The Anonymous Source

The Jets loss in Indianapolis in the AFC Championship Game was a foregone conclusion. No honest Jets fan will tell you otherwise. I’m not going to bother rehashing a second half which saw the defense carved up and Shonn Greene injured. Peyton Manning and his receivers are simply too good for a one-man secondary, and Mark Sanchez is simply too young and inexperienced to lead an offense capable of scoring 30 points.

And that’s okay. Nobody expected the Jets to be a serious contender for the Super Bowl this season with rookies in the two most important positions in football – quarterback and head coach. That they came back from 4-6 to make the playoffs (backing in or not) was enough.

Their win over Cincinnati was, especially after crushing them in week 17, expected. Their win over San Diego was not. While some chest-thumping fans (and our head coach) were pronouncing the Jets victors before the opening kickoff in Jack Murphy Stadium, reality-based observers were not expecting Phillip Rivers and the Chargers to vomit all over themselves one week ago. When the Jets won that game, fans rejoiced. Our season was now worth it, no matter the outcome in Indy.

Did I want to win on Sunday? Yes, and I got my hopes up a little when the Jets led 14-6, only to have those hopes dashed when they failed to convert a turnover into a touchdown (which would have made it 21-6 and taken more time off the clock) and let Manning drive down the field in the final two minutes of the half to make it 17-13. That game – and the Jets’ season – pretty much ended right there, but there is reason for hope.

After the magical 1998 season (12-4, 10-point, second-half lead in the AFC Title Game), Elway retired and the Jets were the favorite to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XXXIV, only the Giants Stadium turf had other plans for Vinny Testaverde. After making the playoffs in the 2002, 2004, and 2006 seasons, the team failed to improve their deficiencies in the off-season and, coupled with injuries, finished under Mount .500 (6-10 in ’03, 4-12 in ’05 and ’07), leading to tearing it down and rebuilding.

With the loss to the Colts, Jets fans are saying “Wait ‘til next year!” for the 41st consecutive season. There are differences this time around, however, and it starts with the 5th pick in the 2009 National Football League Draft.

During the 1-6 stretch in the middle of the season, Mark Sanchez played like he was making his 4th through 10th starts of his career after starting only 16 times in college. Of his 22 interceptions this season, 14 came in that stretch (including 5 against the Bills, and 4 in Foxboro). But in the 8 games afterwards (Sanchez did not play against Tampa), he threw only 6, with 3 coming against Atlanta, and one coming in garbage time on a tipped ball in Indy this weekend. The Jets went 6-2 in those games, though the coaches did gameplan to limit the amount of exposure he would have. Regardless, Sanchez showed flashes of what he can do in the future for the Jets. Barring a Testaverde-like injury (which I am still bitter about 11 years later), next year should be a better year for the Sanchize.

Then there’s Rex Ryan. His defense was great late in the season, and they were the reason the Jets were in the AFC Title Game. As a head coach, however, there is room for improvement, and one can only hope the improvement comes. The clock management in a few games this year was a bit sketchy (a league-wide epidemic, by the way), as was some of the offensive play-calling. That said, an overall great performance for a first-year head coach. Of course, the most important thing is that the players love playing for him, and that won’t change next year.

There are a couple of things that need to change, however, and believe it or not, it starts with the defense. Darrelle Revis is the best corner in the league (and had the Defensive Player of the Year award stolen from him), but he is one man. The Jets need a corner to go on the other side of Revis, because teams with more than one receiver (SEE: Patriots in Week 11, Colts this weekend) can carve up the other guys if they pick up the blitz. They also need to stop missing assignments in key spots (SEE: Week 5 in Miami, Week 15 against Atlanta), and get Kris Jenkins back from injury to stop the run more effectively. Oh, and it would be awesome if Vernon Gholston would start earning his keep… On offense, they need a receiver not named Braylon Edwards to be a deep threat for Sanchez, and better play calling.

But that’s it. And that’s the difference this year. In 2002, the Jets linebackers were old, but somehow held up during the season. The front office and the coaches failed to see how old Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones really were and did nothing to supplant them, leading to a terrible defense in 2003, coupled with letting key players on offense go to Washington via free agency. After 2006, the defense again wasn’t improved, and the offense – which relied on trickery in 2006 – was again left alone, leading to a terrible 4-12 campaign in 2007.

There are signs, however, that the front office knows what it’s doing. After that 2007 season, they signed key guys on the offensive line, put a decent defense together (with Kris Jenkins anchoring the line), and got a quarterback (albeit for 11 games before he hurt himself and didn’t tell anybody). After the Favre and defense-led collapse, they rightly jettisoned head coach and killjoy Eric Mangini, bringing in defensive guru Rex Ryan. GM Mike Tannenbaum brought in a bunch of guys on defense – Lito Sheppard, Jim Leonhard, and Bart Scott leading the pack – and got Sanchez and Shonn Greene in the draft.

So there is hope for the New York Jets’ future. In the meantime, while the team should look at Sunday’s loss and how to improve the team, the fans should focus on Week 1 against Houston, Week 2 against the Patriots, Week 17 against Cinci (where, unlike the G-Men, the Jets closed out Giants Stadium with a big win), and the two playoff wins. Then in September, start expecting nothing less than victory.