A month ago, there was no reason to believe the word should ever be uttered again.

A team that has sputtered, made terrible mistakes, encountered injury after injury, has a lemon of a foundation, and has only been consistent in being awful offensively…they should be dead in the water.

So not a chance – I won’t say the word.

It was over when we lost the Dolphins.  It was over again when we lost to the Seahawks.  It was over a third time when we were embarrassed and butt-fumbled by the Patriots…

But, tonight they play on Monday Night Football in what is being forecast as a monsoon, in Nashville.  Perhaps something resembling a natural disaster is poetically correct.  What else in this world upsets the balance of what we expect quite like one of those?

There’s a modicum of hope…but hopefully no expectations.  Fireman Ed has gone home, the Tebow-cat is dead…even Rex Ryan has kept himself quiet.

So no, we won’t look at Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.  We won’t pray for two Colts losses.  We won’t consider the chances the Ravens could lose out.  The Jets are finished, and we all know it.

It’s too bad that this season has shown we know nothing, and that ‘P’ word may have to start returning to our lexicon tomorrow morning if the Jets somehow continue this run.

Apparently, Braylon Edwards will be able to play with the New York Jets this Monday according to ESPN I hope he can make a difference for this brutal offense, but most likely not.

For another awesome decision by the Jets when it comes to the quarterback situation, McElroy will be inactive as Tim Tebow come back as the second string. It has been stated or speculated that the wildcat will not be seen, which means he will be limited to special teams as he has been during this season.

The major question at this point is, who will Rex Ryan choose?

McElroy came into the game and immediately led the game winning drive against the the Arizona Cardinals.  He would have the game winning touchdown pass, hitting backup tight end, Jeff Cumberland, on a roll out, but do little else the rest of the game.

In fact, if you look at the drive, some help came from sources that haven’t been much all year.  Bilal Powell had 36 yards on the ground that drive – more yards than he’s had in all but 4 games of his career, and 9 less than his biggest game to that point.  Stephen Hill had a catch, always a surprise.  Lastly, Jeremy Kerley came down with a juggling catch for a first down.

Nonetheless, the most important aspect of the McElroy appearence is: he actually scored.

While Sanchez led the Jets to two scoring zone drives that Nick Folk failed to convert for field goals, he had also thrown two interceptions, two that were unforgiveable and a third that Chaz Schilens got out-muscled on.  And while he made some good throws that his recievers dropped, he couldn’t quite find the accuracy to put together any semblance of a touchdown-scoring drive.

Sanchez, since the injury to Santonio Holmes and during in-and-out nature of Dustin Keller’s health this year, has had few weapons to throw to all year.  Many outsiders would struggle to have ever heard the name Clyde Gates or Jason Hill.  Shonn Greene at his best has been inconsistent.  The Jets are undefeated in games that Greene goes over 90 yards rushing – too bad he has only done that in three games in 2012.

But it all comes back to Sanchez, because franchise quarterbacks have to show some sort of proof that he can raise the profile of those around him, that he can rally the troops, that he can make talent better.  Sanchez has rarely in his years played past the skills of those around him and can be only called a game manager thus far.  At the same time, he has taken a clear step or two back and is playing barely above his rookie year-level.

So the Jets have a decision to make.  A sliver of hope remains to make the playoffs (mathematically…actually they were eliminated when they lost to Seattle), but at this point, the Jets need to see what they have.  I called for the Jets to start playing their young guys to see what they have:

I want to see Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight have a shot at running back, because I think the guy playing it has been nothing as advertised.  I want to see speedier rookie linebacker Demario Davis get more time instead of the fossilized Bart Scott.  I think when healthy, Aaron Berry needs to be seen at corner.  With Keller out for the season, the Jets need to see if Jeff Cumberland can replace him once he goes out into free agency.  As bad as he has been, with the Jets in salary cap trouble and possibly needing to let go of Brandon Moore, they need to see if three years of letdown has suddenly pushed Vlad Ducasse to learn something.  Quinton Coples needs to see as much game time as possible to find if he is a defensive end or linebacker or just 2D defender…

But if I am going to call for that, in a season that I feel is over, I would be a hypocrite if I did not look for what we had at yet another position the Jets have fallen short at this year.  He may have a weak arm and a big mouth, but Greg McElroy also has a winning college pedigree and cockiness to fill a mountain.  The Jets would be remiss if they did not, at the very least, see if he can sink or swim at the pro level.  Tim Tebow likely will be gone next year, so at worst, McElroy could be playing to become the backup of the Jets; and if he somehow is something, maybe the Jets will have found their starting QB.

Those are hopes well above how I feel, but we’ve hit the point where even the biggest of supporters of the Sanchize, I included, have to admit we need to see what someone else could do at QB1.  We have to see if Sanchez is just done.  We have to see if his weapons were the reason he could not succeed this year.  We need to see if the Jets fans’ calls for Greg McElroy were for real.

So weak schedule or not, its time to give snaps to Greg McElroy.  Maybe the “Jet-son” can give gang green nation some hope and excitement in 2012.

