Not the Most Enjoyable of Openers for the J-E-T-S
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by Editoratlegendofcecilioguante
This was originally posted on my blog, The Legend of Cecilio Guante, here. Stop by and check out this and more.
The tailgate was the best part of my Sunday football experience. Ok, the best part probably happened even earlier in the day. You know the feeling. Opening day. A parking lot filled with overly enthusiastic fans. Sun shining overhead. Optimism flowing as freely as the beers and people of every walk of life united as one green-and-white nation (or equivalent) . It was gloooorius.
But from the moment we stepped into the stadium things went downhill. Kudos to Hot Stove New York for being all over some of this as well (I will echo a few of their sentiments here).
1. No Fireman Ed: For all those who choose to mock the J-E-T-S chant incessantly, that's fine. Yes, it's not the most creative cheer in football. But neither is IN-COM-PLETE at Mile High or any of the mindless chants uttered in NFL stadiums around the country. But it's ours. I will not mock anything that is inherent to a fan base. It's what makes everyone's team/stadium experience unique. And for those who actually have been to a game at the Meadowlands, hearing this guy lead 70,000 -plus is priceless. But Fireman Ed was nowhere to be found. Not a good omen.
2. Pre-Game Introductions: Another huge disappointment. As noted by Hot Stove, the Jets continued a Herm tradition of not announcing the players one by one but instead just rolling the whole roster out at once with some fireworks. Lame. I can deal with it in the fourth home game of the season on account of the "principle" it seeks to illustrate, but not opening day. First off, it builds anticipation and gets the crowd involved. Second, it allows new additions like Thomas Jones to get a deserved ovation and fire them up.
Even worse, the Jets have another seemingly juvenille tradition, that I rather enjoy. Showing off the overall politeness of New Yorkers, the visiting team usually announces their starters over the PA. The process then goes like this.
1. Visiting player announced (e.g. "At running back, Laurence Maroney..."
2. 70,000-plus yell "SUCKS!"
3. "At wide receiver, Wes Welker..."
4. 70,000-plus..."SUCKS!"
5. Rinse and repeat.
In this case, Belichick knows better and did not give the home fans the opportunity. So, we're working on 0-for-3 in terms of good pre-game Mojo.
3. On-Field Performance: Once the game started, it didn't get a whole lot better. I won't belabor what every Jets blog and beat writer has likely already beaten to a pulp. In general, the Jets were completely uninspiring. I couldn't find really any positives. The offensive and defensive lines were manhandled. The special teams were awful and, to add insult to injury, the Jets fans embarrassed themselves when Chad went down with what looked like a very serious injury at the time.
Speaking of which, I've had enough of idiotic fans. Seriously. I have no problem with folks who respect the game, are passionate about their teams and maybe have a few too many pops and say some dumb stuff. However, there are some imbeciles who simply do not deserve a ticket. One of those fans was sitting in front of me yesterday. He actually cheered when Pennington went down. A guy three rows behind him started barking at him and threatening to kick his ass. I'm not much of a fighter, but I would have helped hold this guy's arms back for the beating he deserved. He has had season tix for three seasons, and he's been a full-fledged moron from the get-go. Fans should be required to fill out some sort of "Fan IQ" test before being granted season tix. This guy is a case study for why not everyone should receive the privelege.
4. All that said, the Jets were only down a touchdown heading into the half against arguably the best team in the NFL. A few other observations from opening day in New Jersey.
How happy is Randy Moss? After spending years in the current NFL purgatory known as the Oakland Raiders, Moss had beautiful passes dropping into his hands from Tom Brady who is flat-out sick.
Wes Welker is to Tom Brady as...anyone? I'm going to say as Brandon Stokely (was) to Peyton Manning. I'm marking Welker down for a career year in New England. 90 catches seems entirely reasonable.
And, finally, someone on the Jets is going to be seriously injured in the next week or two if things don't improve. There are a few leading candidates. Pennington is number one. D'Brickshaw looked terrible and Adrien Clarke (or that matter, Bender) mean an all-out assault on Chad's blindside. With the Ravens up next, this is an area of extreme concern.
Second, are the receivers whom we'll refer to collectively. I like Chad. He's a competitor. He cares immensely about winning, and he's helped make this franchise legitimate again. That said, he is laying people out to dry left-and-right. Relying almost exclusively on 10-15 yard crossing patterns does not bode well for Coles and crew. Add to that Pennington's deficiencies in throwing the deep out (or frankly anything else significantly down the field) and the Jets receivers are decidely vulnerable.
OK, enough of that. Summary: poor performance. The Jets need to improve significantly if they are going to even going to have a chance at finishing .500 or better. The Pats are also scary good.
We'll see how they bounce back (or not) next week in Baltimore.
