Oh Well...
The Jets just couldn't get it done yesterday falling to the Pats 37-16. Click here if you have the intenstinal fortitude to look at the recap. The final score is a bit misleading, the Jets did flirt with their archrival even briefly taking the lead just prior to halftime. The Pats however recovered in the fourth quarter. Even then, with a little over 5 minutes left, and down by two scores, they had a fighting chance until Chad Pennington through an interception that was run back for a touchdown. Boo hoo.

We're out. What is there to say? There's plenty to be happy about if your a fan. The quarterback situation is not nearly as dire as was predicted in the beginning of the season. Chadwick can and should be the man under center for the next few years. Hopefully Clemens (or someone else) will develop. The Jet's defense if pretty good, but they could perhaps use an upgrade in the secondary and at linebacker to stop the run. The seem good on special teams and their offensive skill players seem to be a good mix of experience and youth. (Cotchery, in particular, looks like he's going to have a poductive career). I would like to see an upgrade at tight end but even here, there are only two guys named Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates. The biggest concern should be running back. The guys they have are doing the best job they're capable of, but I'd like to see an upgrade to a bruising every-down back. Hey, maybe Deuce McCalister will be available! Finally, Jets fans should be content that they gave the keys to the right guy in Greg Mangini and Mike Tanenbaum. Mangini should be the Coach of the Year.

In a final Jets note, Curtis Martin was clearing out his locker and finally admitted that he will not be back next season. I'll have more on this when he officially announces his retirement, but it is a sad day in Jetdom. Truly the gentleman to the end, Martin had great praise for Mangini:

Definitely, [Mangini] should be coach of the year. This is one time in my career that I've really seen, I won't say one time, I've seen it before, this time around with Eric, you talk about making a difference in a team, he made a huge difference in this team. Not to speak against any other coaches, but the Jets got the best coach that was out there. If I owned a team, Eric would be my head coach. I don't know how many coaches they could've got that would have been better, regardless of who was available or not.

In other news, the Giants also lost their playoff game 21-20. They were overcome by the Eagles on a last second field goal. The Giants are definitely not as confident in their future as Jets fans.

Base10 will have more on next weeks division championships as well as some final thoughts on the Jets season later in the week. Right now, he is off to see the NCAAF National Championship game.
- posted by Base10 @ 6:41 PM