After last weeks embarrassing thanksgiving day game that saw another humiliating public holiday loss in a 49-19 home defeat to the New England Patriots, one of the most symbolic of sports fans in the National Football League gave a “knock on the head” reality to the collapse of the franchise.

Edwin Anzalone, better known as “Fireman Ed”, a huge die-hard Jets fan known for his leading of the ‘J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!’ chant as well as numerous television and radio appearances made a rare occurrence by leaving at half-time as the team did the unthinkable when allowing 3 touchdowns in 52 seconds all produced from turnovers in a god-awful second quarter despite a scoreless first.

There were dozens of Tweets being reported from observers within MetLife Stadium and soon the reality of the situation became apparent when discovering he had deleted his Twitter account; coming after a series of rants made the previous week regarding the struggles of the team.

It didn’t take long for people to share their opinions on the situation with many calling him a “quitter” and believing his departure is symbolism of the 2012 season in which they currently stand 4-7 and tied in last place in the AFC East. In regards to the former New York City firefighter (hence the nickname) who has been a supporter since 1975, retired nose tackle Kris Jenkins stated the following…

As for rival sides, the Dolphins equivalent  Thomas “Big Papa Pump” Phillips, a season ticket holder of Miami for 17 years ripped him for his backing-down of the organizations fan base, labeling him a ‘wuss’ and an untrustworthy supporter who can’t go back to his previous persona.

Meanwhile, it’s been made clear he’s not the only one tired of the Jets failure with tickets to this Sundays home game going for as low as $18 (around £11) versus the equally miserable 4-7 Arizona Cardinals who are currently on a 7-game losing streak having started out the season undefeated; clearly undesirable to spending a cold Autumn-Winter period watching someone whose season is appearing more and more likely over.

If you want to catch a bargain just head over to ‘StubHub’ with over 5000 tickets still gone unsold. Although many believe it should be vice-versa and that the New York Gang Green should be paying its fans to attend just to fill up the crowds stadium.

The New York Rangers had Chief, now they have Homeboy Larry and the rest of the crew in the 400s.  The Mets have had so many characters in their fan base, it’s ridiculous.  Cow-Bell Man, Tie Guy, Pin Man, several others.  Hell, even Mr. Met is awesome.

Of course, the Jets have Fireman Ed, or “had” because he has retired his fireman’s helmet and will no longer do the J-E-T-S chant at home games.  While he’ll still attend “incognito” (I used to know his crew back in the day, so it’s possible I’ll know who he is without the helmet), you won’t have Ed Anzalone to kick around anymore.

To the Jets fans who screamed him off to the point where he did not want to do it anymore, I say – YOU ALL GET WHAT YOU DESERVE.

This shitty team we have.  YOU DESERVE IT.

The “little brother” moniker.  YOU DESERVE IT.

All the jokes made at the expense of the Jets.  YOU DESERVE IT.

Notice I didn’t say that **I** deserve it.  I consider myself a mild-mannered Jets fan, if there is such a thing.  I will cop to being a loudmouth at times, usually at Rangers and Mets games especially.  Jets fans are funny, and I found that I identified with them more than others.  Probably because a lot of the roots are from Shea Stadium, a place that I grew up.

What I noticed about Mets fans is that they were working class, they had hearts of gold.  Like firefighters.  And guys like Fireman Ed.

Being a Jets fan is more than I can bear sometimes.  I’ve always kind of liked the culture of being a Jets fan.  We have a reputation of being rowdy, uncouth, loudmouths but most of all, we are nothing else but loyal.  The amount of infighting though has given me pause.  Hell it’s even given Jet Fan #1 Fireman Ed pause.

Being visible gives way to getting a lot of flak.  Fireman Ed gets a lot of flak.  With great visibility comes the necessity of a thicker skin.  And I dunno, I guess he gets it from everyone, fans and non-fans alike.  And those on the outside, who consider him a “mascot” or a “shill” or even “how difficult is it to get a cheer down during games,” I had the following from my friend @Swirlywand on Twitter describe what it was like without him.

I never considered Fireman Ed a mascot… and honestly, the year he missed after surgery was a massive fail bc NO ONE COULD GET CHEER RIGHT

— Staci M.(@swirlywand) November 26, 2012

It’s not that hard to know when to do J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS cheer but in reality, it was .. Without someone starting

— Staci M.(@swirlywand) November 26, 2012

I’ve given my dad lots of shit for making me the sports fan I am today.  Though in some ways, I’d be a totally different person (and possibly, way more boring) than I am now.  Yet, a Mets fan is one thing (they were at least moderately successful when I was younger).  The Rangers another (they have a lot of history, though not exactly one of winning, I have seen a championship in my lifetime which is more than other generations can say).

The Jets?  I still cannot believe I fell for it a long time ago.

I have to laugh though.  A guy who wears a maligned quarterback’s number to a game, that he PAYS TO GO TO gets abuse from his OWN FAN BASE.

