What more is there to say about the New York Jets that hasn’t been a hot button media issue all summer long? A disappointing 8-8 season after two straight AFC Championship losses, and innumerable amounts of Super Bowl guarantees by head coach Rex Ryan, has led to an offseason overhaul of the way the New York Jets go about their business.

Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was replaced by former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano, who plans to reimplement a run heavy offense akin to the style the Jets used with backs Thomas Jones and LaDainian Tomlinson in Ryan’s first year at the helm. Third year running back Shonn Greene is primed for a breakout season with the workload shifting entirely in his favor after Tomlinson’s retirement, but questions remain about his durability and the offensive line in front of him.

Speaking of that offensive line, this Jets squad is a far cry from the 2009 crew that boasted five of the league’s best. Despite the presence of pro-bowlers D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, the offensive line struggled mightily last year and into this preseason. This prompted Ryan to bench starter Wayne Hunter in favor of undrafted rookie Austin Howard, leading to Hunter’s jettison to St. Louis in return for former first-round draft pick, but all around underachiever, Jason Smith. Quarterback protection and forward push in the ground attack will be a major issue for the Jets this season.

That brings us to the quarterback situation. Beleaguered starter Mark Sanchez has had his ups and downs as a pro since being the Jets first pick in the 2009 draft. After riding the Jets stellar defense and potent running game to the playoffs for two straight seasons, Sanchez’s flaws were highlighted last season, coughing up three straight losses to close out the season with far too many turnovers from their franchise quarterback. It didn’t help that a public squabble with star receiver Santonio Holmes lasted well into the offseason.

Despite the shaky play, Sanchez earned a contract extension after the Jets unsuccessfully flirted with the opportunity to bring in Peyton Manning. Shortly after, the Jets brought in a backup quarterback by the name of Tim Tebow, you may have heard of him. The Jets management have stayed true to the idea Tebow is Sanchez’s backup thus far, and was brought here to help the team win in that capacity alone, but owner Woody Johnson may not have accounted for the deafening chants their much heralded backup will receive after Sanchez’s first costly interception.

The Jets garnered more attention on the issue after operating their wildcat packages with Tim Tebow in secrecy, shrouded from the media and their preseason opponents.

After three preseason games, the Jets are the only team in the NFL to not score a touchdown, an unenviable accolade. They are the first team in 35 years to go three preseason games without scoring a touchdown. Whether they’re saving their big play moments for the regular season, or are simply an anemic offensive unit remains to be seen. One thing remains consistent however: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you’ll certainly be seeing a lot of Jets coverage this upcoming season.

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Imagine this dream scenario for your favorite NFL team: The most competitively decorated athlete in college football history is drafted to a non-rival, small market team. The athlete helps to rake in millions of dollars in revenue for the franchise, including having the most popular selling jersey worldwide.

He goes on to become a pop culture spectacle and by most accounts a national phenomenon after achieving varied success, highlighted by repeated late game heroics and inconceivable wins. After being supplanted by a once-in-a-lifetime free agent quarterback, the aforementioned athlete is traded to your very own hometown team for a throwaway draft pick to play backup quarterback and lead your team to football’s promised land. If it all seems too good to be true, that’s because it is.

I’m talking, of course, about NFL superstar Tim Tebow and his jettison from Denver, into the laps of the all too willing New York Jets. Call me a cynical Jets fan (a decade of inept offensive coordinators, failed quarterbacks, and AFC championship game losses has probably put me over the edge) but I’m still confounded as to why Tim Tebow is on my team. Sure, he’s an unbelievably, likable, hard worker and a beast in the weight room. So is Nick Mangold’s sister, but that doesn’t mean I want her coming off the bench to run a quarterback draw for a dozen snaps a game.

My main problem with Tebow in New York isn’t due to his ineffectiveness at quarterback; it’s the complete lack of logic the Jets’ front office displayed in handling the situation that makes the franchise look like a circus sideshow. First, futile flirtations with Peyton Manning questionably necessitated the contract extension of already shaky quarterback Mark Sanchez.

Whether this was in the cards for months or an attempt to assuage Sanchez’ defeated ego wouldn’t matter because weeks later, Tim Tebow would don the green and white. This trade would instigate a positional (and media) battle between the country’s most popular athlete and the unreliable quarterback of the future for the Jets organization.

In a perfect world, the competition that Tim Tebow brings to the quarterback position would light a fire under Mark Sanchez and propel him to a career-defining year. If Sanchez had the intestinal fortitude of crosstown rival Eli Manning, or even the gutty gamesmanship that coach Rex Ryan continues to emptily preach, maybe it would be a different story. Unfortunately for this Jets fan, it seems all the more likely that Sanchez will crumble under the pressure and cede an increasing number of snaps Tebow’s way, as the season falls apart.

As a rule of thumb I try to always reserve judgment on newly acquired talent, but the stats are hard to ignore. I don’t see how a quarterback with a 47.3% completion percentage and almost as many turnovers as touchdown passes could possibly help in the backup quarterback capacity. Judging by initial reports out of the Jets camp, Sanchez and Tebow are struggling mightily with their passing accuracy, a downfall that has plagued both quarterbacks in their short tenures in the NFL. Sanchez and Tebow are performing so poorly, that Jets fans may be clamoring for third stringer Greg McElroy by camp’s end.

New York Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum and Head Coach Rex Ryan continue to propagate the idea that Tebow was brought to New York to be an athlete, rather than an exclusive quarterback. Preliminary reports even had his number of snaps estimated between ten and twenty a game. Wildcat packages with two quarterbacks on the field at once had naïve Jets fans salivating at the creative possibilities under new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano.

How would defenses account for two passers and infinite rushing possibilities? Pretty easily actually. Tebow’s speed has never been a weapon in his rush-heavy arsenal. Defensively command the edges of the box- something the Jets couldn’t do when they lost to Tebow in Denver last season- and he’s forced to run into a questionable Jets offensive line.

Cover the short passing attack, and Tebow is forced into deep-outs and fades, undeniably the weakest part of his game. NFL defenses will be praying  (no pun intended to the Tebow-ing masses) for Sanchez and Tebow, two mediocre quarterbacks, to appear on the field at the same time.

Part of the phenomenon that is Tebow-mania, is that I actually feel bad to doubt his potential as a New York Jet. I respect how real he is with his fans, and I truly feel that the interviews he gives showcase his endearing and likeable personality. But smiles and charm don’t help shed the little brother complex the Jets and their fans face in their own city.

The acquisition of Tim Tebow has done nothing but create a mockery out of the Jets camp. A franchise in desperate need of a spark seems to have lit the wrong end of the dynamite. Now the world is waiting to see if it will blow up in our faces.

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In a stunning move the New York Jets have acquired Tim Tebow and a seventh round draft pick from the Denver Broncos for a fourth and sixth round pick. The Jets will also have to pick up half of a $5 million dollar salary advance that was paid to Tebow by Denver at the beginning of last season.

The trade was originally announced yesterday only to hit a snag as the Jets didn’t like some of the language in Tebow’s contract in regards to the salary advance. Jacksonville then tried to throw their hat back into the ring, and Tebow was asked for his opinion on where he wanted to go, thrilled at the chance to play for the Jets.

Tebow joins the team whom he was able to defeat last year on his magical run of 4th quarter victories. His arrival not only brings with it “Tebowmania” and everything associated with it, but may also spark a quarterback controversy with current starter Mark Sanchez. His presence as such a polarizing figure could split a locker room that doesn’t need any more distractions.

Cornerback Antonio Cromartie tweeted on Tuesday night “we don’t need Tebow,” saying he was confident in Sanchez and the guys already on the team. Today he tweeted “Why are we doing this?”

Tebow is also the same player who last season, in the week leading up to the Jets-Broncos game, was criticized by Jets players when it came to his passing abilities. Now teammate cornerback Darrelle Revis said Tebow’s style as an “option” type quarterback wouldn’t be able to sustain itself as a long-term success.

The timing of the trade is also weird as the Jets signed Sanchez to a three-year, $40.5 million contract extension two weeks ago despite a disappointing season. Then, last week they signed Drew Stanton to be their No.2, giving him half a million in signing bonus. They also still have Greg McElroy, the former Alabama standout.

