbing first-half slumber to give them a 10-7 lead.

It was the unsung Smith who, after the Bungles had closed to 17-10 early in the fourth quarter, returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards -- the final 50 without his right shoe, and set Fireman Ed's house on fire, and propelled the Jets to their 26-10 victory.

FLY AWAY HOLMES: Santonio Holmes celebrates his 13-yard TD catch in the third quarter of the Jets' 26-10 win last night.

Give thanks to Shoeless Brad Smith, absolutely no relation to Shoeless Joe Jackson.

"I wish I could have kept my shoe on. . . . I think one of the guys dove and tried to tackle me, tried to knock me off a little bit, and I was running trying to stick my shoe back on, and after a while just said, 'Forget it,' " Smith said.

He smiled.

"All that running in the backyard when I was little with no shoes on with my brother, that helped," Smith said.

The reverse?

"Excellent playcall, and blocking. I think it was Dustin [Keller] and Braylon [Edwards] had some tremendous blocks, and I just had to read it. . . . I'da felt sick if I didn't score on it because of how well it was executed."

Give thanks to Brad Smith.

Because if Sanchez and the Jets offense play the way they played last night, Tom Brady will blow them out of that first-place showdown a week from Monday night in Foxborough.

Sanchez threw one pick, was lucky he didn't throw a second, was lucky he wasn't called for a safety-safety at the 1 by Carlos Dunlap at the end of the third quarter. And Ground & Pound can barely be found.

The Jets are carrying this it-is-better-to-be-lucky-than-good thing much too far. I know, Rex Ryan: you don't apologize for wins. But your team has issues.

"Just proud of our defense and special teams for lifting up the offense today, 'cause we sure weren't at our best," Sanchez said, "and I pretty much the reason for that. Just some poor reads, poor throws, and a couple bad decisions. . . . I just took a step in the wrong direction, and it's not a good thing and it needs to get a lot better down the stretch."

So give thanks to the Bungles.

Give thanks to Carson Palmer [two interceptions].

Most of all, give thanks to Brad Smith.

"I was miked up for the game [NFL Films]," Holmes said. "I was excited, man. That kid is special. He's our X-Factor."

Holmes was asked about Smith's reverse.

"You can't sleep on him," Holmes said. "I think the Cincinnati fans probably hate him more than anybody else because they hate to see that guy for what he's doing right now."

For 30 minutes, you witnessed no killer instinct from the Jets.

Then, off a fake handoff to Shonn Greene, Mr. Smith came to East Rutherford.Then Sanchez made a terrible mistake, the kind of mistake he didn't make in his first playoff victory over the Bengals.

He dropped back in the pocket, and looked downfield, then looked downfield some more. Then Michael Johnson was draped around his legs, and Sanchez, so good at buying time with his legs, seemed to panic, and threw to his right for Greene. But his old USC pal, linebacker Rey Maualuga happened to be standing between the ball and Greene, and he returned the underthrow 11 yards, to the Jet 37.Marvin Lewis, with nothing to lose, went for it fourth-and-3 at the 30, and got a roughing-the-passer call on James Ihedigbo at the end of an incompletion.

Give thanks to the Bungles. Aaron Pettrey missed the 27-yard field goal wide left.

Now Sanchez, third-and-5 from his 25, was lucky his sideline throw for Edwards was not picked off by Jonathan Wade.

Give thanks to the Bungles again.

Steve Weatherford's 61-yard punt deflected off the helmet of Andre Caldwell, his back to the punt, and was recovered at the Bengals 14 by Ihedigbo. Two plays later, Sanchez found Santonio Holmes wide open with a 13-yard bullet and it was Jets 17, Bengals 7.

Give thanks to Brad Smith.

Sanchez: "He's an electric player."

Greene: "You just never know what he's gonna do, and he can line up anywhere so . . . he's avery dangerous."

LaDainian Tomlinson: "He's special. He's just a guy that you need on your team, and that's why when he has success. It's fun watching him."

[SoFlaJets]

Woody guts it out

By MARK CANNIZZARO

November 26, 2010

Lost amidst yet another Jets victory, which gave them a 9-2 record, which is their second-best start in franchise history through 11 games, was the toughness right tackle Damien Woody showed by playing with a sprained right knee.

