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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Aside from having to call a timeout before ever running an offensive play and losing safety Jim Leonhard to a potential season-ending knee injury, the New York Jets got exactly what they needed on Sunday. The team won an easy game over the Kansas City Chiefs and got help from the rest of the N.F.L. as Cincinnati, Oakland, and Tennessee all lost, putting the Jets in control of their playoff destiny with three weeks remaining.

Aside from the timeout, the Jets offense came out firing and never stopped. For the second straight game, the Jets offense scored on their first drive and put up 30+ points, cruising to victory over the Chiefs 37-10 to move into the final wild card spot. Mark Sanchez became the first quarterback in Jets history to throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns.

The Jets have been slow starters all season rarely scoring in the first quarter let along their first drive, but were able to rebound after an inexcusable timeout was called due to the wrong personnel being on the field at the start of the first drive. They scored 28 points in the first half and the defense dominated the hurting Chiefs holding them to just four total yards in the first half,

Sanchez finished the game 13 of 21 for 181 yards before Mark Brunell came in to finish the game. Shonn Greene led the way on the ground rushing for a season-high 129 yards and a score while catching three balls for 58 yards. LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes caught touchdowns from Sanchez and the Jets won their third straight improving to 8-5 overall and 6-1 at home.

Tyler Palko got sacked five times and finished 3 of 8 for 11 yards in the first half and 16 of 32 for 195 yards, one touchdown and one interception. During the worst part, the Chiefs got flagged five times for 81 yards during the Jets’ final touchdown drive. One of the flags was on head coach Todd Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“That generally gets you beat,” said Haley, who wouldn’t elaborate on what he said to the officials. “The one thing we can’t do is lose our composure on calls.” Sanchez capped the first drive with a one-yard touchdown run and the Jets never looked back. He finished an 11 play, 77-yard drive to set the tone for the rest of the game.

After Leonhard made an interception, was injured, then carted off the field, Sanchez found Greene for 36 yards. Two plays later, Sanchez found Holmes for a four-yard strike to make it 14-3.Greene’s seven-yard touchdown run gave the Jets a 21-3 lead and Tomlinson made it 28-3 less than two minutes later on a screen pass from Sanchez near the end of the half.

The Chiefs’ lone scoring drive came when Jerheme Urban caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-10, but the Chiefs didn’t have much else to smile about. Sione Pouha finished things off by tackling Jackie Battle for a safety late in the game.

New York is now in control of its destiny with only three weeks left in the season. They travel to Philadelphia to face the Giants and finish up on the road against Miami. Kansas City heads back home to face the undefeated Packers, and then finishes the season with games against Oakland and at Denver.

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Don’t let the score fool you; this game was closer than it appears on paper. For the second straight week, the New York Jets played three quarters of mediocre football and picked things up to win the game in the fourth quarter. Led by Shonn Greene’s three touchdowns, the Jets managed to win another close game to put them right into the thick of the AFC Wildcard race.

It took a big play from Aaron Maybin to spark the team when he sacked Rex Grossman, and forced a fumble that set up one of Greene’s two touchdowns. The other big play came on the series before when Mark Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for a 30-yard touchdown pass to put the Jets ahead for good with just under five minutes to play.

With the Jets needing to win out to make the playoffs, Sanchez again came up big when it mattered most. The win keeps the Jets in the hunt for the last wildcard spot as they got some help with Oakland and Cincinnati losing. ”It tells us we have to get better,” Rex Ryan said. “Sometimes, you don’t like it to come down to that.”

Getting better is an understatement, as the Jets only had 168 total yards after three quarters against the Redskins, a team that has lost seven of eight games. Sanchez only had 165 yards on 19 of 32 passing and one touchdown, but didn’t throw an interception for the first time in five games. For the second straight week, the offensive line didn’t allow a sack.

Greene contributed with 88 yards on 22 carries and saw much of the workload despite LaDainian Tomlinson returning after missing two weeks with a knee injury. ”It was rough the first half,” Greene said. “But we just kept together and kept plugging away.” Grossman ran 19 of 46 for 221 yards, and had one interception and afumble that halted any chance of Washington mounting a comeback.

The fumble was recovered by Calvin Pace, and Greene turned it into six with a nine-yard run out of the wildcat. ”That was just one of those situations where we knew as a defense it was crunch time,” said Maybin, “We’ve been in those situations.” The Jets were trailing 16-13 with just under eight minutes to go, but a hit-or-miss kickoff was returned to midfield.That’s when Sanchez scrambled to avoid the sack, and completed a pass on third and four to Greene for 10 yards. Two plays later, he found Holmes wide open for the long score.