The Jets look at Tebow to fill the vacuum left by Brad Smith who signed with the Buffalo Bills last season in their wildcat situations. Especially since new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was the coach who introduced the wildcat to the NFL.

Hall of Fame Jets QB Joe Namath wasn’t happy with the move.

“I’m just sorry that I can’t agree with this situation. I think it’s just a publicity stunt. I can’t go with it. I think it’s wrong,” Namath told “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN1050 in New York. “I don’t think they know what they’re doing over there.”

Rex Ryan, who has vowed to return to the power running game, hopes Tebow could bring some assistance, as they only have one established running back in Shonn Greene.

The potential of backlash is especially great for the Jets as Tebow has a monstrous following and his popularity could distract Mark Sanchez. Sanchez, coming off a sub-par season could be facing the rumblings for Tebow if he doesn’t play well.

Tebow must also adjust as he falls back into the backup role after becoming the starter last season in Denver and leading them to the playoffs and a first round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The next week however Denver was crushed by Tom Brady and the Patriots.

When it comes down to it though, Tebow made the playoffs and Sanchez did not. Sanchez struggled mightily down the stretch which got people wondering about his future with the Jets. The team backed him publicly, but vowed to change the quarterback depth chart for 2012.

With the trade for Tim Tebow, we can see that they were serious.

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The Miami Dolphins (6-10) refused to pass up a golden opportunity to end the season of the hated New York Jets (8-8), on New Year’s Day. A 19-17 victory by the Dolphins knocked New York out of contention for the sixth and final AFC postseason seed – meaning there will once again be no Super Bowl title for Gang Green, despite coach Rex Ryan’s preseason prediction.

But that didn’t sway Ryan to take the high road for a change. “I’m always going to chase the Super Bowl,” said Ryan. “I know I get criticized for it beyond belief, but if you don’t, then you’re probably a loser, OK? I’m not a loser.”

Two straight losses following an 8-5 start put the Jets in a position where they needed a significant amount of help to make a playoff run for the third consecutive season under Ryan. New York understood that a win against the Dolphins would be meaningless unless it was accompanied by losses for Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Denver/Oakland.

Scoreboard watching was unnecessary once this one was all said and done. New York had a slight advantage coming into the ball game, as 1,000 yard runner Reggie Bush and Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jake Long were both unable to play due to knee and arm injuries, respectively. Bush’s 5.0 yards per carry was the highest average among 1,000 yard rushers this season.

Fourth year running back, Steve Slaton, replaced Bush and had 55 yards on 11 carries. The Jets had the upper hand on the ground with 129 combined yards in comparison to only 82 for the Dolphins. LaDanian Tomlinson made history yet again, as he passed former Steeler great, Jerome Bettis, for 5^th on the all time rushing list with 56 yards on the day.

A 44 yard Dan Carpenter field goal gave Miami an early 3-0 lead with 9:31 remaining in the first. Mark Sanchez responded with a one yard play action touchdown pass to tight end Justin Keller to put the Jets ahead 7-3 with just under 6 minutes in the quarter. The drive covered 77 yards in 8 plays.

Unable to take advantage of an Antonio Cromartie interception later in the quarter, the Jets defense would nonetheless hold Miami at bay and allow their offense to extend the lead to 10-3 with a 31 yard field goal late in the second quarter. Safety Brodney Pool’s interception with 25 seconds remaining in the half set the Jets up at their own 45, giving them a chance to take a two possession lead before entering the locker room.

A crucial interception by defensive lineman Randy Starks quickly erased Matt Moore’s interception. Miami suddenly cut the lead to 10-6 with a 58 yard field goal as time expired. It was an atrocious first half passing-wise. Sanchez and Matt Moore had a total of just 106 yards while throwing the 3 interceptions.

Miami took their first lead of the game in the 4^th with a record-setting drive. It was the longest possession of the season in regards to both time and amount of plays. The Dolphins went 94 yards downfield in 12 minutes and 29 seconds. A one yard 3^rd and goal touchdown pass to Charles Clay on the 21^st play put them ahead 13-10 with 10:27 remaining in regulation.

“I didn’t realize how long it was,” said Moore. “It was unbelievable, just a great job on everybody’s part.” Not since 1993 had the Jets given up a drive consisting of 21 plays. A 41 yard field goal made the score 16-10 Miami with 7:11 left to go following another Starks interception of Sanchez.

New York moved the ball all the way down to the Miami 10 on the next possession, but Sanchez’s third interception of the afternoon cost them mightily. Linebacker Marvin Mitchell recorded the pick and returned the ball back to the Jets 36. Miami tacked on another field goal to take a two possession lead, 19-10 with 2:32 on the clock.

Brandon Marshall sealed the win for the Dolphins with an onside kick recovery after a late Jets touchdown. Receiver Santonio Holmes appeared to quit on his team and was benched during the drive. This marked the first time in 95 career games where he did not record a reception.

New York finishes the season at .500 and goes into the offseason with several unanswered questions concerning their leadership and identity. The Dolphins now know what they’re capable of, winning 6 of their final 9 after an 0-7 start.

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In one swift beat down the Philadelphia Eagles kept their playoff hopes alive while potentially ending the Jets playoff chances. In a 45-19 blowout over the Jets the Eagles have managed to stay alive for at least one more week.

They sit at 6-8 after two straight wins and trail the 8-6 Cowboys and the 7-7 Giants for the NFC East title with a very slim chance to overtake the two in the final two weeks to make the playoffs. Better than being eliminated though right?

“It feels good to still have a chance to even be considered in the playoff race,” quarterback Michael Vick said. “We’ve been through a lot, but we’re resilient.”

For the Jets it was the second time this season a three game winning streak was snapped in a big way and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Jets (8-6) controlled their destiny coming into the game, and now have fallen into a tie with the Bengals for the last spot in the AFC. The Jets do hold a tiebreaker over the Cincinnati with the better record against common opponents.

“Obviously, a horrendous performance by us,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Go into the game thinking we have to run the table to control our own destiny, and we come out of the game needing to win out to control our own destiny.”

Vick finished 15 of 22 for 274 yards with one interception and one touchdown. He also had 32 yards and a score on 5 carries. LeSean McCoy also contributed with 102 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. He surpassed Steve Van Buren’s team record with his 19^th touchdown and 16^th rushing touchdown. Brent Celek also had a career day racking up 156 yards on 5 catches for one touchdown.

The Eagles turned three New York turnovers into 21-0 on their way to grabbing a quick 28-0 lead, and kept pounding it on the Jets after they made it 28-13 going into the half.

For Mark Sanchez, this was another one of those games he wishes he could forget. He finished 15 of 26 for 150 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also sacked four times, three by Jason Babin.

“It’s embarrassing,” Sanchez said. “It’s not good football. We just didn’t play our best speaking from an offense perspective, and it puts our defense in a hole. We are a much better football team than we showed.”

Santonio Holmes fumbled and it was returned 47 yards for the touchdown to put Philly ahead early. The Jets caught a break when they recovered a fumble at the 14 on a punt that DeSean Jackson let bounce and eventually caromed off his teammate, but gave it right back as Sanchez was picked by Asante Samuel at the 4.

Vick found Celek for a 26 yard score to put the Eagles up 14-0. Early into the second quarter Vick put them up 21-0 on an 11 yard run and the drive was helped by a roughing the passer penalty.

Sanchez fumbled on the next possession as he was hit running away on a busted play and it eventually led to McCoy’s first touchdown a 9 yard run to put the Eagles up 28-0. The Jets did try to fight back getting a field goal and then recovering a fumble on the kickoff and turning it into 7 as Sanchez found Holmes for a 25 yard touchdown which cut the game to 28-10.

McCoy fumbled on the next possession and the Jets go it at the 27, but had to settle for a field goal. After that it was all McCoy as he eventually scored from 1 and 33 yards which made it 45-13.

For Philadelphia they need to win out and hope the Jets beat the Giants and then the Giants beat the Cowboys in order to win the division. For the Jets they still control their destiny and have zero wiggle room with games against the Giants and Dolphins left.