Woody, who was injured Sunday and didn't practice all week, talked the coaches into starting him after pregame warmups.

"I wasn't moving the best, but I told them I wanted to play and they deferred to my decision," Woody said.

In a mildly surprising move, safety Eric Smith started in place of regular starter Brodney Pool.

GOTCHA! David Harris (52), Calvin Pace (97) and Jason Taylor (99) celebrated after Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer was sacked in the fourth quarter of the Jets' 26-10 victory last night at New Meadowlands Stadium.

This was a clear shift in personnel that defensive coordinator Mike Pettine talked about on Tuesday in an effort to curb the big plays the defense has been allowing.

Smith, who said he was told on Monday he would start, was used as big part of trying to contain Bengals TE Jermaine Gresham, who entered the night as the NFL's leading rookie receiver with 42 catches.

Gresham finished with just two catches for 36 yards last night.

The Jets, based most recently on their poor job with Houston TE Joel Dreessen (four catches, 106 yards and a touchdown) last week, have had problems covering tight ends all season.

In the last three games, the Jets have allowed 16 receptions, 252 yards and two TDs to tight ends.

The Jets, shut out in the first quarter last night, have now gone all six home games without scoring a touchdown in the opening quarter, seven games in a row overall and it was the ninth game in 11 this season they have gone without a touchdown.

When S Jim Leonhard picked off Carson Palmer in the second half, it was only the sixth Jets interceptions of the season and their first in six weeks, dating back to Dwight Lowery's pick of Brett Favre on Oct. 11.

Coach Rex Ryan said interceptions come in bunches and they did in the first half last night as CB Antonio Cromartie picked off a Palmer pass in the end zone with 5:18 remaining in the half.

RG Brandon Moore started his 100th consecutive game as a Jet last night and was introduced first in the pre-game intros.

The Jets lead the all-time series against the Bengals 17-7, including 12-2 at home and 9-0 at the Meadowlands.

They have beaten the Bengals in the last four meetings and in nine of previous 10, including the regular-season finale last season and in the playoffs.

The Jets have allowed two 100-yard rushers in 30 games under Ryan and one of them came from Bengals RB Cedric Benson, who gained 169 yards on them in last season's playoff meeting.

Benson, who has 747 rushing yards this season, was held to 41 yards on 18 carries last night.

[SoFlaJets]

Ihedigbo gets redemption with key fumble recovery

By MARC RAIMONDI

November 26, 2010

James Ihedigbo went from being the goat to one of the Jets' heroes in a little more than three minutes.

The Jets safety's roughing the passer penalty on a key fourth down almost cost his team the lead, but he was let off the hook by a missed field goal and ended up recovering a muffed punt soon after. He also had the key block on Brad Smith's 89-yard kickoff return touchdown.

"Thank God I had the opportunity to make a big play and kind of contribute," Ihedigbo said after the Jets' 26-10 win over the Bengals last night at New Meadowlands Stadium. "Then we get another touchdown out of it. Everything happens for a reason."

On fourth-and-3 for the Bengals with 8:11 left in the third, Carson Palmer's pass to Jordan Shipley was incomplete, but Ihedigbo was flagged for a questionable roughing the passer penalty. Four plays later, Bengals kicker Aaron Pettrey missed a 27-yard field goal that would have tied the game at 10 with 5:09 left in the third.

"They said I led with the crown of my helmet, but we're playing football," Ihedigbo said. "Guys are gonna get hit. . . . I wasn't trying to injure him in any way. That was a clean football play."

The Jets went three-and-out on their next possession, and Steve Weatherford's punt bounced and caromed off of the Bengals' Andre Caldwell, who was blocking for the return. Ihedigo made a made a mad dash for the ball and jumped on it at the Bengals 14. Two plays later, Mark Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for a 13-yard touchdown with 4:14 left in the third that gave the Jets a 17-7 lead.

"As I was running down the field, I saw it bounce off his leg and once it hit his leg, I knew I had to get down the field and jump on it," Ihedigbo said.

After Pettrey's 89-yard field goal cut the lead to 17-10 with 12:18 left, Smith's kickoff return made it a two-possession game again. Ihedigbo, the fourth-year man out of UMass, opened up his path with a picture-perfect block on Leon Hall.

