The biggest thing I noticed in the Chargers game from a defensive standpoint was that the Jets were able to maintain an aggressive blitz and not get burned by screen passes and other deception plays.  I'm not really sure how that's possible, but they pulled it off.  Teams typically use screens to slow the blitz and the Chargers with Sproles are known as one of the best at it.  Kudos to Ryan and Pettine for figuring it out.

Second biggest thing was finishing the play - the Jets missed very few tackles (exception being Ellis' missed sack due to not being able to use his broken hand).  The Chargers might have missed more tackles on the Greene run than the Jets did all day.  That level of execution will be needed to beat a very tough Colts team.

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First, Donald Strickland practiced today.  Looks like he'll play Sunday.  Having another DB ready to play will be helpful going against a top notch passing offense.

Second, WhatIfSports.com (as cited by Foxsports http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/powerRankings?powerRankingsType=predictions) predicts the Jets will beat the Chargers 24-19, they quantify their confidence at 70.3%!  (they also list the Ravens as winning 23-22 with a 58.2% confidence, which would mean a home game the following week for the Jets!)

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Anyone else watch the Cardinals Packers game and see the missed field goal?

Right afterward the Packers came out for the kneel down.  The Cardinals didn't bother getting into a defensive formation.

Why doesn't a team (hopefully the Jets) notice that other teams pay no attention during kneel down defense and do a quick toss or pitch to the outside to a fast player and watch him run.  You could even do a fake kneel down (I hope we would do that to Miami), let the defense meander away and score a cheapie.

I'm thinking of this in the context that the Jets could very well find themselves in the position of being down a TD or two at the half (heaven forfend) and have the ball at the end of the half.  Since they won't want to fall further behind, everyone would expect them to kneel and go into the second half.  But a cheap TD could turn a game around.

Since I've never seen anyone do this I think it could be pulled off.  But even if it fails, what is the downside?  You piss off the other team a bit, but the odds of a turnover are small.

1)  Brad Smith isn't going to throw out of the Wildcat formation - they are talking about it too much, it's a decoy so the safeties will stay further back and give him room to run.  If he does throw it will be out of an end-around or something like that.

2) Sanchez throws for over 200 yards.  Everyone is focused squarely on the run and no one wants him to throw it.  There will be some playaction.  Probably more throws than the fans on this site will like.

3) Sanchez will throw at least one long bomb.  It will hit the receiver in the hands, beyond that, I don't know if it's caught.

4) Jets win.

The whole point is to make it to the playoffs because you can't win the Superbowl without making the playoffs.  That being said, I just don't see this team as being ready for a serious run through the playoffs.  So why is it so important to make it?

If this team is going to make a real run in the next year or two I think they need to get in now.  It does happen where a team that is new to the playoffs makes a run (i.e. last year's Cardinals), but more commonly it takes a team a few appearances to make the real push to the Superbowl.

There are a lot of players on the team who have never made it to the playoffs.  Not just Sanchez and Greene, but Revis mentioned he's never been in.  Same for other key players like Harris, Keller, Edwards.  I'm sure there will be jitters when they play their first playoff game, let's get that out of the way.

Side note: Just looked up the stats from last year on a hunch, our QB last year finished with 22 interceptions, our QB this year has 20 so far...

Why are teams still throwing at Revis?  As David_Wyatt pointed out his 39% completion rating for receiver targets is about 10 points better than the next corner, he leads the league in passes defensed with 27 (second place is 19), and he has 6 interceptions.

I have two answer, but am open to input.  1) Unlike most corners who cover a side of the field and pick up that receiver, or who play a zone, Revis covers the top receiver.  No matter how good a corner is, a QB will always target their top receiver.  Partly because QBs are trained to believe that in a one on one their top receiver can usually beat a corner and partly because more plays are called for top receivers.  2) Revis' coverage style seems somewhat unique.  He tends to play the ball a lot more than other corners I watch who generally track receivers.  When making a quick decision a QB may think his receiver has a step because Revis has the inside position and is giving a little space, but he closes faster and more effectively than anyone else.  He often simply beats receivers to the ball.  I have never seen a cornerback like him in my life.  It's tempting to play the "how good will he be when..." game, I don't know, I played that game with Jose Reyes, he seems to have topped out.  I'm just enjoying watching someone of his extraordinary talent and work ethic.  If he stays at this level for a while, I will be ecstatic.

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Without the official post, I'm taking a stab at it, maybe generate a few responses and we can come to a consensus

Great job Cleveland knocking out the Steelers.  That game was definitely on the wish list for all Jets fans.

Most important games:

Denver at Indianapolis - no brainer, if Indy wins they push Denver down in the Wild Card race and they clinch home field throughout - i.e. they will rest starters when we see them in two weeks (would be nice if they could still beat Jax next week)

Miami at Jacksonville - If Jax wins, Miami is done; If Miami wins, Jax is tied with Jets (assuming a win) and Miami although they both have tie breakers over Jets.  Still I think given that they both have tough schedules the rest of the way out Jax plays Indy, NE, CLE and MIA plays TEN, HOU, PIT, I'm rooting for Miami to knot things up this week.

Carolina at New England - duh.  New England should lose every week, this week especially.

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