A bright spot for the Redskins, Fred Davis, who has been having a great season, had six catches for 99 yards. After the game, news broke that both he and left tackle, Trent Williams, are going to be suspended for the rest of the season for breaking the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Rookie running back Roy Helu also had a good game rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. His score came at the beginning of the game to put Washington up 7-0. The Jets came right back with a 17 play, 74-yard drive to score the tying score. With this second late surge in a row, Ryan thinks the Jets are on their way to their third straight playoff appearance.

“We know where we think we’re going,” he said. “More confident than 100 percent? I don’t know about that.”

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It wasn’t as easy for the New York Jets in their second game with the Buffalo Bills, but the end result was the same. The Jets won a critical game and kept their playoff hopes alive. Led by Mark Sanchez and his career high four touchdown passes, the Jets escaped Sunday’s game with a win when Sanchez found Santonio Holmes for a 16-yard score with just over a minute left to keep the Jets in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

“He’s at his best in big moments,” coach Rex Ryan said. This was as big a moment as the Jets have had all season and with the win they now have only five more to go. The sentiment through the Jets locker room this week has been that they have to win in order to make it to the post season. It was looking like that was going to end with the first game when Dave Rayner hit a 53-yard field goal to put the Bills up 24-21.

Sanchez then led the Jets down the field, the key play coming on a third and 11 from the Bills 36 where Sanchez found Plaxico Burress along the sideline. Burress reached up and made an amazing one handed catch for 18 yards and the first down. ”It was crazy,” Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said of the catch. “He’s 6-foot-5 and he’s got those ‘Go-Go-Gadget’ arms. It was probably one of the best catches I’ve seen in a while.”

Sanchez ran a sneak to assure there would be no challenge and then on the next play rolled out right and found Holmes in the end zone for the go ahead score. Though posting a career high in touchdown passes, Sanchez was far from great. He finished 17 of 35 for 180 yards and a pick, but when things mattered most, he prevailed.

His Bills counterpart, Ryan Fitzpatrick, bounced back from a streak of bad games to go 26 of 39 for 264 yards and three touchdowns, but couldn’t manage one more at the end. Fitzpatrick found a wide open Stevie Johnson, but Johnson dropped the pass. He also missed Johnson in the end zone as he threw behind him and the catch couldn’t be made.

Johnson made headlines for other reasons than just the dropped pass. He scored a touchdown late in the first half and to celebrate mocked shooting himself in the thigh, clearly a shot at Plaxico Burress who had accidentally shot himself in the leg in a nightclub in 2008 when he was with the Giants.

He then continued by mocking the “flight” celebration many of the Jets use after they score and fell to the ground which got a flag for 15 yards and ended up leading to the Jets tying the game back up 14-14. ”I was just having fun and part of having fun ended up being a penalty and a touchdown for the Jets,” Johnson said. “It was a stupid decision by myself.”

“I’ve seen worse, and I’ve heard worse,” Burress said of Johnson’s celebration. “So, it doesn’t bother me at all. The result I’m looking at is we won the football game.”

The Jets have won their first game and look to continue their streak for the playoffs as they head down to Washington to square off with quarterback troubled Redskins. The Bills, now losers of four straight games look to snap the streak as they head home to face Matt Hasselback and the Tennessee Titans.
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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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With their backs to the wall in the midst of a three game tailspin, the Jets needed a win in “the worst way” against the winless Dolphins on Monday Night just to stay relevant in the NFL playoff race. They got the win, but it wasn’t too convincing. However, ask the Jets and they’ll tell you its fine as long as it wasn’t another loss.

With the Dolphins knocking at the door, threatening to jump out to a 10-0 lead early in the first, Darrelle Revis ran back the first of his two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown and helped kick start the Jets to do just enough to get a win at home. The Jets were sitting at a 2-3 mark coming into the game with a ton of turmoil going on in the locker room.

“Anytime you lose three games straight, you’re going to lack some confidence,” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. “You’re going to start to question yourself a little bit.” However, the Jets did nothing to prove that they’ve turned things around, getting off to yet another slow start with their first four possessions ending in three-and-outs for the second straight game.

The Jets didn’t get their 1^st first down until 6:17 left in the half. Sanchez, while not playing a great game, was serviceable. He found Holmes for a 38 yard touchdown on a crossing pattern early in the fourth quarter. Sanchez finished 14 of 25 for 201 yards 1 TD and another touchdown coming on the ground when Sanchez ran a QB draw 5 yards for the score.