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There is no secret about the game plan when facing a Denver Broncos team led by Tim Tebow. There will be a lot of options and running the ball and virtually no throwing. While it may seem easy to defend, Tebow is 3-1 since taking over the starting job in Denver.

The Jets are coming off a disappointing loss at home to the Patriots that all but killed any chance of them winning the AFC East, and looking to bounce back on a short week when they face the Broncos, who are suddenly back in the race for the AFC West, on Thursday night.

The Jets had a golden opportunity to take control of their playoff destiny and the AFC East, but lost 37-16 to the Patriots and snapped a three game winning streak. The game was characterized by sloppy play, including a missed 24 yard field goal, a muffed punt that the Jets failed to recover three times, a pick six, and a stupid timeout.

Sanchez didn’t show up to play, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked five times. The timeout he called before the half prompted coach Rex Ryan to tell NBC at halftime that it was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” ”There’s plenty of football left to play,” center Nick Mangold said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to get out there Thursday night and, you know, right the wrongs.”

The Jets are facing the polar opposite this week as the Patriots featured a lot of spread offenses while the Broncos are strictly a running team. This might pose some problems for the Jets defense that statistically is better against the pass with their talented cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The Jets rank 8^th against the pass giving up 210.8 yards per game.

On Sunday Denver rushed the ball 55 times in its win over Kansas City and had 244 yards on the ground. Tebow only attempted 8 passes all game completing 2, though one of the completions was a 56 yard touchdown to Eric Decker. The Jets faced a season-high 39 pass attempts Sunday against the Patriots holding them to 60 yards on 28 carries.

The Jets are still only rank 15^th against the run giving up 116.0 yards per contest. The Broncos have the 2^nd best rushing attack in football averaging 158.2 yards per game, but have been averaging 246.0 yards in their past three games. ”I think it’s just one more thing for people to prepare for,” Tebow said of Denver’s unique offense.

“It’s not like we went out there and did a lot (Sunday) but it’s something you have to scheme for, you have to prepare for and you have to be sound.” There might be some changes for the Broncos in the backfield, though it likely won’t change how the team runs the ball. On Sunday starter Willis McGahee left the game with a hamstring injury and is listed as Questionable.

Backup Knowshon Moreno also was hurt Sunday suffering a torn ACL which will end his season. Sunday they had to turn to third string tailback Lance Ball who was effective rushing for 96 yards on 30 carries, with Tebow adding 43 and a score on 9 carries. They will turn to Ball and second year back Jeremiah Johnson if McGahee can’t go.

The Jets also look to run the ball, though not to the extreme that the Broncos do. They’re averaging 125.5 yards on the ground in their last four games with Shonn Greene averaging 80.8. LaDanian Tomlinson who was hurt late in the game Sunday will not play this week and the Jets have activated rookie Bilal Powel from the practice squad.

The last meeting between the teams was last year and the Jets won 24-20 with a late touchdown from Tomlinson to seal the win. Tebow was only used as a runner in that game carrying the ball 6 times for 23 yards.

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All is where people thought it would be at this point in the season. The New England Patriots are 1^st in the AFC East and the New York Jets are chasing them for the divisional title as usual. Led by Tom Brady’s three touchdown passes, two which went to tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East with a convincing victory over the Jets at MetLife stadium on Sunday Night.

Brady finished 26 of 39 with 329 yards and the three scores, the biggest which came after the Jets pulled within a score 23-16 early in the fourth quarter. Brady led the team on an 84 yard drive capped by an 8 yard touchdown catch by Deion Branch who burned nickel back Kyle Wilson.

The victory was sealed with linebacker Rob Ninkovich intercepted Mark Sanchez on the next possession and returned it 12 yards for the score. The game was for first place in the East, and the Patriots cruised, snapping their two game losing streak and the Jets three game winning streak, while sweeping the season series.

The Bills entered Sunday tied for first, but were blown out in Dallas earlier 44-7. For the Jets this marked their first home loss of the season entering the game 4-0 at home. Coach Rex Ryan insisted that his team had greatly improved since losing to the pats a month ago in New England, but tonight wasn’t indicative of that. The Jets still have a lot to do if they want to take over the AFC East.

All day the Jets secondary had no answer for Rob Gronkowski who finished with 8 catches and 113 yards and kicker Stephen Gostkowski was good on his three attempts. The Patriots, who ranked last in the league coming into the game in sacks, saw Andre Carter collect 4 ½ alone as the Patriots were in Mark Sanchez’s face all game.

Sanchez had a dreadful game. He finished 20 of 39 for 306 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked five times. A 7 yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress had the Jets right back in the game, but then Brady took over leading the Patriots down the field for a 13 play 84 yard drive using a no-huddle offense to keep the Jets off balance. The drive ate up half of the fourth quarter.

The key play came when Joe McKnight bobbled a muffed punt which set up a field goal. Isaiah Trufant had two chances to recover the punt, and Donald Strickland who let the ball squirt out of his hands, failed to recover the punt which eventually was recovered by Niko Koutouvides at the Jets 13.

The Patriots capitalized with another field goal to increase the lead. They got the ball right back when a Sanchez pass went off Shonn Greene’s hands and was deflected by Jerod Mayo into Ninkovich’s hands. The Jets played well early getting on the scoreboard with a safety when Jamaal Westerman got to Brady in the end zone forcing an intentional grounding.

The Jets took the ball and went down the field on a 7 play 65 yard drive capped by a 2 yard draw by Mark Sanchez to put them up 9-6. Though they got the score Sanchez made the mistake of calling a timeout instead of letting the clock run out. This gave Tom Brady plenty of time to drive down the field and answer with a touchdown right before the half.

Ryan, angry with Sanchez, told NBC at the half that the timeout call was the “stupidest play in NFL history.” The Jets opened the game with an impressive drive, but couldn’t punch it in and got no points when Nick Folk missed a 24 yard field goal wide left.

The Jets have a quick turnaround as they head to Denver to face Tim Tebow and the suddenly relevant Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. The Patriots look to continue their good play as they head home to face former quarterback Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs who have lost two straight since winning four in a row.

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When the Jets and Patriots met a month ago, the Patriots handed the Jets their third straight loss and made people question whether the Jets would even make the playoffs, let along make good on Rex’s usual preseason guarantee. Now the Jets have the chance to do the same thing right back to the Patriots.

The Jets have been hot lately, and they are undefeated at home this season. They’ve won the past two meetings at home against New England and on Sunday have a great opportunity to give the suddenly vulnerable Patriots their third straight loss, which would be their first since 2002.

“Both teams are going to be humming for this one, no question,” Rex Ryan said. “You can sugarcoat it all you want, but they know they need it and we know we need it. Both teams are going to be hungry.”

During their three game losing streak the Jets gave up at least 30 points and fell two games behind the AFC East lead. Three wins later and New York is 5-3 and back into a tie for 1^st with Buffalo and New England. The defense looks like the defense of old, circa 09’ and 10’, allowing only 38 points and forcing 8 turnovers in the past three games. Their last win was a convincing one 27-11 over the Bills last week.

“We definitely have been getting better these last three weeks,” Ryan said. “But we’re going to see how much we’ve improved.” While the defense is playing better they will still face a tough task against Tom Brady and the Patriots who are ranked second in the league averaging 437.3 yards per game.

However in the Patriots past three games they’ve failed to score more than 20 points. Against Pittsburgh two weeks ago they managed only 213 yards total and didn’t score in the first half last week against the Giants. They also committed four turnovers against New York last week which is the third time they’ve done so this year compared to only 1 turnover through their final eight games last year.

Tom Brady isn’t having his best year as he already has 10 interceptions which is the third most in the league compared to only four all of last year. ”Just decision making,” Brady said. “I’ve just got to make better decisions.” The problem for the Patriots though hasn’t been the offense. There issue is the defense which is dead last in passing allowing 314.0 yards per game and is the only team allowing 300+ passing yards in the league.

“I think everybody can do a better job,” Bill Belichick said. “That includes everybody — it includes me, it includes all the coaches, it includes all the players. There’s room for improvement for all of us.” The Patriots cut Albert Haynesworth on Tuesday who they had brought in hopes that he could help improve their defensive front.