Let me tell you something.  I went to Seattle a few weeks back to see the Jets get their asses kicked by the Seahawks.  I knew there was a possibility they’d lose (more like a HIGH probability), but Seahawks fans were nice.  They bought me drinks.  They talked about the game.  I felt more at home at a road stadium than I do at MetLife Stadium.

Say what you want about Fireman Ed, that he’s a pussy somehow, that if he can’t take the heat, etc etc.  This guy was the heart and soul of a fan base that deserves SO much more from the front office, from the team, from the fucking owner.

I know the Jets are really bad.  Like major suckitude this year.  But the amount of infighting going on within the fan base is just wrong.

Fuck you all if you need to pick on a figure head of the team.  You want a better team?  Root for another one.  I don’t know what to tell you.  All I can say is I am ashamed of some Jets fans right now.  This is why we can’t have nice things.

1. Tom Brady Must Throw Interceptions
The turnover game will be a key to winning.  Over the past 2 games, Muhammad Wilkerson has been on fire with two forced fumbles, a sack, and a fumble recovery touchdown.  Getting pressure on Brady and making him make mistakes will allow the Jets give the offense easier opportunities to score.

2. Who can cover Wes Welker?
Isaiah Trufant, the Jets Dime Corner, is now on the IR, but before that, had one very successful game covering Welker and limiting him to just 66 yards.  Today, Rex must find the right defender to keep on Welker.  With Brandon Lloyd possibly missing the game, it would give the Jets a chance to put a starting corner on Welker, but is Kyle Wilson the man for the job?

3. Sanchez must play smart
Sanchez played a flawless game against the Rams last week and will need to play another one to defeat the Patriots with the offense he has.  Limiting stupid fumbles will be important as well as trying to build a streak of games without interceptions.  Prior to the St. Louis start, Sanchez had thrown an INT in three straight games.

4. They must score more than the Patriots
An underrated key to winning any game: putting more points on the scoreboard than the opponent.  Perhaps not the most important thing to win the game, I feel like the Jets should commit to this premace and be successful today.

5.  Don’t you dare bring up the playoffs…unless they pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season.

Then you can start to sorta, kinda, maybe, think about it….but not until then.  No, not at all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I didn’t do too badly with my first attempt at a mock draft, although quite obviously without inside knowledge it is always going to be difficult. Here is an analysis of my predictions.

#1 Indianapolis Colts - Andrew Luck, QB – Stanford

Everyone in the world knew this would happen.

#2 Washington Redskins - Robert Griffin III, QB – Baylor

Likewise, I stand by my statement that RG3 would be a number one pick in any other year.

#3 Cleveland Browns - Trent Richardson, RB – Alabama

OK so I called that the Vikings would trade. I did not expect the Browns to trade up one spot just to get Trent Richardson. So far though, he seems to be providing impetus in a poor Browns team.

#4 Minnesota Vikings (trade from 3 with St Louis Rams) - Matt Khalil, OT – USC

The Vikings still took Khalil as I expected, and traded out of the number three spot, as I anticipated. The swap was just with a different team and meant they traded less spots.

#5 Jacksonville Jaguars - Justin Blackmon, WR – Oklahoma State

I did not have the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up this far to get Justin Blackmon. Initially it made sense that they tried to get a weapon to help out Blaine Gabbert but his arrest before the season even started for a D.U.I probably made the organisation wonder if they made a mistake here.

#6 Dallas Cowboys - Morris Claiborne, CB – LSU

The Cowboys wanted him and traded up eight places to make it so, I figured he’d be gone by now. Claiborne was a top five talent.

#7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Mark Barron, SS – Alabama

I had the Bills trading up to get Barron, at this spot. So I was correct as to when he would go, just not to which team.

#8 Miami Dolphins - Ryan Tannehill, QB – Texas A&M

The Dolphins want Tannehill; I don’t believe another team wants him enough to make the trade up to the 7th spot and leap-frog the Fins. The Dolphins take him here. – Bang on!

#9 Carolina Panthers - Luke Keuchly, ILB – Boston College

I believe the Chiefs wanted Keuchly. The Panthers evidently wanted him more. Keuchly is receiving glowing reports of late, so the Panthers hit on this one, without having to trade.

#10 Buffalo Bills - Stephon Gilmore, CB -South Carolina

Again I got the position right but not the team. I had him being taken as the second CB and at the tenth position. Correct x 2. Saw the Jags taking him though.

#11 Kansas City Chiefs - Dontari Poe, DT – Mephis

I just don’t understand this pick. No trade, a straight up selection of a player who looked a beast at the combine athletically, but who never really put together the game film in college. This is backed up by the fact that the Chiefs are the worst team in the league currently, even worse than the Jaguars. Surely a proven college player like Chandler Jones or Dont’a Hightower would have been a much better option.

#12 Philadelphia Eagles - Fletcher Cox, DT – Mississippi State

Cox is one of the most maneuverable tackles in the draft, he is raw but with talent and energy in abundance. – Again got the pick right for the position, wrong bird. Cox is an Eagle and not a Seahawk as predicted. I wonder if he’d prefer to be a Seahawk right now?

