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Dec
2007
No Moral Victories
By Jason Levy
In sports, and competition in general, there are no moral victories. No matter how close the final score is and no matter how good a team may look, all losses count the same. And they all hurt. The New York Jets 20-10 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday was a slow burn, at least from the perspective of the green ‘n’ white.
The game was close, and the Jets had their opportunities. But the Jets succumbed to the fate of all underperforming teams; they couldn’t turn opportunities into points. In four red zone chances, only three points found their way to the scoreboard. Whether it was Kellen Clemens, Brad Smith, or Chad Pennington behind center, it didn’t seem to matter. Holding penalties and dropped passes (emphasis on Justin McCairens end zone bobble and Chris Baker’s red zone fumble) didn’t help the Jets cause either, but neither QB was able to rally the troops and give the Patriots the scare of the season.
What doomed the Jets was their inability to get the ground game going. Its hard to say who gets more blame for that, running back Thomas Jones or the Jets offensive (as a fan I was pretty offended) line, which should be called The Moveable Object. Right Tackle Anthony Clement had two killer holding penalties, and all the Jets quarterbacks were under constant pressure.
The Jets defense did a slightly better job. The only Patriots touchdowns came on an interception return and a run after a blocked punt, which means Tom Brady had zero touchdown passes. Randy Moss and Wes Welker were kept under control. But like most other Jets defeats this season, they couldn’t stop the running back, as Laurence Maroney ate up yards and time, gaining 104 yards and scoring the only offensive touchdown for either team.
The Jets were so close or at least much closer than Vegas and the experts predicted, but were never able to overcome their own pratfalls. The weather certainly aided the Jets efforts; if it were clear conditions Brady most certainly would’ve had a better game. There were times I thought it would’ve been better to see the Pats win in a blowout, just so I (and thousands of other Jets fans) wouldn’t have to torture themselves with “what if” scenarios all this week. The only solace for Jets fans is to humiliate Herm Edwards and the free-falling Kansas City Chiefs on the last week of the season, even if it does cost us a higher pick.
As depressed as the Jets fan is right now, the Giants fans are ready to have panic attacks, heart attacks, and aneurisms after Sunday night’s embarrassing performance against the Redskins. For reasons beyond rational explanation, the Giants are the only team in the NFL, and possibly professional or college sports, to have a home field disadvantage. They fall apart at the first utterance of boos, and the Giants faithful had plenty to be angry about last night. Eli Manning looked dazed and confused, but it wasn’t all Eli’s fault, his receivers were playing with stone mittens. It could get worse with Jeremy Shockey on the sidelines with a broken leg.
The loss puts the Giants in a precarious position. They must win one of their final two games to secure a playoff spot. But those games are in
Luckily the Giants fans are used to collapses by now. The Giants have been perfecting it since 1997. Coach Tom Coughlin will become the scapegoat of the potential catastrophe, leaving all the pressure on Eli in 2008. The younger Manning has shown flashes of his brilliance, but it looks like he’ll never be able to have consistent success in
It’s tough times for the
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