They also brought in wide receiver Chad Ochocinco hoping he could give them some sort of a vertical threat, but he hasn’t made a catch in three games. Last week Brady targeted him five times. ”He’s continued to do a great job in practice in his role that he’s really carved out for himself,” Brady said, “and he’s going to continue to be out there and, hopefully, make a bunch of plays.”

The patriots will need him to start making plays to give them a some semblance of a deep threat, because due to his lack of production the Patriots have had to rely extensively on Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. With Welker likely being matched up against All-Pro corner back Darrelle Revis his job will be even tougher this week.

Welker had a big 73 yard reception in the last meeting against the Jets, it came when he was lined up opposite Revis. He was otherwise held to a very pedestrian day only catching four balls for 51 yards. ”Sometimes I was throwing him on the ground, sometimes he was catching some balls on me,” Revis said. “I call him the ‘Energizer Bunny’ because he never stops — it doesn’t matter what you do to him, he just keeps on coming and coming.”

The key for the Patriots last time the two met was the run game. BenJarvus Green-Ellis rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots racked up 152 yards on the ground. The Jets defense has been playing well against the run lately, though they are still ranked 22^nd giving up 123.0 yards per game. They will be getting defensive end Mike DeVito back who is a big part of their run defense so that bodes well for the Jets.

Though the Patriots pass defense is bad, the Jets will continue to rely on their run game as they have the past few games. Shonn Greene has stepped up and the Jets are averaging 130.7 yards over the three game win streak up from 76.2 before. A lot of the resurgence has to do with All-Pro center Nick Mangold fully healing from injury.

The return to the run game has also helped the passing game as Mark Sanchez has 7 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions with a 63% completion rate over the past four games. Sanchez has done well at home against the Patriots posting a 114.5 passer rating and a 2-0 record.

With the recent struggles of the Patriots and the Jets playing well lately and at home the game will be a close one. The Jets should be able to learn from the Steelers and their New York NFC counterparts and be able to keep Brady off balance in the passing game. Unless the Patriots get another big day from the run game the Jets will be hard to beat at home.

When it’s all said and done the Jets should be able to hand the beleaguered Patriots their third straight loss and move into first place in the AFC East. Final Prediction: Patriots 24 Jets 27

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The Bills come into the game on Sunday looking to avoid losing two in a row for the first time this season when they travel to Jerryworld to square off with the Cowboys who are trying to keep pace with the Giants for the NFC East. “The focus is trying to win a game. … We got everything in front of us — we hold our own destiny in our own hands, so we gotta go take care of business,” coach Chan Gailey said.

Buffalo, who sit at 5-3 tied atop the AFC East with the Patriots and the Jets, failed to take care of any business last Sunday against the Jets. They fell 27-11 and saw their high power offense, which is tied for the highest scoring in the AFC with the Patriots at 27.8 points per game, sputter as the Jets made them look like the one win Dolphins. The Bills went 3 for 11 on third down and turned it over three times.

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions and had his worst game of the year going 15 of 31 for 191 yards and a touchdown. ”It was a bad game,” said Fitzpatrick. “We certainly didn’t have our best effort out there, and I think that’s where a lot of disappointment and frustration comes in.”

Fitzpatrick will look to bounce back facing a Cowboys pass defense that’s right in the middle of the pack ranked 16^th giving up 232.5 yards per game. The Bills are led by running back Fred Jackson who is having a career year leading the AFC at 100.4 yards per game and helping the Bills to the 7^th ranked rushing attack with 135 yards per game.

However, the Jets held the team to only 96 yards on the ground and forced Jackson’s first fumble of the year. They will look to get back to the run, as Dallas has struggled lately giving up 401 yards on the ground the past two weeks. Dallas will get Sean Lee back who is their leading tackler and this should help them somewhat.

For Buffalo to keep pace for the AFC East title they’ll have to go at least 2-1 on their three game road trip facing Dallas, Miami, and then the Jets again before heading home to face Tennessee. ”It will be a difficult stretch, but we don’t have to play all three of them at the same time,” Jackson said. “If we go out and continue to make plays like we have been throughout the season, we feel like we’ll be OK.”

Buffalo has struggle so far on the road this year by going 1-2, but the losses came against the Giants and the Bengals, both who are in first place in their divisions. Each loss was only by three points. The Cowboys sit at 4-4, but are looking to make a push in the second half of the season as they benefit from an easy schedule. They also benefit from the first place Giants having a tough stretch over the next few weeks.

After the Bills the Cowboys face Washington, Miami, and Arizona who have a combined record of 6-18. After that, the Giants come to town in what looks to be a pivotal matchup. ”We’ve done a lot of things to build on over the first eight games, a lot we can be positive about. … But we have to get better,” said Garrett

When starting running back Felix Jones got hurt, people expected the running game to take a step back, but the opposite has happened with rookie DeMarco Murray shining rushing for 466 yards in three games. They hope he can keep it up against a Bills run defense that ranks 20^th giving up 120.8 yards per game.

“We are going to have a great 1-2 punch when Felix gets healthy,” Witten said. “It’s going to put us in a great situation.” The Cowboys are a little banged up with Felix Jones still being questionable and wide receiver Miles Austin out for possibly a month after he reinjured his hamstring last week.

With no Austin, Dez Bryant figures to see a lot more targets, along with tight end Kevin Ogletree and wide receiver Laurent Robinson. Buffalo’s defense, while rich with playmaking ability, they lead the AFC with 15 interceptions, isn’t that great. They rank 25^th against the pass giving up 260.4 yards per game.

The game should be a close contest as both teams can put up a lot of points in a hurry. Both teams need to win to keep pace in their respective races, but with the Bills on the road and Dallas’ defense being run by Rob Ryan, Rex’s twin brother, they will see a dose of the same stuff they saw against the Jets. The Cowboys should be able to get a win at home. Final Prediction: Bills 17 Cowboys 27.

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The New York Jets put an end to all the talk surrounding them with a victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The high-flying Bills’ offense, which was averaging 30 points a game, was completely shut down by the Jets’ defense. The Jets were able to pick Ryan Fitzpatrick off twice and force a fumble. They stopped the Bills on fourth down, and the Bills didn’t score a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

Mark Sanchez and the offense came out early for a change, but couldn’t score until the third quarter when the Jets scored on four straight possessions and cruised to a 5-3 record and a tie with Buffalo.

Sanchez had two bad early turnovers. The first was a pick in the end zone, which spoiled a 15 play 87 yard drive that ate up 10 minutes of clock. The second came when he just missed a perfect shotgun snap that gave Buffalo the ball right back after the defense forced a turnover. He rebounded and finished 20 of 28 for 230 yards and completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.

The Bills, on the other hand, didn’t look like the team that had breezed through their first seven games, but rather dysfunctional and overmatched.

“We just couldn’t get anything going,” Fitzpatrick said. “They kept us frustrated all day and didn’t allow us to do what we’ve been doing all year.”

The corners took away the quick passing routes that the Bills have been running all year. Without much of a running game, things became difficult for Fitzpatrick. He finished 15 of 31 for 191 yards and had a touchdown and two interceptions. He hit David Nelson for a seven-yard touchdown with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Then he ran the ball  for the two-point conversion to make it 27-11.

The Bills had three first downs and just as many turnovers in their first eight possessions. This game was the first time the Bills have been under 20 points all season.

“They played well and we played poorly,” Bills coach, Chan Gailey, said. “It was a big ballgame. We haven’t had this happen at home this year. And we’ve got to get better.”

The lone bright spot in the game for the Bills was running back Fred Jackson who racked up 82 yards on 18 carries and had three catches for 38 yards. He will have to continue to play well if the Bills want to have a chance on their upcoming road trip, playing four out of the next five games on the road.

The Jets, while not matching the almost 300-yard average, had a good day running the ball. The team rushed for 126 yards and two scores led by Shonn Greene who had 76 yards on 19 carries.

“I’m sure now there’s going to be something written about the Jets being back,” Scott said. “And we won’t listen to that either, because at the end of the day, we know that you guys [in the media] don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

The Jets are now focused on their game next week against the New England Patriots, which will be for first place in the AFC East.