It was the capper to an up and down night for him. But it certainly ended up on the upswing.

"The play happened," Ihedigbo said of the critical roughing the passer penalty. "We fought through it as a team and capitalized on it."

[SoFlaJets]

Palmer 'frustrated' after ugly loss

By BART HUBBUCH

November 26, 2010

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis blamed himself for last night's 26-10 loss to the Jets, but he could just have easily pointed the finger at his awful quarterback.

The regression of Carson Palmer that has been one of the more perplexing developments of the entire NFL season continued unabated last night at New Meadowlands Stadium.

The former No. 1 overall pick from Southern Cal was dreadful in the Bengals' eighth straight defeat, throwing two interceptions -- one of them into triple coverage in the end zone -- before picking up an intentional-grounding penalty that resulted in a safety.

And if all that wasn't bad enough, Palmer compiled just 135 passing yards on 17 of 38 completions while being sacked three times.

Ugly.

"I'm more frustrated than I've ever been," a somber Palmer said after the Bengals fell to 2-9.

Asked if he was referring to just his stint in Cincinnati, Palmer shook his head.

"Throughout my whole football career," he said.

Palmer, whose season passer rating fell to a dismal 78.5 with last night's performance, is frustrated because nothing he nor the Bengals' talent-laden offense does seems to pull them out of the ditch.

The woes have been particularly acute in the second half lately. Cincinnati has been outscored 58-3 after halftime the past two games combined.

"It's a lot of things," Palmer said of the roots of his frustration. "It's where we are and what we've struggled to do. It's just not winning games. That's as frustrating as it gets in this league when you can't find ways to win."

Despite the slog of a once-promising season long since going absolutely nowhere, Palmer vowed to keep up a stiff upper lip.

"I feel like we've been fighting," he said. "There hasn't been any quit in us that I feel like. Guys had the right eyes in the huddle, but we just weren't able to score."

[Sperm Edwards]

Brad Smith's big plays bail out Jets

By Steve Serby

November 26, 2010

This is what the 9-2 Jets should be thankful for today -- that the Cincinnati Bungles accepted their invitation to play a football game at New Meadowlands Stadium last night.

Most of all, they should be thankful for Brad Smith.

Because it was the unsung Smith who took an end-around 53 yards to paydirt down the left sidelines, awakening the Jets from a disturbing first-half slumber to give them a 10-7 lead.

It was the unsung Smith who, after the Bungles had closed to 17-10 early in the fourth quarter, returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards -- the final 50 without his right shoe, and set Fireman Ed's house on fire, and propelled the Jets to their 26-10 victory.

FLY AWAY HOLMES: Santonio Holmes celebrates his 13-yard TD catch in the third quarter of the Jets' 26-10 win last night.

Give thanks to Shoeless Brad Smith, absolutely no relation to Shoeless Joe Jackson.

"I wish I could have kept my shoe on. . . . I think one of the guys dove and tried to tackle me, tried to knock me off a little bit, and I was running trying to stick my shoe back on, and after a while just said, 'Forget it,' " Smith said.

He smiled.

"All that running in the backyard when I was little with no shoes on with my brother, that helped," Smith said.

The reverse?

"Excellent playcall, and blocking. I think it was Dustin [Keller] and Braylon [Edwards] had some tremendous blocks, and I just had to read it. . . . I'da felt sick if I didn't score on it because of how well it was executed."

Give thanks to Brad Smith.

Because if Sanchez and the Jets offense play the way they played last night, Tom Brady will blow them out of that first-place showdown a week from Monday night in Foxborough.

Sanchez threw one pick, was lucky he didn't throw a second, was lucky he wasn't called for a safety-safety at the 1 by Carlos Dunlap at the end of the third quarter. And Ground & Pound can barely be found.

The Jets are carrying this it-is-better-to-be-lucky-than-good thing much too far. I know, Rex Ryan: you don't apologize for wins. But your team has issues.

"Just proud of our defense and special teams for lifting up the offense today, 'cause we sure weren't at our best," Sanchez said, "and I pretty much the reason for that. Just some poor reads, poor throws, and a couple bad decisions. . . . I just took a step in the wrong direction, and it's not a good thing and it needs to get a lot better down the stretch."

So give thanks to the Bungles.