#13 Arizona Cardinals - Michael Floyd, WR – Notre Dame

Floyd  has hardly set the NFL alight this season, and his red flags for off the field issues have been highly evident again. That said he only went to picks higher than I expected.

#14 St Louis Rams - Michael Brockers, DT – LSU

I thought the Dallas Cowboys would pick Quinton Coples here, but they’d traded with the Rams to go up the board for Claiborne. The Rams pick up a talented defensive player here, and start what amounted to a good draft for them.

#15 Seattle Seahawks - Bruce Irvin, DE – West Virginia

I didn’t even see Irvin going in the first round. Epic fail here. Though the Seahawks have been pretty good this year and Irvin is a part of that. Good pick by the Seahawks.

#16 New York Jets - Quinton Coples, DE – North Carolina

Coples looks to be a good pick, I thought the Jets would go for Courtney Upshaw but I’m not surprised by this pick. In the AFC East, Tom Brady is top dog at the QB position and the Jets will be looking to Coples to get to the quarterbacks.

#17 Cincinnati Bengals - Dre Kirkpatrick, CB – Alabama

Got this one spot on as the Bengals go for the Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback.

#18 San Diego Chargers - Melvin Ingram, DE – South Carolina

Ingram is quick and athletic, thought they would go for a tackle to help Philip Rivers, maybe they should have but Ingram is a good player.

#19 Chicago Bears - Shae McClellin, DE – Boise St.

I firmly believe (A) the Patriots wanted McClellin and (B) they weren’t willing to trade this high. McClellin is now starting to show why he was so highly regarded, on the Bears very good defense.

#20 Tennessee Titans -Kendal Wright, WR – Baylor

I firmly believe the diminutive Wright was needed by the Browns but they didn’t make a play to try to trade up, so RG3′s favourite college weapon headed to Tennessee, who wanted a target for Jake Locker.

#21 New England Patriots - Chandler Jones, DE – Syracuse

As stated in my mock draft, New England needed a pass rusher and Jones has potential to be a good NFL pass rusher. Jones is actually oing so well he could be on the shortlist for defensive rookie of the year. Many called the move to trade up very “un-belichick” but Bill likes what he sees in Jones.

#22 Cleveland Browns - Brandon Wheeden, QB - Oklahoma State

I did not see the Browns taking a 28 year old rookie QB in the first round. I and probably most others, though Wheeden would be the 37th overall pick, which Cleveland also held. I thought their first two picks would be RB Trent Richardson and then WR Kendall Wright.

#23 Detroit Lions – Riley Reiff, OT – Iowa

I thought Reiff would be off the board by now. I had the Lions taking Chandler Jones at 23. Of course Jones was gone by this point but other pass rush options were available, instead the Lions went for a tackle.

#24 Pittsburgh Steelers - David DeCastro, G – Stanford

DeCastro is big and the Steelers need to protect Big Ben. I thought they’d go for a tackle, but wasn’t expecting a talented guard like DeCastro to still be available. Fail for me, win for Pittsburgh.

#25 New England Patriots - Dont’a Hightower, ILB – Illinois

This could prove to be one of the best Patriots first round drafts in a long time. Again they trade up, again they get a talented player with no character issues and with a huge upside. The Broncos trade out of the first round with this swap.

#26 Houston Texans - Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois

I thought they’d go for a WR to complement Andre Johnson, instead they effectively replace Mario Williams on a very good defence and make the money they chose not to pay Williams look wise.

#27 Cincinnati Bengals - Kevin Zeitler, G – Wisconsin

The former Wisconsin Badger goes to the Bengals in a bid to protect Andy Dalton more.

#28 Green Bay Packers - Nick Perry, LB – USC

The Packers see Perry as a versatile option. I thought they would go for Michael Brockers but the Rams put paid to that.

#29  Minnesota Vikings - Harrison Smith, FS – Notre Dame

The Vikings trade back in to round one to get Smith and the Ravens trade down. I thought the Patriots liked Smith and maybe they did but they liked Jones and Hightower more.

#30 San Francisco 49ers – A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois

Quite frankly I did not expect this, at all. The 49ers are having a very good season though, so what do I know?

#31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Doug Martin, RB, Boise State

Again, I didn’t see the Buccs trading with Denver the pick they received from New England. Doug Martin though seems a much better pick at this point than…

#32 New York Giants -David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech

Wilson fumbled in college, fumbled in his first game and is struggling to convince Tom Coughlin he is a viable ball carrier. I could be proved wrong down the line but I think there were much better options available. I had them taking Coby Fleener, but Jonathon Martin and Courtney Upshaw were both still available too.

NOW! Back to the New York Jets.

Oh boy, has it been miserable for this team. A loss to the Seahawks in which only the defense scored, controversy with the QB situation again, and a 3-6 record with only 7 games left. 7 FREAKING GAMES!!!!! Oh geeze, it is looking like gloom and doom for our team.

A quick note for our Tebow fans. Sanchez took the Jets to the AFC Championship twice while Tebow could only win against an injured Pittsburg team. BACK TO THIS WEEK NOW.