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The New York Jets had a bye week that came at the worst time. They had gained some momentum and were riding a two-game winning streak going into the bye. And given their recent history under coach Rex Ryan coming off of byes (they’re 0-2), they’re hoping to change things and are confident that they won’t have a drop off due to time off.

Ryan was at a loss when asked about the trend of his team coming out flat after time off, but said this year that can’t happen. “We have to do something about that trend,” he said. “We need to win this week.” Every game has become a must win for the Jets, especially since the Jets are one game behind the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots for first place, and they face these two teams in the next two games.

Even CB Darrelle Revis called the game against the Bills this Sunday a must win. “You can’t focus on the past coming off byes and losing,” Revis said. “It’s a new year and we’re in control of our destiny and where we want to go.” The Jets do in fact control their own destiny even after a three game skid as if they can take both of the next two games they could potentially be sitting atop the AFC East.

Lose both games, and the Jets’ season could be close to being over. The Jets have owned the Bills in the past few years, winning five of the last six meetings between the two, and that includes three wins in Buffalo. Ryan believes the practices have been good, and the Jets look very alert and aware of the situation which he hopes will translate into a good showing out of the bye.

But the Jets have lost all three of their away games this season and hope to end the streak at three with a win on Sunday. “Would we like to have had a better record? Absolutely, we would’ve, but we don’t,” Ryan said. “We’re 4-3, but we have it right in front of us. The teams you have to beat are right in front of us, so we’ll know. These next few weeks are going to be critical for us.”

Buffalo on the other side sits at 5-2 atop the AFC East and is coming off their best performance of the year dominating Washington 23-0 up in Toronto. They only gave up 178 yards had two picks to add to their league lead 14, and recorded 9 sacks. This was way better than their five previous games in which they gave up 414+ yards in each game.

“You hope that your team gains confidence from that, and that your defense sees how well they can play,” coach Chan Gailey said. “It should create more confidence.” The Bills are 26^th in the league giving up 385.9 yards per contest, but the Jets’ offense isn’t much better ranked 29^th and averaging 300.1 yards per game.

The problem for Buffalo is that the Jets have recently been playing better, including their season high 162 yards on the ground in their last game against San Diego in which Shonn Greene had 112 yards. This isn’t good for a Buffalo defense that struggles stopping the run. The Jets average 279.0 yards on the ground in the past four meetings with Buffalo.

Buffalo does benefit from having Fred Jackson on their side and they are ranked fifthin rushing averaging 140.6 yards per game. Jackson is ranked second in the NFL averaging 103.0 yards and is sixth rushing touchdowns. His 353 yards receiving out of the backfield is good for fourth among running backs. This matchup looks good compared to the Jets who are 25^th against the rush giving up 126.9 yards per game.

They will have to rely on their backfield because Ryan Fitzpatrick has a 62.0 rating in four games against the Jets and, with CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, look for TE Scott Chandler to have a big game as the Bills will try to take advantage of the safeties down the seams the one weakness of the seventh ranked pass defense.

The Bills defense is 20^th against the rush and 24^th against the pass. The Jets’ offense, which saw a boost against the Chargers as WR Plaxico Burress and RB Shonn Greene had breakout  games, is looking to keep the momentum going. Mark Sanchez needs to out-manage Ryan Fitzpatrick if the Jets want to win this game.

This will be a good game that will come down to a key play or drive. Each team is riding momentum and playing well as of late and I believe that the Jets with a few more playmakers on their team will be able to pull the game out late. Final Prediction: Jets 27 Bills 21.

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Rex Ryan has had to deal with the recent sniping going back and forth in his locker room between Santonio Holmes and Brandon Moore. He still has to deal with stuff people are saying — except this time, the culprit is himself. On a conference call Wednesday with reporters in San Diego, Ryan said he’d already have two Super Bowl rings if he had been hired by the Chargers in 2007.

Ryan, who interviewed for the job, said, “I’m telling you, those teams were loaded.” That was a slight toward Norv Turner, who landed the head-coaching gig in ’07 and has yet to reach a Super Bowl. Ryan knows how hard it is to coach in the NFL as he watched his father Buddy Ryan do it for years.

He has a ton of respect for the profession and would never insult another coach. However, as we have seen over the past two years, Rex also has a bravado not matched by many and especially not by anyone else currently in his profession. This, at times, gets him into trouble as it did Wednesday, when the lack of filter from brain to mouth came back to haunt him.

Ryan reached out to Chargers coach Norv Turner to clarify his remarks and let him know he was in no way taking a shot at him. Turner is known as a very low key coach, but he wasn’t happy with the comments and made sure to get even with Rex to the media.

“I hadn’t seen his quote and I was a little bit surprised by the call,” Turner said. “And then after I saw the quote, I didn’t have a chance to ask him this, but I was wondering if he had those rings with the ones he’s guaranteed the last couple of years.”

Ryan lets his players speak their minds and this has become somewhat problematic for the team. He says this policy will never change, but even Ryan felt the need to talk to Holmes and Moore and tell the team, “Enough is enough.” People have been trying to draw more conclusions out of this story than there really are.

He wasn’t taking a shot at the Chargers or Norv Turner, nor was he taking shots at his own team. He’s been predicting a Super Bowl since day 1, so he must have a pretty good reason for doing so, other than just overconfidence. This is just another case of Rex being Rex, not some genius attempt to shield his team from the recent controversy they’ve been dealing with.

One thing is for sure, people will be watching after the game what Rex and Norv do with their handshake. Another thing you can bank on is that if this Jets team doesn’t turn things around, Rex being Rex won’t seem so funny to the people of New York.

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When reports first surfaced about there being a possible rift in the Jets locker room, the Jets organization was quick to downplay it. The report stated that the Jets’ three big-name wide receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Derrick Mason went to Rex Ryan to complain about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ play calling.

The Jets issued a statement 90 minutes before their game last weekend against the New England Patriots, saying the report wasn’t true and that the meeting never took place. After the game this week, all three receivers and Ryan all denied the report.

Derrick Mason has since been traded to Houston due to ‘lack of performance’, though many speculate Mason’s critical post-game comments lead to his benching during the New England game and his eventual trade. This move wasn’t popular among the receiving core and served as somewhat of a wake-up call to the rest of the Jets team, a call that Holmes clearly didn’t answer.

Santonio Holmes repeated his criticism of the offensive line. “I may be criticized again for saying it, but it starts up front,” Holmes said Thursday. “The big guys know it. If they give Mark enough time to sit in the pocket and complete passes, I think everything changes.”

While this may be a true statement, it’s not what the Jets need. Holmes, clearly frustrated after the poor and very conservative play calling against the worst ranked defense in the league, said, “The numbers speak for themselves,” he said, adding, “If you were in my shoes, what would you think?”

Guard Brandon Moore fired back on Friday. “He’s obviously got the green light to evaluate every position on the team,” Moore said. “I just didn’t think captaincy entailed that. I’ve never seen a captain do that. That’s not leading. That’s not being a leader. It actually fragments the locker room. It’s not productive.”

The offensive line is clearly ticked off and this couldn’t come at a worse time for the Jets who are in the midst of a three game losing streak. The fact that Moore said anything back, especially something critical, shows the state of the locker room. Moore is regarded as a quiet leader and is the longest tenured offensive lineman.

Schottenheimer, who’s been under a ton of scrutiny from the fans, media, and some players alike, downplayed the situation between Holmes and Moore. “The team is a family and families have disagreements.” He said the offense has “a great relationship,” expressing confidence that the players will resolve their differences.

Schottenheimer has plans to address this issue with the entire offensive unit. “Absolutely,” he said. “Whether it’s done in public or whether it’s done in private, these are things we’ll keep in-house. But this group will be ready to go Monday night, I have no questions about that.”

He’d better hope they’re ready as his job may be riding on it. While this could just be the product of a frustrated team in a tough spot, it could prove either a breaking point or the season turn-around for the team.

While Holmes is right about the play of the offensive line, going public isn’t something a leader should do. He’s never been one to shy away from speaking his mind and this is one of the reasons why the Steelers were willing to trade him for such a low cost, a fifth round draft pick. One thing is for sure, if the Jets lose to the winless Dolphins and Matt Moore on Monday night, this will be just the beginning of the team’s problems.

