Just Too Sweet - The New York Jets [M11]

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Jets Soar Over Denver, 45-27
Words cannot properly describe how badly Denver played on Sunday night. Their defense simply laid down and threw up their hands while watching Ryan Mathews zoom by them on his way to almost 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The Jets scored no points in the air as the weather prevented Dennis Dixon from throwing too many passes. It was a very soggy, wet game. And the Broncos play as about as sloppy as the field.

By the time the second half began it was 35-7 and the Jets had elected to rest their starters. The Broncos simply weren't ready for the Jets this week. You would think two teams with such close records and standings in their divisions would make for a great game, but sometimes teams surprise you. Kyle Orton tossed four interceptions, and just couldn't seem to find his rhythm. Hopefully he gets his groove back in time to get his team into the playoffs, though.

There isn't much to speak of, event-wise. The Jets played a thorough game and beat the Broncos to the punch on everything. The Jets will now improve to 8-5 while the Broncos drop to 8-5.

Next week, the Jets will travel down to Florida to take on the 6-7 Dolphins. If Miami can sweep New York, it will cause a great amount of chaos in that division, as the league will struggle sorting things out. New York is tied with New England for the best divisional record, only having lost one game (to the Jets). The Jets could possibly be swept by the Dolphins, who sit at 2-3 for their divisional record. It should be interesting to see what comes of this game. It's a lot to wrap your head around.

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Jets Come Up Big in Miami, Win 41-24
The Jets took a firm lead this week in their division with a victory over Miami today. New York was clicking today, and never really had to worry about losing this game, as they were comfortably in the lead from the outset.

Dennis Dixon had a good game, throwing for over 200 yards and managing the clock wisely. While Ryan Mathews scored four touchdowns and ran for over 100 yards. On defense, it was a relatively quiet day other than the "Other Guys" Macho Harris and Jim Leonhard working together to force (Leonhard) and recover (Harris) a fumble.

On the Dolphins side of the ball, Chad Henne really had a hard time getting going. He connected with Brandon Marshall five times, but just couldn't seem to set the tempo for his offense. Ronnie Brown had a decent game as well, running for over 100 yards.

As mentioned before, the Jets now take a solid lead in the East, advancing to 9-5 on the season. The Dolphins will drop to 6-8 and have nothing to play for the rest of the year. The only team that could possibly stand in the way of New York now is New England. New England stands at 8-6 right now after a decisive victory over Oakland this week. The Jets and Patriots will meet in New York in Week 17, and depending on how next week's games go, we could be looking at a battle for the AFC East.

For New England to win the division, New York would have to lose to San Diego next week and then lose to the Patriots in Week 17. The Patriots have to win either way to try and fight for a playoff spot, but if they manage to beat Washington, and the Jets fall to San Diego, then there will be a tie going into this game, which would result in a "Win and In" situation. New England has been picked to beat Washington next week, while the Jets are favored to lose against San Diego. If the odds are right this week, we could find ourselves in a front row seat to a knock-down drag out fight for the AFC East.

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Chargers Shock New York, 27-21
It was the worst case scenario for any Jets fan that follows their team. The Jets win, and they're in. Lose, however, and the name of the game changes completely. The Patriots walked over the lowly 6-8 Redskins last week, while the Jets seemed to have the game in the bag by the end of the first half against the Chargers. So what happened?

Well, that's a hard question to answer. The Jets were playing great football through the end of the first half. Braylon Edwards was putting on a show, as was Ryan Mathews. But for some reason, they really struggled in the second half. Dennis Dixon threw two interceptions, Ryan Mathews fumbled the ball away, and the Jets defense just wasn't making any stops.

So now the Jets look to next week against New England, who is on a three game winning-streak. New England isn't taking the New York lightly, and they're looking at this game very seriously. Hopefully the Jets do the same. Losing this game would mean getting bounced from the playoffs at 9-7, and after all the work they've put in this season, you hope it all comes together at Gillette Stadium.

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Jets Edge Out Patriots and Take the AFC East, 35-31
It was fourth down and five, the Patriots had fought their way up to the Jets 18 yard line with 40 seconds left in the game. This was it. Tom Brady would either convert the fourth down, score a touchdown, or sit at home and watch the playoffs this year. Snow fell all around both teams, and had made it exceedingly tough for this game to be played. Brady walked under center and snapped the ball. One, two, three, THROW! The ball flew from Brady's hands, bounced off of Randy Moss' hands, and right into Darrelle Revis' hands. Game set and match.

It was a hard fought, sloppy match-up that left both teams battered and bruised. Ryan Mathews, Steve Breaston, Braylon Edwards, Jim Leonhard, Wes Welker, Austin Jenkins, and Austin Walker all suffered injuries in this game. Turnovers were also an issue. Dennis Dixon and Tom Brady combined for seven turnovers, while the rest of the Patriots squad put up three more. In total, seven turnovers plagued the Patriots, while only three hurt the Jets. Players were dropping balls like crazy and both quarterbacks had a tough time completing passes. It was a messy game, but it was extremely entertaining to watch.

So that's all she wrote for the New England Patriots. They hung around as long as possible and almost pulled it out in the end, but New York refused to lose. Could this be a sign that Tom Brady is starting to become mortal? For the past ten years we've watched him perform dozens of come-from-behind victories and prove his critics wrong. But could it be that the NFL has finally caught up to the great Tom Brady?

