The New York Jets season ended abruptly last Sunday night, just one win and a decent first half short of reaching the Super Bowl. But, all was certainly not lost as they still had one of their best seasons in franchise history and are well positioned for the future with some good young players and a head coach who knows how to get the most out of them.
The offseason was a success as the Jets acquired talented veterans Jason Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson through free agency and traded for Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie to bolster their young talent.
If that didn’t get people talking about them, though, their run on HBO’s Hard Knocks certainly did. By the time preseason rolled around the Jets were all over the news—and at or near the top of most people’s playoff predictions.
The biggest story through the preseason was the status of lockdown cornerback Darrelle Revis. Revis, who was the runner-up in the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year voting, sat out almost all of the preseason in an attempt to rectify his salary. Both sides eventually agreed to a deal just in time for their long-awaited season opener against Baltimore.
Jenkins was hurt in the first quarter would not return the rest of the year. But the Jets would prove to be resilient.
The Jets finally found their offense in the second game against, of all teams, the New England Patriots. Sanchez was particularly impressive completing 21-of-30 passes for 220 yards—seven passes were to tight end Dustin Keller—and three touchdowns.
Their success spilled over into the next couple of weeks as the Jets got a tough win in Miami 31–23, and a dominating 38–14 win in Buffalo. By this time, Tomlinson and the Jets offensive line were the toast of the town.
The whispers about LaDainian possibly being washed up were gone and with the addition of suspended receiver Santonio Holmes, the Jets seemed poised to take off.
But instead, they seemed to regress. Their Week 5 win over the Vikings was in spite of Sanchez’s 21-for-44, 191-yard passing day. Their defense was able to save the day with three forced turnovers including Dwight Lowery’s game-sealing 26-yard interception return.
The next week the Jets were anemic on offense again, waking up in time to beat the Broncos in Denver by scoring a touchdown with just over a minute to play. The game hinged on a fourth-and-six 46-yard defensive pass interference call on Denver with under two minutes to play that gave the Jets the ball on the 2-yard line.
At 5–1 Jets would finally be exposed the following week as the Green Bay Packers came to town and shut out the Jets then-teetering offense 9–0. Sanchez completed just 16-of-38 passes and the Jets running back duo averaged a pedestrian 3.45 yards per carry for the game.
The offseason was a success as the Jets acquired talented veterans Jason Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson through free agency and traded for Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie to bolster their young talent.
If that didn’t get people talking about them, though, their run on HBO’s Hard Knocks certainly did. By the time preseason rolled around the Jets were all over the news—and at or near the top of most people’s playoff predictions.
The biggest story through the preseason was the status of lockdown cornerback Darrelle Revis. Revis, who was the runner-up in the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year voting, sat out almost all of the preseason in an attempt to rectify his salary. Both sides eventually agreed to a deal just in time for their long-awaited season opener against Baltimore.
Game On
The opener would be unforgettable for the wrong reasons as the Jets not only lost the game 10–9, but also four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins.Jenkins was hurt in the first quarter would not return the rest of the year. But the Jets would prove to be resilient.
The Jets finally found their offense in the second game against, of all teams, the New England Patriots. Sanchez was particularly impressive completing 21-of-30 passes for 220 yards—seven passes were to tight end Dustin Keller—and three touchdowns.
Their success spilled over into the next couple of weeks as the Jets got a tough win in Miami 31–23, and a dominating 38–14 win in Buffalo. By this time, Tomlinson and the Jets offensive line were the toast of the town.
The whispers about LaDainian possibly being washed up were gone and with the addition of suspended receiver Santonio Holmes, the Jets seemed poised to take off.
But instead, they seemed to regress. Their Week 5 win over the Vikings was in spite of Sanchez’s 21-for-44, 191-yard passing day. Their defense was able to save the day with three forced turnovers including Dwight Lowery’s game-sealing 26-yard interception return.
The next week the Jets were anemic on offense again, waking up in time to beat the Broncos in Denver by scoring a touchdown with just over a minute to play. The game hinged on a fourth-and-six 46-yard defensive pass interference call on Denver with under two minutes to play that gave the Jets the ball on the 2-yard line.
At 5–1 Jets would finally be exposed the following week as the Green Bay Packers came to town and shut out the Jets then-teetering offense 9–0. Sanchez completed just 16-of-38 passes and the Jets running back duo averaged a pedestrian 3.45 yards per carry for the game.
