Keidel: I Told You So — Gangrenous Jets Are Done
By Jason Keidel
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I was called unconscionable things last week after eulogizing the Jets. They were the worst 2-1 team in NFL history, but that was incidental. Jets Nation was riding high on that heist in Miami, where the Dolphins handed the Jets a win on a Gang Green platter.
Sometimes life just backs your boldest assertions. What more proof do you need that the Jets stink than that steamer they just pitched in the middle of MetLife Stadium? The Jets had nine first downs, only six of which they earned (the other three came on penalties), and only one on the ground.
Repeat: One rushing first down all day.
In last week's column I said the Jets have no identity; they neither rushed nor passed particularly well. Well, they had 100 yards passing and 45 yards rushing on Sunday. But they made up for it by allowing 245 yards on the ground.
"I've never given up that many yards in my life," a furious Rex Ryan said after the game.
The 49ers would have won this game without throwing one pass all game. In fact, they would have won without even scoring on offense.
Ryan is never too shy to tell us how brilliant he is, that his defenses are unique simply because he coaches them. But as his Jets keep breaching some dubious barrier, his words carry less and less weight, like the pounds off his prodigious waistline.
The game framed a haunting contrast. One team has a savage defense, a young, talent-laden team, a young and hungry coach whose team would tear through walls for him, and an endless future. Sounded like the Jets just two years ago, but now we're describing the bruisers by the bay, a mere 3,000 miles away. It would be understandable if Jets fans sent their hearts to San Francisco.
We're now hearing the clamor for Tim Tebow, as we knew we would, the echo of the first octave uttered sometime after Santonio Holmes fumbled without being touched, catching a pass in the flat then tumbling to the ground while the ball squirted to San Francisco's wolf pack defense. Holmes was seen rolling and writhing on the ground, clutching his knee, reminiscent of Darrelle Revis's injury seven days earlier.
With injuries to their best offensive and defensive players, the Jets will get exponentially worse each week. Their reward for today's atrocity is a date with the Houston Texans, a 4-0 team already all but assured a playoff spot, with some saying a clear path to the Super Bowl. If nothing else, the Jets can say they lost to the two best teams in the NFL. This season will grow cold in concert with Mother Nature, ready to slide a white lid over the Meadowlands and the Jets' season.
Gang Green is gangrenous, with the two playoff-bound opponents more than happy to do a Dr. Kevorkian on them, making their end-of-life experience as painless as possible. The Jets are rather well-versed in football hospice.
Rex Ryan, who recently snapped the muzzle over his mouth, said Revis would be ready for the Super Bowl. And he's right. No knee problem can keep him from grabbing that remote and punching his plasma TV to life.
Feel free to email me at Keidel.Jason@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter here.
Are you with Keidel -- ready to call 2012 a lost season? Sound off in the comments below...
