Palladino: Root Hard For A Jets Loss In Tennessee
By Ernie Palladino
» More Ernie Palladino Columns
This is the time, Jets fans.
If you have ever rooted hard in front of your glowing TV, Sunday is the day to do it. That big, green organization needs you.
Rex Ryan and John Idzik and Woody Johnson will never say it. Maybe they don't even realize it. Or perhaps they'll remain in denial about the whole thing. But they require your passion and spirit right now, for only that will bring any meaning to this disaster of a season.
Only you can save them from themselves. So, when you sit down in front of the wide-screen Sunday at 4 p.m., pull out those blue, red, and silver pom-poms and root your head off -- for those valiant Tennessee Titans.
The Jets can't do it alone, so you must help. Throughout this 2-11 disaster, they have generally played hard for Ryan, even as Woody hones his ax. There is every chance in the world that the doomed coach will get his wish and beat the equally sad 2-11 Titans. That would be a shame, as this game represents the Jets' opportunity to separate themselves from a five-team blob, out of which will come the first overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Along with the Jets and Titans, the Jags, Bucs and Raiders also sit at 2-11. With Tampa Bay facing a bad, beatable Carolina squad that plays this week without Cam Newton, losing to the Titans would potentially place them in a narrowed field with Jacksonville and Oakland. And with Jacksonville playing Tennessee next week, it is possible the Jets could go into their final game against the Dolphins needing the Raiders to upset the Broncos. Unless, that is, Oakland accommodates them earlier by upsetting either the Chiefs or Bills.
We assume in this scenario the Pats and Dolphins will dust off the Jets because, really, who out there believes the Jets are capable of beating anything remotely resembling a quality team? Besides, the Dolphins may still be in the wild card hunt, so don't count on them to leave anything to doubt like they did two weeks ago.
It is vital, then, that the Jets take care of this matter in Nashville and at least strengthen their position for just their second No. 1 pick in franchise history. They had excellent luck with their first, in 1996. Fellow named Keyshawn Johnson. He went on to catch a lot of passes and become the top receiver on Bill Parcells' team that lost in the '98 season's AFC championship game.
They also had the No. 1 in 1997 after Rich Kotite's titanic 1-15 season. But Parcells traded that pick to St. Louis, who took the great offensive tackle Orlando Pace.
The No. 2 pick won't be good enough this year. The Jets need a quarterback. Should draft a quarterback. Should pick a really, really good one to serve as their franchise guy the next 10 years. The best out there is either Marcus Mariota of Oregon or, heaven forbid, Jameis Winston of Florida State. Assuming even the Jets wouldn't be dumb enough to throw a troublemaker like Winston in with a quarterback group that could again include ex-con Michael Vick and a delusional ("I've shown I can be a Pro Bowl quarterback") Geno Smith, the Jets' best bet is Mariota, and they're not going to get him at No. 2.
It's not like they've had a lot of luck with No. 2s, anyway. They've had two -- Johnny Lam Jones in 1980 and Blair Thomas in 1990. Neither name appears in the Ring of Honor.
So the Jets need to do all they can to "win" that top spot. They won't, of course. Something about laying groundwork and finishing strong and yada-yada-yada.
They're playing a Tennessee team that couldn't get out of their own way against the Giants last week. So they'll need all the non-support their fans can muster from afar.
Get the job done, and then it will be up to football fate to determine whether the Jets are top-pick worthy. If so, Woody Johnson will have to put someone in the front office he trusts to handle it the right way. That's never a cinch, as evidenced by the Idzik hire.
A lot can go wrong between now and the end-of-season housecleaning. One thing that can go right, however, is a loss in Tennessee.
Let the jeering begin, for the Jets' own good.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