The Jets are on a tailspin right now, but with problems like this brewing in the locker room, they could very well be in route to crash and burn. A season that started with Super Bowl aspirations could end with a team divided and a fan base left believing that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

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After the Jets lack luster play in the last three weeks, especially by the offense, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimers’ name has begun to come up more and more with the New York media and fan base. Many people are already calling for his departure after the Jets proved unable to do anything against one of the worst defenses in the league in New England.

Schottenheimer, who is the only holdover from the Mangini era in New York, has been on the hot seat for a few years now due to the offense’s inability at times to score points. Many fans remember how the play calling used to be under Mangini which was always short and safe, sometimes too safe.

They were notorious at times for calling plays in which receivers would run routes inside the first down line and never given the chance to gain enough yardage. Schottenheimer isn’t the type of play caller who calls plays regardless of the opponent. His game plans vary week to week, based on the opponent’s weaknesses.

However, this season he seems to be more worried about keeping all of the offense’s big name receivers, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and before he was traded Derrick Mason, happy rather than doing his job and calling the plays that needed to be called. Against Oakland, he made a great call on LaDainian Tomlinson’s touchdown catch matching him up against an obviously slower linebacker.

Then, Tomlinson never received the ball. Dustin Keller, who has all the ability in the world to be a top ten tight end in the league, has five catches all year. While many of the Jets struggles sit with the players and their poor performances, a lot also stems from poor and questionable play calling.

The Jets vowed to return to their ‘ground & pound’ roots against the Patriots and succeeded to some extent. However, there were a lot of play calls that left fans, the media, and even the announcers of the game scratching their heads. In the first three of the Jets eventual seven three and outs, the Jets ran the ball early and had 3^rd and 2, 3^rd and 1, and 3^rd and 2.

All of these were very manageable third downs, but instead of running the ball up the gut which they had success with earlier, they dropped Sanchez back all three times, resulting in two incomplete passes and one sack.

On another play later in the game, they had Sanchez back in the shotgun with a spread four wide receiver set, yet not one wide receivers route was past the 1^st down marker and the play resulted in the Jets being short of the first down. Plays like this are causing people to think that these are in fact the ‘same old Jets.’

Schotty’s play calling, which was the subject of the report issued before the Patriots game, that the three big name receivers had gone to Rex Ryan to complain about the play calling, has one, maybe two weeks to turn this all around before the Jets’ bye week. Up next for the Jets is the winless Dolphins on Monday Night Football, who like the Patriots have the 31^st ranked passing defense.

After that it’s the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, but if the Jets lose to the Dolphins at home on national TV, Schotty might not even make it to the bye week. He is definitely on the hot seat and it’s up to him and the offensive players to get the job done or his job with the Jets could be done before seasons end.

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After his last pitiful performance, New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez is looking a young quarterback again. Except he’s not getting any younger and the Jets can’t afford him to continue regressing. With big expectations on both the team and Sanchez coming into this season, he’s already been on a roller coaster.

After a poor start, Sanchez was able to lead the team back and steal one from the Dallas Cowboys the opening week. The following week the Jets handled business and beat up the lowly Jaguars with Sanchez having a good game. When the team left MetLife stadium, things took a turn for the worse.

Sanchez was abused by the Raiders front seven and seemed unable to complete a pass against Oakland’s questionable secondary. The Ravens gave him even more punishment. Sanchez had 4 fumbles (3 recovered by Baltimore) in Sunday’s game and one interception, but the worst part of the turnovers was that three of them were returned by the defense for touchdowns.

The one-dimensional offense has put a burden on Sanchez, who has nine turnovers in four games. Against the Ravens, he was rattled and completed only 31.4 percent of his passes, the lowest mark in team history for a quarterback with at least 35 attempts in a game. Ryan, who gave a harsh assessment of Sanchez after the game, softened his stance after reviewing the tape.

“I don’t care if Joe Monatana was back there, with that kind of pressure, it’s hard to execute,” Ryan said. The biggest issue has been Sanchez’s lack of leadership and confidence. He’s looking a lot like the kid who was overmatched in his rookie season by the NFL and not like the third year franchise quarterback the Jets need.

While the Jets have issues in the running game and offensive line, possibly adding to Sanchez’s early season woes, a lot of it is on him too. He’s not reading defenses well enough at the line, holding the ball too long, making errant throws when he needs to be more cautious, and fumbling way too many snaps.

Sanchez, who was named captain this season, needs to step up both on and off the field and show the coaches, organization, and fans that he is the player they believed him to be when they traded up to the 6^th overall pick to draft him. If he can’t do that it’s going to be a long season for gang green and Sanchez’s tenure in New York won’t be nearly as long as he or anyone expected.

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This is the question that the New York Jets need to ask themselves. If this was a year or two ago, the answer would’ve been simple: a ground and pound offense and a smash mouth defense. However, this year the Jets look like a team who are searching for their identity, which is not good considering this team is planning on winning it all.

At the beginning of the year, the Jets decided to make Shonn Greene their bell-cow running back and moved last year’s starter, LaDainian Tomlinson, to a third down receiver type back. The only problem is the Jets have been unable to run the ball in their first three games this season. The team that would beat you up with their big skilled offensive line now has to rely on the passing game for points.

Mark Sanchez threw the ball 44 times in the opener against the Cowboys, and has had to throw the ball a lot more than intended because of the inefficient run game, even throwing in a blow out against the Jaguars in Week 2.

Now a lot of this has to do with the Jets interior line who, without center Nick Mangold, is sporting two first year players and second year player, Matt Slauson. This a big difference from the line of last year and from two years ago in which tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who is a pro-bowler in his own right, was the weak point.

The spectacular Rex Ryan defense, which should be playing great as 10 of the 11 starters are now in at least their second year in the system, has at times looked bad. The Cowboys were able to expose the defense almost costing the Jets the home/season opener two weeks ago, and it cost them the game on Sunday against the Raiders who torched the Jets defense for 200+ yards on the ground.

Bad tackling combined with a lack of pass rush has plagued the Jets and the mental mistakes aren’t helping either. While I’m sure the defense had a bad game, and will be fine as the season goes on, the real problem is the offense and how the Jets are going to score points. If the Jets can’t find their identity as a team, they can stop all the Super Bowl talk now and kiss their season goodbye.

These next two weeks will really show what the Jets are made of. They travel to Baltimore this week for the Sunday night game against the Ravens, and then to Foxboro to square off with their nemesis, the New England Patriots.

The worse that could happen is the Jets lose both and fall to 2-3 in the season, which will not put them in a good spot considering the Bills, yes, you’re reading that right the Buffalo Bills, right now are atop the division at 3-0 and have easy games. The Patriots, assuming they beat the same Raiders the Jets just lost to, would be 4-1.

While the season is long and a lot can happen, the Jets need to ask themselves who they really are as a team, and they better figure it out quickly. Otherwise the answer to the question, “Who are the 2011 Jets?” will have one answer: a team with all the talent in the world that just couldn’t put it all together.

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Everyone knows about the Jets’ defense. They’re big, they’re strong, they’re good, and they were embarrassed by Darren McFadden and the Oakland Raiders.

The Jets, who believe they have the most intimidating and best defense in the NFL, were given a dose of their own medicine when they went into Oakland on Sunday. The Raiders punished the Jets’ defense physically on their way to 234 yards on the ground, with 171 coming from McFadden.

There have been three games in this young NFL season and this Jets’ defense looks like a shell of the defenses we saw in 2009 and 2010. This may just be a temporary skid or loss of defensive identity, but if you look at the games so far, they’ve had two bad performances sandwiching a beat down of a journeyman quarterback.

Rex Ryan took blame for the defensive performance, saying that Raiders coach, Hue Jackson, out prepared him, but that was blatantly obvious.

On the first drive, the Raiders came out in a no huddle offense. The Jets’ defense looked like it had never heard of a no huddle, let alone seen one before. Oakland marched right down the field for a five play 76 yard opening drive for a touchdown.

“That’s unacceptable for our defense,” said cornerback Darrelle Revis, alluding to the no-show on the game’s opening drive. “That had us on our heels.”