The Jets have the St. Louis Rams this Sunday. I would not even know where to predict who will win this game since both teams are not playing to their potential. I want to call this in favor of the Rams considering the two offenses. You cannot win games with just a defense as we have seen with this team. Anyway, my guess is that the Jets are going to lose by two scores and their playoff hopes will be over.

Mark Sanchez has played in a ton of big games so far in his career.  In the first two years, he did very well in them, including big wins he played well in during the playoffs that he still does not get enough credit for.

Last year, we saw a bit of a regression out of Sanchez in the clutch, as well as fewer big games for him to play.

Now we are at a possible turning point in the Jets-Sanchez relationship.  For all intents and purposes, the season will probably be over if they cannot defeat the Rams this Sunday.  It will definitely be over if they cannot come back 4 days later and beat the Patriots on Thanksgiving, but without winning the Rams game, the former is probably unwinnable.

So what we are left with is a great possibility of a team destined for 3-9 after the holiday with an extra long week before their next game.  If the next two games are stinkers for the free-falling Jets Offense and the season is mathematically over (which it will be), there will be a strong pitch to bring in Tim Tebow to finish out the season and see if he has anything.  The extra long week will be a conduit for allowing Tebow and a personalized offense to get ready for their Week 13 game.

We can argue for a bit whether or not this is a good idea another time, but the focus is on Mark Sanchez right now.  He has struggled tremendously this year with diminished weaponry.  But as many can argue, there are just so many excuses you can accept while still being so bad.

He has the lowest completion percentage in the league.  He may have a failing offensive line, but he has to be able to complete short passes without them being batted down from the defensive line position.  He must make better decisions instead of being careless with the ball – between fumbles as he is being sacked, or throwing away sure points in the Red Zone.

There are plenty of observers that still think Sanchez can be a good quarterback when surrounded by talent, a quality that he does not have this year, but time is running out and patience is running out.  Even with this lineup and even with the Offensive Coordinator sputtering, there is no reason for a complete lack of offensive points since the Patriots game.  There are many to blame for this, but in the world we live in, it falls on the Quarterback.

In what is going to be the most important game of Mark Sanchez’s short career, he must go out and outscore his former embattled offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, and prove that he is still the right man for the job.

Otherwise, the Sanchize could soon be giving away to Tebowmania before we know it.

Early signs of the “locker-room disaster of 2011″ are happening all over again as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported what he labeled as ‘numerous anonymous players’ calling out quarterback Tim Tebow with clear judgment on his talents and possible lack of desires for his presence on the team.

If this isn’t just another media telltale which the Jets have faced all year, then who would be the likely culprit of these words? Although claiming multiple accounts, it would appear one more likely than others to title him “terrible” would be Antonio Cromartie. And the supposed unnamed ‘defensive starter’ would give further indication to believe so as the guilty party.

It appears the secondary man, now the number one cornerback of New York due to the early season-ending injury of Darelle Revis, has been one of the only players on the roster to ignore the needs of no longer opening their mouths whether to the media or against their own players. And no, I’m not referring to training camp in which he called himself the 2nd best wide receiver on the team. That was purely a light-hearted joke for the purposes of innocent trash talking between team mates. But of course the trouble-making journalism leaped at the opportunity to publicize and falsely-indicate the use of his words, thriving inaccurate allegations of potential early personal issues that continued from the previous season which to the unsurprise of none, the common “Jets hater” used as leeway to the burn the side in hatred.

Although no intention to finger point, the reason behind my opinion as the likely indicator, which I’m sure many will agree with, dates back to the off-season when Cromartie tweeted (the account which he later deleted after numerous league troubles for his posts) that Mark Sanchez was the starting quarterback of the organization and that the ex-Bronco wasn’t needed. This came during a time when early rumors of a Jets acquisition for “Tebowmania” began to spill which unfortunately for him became a reality. Clearly he was made to eat his own words and showed early sights of unwant to see the man in a green and white jersey.

During the bye week Antonio spoke out in similar mannerism to head coach Rex Ryan when guaranteeing they would make the playoffs regardless of the 3-5 record as of then. After suffering another ugly display of offensive performance in a 28-7 loss to Seattle Seahawks, he then continued to publicly speak out. While his continuous support in Mark Sanchez is something of loyalty to appreciate, the way in which he selects his words are not so smart, saying Tebow fans can “kiss his ass” which I’m sure was a combination of built up frustration from endless media attacks surrounding the so-called “quarterback controversy”, the repeated “When is it Tebow time?” question shared by fans alike and of course the disappointment of another game closer to ending post-season hope.

The implications are there and the pieces when connected all head in the direction of himself. After all, it would appear the majority of players have stated support and unity as they face some rough roads. With everything collapsing in such large proportions as they did the previous year, it’s hard to believe that certain members have failed to learn their lesson after displacing it’s wildcard spot in 2011, losing it’s finishing 3 games to end an average 8-8. If the reality of the situation is the same as what’s written and published on paper then the already slim second half of season could take an even uglier turn which we will observe and wait upon.

