NY’s Next Nemesis

Defense wins championships. The upstart Jets are the AFC’s best defense. New York blistered the Bengals and crushed the Chargers. The next task is demoralizing and daunting. The Jets must find a way to overcome the Indianapolis Colts with Peyton Manning behind center. Both New York and Indianapolis held their divisional round opponents to under fourteen points. Sunday afternoon’s title game should be stellar. It really shouldn’t surprise Jets fans to see Gang Green reach this round of the playoffs. They shouldn’t be shocked their team is still alive and kicking. The Chargers were favored to win yesterday by a touchdown. But Rex Ryan’s defense wore down San Diego’s offensive line. The Chargers’ Phillip Rivers wore his emotions on his sleeve the entire game. His exposed frustrations gave the Jets the juice they needed to make plays. New York quietly halted the Chargers’ 11 game winning streak by performing like an elite football team. It shouldn’t be surprising the Jets won because the Chargers have had a useless running game the entire season. Their kicking was just as unproductive yesterday. Pro Bowl kicker, Nate Kaeding essentially booted the game away for the Chargers. Had Kaeding made just one of his three misses, the Jets might not be talking Superbowl today. Sports are wonderful because you just cannot predict the outcome. Who would have guessed Kaeding would miss three field goals after connecting on 69 straight? Maybe it’s a testament to the Jets’ will to win. With all due respect to the Jets, they have gotten some very lucky breaks during their run to the AFC championship round. Gang Green will need all the lucky green attire when they storm Indianapolis in one week.
There are countless storylines to next week’s rematch of Week 17’s showdown between the Jets and Colts. The teams share a storied history. The 2010 versions will add to that history next Sunday. The coaches, for starters, are intriguing enough. Ryan is a cocky and bold first year head coach. Indianapolis’ Jim Caldwell, also in his first season as an NFL head coach, is exactly the opposite. Both coaches have been to the Superbowl in inferior roles before. Caldwell appeared with the unassuming 2006 Colts as Tony Dungy’s assistant head coach. Ryan joined the Baltimore Ravens in earning a 2000 Superbowl ring. Caldwell is an offensive guru while Ryan is brimming with defensive know-how. The Colts are the low-key team even though New York appears to be the underdog. The two franchises collided in Superbowl III, when the AFL Jets were the heavy underdog to Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. New York, lead by their outspoken leader Joe Namath, pulled away with the only Superbowl in franchise history. Broadway Joe predicted a Jets upset. The correlations between the 1969 and 2009 Jets are eerily similar. Ryan’s defense and deliberate running game have keyed the Jets this far. The head coach emphatically remarked how his team would be in the Superbowl three weeks ago. Now, the Jets are sixty minutes away from making that statement a reality. Namath went without a touchdown pass in Superbowl III, yet was named Most Valuable Player. Gang Green quarterback, Mark Sanchez, might not be able to make that claim. The Jets need their quarterback to throw touchdowns against the Colts. Indianapolis possesses an offense capable of much more than any team in the league. New York can’t fall behind and rely on the defense to beat Manning. It won’t happen. The Colts can rewrite history by stopping Darrelle Revis and containing New York’s pass rush. If the Pittsburgh corner is shut out and the defensive line is unable to get to Manning, the Colts prevail. Manning is not Rivers or Carson Palmer. The NFL’s Most Valuable Player won’t lay down, especially not in a post-season game. Gang Green’s defense won’t hold the Colts to 33 yards rushing like they did with San Diego’s Darren Sproles. LSU product, Joseph Addai, will have more than three carries next week. Manning has more offensive weapons in Indy than Palmer could ever dream of having. Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are a only a few of those threats. Automatic Adam Vinatieri is not going to pull a Kaeding. Need I remind Jets fans about the kicker’s ability in the playoffs? Ask any Patriots fan who the best clutch kicker in the history of the NFL is, and I don’t have anything more to say. It should be a great game, and I give the Jets a chance. Their defense keeps them in the game until the fourth quarter. But, like magic, Manning and Vinatieri will fly away with the win and hop a plane to Miami for the Superbowl.
Parting Points: Maria Sharapova falls at the Aussie Open and the Cowboys get run over by the Vikings just in case you missed it.