Jets Blow It In Frightening Fashion

What happened was that the Jets’ special teams broke down and allowed Miami’s kick returner, Ted Ginn Jr. to sprint across the Meadowlands for 100 and 101 yards

[Black Star Sports]

The Lord giveth. The Lord taketh.

And sometimes, in terms of winning and losing in football- it has nothing to do with the Lord. Take for instance, the Jets’ 30-25 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The day after Halloween, fright night at the Meadowlands began with a whimper for the Jets and their fans. The Jets were nursing a 3-3 tie going into the half-time.

And Miami’s wildcat offense was in need of repair as the Jets’ defense held the running backs Rickie Williams and Ronnie Brown to a combined 14 total yards. The Jets secondary held quarterback Chad Henne to a total of 80 yards.

“This was just a battle in the first half,” said right tackle Damien Woody. “The second half is almost like a blur! There was so much going on, so I have to go back and look at it and see what happened.”

What happened was that the Jets’ special teams broke down and allowed Miami’s kick returner, Ted Ginn Jr. to sprint across the Meadowlands for 100 and 101 yards: and Miami’s linebacker, Jason Taylor returned Shonn Greene’s fumble 48 yards for 21 points, which created an uncomfortable chill in the air.

Fans elected to expand their lungs and expressed a discordant sound of disapproval.

“It’s frustrating losing games like this,” said Woody. “You have to play football in three areas, and if one area is lopsided, it could come back to bite you.”

Defense, offense and special teams are the three areas.

As for the Jets’ defense yesterday, they allowed 104 net yards, the fourth lowest total in the franchise history. And the defense registered six sacks. Another plus, offensively, Mark Sanchez threw two touchdowns, ran for a touchdown and amassed 265 yards. And running back Thomas Jones is having another pro bowl season. He contributed 102 yards on 27 carries. The fourth time he ran for 100 yards this season.

“First off, sometimes things just don’t make sense,” said head coach Rex Ryan. ” Statistically, this game is not going to look close.”

Nonetheless, when one of the three phases of the game is insufficient, it can lead to trouble – a loss.

“It’s disappointing because I thought we were really in control of our division, and right now, we’re not,” said Ryan. “I think we can run the football. Mark Sanchez is coming around a little bit, and with Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery in there at wide receiver, and Dustin Keller – who was big today – I feel confident in our passing game. I’ve always felt confident in our defense. Special teams is usually strength; but obviously we’ve got to pick it up.”

The Jets are 4-4, second place in their division. Next week is a bye week, and then they play Jacksonville. A team the Jets can beat, but the Jets have three losses, two against Miami and one against Buffalo that could have been easily been wins.

“We’ve put ourselves in a hole here, and the only way to get out is to come out playing with our hair on fire,” said Ryan. “That’s the only way we can make the playoffs. We’ve got a hell of a schedule coming up.”

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