At any rate, the Jets will finish up the season at 10-6, winning the AFC East. They'll be at home against Denver for the Wildcard round of the NFL Playoffs. Denver, who was brutally beaten by the Jets the last go around, will be looking for revenge as Kyle Orton has been prepping his squad for battle. This is it now. No second chances, no room for mistakes; it's win or go home, baby.

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Broncos Avenge Loss and Beat New York, 29-14
New York seemingly played with no heart this week. The Broncos never once lost the lead to New York, and the Jets defense just wasn't there. Kyle Orton was throwing beams all over the field and did a good job of picking apart the secondary. On the other side, Dennis Dixon couldn't get it going. He did throw two touchdown passes to Steve Breaston, but his three interceptions were more memorable.

So now New York will look to the off-season. Fred Davis, Macho Harris and Jim Leonhard are the key players up for contract renewals, and that will be the first order of business for the Jets front office. Harris and Leonhard were a great team this year and were wildly popular with the fans (so much so that Macho Harris was voted to the Pro Bowl). Fred Davis has been iffy at best this year though.

So that's it. The 2011-2012 season has reached its end for the New York Jets. We'll keep you up to date on the off-season for New York as things occur.

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A Look Back at Season 2
The 2011-2012 season was a step in the right direction for New York. They seemingly found their quarterback of the future, despite the fact that he had trouble with interceptions this year. Ryan Mathews also had a solid season, rushing for over 1600 yards and 10+ touchdowns. The receiving corps also had a great year, with both Steve Breaston and Braylon Edwards going over 1000 reception yards.

On defense the Jets also began to emerge and find themselves. Darrelle Revis was the front man for the defense for obvious reasons, grabbing over 10 interceptions on his way to a Pro Bowl season. Macho Harris and Jim Leonhard also made some noise this year with their outstanding play. Harris, who sat out for a total of three weeks this year due to injury, still managed to finish third on the team for tackles and make the Pro Bowl. His contract will be up this year, but look for the Jets to offer him a new deal. Keenan Owens managed to keep a firm grip on his starting job as well, and according to Rex Ryan it is still "his to lose".

But along with players that produce, there will always be players that disappoint. Fred Davis and Antonio Cromartie are the big stories in that section this year. Fred Davis was a Pro Bowler last year and made a great impression on everyone with his gutsy play and positive attitude. This year though, he started off the season by getting injured, and failed to really make a splash for the rest of the season. He'll more than likely be re-signed, but for far less money than he probably hoped for. Antonio Cromartie was brought to the Jets in 2010 to compliment Darrelle Revis. He hasn't necessarily played bad football, but he has hit career lows in tackles and interceptions. He only picked off one pass this year, which isn't very good considering he played all 16 games and the wildcard matchup. He isn't scaring anyone out there, and hopefully he can turn his act around next season.

Other than all that, though, the Jets had a good year. Finishing 10-6 and winning the division this year will give a lot of Jets fans something to look forward to for next year. The team is still very young and will most likely find themselves in a Super Bowl within the next few years if they keep up the good work.

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2012 Off-Season: Re-Signings
SS, Jim Leonhard: Re-Signed
FS, Macho Harris: Re-Signed
TE, Fred Davis: Re-Signed
LOLB, Bryan Thomas: Cut
DT, Sione Pouha: Re-Signed
QB, Daunte Culpepper: Cut
WR, Laveranues Coles: Re-Signed
LG, Matthew Slauson: Re-Signed
SS, James Ihedigbo: Re-Signed

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2012 Off-Season: Free Agency
C.J. Hopkins, LOLB: In an attempt to erase the memory of Bryan Thomas and provide depth and competition at the linebacker position, the Jets have brought in C.J. Hopkins. Hopkins spent his first year in the league with the Chicago Bears after being drafted out of Notre Dame. Hopkins is a young, agile linebacker who hits hard and hits fast. With Hopkins rotating alongside Keenan Owens and David Harris, it should be a great season for the New York linebacking corps.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB: After the season's end, the Jets decided to cut veteran Daunte Culpepper. Immediately, fans around the league thought this would open the door for new free agent and ex-quarterback Michael Vick. It was a sensible thought, too. Vick knows the system and has had prior success with it. For whatever reason though, they've decided to pass on Vick and go with less troubled career journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick isn't a bad fit. He's a reliable, talented backup and can hold the team together should Dennis Dixon go down.

Hank Baskett, WR: Here's a signing that confused a lot of people. Obviously, this signing was done to add depth to the wideout position. The question that most people are asking though is: Why Hank Baskett? If you wanted to sign someone to infuse some new energy into the receiving corps, why not bring in Brian Hartline, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, or Devin Thomas? It's a perplexing pick, and it's starting to look like a Philadelphia Eagles receivers reunion out there in New York with Kevin Curtis and Jason Avant already having played there. Best of luck to Hank Baskett.

Signings around the league:
Lardarius Webb, CB: Baltimore Ravens
Deandre Levy, MLB: Detroit Lions
Erik Coleman, SS: Tennessee Titans
Andrew Whitworth, LT: Philadelphia Eagles
Devin Dickens, HB: Washington Redskins
Brian Hartline, WR: Washington Redskins
Chris Owens, CB: Baltimore Ravens
Betim Gwin, HB: Tampa Bay Buccaneers