In the middle of all this comes the advent of social media, and we have friends in most of the states we visit.

Two baseball seasons ago, we visited Arlington, Texas, and we met some Mets fans from the San Antonio area.  When I told them we wanted to make it to a San Antonio Missions game simply to meet Ballapeño, their pepper-inspired mascot, they made it a point to mail us a stuffed critter replica.

Since then, Ballapeño Pepe Sanchez Gomez has taken a life of his own.

You won’t meet a bigger Jets fan than him.  He’s not only green but their quarterback is a Sanchez, a fellow Mexican-American.

Speaking of being a Jets fan, I often say that out of all the sports, I like football the least.  It doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a game every now and then.  It’s just that I prefer baseball and hockey, and well, with hockey not being played any time soon…football is going to have to suffice.  Of course, the New York Rangers were my closest team winning a championship anytime in the near future.  But my football Jets…uh…yeah.  The furthest thing from it.  And it doesn’t seem like they’re interested in winning anything, let alone a stupid game, at all.  Just to, you know, torture me.

My husband, though, is a rare one.  He’s a Bronx boy who roots for the Mets, and his other two teams – basketball and football – have nothing to do with one another and have to do with serendipitous circumstances.  He happened to like John Stockton and Karl Malone, and roots for the Utah Jazz today as a result.  (True story, is that I also used to root for the Jazz, since they were the only team to play the Bulls it seemed when I really wanted Chicago to lose).

He happened to catch a playoff game in 1983 featuring the Seattle Seahawks.  It turns out it was their first.  He’s rooted for them ever since.

He also celebrated a milestone birthday this year.  Coupled with the Jets visiting Seattle to face his Seahawks this year, which like never ever happens, his birthday and me completing the marathon a week before (which did not go down, obviously), we figured a quick getaway to Seattle was in order.

I told Gal for All Seasons podcast regular “WHOOMP!” ThereItIs Jake that I wouldn’t mind if the Jets lost the game we were going to — I mean, a team HAS to lose right? (no one told that to San Francisco this weekend though) — but that the Jets would probably win just to fuck with me.

Well they didn’t, and even the TD they scored was completely by accident.  In fact, good friend Wooooo was nice enough to send this picture to remind me of how annoying this game was for a visiting Jets fan.

I digress.

When I was in high school, a music movement called “grunge” infiltrated our vocabulary and our ears.  This movement was based in the Pacific Northwest region, and most importantly, Seattle.  Being a huge music fan, I always made it a point to want to travel to Seattle, I just never had a reason to go.  I guess that it’s unfortunate that there will be a few states in the Union that I’ll never visit, simply because there is no baseball or the Mets won’t be visiting that year.

I’m weird.

But Seattle has baseball…so that I haven’t made it to Safeco Field at least just once yet surprises even me.  But I had no reason not to go this time.

I had never followed my football team on the road.  I had never been to Seattle.  My husband will only turn 40 once.  Therefore, it was on.

On Friday, our first full day in the caffeinated city (where I had a hard time finding a place that was non-Starbucks), we decided to do stadium tours of both Safeco and CenturyLink.  On the light rail over to the stadiums area (they are little spitting distance from one another), we met some other Jets fans in from out of town.  Though they lived on the west coast now (California), they were from Long Island.  And up to see the Jets play.

On the CenturyLink tour, we met another couple from New York where the wife was a Jets fan and the husband was a Seahawks fan.

I thought…it was nice to see others traveling to see their teams play.  No matter what side of the fence they were on.

But people were still surprised we traveled that far.  Especially with the chance of one of our teams losing.  Here’s my thoughts on that: one will have to lose.  I travel all over to see my teams play, and there’s a 50/50 chance they may lose.  I make my peace with it before I travel.  There’s more to it than just my team winning at that point.  It’s not like the Jets are going to the playoffs or anything that this game was a must-win.

So I got a drink out of it.  A few, actually.

Jets fans are known to be a little bit on the uncouth side,  a tad rowdy, and lots of fun.  I know there’s also a bit of a reputation of us being douchebags (it’s true, but let’s be fair – ALL fan bases have them), so I was curious to see how we’d be on the road.

One of the things I noticed first off, though the stadiums are in an industrial and underdeveloped area of what is known as “SoDo” in Seattle (technically borders the area), there is not a lot of parking available.  I remember reading a few years ago that Seattle is the worst state for traffic in the 50…I didn’t drive, but I can attest that it didn’t look pretty to drive around in some areas.  Kind of reminded me of Boston, essentially one highway in and out of the city.  Anyway, the next time New York fans complain about how expensive it is to park for baseball games will get smacked upside the head by me.  Parking — not even in PRIME LOTS — can cost upwards of $40-50 for events.  Talk about price gauging, hubby noticed that any other days (since we were there two days before the game), it’s like EIGHT BUCKS.  Plus, much of the prime location parking lots are covered.  Therefore, that means not lots of tailgating.