Give thanks to Carson Palmer [two interceptions].

Most of all, give thanks to Brad Smith.

"I was miked up for the game [NFL Films]," Holmes said. "I was excited, man. That kid is special. He's our X-Factor."

Holmes was asked about Smith's reverse.

"You can't sleep on him," Holmes said. "I think the Cincinnati fans probably hate him more than anybody else because they hate to see that guy for what he's doing right now."

For 30 minutes, you witnessed no killer instinct from the Jets.

Then, off a fake handoff to Shonn Greene, Mr. Smith came to East Rutherford.Then Sanchez made a terrible mistake, the kind of mistake he didn't make in his first playoff victory over the Bengals.

He dropped back in the pocket, and looked downfield, then looked downfield some more. Then Michael Johnson was draped around his legs, and Sanchez, so good at buying time with his legs, seemed to panic, and threw to his right for Greene. But his old USC pal, linebacker Rey Maualuga happened to be standing between the ball and Greene, and he returned the underthrow 11 yards, to the Jet 37.Marvin Lewis, with nothing to lose, went for it fourth-and-3 at the 30, and got a roughing-the-passer call on James Ihedigbo at the end of an incompletion.

Give thanks to the Bungles. Aaron Pettrey missed the 27-yard field goal wide left.

Now Sanchez, third-and-5 from his 25, was lucky his sideline throw for Edwards was not picked off by Jonathan Wade.

Give thanks to the Bungles again.

Steve Weatherford's 61-yard punt deflected off the helmet of Andre Caldwell, his back to the punt, and was recovered at the Bengals 14 by Ihedigbo. Two plays later, Sanchez found Santonio Holmes wide open with a 13-yard bullet and it was Jets 17, Bengals 7.

Give thanks to Brad Smith.

Sanchez: "He's an electric player."

Greene: "You just never know what he's gonna do, and he can line up anywhere so . . . he's avery dangerous."

LaDainian Tomlinson: "He's special. He's just a guy that you need on your team, and that's why when he has success. It's fun watching him."

Translation: Jets suck. They should be 2-10 but for lucking into team after team playing badly. Opponents' bad play is due in no part to good play by the Jets.

[SoFlaJets]

Brad Smith lifts Jets to 26-10 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals

November 26, 2010, 6:12 AM

Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger

After the game Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, left, is congratulated by Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. Both of them played at seperate times at the University of Southern California. The New York Jets against the Cincinnati Bengals at The New Meadowlands Stadium in NFL game action. Friday November 26, 2010. EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ, USA.

Brad Smith sprinted 89 yards, following by the Jets’ trap kickoff return scheme and finding the crease across and up the New Meadowlands Stadium turf— the last 50 or so yards without his left shoe.

When the do-everything playmaker crossed the goal line, it was the definitive moment of the Jets’ 26-10 Thanksgiving win over Cincinnati, and analogous for how the night went: Not everything was neatly in order, but the outcome was the only thing that counted.

The Jets had to overcome the usual suspects — a sluggish start and eight penalties — and a lackluster offensive performance. But the end result? The 9-2 Jets will face the 9-2 Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., in 10 days. Let the hype begin.

“They clearly are the best team in football,” coach Rex Ryan said, already goading on the build-up. “That’s what all the experts say – except me. So we’ll see.”

The ensuing Armageddon would not have been set up without two touchdowns by Smith: the return, and a 53-yard score on an end-around 47 seconds out of halftime. The maligned defense of last week? The unit picked off Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer twice, sacked him three times, scored on a fourth-quarter safety -- and held Cincinnati to just 163 net yards.

The Jets trailed the struggling Bengals (2-9) at halftime, 7-3. But unlike in each of their last three wins, they skipped the late-game heroics – incited by a halftime speech by Ryan, who told his team to “Get your s*** together.”

Smith hit the races out of halftime, keyed by a block by Dustin Keller on cornerback Leon Hall and out-racing safety Chinedum Ndukwe and cornerback Jonathan Wade on his end-around out of halftime. The Jets took a 10-7 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Not that they didn’t give the Bengals chances. Sanchez, who was 16-of-28 for 166 yards and a touchdown and interception, tried to extend a second-down play in the third quarter with defender Michael Johnson wrapped around his legs — and instead threw an interception to linebacker Rey Maualuga.