Shonn Greene had another decent outing rushing for 74 yards on 21 carries. The Dolphins came to town just in the nick of time for gang green, but they have a much better opponent in the 4-1 San Diego Chargers, coming into town next week with a bye following. For the Dolphins, they drop to 0-5 and this season is beginning to look like 2007 when they went 1-15.

Fans are hoping for no wins so they can get Andrew Luck in next years draft, but the heat for this seasons is falling on Tony Sparano. He didn’t help his cause by designing a game plan that had Matt Moore in his first start. The Dolphins were constantly throwing toward Revis’ side of the field which ended up burning them.

“It’s tough right now,” wide receiver Brandon Marshall said. “When you lose, everything looks bad. It’s a nasty feeling in the building and a nasty feeling every day. The only thing we can do is fight to get a win.” Marshall didn’t even live up to the promise that he’d get ejected during the 2^nd quarter. He didn’t start a fight with Bart Scott or Antonio Cromartie like he said he might.

The Dolphins were first on the scoreboard when Dan Carpenter knocked a 23 yarder midway through the opening quarter. The Jets fumbled and lost the ensuing kickoff when a short kick bounced off blocker Garrett McIntyre and was recovered by Austin Spitler. After Daniel Thomas rushed twice for 3 yards, Moore attempted to hit Marshall in the end zone.

Unfortunately for Moore, Revis was on Marshall, stepping in front of the pass and was off to the races, making it 7-3 and turning the game right around. Matt Moore, who was in for Chad Henne, had a horrible game. He was 16 of 34 for 204 yards and two interceptions. “It’s rough, kind of the same old story, trying to find answers and make plays down there in the red zone and we seem to hit a wall,” Moore said. “Just got to keep going.”

Marshall finished with six catches for 109 yards but no touchdowns. Five of the catches and 63 of the yards came against Revis who was matched up on Marshall for most of the night. He was targeted 19 times. Reggie Bush who left in the 3^rd quarter with a neck injury had 71 yards on the ground and two catches for 7 yards.

Carpenter hit a 21 yard field goal in the early 2^nd to make it a 7-6 game, but that would be the end of the scoring for the Dolphins. The Dolphins face the Broncos at home next week before heading back to MetLife stadium for a showdown with the other New York team Big Blue.

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Another week has passed and in another game Gang Green has been handed their proverbial butts once again. After last week’s embarrassment in Oakland, the Jets traveled south to Baltimore to face Rex Ryan’s old team and were met with a brick wall.

The game started with so much promise as Joe McKnight, who’s become quite the special teams player, popped the ball loose from the Ravens on the opening kick-off, though the Ravens did recover later. The newly signed DE Aaron Maybin gave the Jets a pass rush and forced the Ravens to punt.

After that there wasn’t much good for the Jets. On the offenses’ first play the Jets left arguably one of the best safeties of all time, Ed Reed, unblocked and he blindsided Mark Sanchez forcing a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown. One of the lone brightspots came on the ensuing kick-off when Joe McKnight ran the kick 107 yards back for the touchdown setting the record for longest play in Jets history.

The troubles for Sanchez continued as he played his worst game, and arguably one of the worst games for a QB ever. He had 4 fumbles, 3 of which were recovered by the Ravens and 1 pick. Three of his turnovers led to touchdowns. The biggest was a pick 6 he threw as the Jets were gaining some momentum after a fumble recovery by the defense on the previous play.

Sanchez couldn’t hit anything as his passer rating (30.5) and his completion percentage (31.4) are laughable at best. He failed to read any of the Ravens blitzes and find his hot routes. This wasn’t all on Sanchez as the offensive line had another horrible game and was still suffering from the absence of C Nick Mangold.

Replacement center rookie Colin Baxter was actually benched for a few series and Vlad Ducasse made it into the game as Matt Slausson moved to center. The running game was again absent and the wide receivers dropped many of the passes that made it to their hands. The defense rebounded from a tough game in Oakland, but it wasn’t enough to overcome all the turnovers.

They got a decent pass rush, forced a few turnovers and the highlight came on David Harris’ pick 6. Starting OLB Bryan Thomas tore his Achilles on a fluke play rushing OT Michael Oher and will miss the remainder of the season which is another big loss for a team with lack of depth.

Don’t be surprised if the Jets sign a veteran offensive linemen or two and possibly a linebacker to fill in for injured players. LB Tully Banta-Cain is a viable option and the Jets worked him out not to long ago and have remained in contact with him. This has been a tough two games for the Jets and it doesn’t get easier with a trip to Foxboro to square off with Tom Brady and the Patriots looming next week.

This has turned into a must win for the Jets as they’ve fallen to 2-2.