The other thing that’s not a good sign for the Jets’ defensive line is how Oakland simply pushed them around. They exploited the weaknesses in the Jets’ defense around the perimeter as the Jets’ linebackers aren’t known as the quickest bunch and that, combined with poor tackling, led to a long day for the Jets.

They were also fooled on multiple plays. There was the McFadden 27 yard gain on a broken trick play. Then the next play on an end around missed tackles and poor positioning led to Moore’s 27 yard reverse for a touchdown.

“We didn’t play to our identity,” Revis said. “It’s a shocker for a lot of us.”

Well, the Jets better play to that identity next weekend as they face the Baltimore Ravens and Ray Rice who is another back who can make them look foolish. While this maybe just a temporary lapse, this Jets defensive line needs to turn things around quickly, otherwise a season that started with Super Bowl aspirations is going to end with “We’ll get em next year” aspirations.

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After the Jets celebrated their win over the Dallas Cowboys, it was straight back to work and breaking down the tape of the game. There were some problems but least expected: issues on the the offensive line.

The O-line for the Jets has for years been a strong point of the team, but in the game against the Cowboys’ Sanchez, it was sacked four times and knocked down at least three separate times. If Sanchez is the key to the Jets run at the Super Bowl then the Jets line needs to protect him better.

After the game, Sanchez took concussion tests though he seems to be fine. However, this could turn out to be a bad omen of what might happen if he keeps taking abuse like he did against the Cowboys on a game to game basis. Ryan picked on the offensive line during Wednesday’s meeting and according to players, called out the offensive line for their poor performance.

Now, there are some factors playing into their game. For starters, this isn’t the same line it used to be. Secondly, Sanchez threw the ball 44 times. That is an extremely high number for Sanchez since the Jets are usually a ‘run first’ team. If any QB drops back that many times, he’s bound to get hit at some point.

To protect their franchise quarterback, the Jets line will have to play better — not just on pass plays. Shonn Greene only had 26 yards last week as the Jets ground and pound was pounded by Rob Ryan and his various run blitzes.

This is a line very capable of playing up to the standards the Jets are used to, however the Jets need them to actually play up to those standards if they are meant to have any hope of ending this year with a trip to the White House.

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With three weeks of the preseason finished and the starters sitting for the entire fourth game this week against the Philadelphia Eagles it’s time to look ahead to the regular season. The Jets are on a Super Bowl or bust mission this season, but can they really make it there or are they all talk.

Going into this season the Jets have a lot of question marks, but they have a ton of upside and the results could culminate in winning it all. Some of the big questions for the team are: How much depth do they have on the O-line?

Will Mark Sanchez continue to improve in his third season and take the steps he is expected to take and become the leader the team needs? How will Sanchez and his new look receiving core gel and how quickly?

Will Shonn Greene be able to perform at a high level as the feature back all season? Can they generate any QB pressure without a prolific pass rusher? Will the two rookies Mohammad Wilkerson and Kendrick Ellis be able to contribute in their rookie years?

While this may seem like a lot of questions as well as key ones, and most of them having to do with the offense, the Jets looked good overall in their preseason campaign. It seemed like what the team needed was just more time as with every game a different problem would arise. Against the Texans the line couldn’t protect Sanchez, against the Bengals they couldn’t run the ball, and against the Giants they couldn’t pass.

The one thing that has been consistent for the Jets in the preseason is their defense. The starting unit has only allowed 10 points in the 3 preseason games.

Rex Ryan, who usually doesn’t hesitate to gush about his defense said on Tuesday, “”Will we end up being the best defense in football? I think so. I challenge everybody: Put your negatives comments out there and we’ll see what happens in the end, because I think our defense is going to be outstanding.”

“I wouldn’t trade this defense for anybody’s in the league.”

The Jets defense is definitely poised to be a top 3 if not best defense in the league with 10 returning starters and 9 of the 10 having 2 years under Rex Ryan’s defense which should mean less communication breakdowns than there have been. The Jets also have 10 defensive backs who have played in the system which should help the continuity of the secondary.

For the first time in his tenure with the Jets OLB Calvin Pace will play in the first game. He missed the first month of 2009 due to suspension and 2010 due to a broken foot. Pace is the teams best pass rusher and having him from the start should help the defense overall.

Another big difference from last year is the status of CB Darrelle Revis. He’s participated fully in training camp and is in top shape this year as opposed to last year having held out all of the preseason. That probably led to his slow start and the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2.

With the defense looking to be in top form and help carry the Jets there season really comes down to the continued development of Mark Sanchez. He showed how good there offense can be against the Bengals, but also how inconsistent as we saw against the Giants.

If Mark Sanchez continues to take steps forward, Shonn Greene steps up to the challenge of being a featured back in the NFL, and the Jets D can dominate like they have the past two years the Jets look to be on their way to a potential Superbowl title.

So the big question on all Jets fans minds and many people around the NFL this season is this: Will the Jets be flying high or crashing and burning when its all said and done with?

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At this point last year Jets fans were on pins and needles wondering what was going to happen with All-Universe corner Darrelle Revis and his holdout. As we know now he ended up holding out all summer and it took him a while to get back to full form injuring his hamstring shortly after his return.

The injury was due to a lack of off-season, but this year there’s no lockout and Revis is up to his usual tricks of wreaking havoc on quarterbacks and wide receivers.

With this news the rest of the league should begin preparing to face arguably the most complete corner in the game when they face the New York Jets this year. This year Revis is having probably his best training camp as a pro and is on a daily basis causing trouble for QB Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez likes to ignore the “Revis Rule” and is constantly challenging him in practice, usually to no avail. Sanchez says that it makes him a better quarterback being humbled by such an outstanding corner.

“They keep saying, ‘The Revis Rule, the Revis Rule,’ but that’s my chance to get after it in practice,” Sanchez said Thursday. “I can see what you can fit in and what you can get by with.

He keeps you sharp, he keeps you accurate…You try to take short vacations on Revis Island and try to get out of there as quick as you can.”

This is great news for Jets fans as having their best player at top form is good news for the defense and having their quarterback square off against him daily can only help Sanchez in his progress.

Rex Ryan said, “He’s the Tom Brady and Peyton Manning of defensive backs in this league. He’s the best I’ve ever been around.”

The Jets will need Revis to shutdown half the field as the question mark that remains from last year is the Jets pass rush. Having Revis do his thing forces quarterbacks to hold the ball for longer giving the line more chance to get to the opposing quarterback.

It’s looking like another Pro-Bowl year for the young DB.

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With only five weeks remaining between now and the start of the NFL season, training camps, amidst the free agency frenzy that was this NFL off-season, are now getting into the full swing of things.

For the New York Jets this means getting there new rookies valuable practice time as well as what might be the most important part in any success they have this year the chemistry between third year QB Mark Sanchez and his new look receiving corps.

In one week the Jets went from having a solid group of WR’s all who had developed chemistry with Sanchez over the past few years to a brand new group of receivers. The Jets lost three of there top four receivers: Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery, and Brad Smith.

Now with a receiving group comprised of Santonio Holmes and the older Plaxico Burress (34) and Derek Mason(37) the longest tenured ‘receiver’ in coach Brian Schottenheimer’s system is TE Dustin Keller who’s been there for only three years.

While this could potentially be a set back the hope is that the veteran presence of Burress and Mason will help quickly build the chemistry needed to help realize this teams Super Bowl or bust mentality.

Today was the first day that all three receivers were in full pads and on the field together. Derek Mason said that halfway through he felt fatigued, but he did take a majority of the reps which is good news for the Jets. Burress who is still nursing an ankle injury which happened last week in an informal workout while he was running routes with Holmes only took three reps.

Other news from training camp has been the rookies who have been making themselves known on the field and coaches and the media alike are starting to take notice. Fifth round draft pick Jeremy Kerley out of TCU has been spectacular so far.

The starting kick and punt returner jobs are now his to lose and he’s impressing coaches with his ability to get open. Rex Ryan called Kerley “special” while Sanchez called him a ”baller.” The Jets look like they may have found something special in Kerley and he may have been one of the steals of this years draft.

LB Nick Bellore out of Central Michigan has also been impressing coaches especially Ryan who has called him a pleasant surprise. With the lack of depth at the LB position there is a good chance the Bellore makes the roster if he keeps improving and impressing on defense.