A roughing-the-passer penalty kept on fourth down, called on safety James Ihedigbo, kept the Bengals’ ensuing possession alive. But kicker Aaron Pettrey missed a 27-yard field goal wide left.

Later, the Bengals got the ball on the Jets’ 24-yard line after Steve Weatherford’s punt hit blocker Josh Mauga in the back and only traveled 23 yards. The Jets defense, though, held Cincinnati to a 28-yard field goal. Smith, who had 200 all-purpose yards, scored on the ensuing kickoff return to break the game open.

Wednesday night before the game, Ryan called out several players on his defense. Linebacker Bart Scott said he and David Harris were told they weren’t creating any big hits.

“You’re going to get a (ticked off) defense trying to prove that we are what we say we are,” Scott said.

The Jets had breaks of their own, when the refs ruled a third-quarter punt touched the Bengals receiver Andre Caldwell first. Ihedigbo said he saw it hit his calf, and recovered at the Cincinnati 14-yard line.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis didn’t seem to be able to find the red challenge flag fast enough, and two plays later, Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes on a quick route against fill-in cornerback Jonathan Wade for a 17-7 lead.

Palmer finished with a 41.0 passer rating, intercepted twice in the first half by Antonio Cromartie, in the end zone, and Jim Leonhard. Defensive tackle Trevor Pryce made the loudest sack of the evening when he said he guessed the snap count right, and took Palmer down in the end zone for a safety midway through the fourth quarter.

This week, the defense and special teams turned in the big plays the Jets needed. A complete effort could be a necessity up at New England.

“We know we can beat them, but it’s not going to be easy,” right tackle Damien Woody said. “We’ll take three days off, and be prepared for what is probably the game of the year.”

[SoFlaJets]

Jets defense bites back, turns in strong performance against Bengals

Friday, November 26, 2010, 6:00 AM

Conor Orr/The Star-Ledger

Earlier this week, Rex Ryan brought his own statistics to a news conference to defend a defense that some had deemed indefensible.

After the team had nearly folded late, allowing a Houston Texans team to creep back into a lead late in the fourth quarter, the Jets defense treated it like a loss. Linebacker Calvin Pace said there was no excuse for the gaffes. Bart Scott opted not to talk to the media afterward because of the frustration.

On that sheet, though, Ryan said he had proof things were not as bad as they seemed. His defense agreed as much.

“For the public to start panicking, talking about us like we’re the worst defense in the (expletive) league, sometimes you want to let a lying bear sleep,” Scott said. “Want to (tick) the bear off? Somebody’s going to get bit.”

On Thursday, just a few short days later, Ryan was proven correct in front of 78,903 on hand to watch the Jets knock off the Bengals 26-10. In a Thanksgiving nightcap that had the makings for yet another dramatic finish, it was the red zone defense that held strong and stymied Cincinnati inside the 20, eliminating any possibility they had at gaining momentum.

Out of a handful of golden opportunities, the Bengals managed just one touchdown, a short route to Jordan Shipley in the second quarter.

It started late in that second. With the Bengals knocking on the door, the Jets secondary forced Carson Palmer to toss up a triple-coverage prayer to Terrell Owens that was picked off my Antonio Cromartie, protecting what was then a slender 3-0 lead.

Cromartie had one of two Jets interceptions on the night. Heading into this game, the team had just five on the season.

“That’s what we expect to do every week,” Jets linebacker Jason Taylor said. “We did what we wanted to do.”

The strong defense continued early in the third. With the Jets clinging to a 10-7 lead, an errant Mark Sanchez pass was intercepted deep in Jets territory. The Bengals had just 37 yards to go, and eventually 15 with a fresh set of downs after Jets safety James Ihedigbo was flagged for a roughing the passer on fourth down.

But inside there, the defense began to shore up the gaps so evident in previous games.

Cedric Benson — the last running back to gain 100 yards on a Jets defense — was plugged for a two-yard gain on first down. Chad Ochocino was smothered on second. On third-and-eight, the Jets secondary clamped down everything beyond the first down marker, allowing just a four yard pass to Jordan Shipley.

Kicker Aaron Pettrey would miss the ensuing field goal.

From there, the Jets would roll, scoring a flurry of points while the Bengals could only dwell on the opportunities they had to get theirs.