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This action packed game came down to the wire. The game started with a special tribute for the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and was followed up by chants of “USA”. The Jets had the honor of starting this home game in remembrance of 9/11 over the Giants so the pressure was on for gang green.

The Cowboys came down and scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game. Dallas QB Tony Romo threw a three yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant for the score. After that touchdown, the next touchdown wouldn’t come until the last drive of the first half when Mark Sanchez got hot for the Jets and found TE Dustin Keller with a four yard touchdown pass. Dallas led at halftime with the score 10-7.

The Cowboys looked like they were going to take over the game when Tony Romo threw up a jump ball to WR Miles Austin and he came up with it over CB Antonio Cromarite for the score, making it 17-10. The 3^rd quarter would end when Mark Sanchez threw an interception to Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee. He took the ball all the way down to the one yard line.

Felix Jones punched in the ball from the one yard line and made the score 24-10 to start the 4^th quarter. Never in Cowboys history have they lost a game in where they led by 14 or more points in the 4^th quarter. They were 241-0-1 all time.

Jets started gaining some momentum as Mark Sanchez was finding WR Plaxico Burress late. Burress capped a 7 play, 84 yard drive with a 26 yard back shoulder touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez to cut the lead to 24-17. Tony Romo would come right back with a 64 yard pass to TE Jason Witten setting up first and goal at the Jets three. Although that wasn’t the big play, the big play was Jets SS Jim Leonard stopping Witten from getting into the end zone as he caught up to him and knocked him out of bounds before he was able to score the touchdown.

Three plays later, on third and goal, DE Mike DeVito sacked and forced a fumble on Romo and the Jets would recover. No touchdown, no field goal, and no score for the Cowboys. With 5:08 left and Dallas’ ball and 4^th and 22, they would bring on the punting unit. With MetLife Stadium rocking, Isaiah Trufant returned a block punt 18 yards for the game tying score.

The defenses would not be forgotten as LB Anthony Spencer sacked Mark Sanchez and gave the Cowboys a chance to win it. With less than a minute to go and Dallas’ ball, Tony Romo gets intercepted by Darelle Revis. Four plays and two yards later it would set up a game winning 50 yard field goal by Nick Folk. The Jets would go on to win 27-24.

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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 the first week of preseason in the books it’s time to take a look at the Jets 16-20 loss to the Houston Texans on the first Monday Night Football of the season. The starting teams were only on the field for the 1^st quarter and the 2^nd stringers, 3^rd stringers, and rookies played the rest of the game. C Nick Mangold, RG Brandon Moore, and WR Plaxico Burress all didn’t play due to injuries.

Starting D: The Jets starting D was up to its old tricks again only allowing the Texans high powered offense, though missing top targets Arian Foster and Andre Johnson, to 24 total yards in the 1^st quarter.

They caused a 3 and out with a sack on the first series and were able to force a punt on the 2^nd and final series. Kyle Wilson had a nice play on a 3^rd down pass to TE Owen Daniels on an out route causing the pass to be dropped and forcing the punt. Bart Scott was hurt on the first play from scrimmage, but walked off on his own power and returned in the 2^nd series.

Starting O: The starting offense looked good with both the passing and running game moving the ball down the field even though some key pieces were missing. QB Mark Sanchez went 4/4 on the 1^st drive and finished 6/7 with 43 yards connecting with 3 different receivers.

RB Shonn Greene showed that he was capable of being the feature back collecting 32 yards on 5 carries showing good strength and speed breaking a 20 yard run. New receiver Derek Mason looked good in his brief appearance catching 3 passes for 21 yards. Sanchez was sacked twice in the 1^st quarter.

2^nd Team Woes: The backups looked confused in their first game, but that’s to be expected with the lack of time with the teams and the systems. Rex Ryan was furious on a 1^st and goal play where a miscommunication occurred and there were too many players on the field. Ryan was animated running onto the field to call a timeout and throwing his hat and his headset.

The 2^nd team got burned a few times on play action bootlegs by Texans backup QB Matt Leinert one leading to the Texans only TD. The 2^nd team defense surrendered 98 total yards and 13 points in the 2^nd half while the 2^nd team offense led by rookie QB Greg McElroy was unable to score anything only able to gain 46 total yards.

Vlad the Impaled: With starters Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore out with injuries Rob Turner and 2^nd year player Vladimir Ducasse got the start. Ducasse got burned badly on two plays both leading to sacks.

On the first play he got beaten by rookie DE JJ Watt and Watt ended up falling on Turner causing him to be taken off on a cart. On another play he got beat badly on the outside and allowed McElroy to get popped causing a fumble.