The other big news in camp today was the numbers on the deal that pulled long time Jet Shaun Ellis away from New York and over to the rival New England Patriots were released.. The Jets offered him a 1 year $910,000 contract at the veteran minimum while the Patriots offered him $4 million with incentives to bump it up to $5 million.

With that in mind its a little easier to see why Ellis was willing to play for the Jets hated rivals after 11 years as a part of gang green.

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After coming within one game of making it to the Super Bowl for the second straight year the New York Jets are looking to bolster their roster to take the final step and get to and win a Super Bowl. Coming into this off season the Jets had a lot of questions facing them with many key pieces to their team becoming free agents.

So far the Jets haven’t made a “splash” in free agency, but have made some key moves to sure up there team going into this season and haven’t been shy about throwing money around. The first move was to place the franchise tag on David Harris which he signed a tender for $10.4 million. He has since reworked his contract and signed a 4 year $36 million deal.

From there they moved onto the harder part of deciding which key members to retain. With Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Antonio Cromartie, Brad Smith, Shaun Ellis, Eric Smith, Brodney Pool, as well as kicker Nick Folk and punter Steve Weatherford all due to be free agents there was quite the daunting task facing GM Mike Tannenbaum.

Tannenbaum made Holmes their top priority and re-signed him to a 5 year $50 million deal. The Jets then turned their focus to arguably best available free agent Nnamdi Asomugha and for a few days it seemed as if the Jets were the front runner to land him and potentially have the two best corners in the game on the same team.

Asomugha eventually chose Philadelphia as his destination and the Jets then worked out a deal with Antonio Cromartie signing him to a 4 year $32 million deal. However, due to the Jets waiting on Asomugha to decide they lost all purpose WR Brad Smith to the division rival Bills. Now for all of you counting at home, so far that’s a whopping $118 million between 3 players.

This unfortunate tally ultimately lead to the Jets lack of interest in other big name WR Braylon Edwards. Rumored to have interest in other FA wide receiver Randy Moss, the Jets went with Plaxico Burress and have since signed the former Giants player who recently was released from prison stealing him away from his former team and following in the path of the Eagles who did the same with Mike Vick.

The Jets while taking a gamble on Burress as no one is sure what kind of shape he’s in or where his skills are at after two years away, were able to get him a much cheaper cost than Braylon Edwards and both have the same skill set of a tall deep threat receiver. The Jets have also re-signed S Eric Smith to a 3 year $7.5 million deal helping to sure up their secondary where they are somewhat thin past Revis and Cromartie.

So far the Jets staff has done a great job in being able to hold onto the key pieces they might have lost in free agency and adding talent to make up for what they have lost. With the season only a month away and some cap room still to work with don’t put it past Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan to make another big move or two to bring in more talent to a team on the brink of a championship.

Don’t be surprised if they re-sign DE Shaun Ellis to a short deal or go out and make a move for a pass rusher, Osi Umenyiora being the big name out there right now available for trade due to being unhappy with the Giants. So far this hasn’t been the off season of miracles for the Jets as the Eagles with all there big FA signings win that one, but has none the less been exactly what the Jets need to gear up for another shot at the Super Bowl.

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The AFC East brings us some of the most popular and some of the most hated teams around the league at the same time. New York, New England, and Miami (sorry Buffalo), are some of the biggest markets in sports these days, and their respective teams rightfully get a lot of the spotlight. The Patriots are wrapping up their dynasty and now seem to be in a retooling stage. In the meantime, the Jets put themselves on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” and became what seems to be the most hated team in the NFL. The Dolphins continue to make key acquisitions such as Ricky Williams, Brandon Marshall, and even Bill Parcells, none of which can quite get them over the hump. Of course lastly, the Bills continue to struggle so much so that fans tune in assuming that they are bound to turn it around sooner or later. There is so much to be said about these four teams and the history they bring to the table.

So where do we even begin with this division? Let’s start with what we know, the bottom.

Buffalo Bills: Well, who even knows what to say about this franchise. Being notorious for losing is a tough spot to be in. The Bills are going to have a hard time attracting big free-agents to come play in Buffalo, and thus should look for young talent to rebuild this team. Is Ryan Fitzpatrick the guy? Well, don’t forget that he did throw for 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2010 and proved that he was the real starter for this team, so maybe, but they need much more than a quarterback. Maybe C.J. Spiller will show some of the explosion he had at Clemson and be a much needed weapon for their offense. Marcell Dareus should instantly make the Bills defensive line something to plan for. It’s hard to say that the Bills even could be contenders this season, but we’ve seen crazier turnarounds in sports. Let’s just call it a work in progress.

Miami Dolphins: Whereas everyone can peg Buffalo at the bottom of the division, Miami is probably the biggest question mark of the four. What do they bring to the table? It’s pretty difficult to say considering many of their main positions are unidentified. First of all, who is going to play quarterback? Chad Henne just doesn’t seem to be the answer everyone wanted him to be. When you have Brandon Marshall to throw to and you still can not significantly improve your numbers, the surroundings might not be the problem. As for running back, Ronnie Brown has somewhat fallen off. He hasn’t had a 1,000 yard rushing season since 2006 (when he barely squeaked over the mark with 1,008 yards), and we all know Ricky Williams can’t have all that much left in the tank. The one thing I liked out of the Dolphins last season was watching Cameron Wake rushing off the end and striking fear into quarterbacks while doing his best Julius Peppers impression. As for what to expect, who knows? We barely even have names to put on a depth chart, but the assumption is that they still won’t be able to lead this division.

New York Jets: Oh Rex Ryan, you sure do have a way of getting people to hate you. Since he got to town, the Jets have become a force in the AFC and also have become one of the most hated teams in the NFL because of the jolly loud-mouthed coach. As is, this team could be right back in position to compete for a Super Bowl next season, but don’t be blinded by those back-to-back AFC Championship appearances, this team does have holes. Ryan’s defense will always be one of the best in the league, and will undoubtedly annoy any offensive coordinator that tries to deal with their blitz schemes. They are aging quickly, and probably could use a new safety and some pass rushers, but that’s only if we’re getting picky. The offense has serious weapons, and if Mark Sanchez can continue his progression, we could see a lot more balance from them. Mike Westhoff is renowned as one of the best special teams coaches in the business, so there isn’t much worry there. They don’t have much more to do but go out and win the big game, but if I know the Jets, this is when a baffling 8-8 season happens. 2011 will be a very telling year for the direction of this team, and hopefully they can keep it up, Rex Ryan led teams are good for the league.

New England Patriots: This is not the same great team. I repeat, this is NOT the same great team. The dominant defense of old is gone by the wayside. Their secondary has big holes, and although their front seven is solid, they’ll need to address their secondary issues if they want to get back to an elite level. The fact is, Tom Brady is a hall of fame quarterback and probably won’t let Pats fans go a season without seeing a playoff game, the question is how deep can they get? The New England offense is dangerous because nobody knows where the ball is going to go. Unpredictability is a quarterbacks best friend. For example, they had two tight ends with over 500 yards receiving each, and 16 touchdowns between them. They will always be a throw-first team, but have no problem slashing defenses with a run when Brady catches some linebackers cheating. The Patriots are good, not great. I wouldn’t expect them to be a Super Bowl favorite going into these season, nor would I doubt a team with Brady and Belichick at the helm. Will they seed the reigns of the division to the Jets, or will they regain the dominance they held for so long over the past decade? Time will tell, as for now I’ll expect at least another playoff appearance for New England.

Ah The AFC East, this division definitely holds the keys to my heart. Growing up as a Jets fan, it was incredibly difficult to see the Patriots dynasty do what they did for so long. I now can admit that Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game (although that is always a bit tough for me to say), and that Bill Belichick is a hall of fame coach, no matter how much he may have cheated throughout the championship years (sorry folks, as a Jet fan, I had to). That being said this is a new time for this division. The Jets have reached back to back AFC Championship games under Rex Ryan and seem to be on the cusp on something great, and with young talent emerging from Buffalo and Miami in their rebuilding stages, this division should continue to be highly competitive in some of the biggest markets the NFL has to offer.

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