Part of the charm of going to a football game is the tailgating.  In fact, when the city talked about moving the Jets to the West Side Stadium (that was never built) a few years ago, I was dead set against it.  The traffic for game days would be abominable but also, where would we tailgate?  It would be a travesty, really, because even if the team loses, the tailgates really are a lot of fun.  Losing that is like losing the green in our team colors.

But on game days, they do make accommodations for tailgating…they actually OPEN Safeco Field on the Center Field side to the Left Field concourse and have concessions open and sell beer for “happy hour prices.”  The admission is free, but of course you pay for food.  Keep in mind this is also west coast time.  By the time this game started, many of the east coast games had finished or were finishing.  There were TVs on the games around the horn.   It was a great atmosphere.  We were disappointed we were not aware of this soiree, as we would have LOVED to show up earlier to experience some of the charm.

Jets fans were there.  We were politely heckled, but mostly, everyone kept their cool.  I can’t say it would be like that in New York/East Rutherford.  I remember seeing the Jets play the Vikings in 2002, I think, and some dude wore Helga braids and Viking horns.  I thought he was cool, but the rowdy drunk Jets fans heckled him mercilessly, to the point where I thought the dude was going to punch someone.

For the most part, the fans were very chill here.  On both sides.  I introduced myself to other Jets fans, and got some pics as evidenced above.  It was like we survived a war or something, traveling to follow our teams even though there was a good chance they’d lose.

Of course, they did.  Which leads me to Mark Sanchez.  I have made no bones that I am a Sanchez chick.  He’s my guy, and I don’t get why the blame gets solely put on him.  Yes, there was that funny pic of the interception which in essence changed the game dynamic.  Yes, they scored on defense, and it was a complete accident.

He’s kind of like the David Wright of the Jets, if you think about it.  The kid with talent who is completely misused, but is a complimentary player, not necessarily the “star QB.”  That’s the difference between a Sanchez and say, a Tom Brady.  Brady can carry a team, even with shitty defense.  He’s that talented.  Sanchez is talented, but if you remember two years in a row, he helped bring the team the conference championship game two years in a row.  To paraphrase President Obama, he didn’t build that.  He didn’t do it on his own.  As quickly as the Jets rose to stardom, ownership was just as quick in dismantling it by letting key players leave and injuries.

Being a Mets fan, I guess I am a little sensitive to dismantling after a successful run with no reason or rhyme

Once the game was started, we sat in a section called the Hawks’ Nest.  This was in the end zone, and I guess I was expecting a bit of a louder more rowdy crowd.  You see, CenturyLink is called the “loudest stadium,” and holy shit, when the “12th Man Flag” was raised prior to kickoff, it was deafening.  I don’t know if the blowout was the reason or just maybe I got used to it.  But while passionate, the fans were also very laidback.  There were two Jets fans sitting in front of us — we were dining our guts, meanwhile Seahawks fans were talking us down from the ledge.  It was pretty comical.

The first pic of the Hawks Nest is from our tour.  On game day, our weather karma ran out and it misted most of the first half, to rain-rain-rain the second half.  When we left, we walked in the rain to Chinatown, the next neighborhood over.  It didn’t let up, even as we left that evening.

Another thing I learned on the tour was that being that CenturyLink is considered the loudest stadium, and trust me, it was, some players complain about playing there.

As I got on the elevator with some other fans (Jets fans also took the tour), I was like, “I’m sorry, but aren’t these guys professionals?  ‘WAH! It’s too loud! WAH!’ What a bunch of pussies.”  That got a good laugh.  But it’s true!  Don’t go into pro sports if you can’t take a few loud fans.  /RANT

So there’s not much else to tell.  The Jets lost, and looked awful in the process.  The Seahawks won, and the Jets fans around me all talked about how their defense was sick.  Which is funny – wasn’t that supposed to be the Jets’ MO?

We had hoped that after the game there would still be tailgates open, but I guess like most stadiums, they close down concessions after a certain time.  Most importantly, stop serving beer.  So we hung out in Chinatown for a few hours, had some food, had some beer, and then went home.

Experiencing a road football game was something different for me.  I’ve only gone to see my baseball team on the road, and even have gone to games for the hell of it, even if my team wasn’t there.  It never occurred to me to go to a football game.  Hell, even my hockey team I didn’t follow around all that often.  Just across the river to Jersey.

In any event, I’d definitely do a trip like this again.  I’ve heard great things about M&T Bank Stadium, where the Baltimore Ravens play, and I’ve wanted to check out Heinz Field.

All I can say is CenturyLink was a great place to watch a game – very spirited, fun stuff to do pregame.  Doubt I’ll be going back to Seattle anytime soon though.

I was disappointed though in the coffee and the music.  I didn’t find a good cup of coffee nor did I see any places to review local bands.   However, I was one of those late bloomers who didn’t appreciate Nirvana till it was too late, but I still love me some Pearl Jam.  We were also greeted by the voice of Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains at SeaTac Airport.

I came as I was, but forgot my flannels at home.