Rookie Impact: Overall it was a pretty good game for the Jets rookies. 1^st and 3^rd round picks DE Mohammed Wilkerson and NT Kendrick Ellis made themselves known on the field both having strong games. Wilkerson showed great speed and power against the 1^st team, but was caught offside one time by a hard count.

Ellis also showed great power and awareness blocking up the middle on many plays and tipping a pass that led to an interception for the Jets. WR Jeremy Kerley wasn’t really a factor from scrimmage, but looked good in the return game having a bunch of solid returns. He looks to have a big impact filling in for the loss of WR Brad Smith.

RB Bilal Powell had an alright game with his biggest play coming on a screen for 29 yards bringing the ball down to the 1. QB Greg McElroy looked solid in his first NFL game going 23-29 with 208 yards 1 TD and 1 fumble. He bounced back from a shaky second quarter showing more poise and control in the pocket leading a nice drive down the field for the lone Jets touchdown.

Other Notes: Backup S Brodney Pool had a solid first half posting 5 tackles and TE Jeff Cumberland made some noise posting 6 catches for 77 yards. The battle for kicker continues as Nick Folk went 2/2 hitting from 33 and 40 and Novak hitting from 35. RB Joe McKnight was playing well until he exited the game with a head injury. The Jets out gained the Texans overall 310-221 and committed 8 total penalties.

Overall this was a solid preseason opener for the Jets. The first teams looked strong and the 2^nd and 3^rd teams didn’t play that bad considering the lack of preparation time.

This should improve as the team has more time in training camp. The Jets could have won the game, but rookie WR Michael Campbell dropped the potential go ahead touchdown in the final minute. Next up for the Jets is the Bengals next weekend.

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Shonn Greene is now the feature back of the New York Jets. After a somewhat disapointing preseason and a rough couple of first games last year the Jets made the decision to split the carries between Greene and LaDanian Tomlinson with LT getting more of the carries.

This season the Jets are ready to make the switch to Greene being the feature back. However, if he never makes it to the field the Jets will have to look to the veteran Tomlinson, 2^nd year RB Joe McKnight and rookie Bilal Powell.

Greene missed the afternoon practice today with a low-grade skin infection on his right foot. He took part in this mornings walk-through, but was limping toward the end of the session.

Tomlinson took most of the practice carries and Powell worked as the No.2 back, as Joe McKnight missed practice due to a concussion he suffered in the Monday night game against Houston.

The problem for Greene has always been durability and whether or not he can make it through a full season taking the majority of the carries. The Jets are looking for about 250 carries from Greene this season, but he can’t do that from the sidelines.

This means that Tomlinson will get the start at RB this Sunday against the Bengals with Joe McKnight, if he plays, and Bilal Powell taking a lot of carries as well.

This could be a big oppurtunity for 2^nd year back McKnight and the rookie Powell to make an impression on this coaching staff. Tomlinson will take more carries, but the Jets want to be conservative with him to keep him fresh later in the season if possible.

McKnight after a terrible training camp and preseason last year has been showing promise this year and this could be his chance to show the Jets brass why drafting him was a good choice.

Powell who’s been having a quiet camp could also benefit from added carries as well.

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After his first day of full practice, WR Plaxico Burress was able to increase his workload was involved in nearly every team rep on Thursday which was a big increase from his participation Wednesday of only 57 percent of the reps.

This is good news for the Jets as it means Burress and QB Mark Sanchez can finally start to build chemistry together as the Jets are looking for big things from Burress who they signed with the hope that he’d improve their red zone offense.

The bad thing is he can’t help the team if he never touches the ball. He was held without a catch for the entire practice which is no easy feat. He was targeted by Sanchez one time and the throw resulted in an interception.

During a red-zone drill Sancehz tried a back shoulder fade to Burress, but due to a miscommunication he wasn’t there and CB Antonio Cromartie was there for the interception.

Miscommunications are to be expected as the two are still feeling each other out having little to know time working together due to the injury to Burress’ ankle. However in order for any chemistry to be created Sanchez needs to throw the ball his way.

Especially since Plaxico has been away from the game for two years in prison and can use all the work he can get before the games are for real.

The Jets signed Burress, who stands at 6-foot-5 hoping he could be that big target in the red-zone that would help improve the offense. Just because he’s tall doesn’t mean Sanchez can just throw the ball up to him however as they will need to work on their timing and precision and do so quickly with the season quickly approaching and big things being expected.

If this practice showed anything its that there is still a ways to go before Sanchez and Burress are on the same page.

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