No Joy in Mudville (Special Post-Season Edition)

There is little joy in Mudville this day. Base10's beloved Jets continue to struggle in the late season, failing to put away St. Louis in overtime. Gang Green lost 32-29 in OT. Click here for the recap. While there was much rending of garments and gnashing of teeth in Jet Country there was a bright side. By virtue of Buffalo's loss to Pittsburgh, the Jets still made the playoffs.

In spite of their recent swoon, the Jets still won 10 games this year, an admirable feat. However, these games were generally against teams that were weak at the time. There are bright spots as well. Curtis Martin won the NFL Rushing title by one yard in what can only be described as a premiere performance. The other good thing is that the Jets did not lay down. Their game went late. About a half-hour before the end--well before OT began--the Buffalo game seemed all but over and the Jets playoff aspirations met. However, the Jets kept playing to win. Although their fate was already decided, the team did not give up. The football gods often smile on this sort of thing.

Next Saturday at eight o'clock, the Jets face San Diego at San Diego. Jets fans will certainly go into this game with some misgivings. But hey, better playing next week than not. Base10 hopes for a victory over San Diego only for one reason: a rematch against New England. Click here for a preliminary preview.

Meanwhile, on the Giants side of Mudville, there was a bit of joy. In a meaningless Sunday night matchup between Big Blue and the Cowboys, the Giants handed Eli Manning his first win on a Tiki Barber rush at the very end of regulation. The Giants sewed it up 28-24. Click here for the recap. For nostalgic Jet fans, it was also probably the last game that will be started by Vinny Testaverde. Always a gentleman, Testaverde was always the kind of player you would want your children to emulate. Happy Trails, Vinny!

Tiki Barber also got a little bit of history yesterday. He broke the franchise single season and career rushing records. Not shabby considering it's the Giants, who have always been a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust sort of team. Tiki also won the all purpose yards from scrimage title. At least they will have that to think about as they golf and attend to other affairs through the long off-season.

In other NFL news, Seattle RB Shaun Alexander felt betrayed. He lost the rushing title to Curtis Martin by one yard and described the play calling as being "stabbed in the back." He later apologized for the comments, but it's fair to say that some people in Seattle agree with Alexander.

Well the playoffs are upon us and Base10 promises more playoff analysis as the week wears on. There is no Monday Night Football tonight, but gridiron fans can take comfort in watching the Sugar Bowl. As Base10 composes this, Auburn is beating Virginia Tech 6-0. Tomorrow night of course is the Big Game for the National Championship. More on tomorrow's game, well, tomorrow.

- posted by Base10 @ 8:17 PM