Last time the Jets traveled to Seattle to face the Seahawks, it was a different team with Brett Favre at the helm.  It was a loss, which ultimately helped keep the ball rolling for a Jets collapse and them missing the playoffs in Favre’s only season in NY.

But the ball most remember from this game is the large snowball DE Shaun Ellis threw at a fan in the crowd.  Here is that video:

Jets-Seahawks, today at 4:05

No one can question the signings of LaRon Landry and Yeremiah Bell. The safety position was an issue and patching the secondary has made them one of the best looking in the league; with epic cornerback duo Darelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie to counterpart it. But since losing Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery & Brad Smith after the 2010 season, it seems the weapons provided for its quarterback to be successful have weakened and yet somehow expect to continue past successes. No player particularly stands out offensively as of now. This comes down to a combination of lack of talent and wrong play calling. The biggest difference now however is the blame can no longer go on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer; who media and fans alike drove out of the city and over to the St.Louis Rams, with a few “Jets failures” such as Matthew Mulligan, Terrance Genaway, Wayne Hunter and Robert Turner joining him.

Right now the Jets have no offensive image. A promise to reintroduce the “ground and pound” offense has not been sighted with the exception to the 35-9 home win over the Colts in week 6. Despite Shonn Greene supposedly leading the rush with Bilal Powell, Joe McKnight and the Tebow wildcat packages with new coordinator Tony Sparano, former Miami Dolphins head coach to go alongside the productivity which has lacked. As seen in the past 3 years prior, Mark Sanchez performs best under a rush-offensive system to support him, in the pass-action pass style of play. Last year they tried increasing Marks productivity in the air despite lacking the weapons and pocket protection (offensive line) to do so. But as of now the team are in a “play and see what happens” system which is confusing and frustrating to those observing. Without an aspect to control or dominate the team will play loosely all over the field, making it easy for oppositions defenses to handle.

They may be moving on from its locker room disaster of 2011, but the typical mouth opening of its players inspired by boisterous characteristic Rex Ryan have been old long before those issues came to existence. The trash talking back and forth between rivals no longer pays off as it may have done in previous years. Just use last weeks crushing 30-9 loss at home to the Miami Dolphins as an example of that, or the New York Giants Christmas Eve game of last year. To make matters worse, it sets a bad example of professionalism in the sport and even goes so far as to damage the reputation of the fans who chose to support a franchise that bases itself on those actions and words. It’s only an entertaining factor when your team has capabilities to back it up with wins, which in previous seasons they’ve done so. Unfortunately we’re living in a different year and a squad taking a downward climb from the playoffs and its spot in the division. It took strong courage and admittance for the “mouthy but fun loving” head coach to admit he missed large portions of the personal problems that imploded last season, yet they continuously show signs of lack of care which have been spotted and called out by many opposition players who have observed it on field. Even the once league-leading defense is struggling to make basic tackles and failing to close out games. And lets not forget the former explosive match-deciding special teams which already this year have given up 2 blocked punts returned for touchdowns, a 104 yard kick-off return for the same outcome, onside kicks and well, the list could go on. A worrying sight when its veteran expert coach Mike Westhoff retires at the end of the year.

The team seemingly appeared to have the pieces to be a success heading back for playoff contention led by a quarterback who in his 4th year should be set for success. This hasn’t been the case so far. The outlook of many to be a 6-10 side this season is closely becoming more inevitable, while the lack of offensive production has only been silenced in the opening week. You can hold accountable the high amount of vital season-ending injuries to its best on the roster so early into the year (particularly Santonio Holmes & Darelle Revis) as a reason for struggle, but players need to step up to the mark in others absences and they’ve shown capability of playing good football even without them. The team has a lot of preparation and training during this bye week and faces a challenge of most likely needing to win the remainder of its 8 games just to make the playoffs; in a second half of the season which was considered to be easy on paper, but certainly isn’t appearing to be that right now.

Expect major changes to be made for 2013. Specifically what those factors will be highly depends on the remaining outlook of 2012. But rest assured they will be coming. The next off-season could be a deciding factor on whether its quarterback, head coach and general manager remains which unfortunately comes down to owner Woody Johnson who cares more about politics and publicity than he does about football. The guy who is becoming seemingly more likely the main culprit involved in the “publicity stunt” of  trading for America’s most loved Christian quarterback Tim Tebow. A man who already hated by many extended that view and perspective himself by stating he’d rather see Mitt Romney win the presidential election than see the New York Jets have a winning season.

Well Woody, looks like your wish may very well be coming true.

NYJ -1

Here are the predictions for this Sunday.

New York Jets v. Miami Dolphins:

Tom – Jets beat Dolphins 17-14

Me – I have already reviewed my thoughts on this game

Patriots v. Rams:

Tom – Pat’s beat the Rams 35-20

Me – I agree with the Pat’s beating the Rams but more along the lines of 35-21 since the Rams will attack the Patriots secondary and their defense will step up and play.

Bills v. Bye Week

Tom – Bills give up 200 yards rushing

Me – They will give 200 yards rushing and forget about who is starting for RB