3 Home Teams and the !@#$%ing Jets!
Written by Kerri Senno, Monday January 18 2010
Blame it on the Bye week, blame it on the missed Field Goals, blame it on whatever you want, but the bottom line is the (9-7) New York Jets are in the AFC Championship game, and the (13-3) San Diego Chargers are not. Rex Ryan claimed that if the Chargers beat the Jets then they are “one hell of a football team,” and that the Jets are “favored to win the entire tournament.” His words seemed wild and premature, but his execution is undeniable in this postseason thus far. His confidence is exactly what this town needs, especially when dealing with an impressionable rookie quarterback.
The matchup turned out to be the most exciting game of the weekend. The New York Jets won by playing their own game. They did not pull any tricks; they won with their rushing game, they won with their defense, and they won with patience, after all they had scored zero points in the entire first half. The bigger accomplishment was taking the air out of the stadium by keeping a potent San Diego offense to only one touchdown before the half.
Coming into the game, the Chargers were ranked 4th overall in the NFL in Total Offense, while the Jets were ranked number 1 overall in the NFL in Total Defense. Similarly, the New York Jets were ranked 3rd in the NFL in Rushing, while the Chargers were ranked 4th in Passing. This was the difference in the game—while Rookie runningback Shonn Greene ran for 128 yards and one touchdown, Quarterback Philip Rivers threw two picks and only one touchdown. The two interceptions from Darelle Revis and Jim Leonard did not hurt either.
In the end of a 3 point game, it is the little things that matter. The San Diego Chargers had ten penalties resulting in 87 yards, while the Jets only had 5/37. The Chargers had a meager 30% third down efficiency rate. (The Jets were not much better at 37%) The Chargers special teams did not help them much either returning only 27 yards on Punts. While the Jets were 1/1 in the Red Zone the Chargers were 2/3, and in the end, that one touchdown would have made all the difference. The time of possession was remarkably close while the Jets had the ball for 31:31 and the Chargers had the ball for 28:29.
Yes, the Chargers made mistakes that hurt them, but did the fear of the Jets defense knock the offense off of their game? Receivers were missing routine throws as they looked to make sure defenders were not in their path, Rivers was dumping off 3 yard passes to avoid sacks, and it was quite obvious that kicker, Nate Kaeding felt the pressure. Ryan drafted a meticulous defensive strategy that allowed for five and six man blitzes that still allowed receivers to be covered. They used Revis as a brilliant utility man switching the receivers he defended regularly. This basically took away a receiver from Rivers, as he had not even attempted to throw into Revis coverage in the first quarter.
As Rex Ryan said so poetically, “Three home teams are in, and the @$&#ing Jets!” Next up, how the Jets could upset the Colts.
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Great Review! True, the Jets won doing what they do best.. In the first half they seemed to be playing without a quarterback!, haha, but Mark Sanchez was there when the team needed him.