[SoFlaJets]

D'Alessandro: In a dream season, the Jets are right where they want to be

Published: Friday, November 26, 2010, 6:30 AM

Dave D'Alessandro/Star-Ledger Columnist

Judging by the universal gnashing of teeth. rending of garments and throwing of bricks, there has been a growing dissatisfaction with the way the Jets had been beating opponents lately, and by that we mean they weren’t quite as dominant as the average fan would like to see them be this time of year.

Maybe this 26-10 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals changes that perception, maybe it doesn’t. We don’t particularly care; we only know that you can’t be merely “lucky” to get to 9-2, and they’re just about as well positioned as possible for the biggest game of their season on Dec. 5 at Foxborough, Mass.

Don’t take our word for it, just listen to the pathologically jovial head coach: “Clearly they’re the best team in football,” Rex Ryan said of the New England Patriots, who are also 9-2. “That’s what all the experts say, except me.”

Not much nuance there: Ryan doesn’t mind admitting that he believes his team is the standard, but he needed the kind of second half his team played last night to thump his chest so loudly again.

It didn’t hurt, either, that Brad Smith relieved what had been a night of indigestion for the offense, which had managed three points at halftime and was carried into the tunnel on a wave of 80,000 bellows of discontent.

Just 30 minutes later, the Jets had their second-largest victory margin of the season.

Our only question is this: Why was everyone so preoccupied with margins, anyway?

We blame Ryan for that: From the moment he arrived here, he dared everyone to Think Big — quite a departure from the guy whom he replaced, who wouldn’t even admit his team had a game scheduled the following Sunday.

You remember the Eric Mangini Method: Mention the playoffs to him, and you were automatically shunned — or at least subjected to his greatest sanction, the Extremely Hard Stare.

Ryan is different. Go ahead, he said — think Super Bowl. We have championship goals, so we might as well admit to it, and pursue it like the hyperactive knuckleheads that we are.

Fans and pundits alike followed his cue, fixed their attention on his wagging tongue like it was a red cape, and seized on the possibility that the Jets can go after their first trophy since Moose Nixon’s first term.

But public displays of confidence subject you to unrealistic expectations, like an obsessive need to pummel each opponent like the Pats did the Lions yesterday.

So here they are, matched up with those same Pats for first place in the AFC East with five games to play.

We’ll ask again: Margins aside, aren’t the Jets precisely where they want to be?

Aren’t they impressed with themselves, given the gains made last night by the special teams and once-dormant pass rush?

“We want to peek at the right time, and we sure did that last year,” said Mark Sanchez, pausing a moment from beating himself up for an interception he threw (Ray Maualuga got the pick) when the Jets had a 10-3 lead.

“We’re just waiting for that complete game, and it would have been nice to have tonight. The way our special teams played, the way the defense played, now it’s the offense’s job to take that momentum and use it and capitalize on those big plays. I think that was the shortcoming tonight.”

Still, it’s fun to dream, so Sanchez did: “When all three phases of our team play well,” he said, “it’s going to be scary.”

That’s what everyone – even the quarterback – seems to overlook. You don’t have to be scary, you just have to win.

Just like they won at home against the Patriots back in Week 2.

“I’m always confident,” Ryan said. “Our football team believes it can beat anybody. They’ve won 25 straight at home, we’ve won eight at home. We’re just the right men for the job.”

Maybe this team isn’t for everybody. But can anyone say with certainty that the Patriots are better?

But we know this much: The warmups are over. And if the Jets win in Foxborough, we’re not likely to dwell on the victory margin.

[SoFlaJets]

Shaun Hill says Pats' defender was 'literally trying to break my arm'

Nov

26

Philip Zaroo of Mlive.com reports with 6:32 left in the second quarter in the Lions loss to the Patriots, the Lions had the ball at the Patriots' 2-yard line on third down. Quarterback Shaun Hill took the snap and ran a QB keeper. He picked up the first down, but extended his arms to try to breach the goal line. That's when Hill felt someone trying to break his arm and the ball came loose, though he was ruled down.

"That's why I eventually gave up the ball," he said. "Somebody was down there (in the pile) literally trying to break my arm, which is already broken. Literally, trying. And, uh, y'know, I guess wasn't seen (by officials)."