Rex Ryan and the Jets "are the biggest show in town" posted by Colin Linneweber

The New York Jets Super Bowl aspirations were shredded by the Indianapolis Colts 30-17 Sunday in the AFC Championship Game at Lucas Oil Field in Indiana.

The Jets outplayed the Colts in the first half and they managed to enter intermission with an impressive 17-13 advantage.

Unfortunately for fans of Gang Green, the Jets magical postseason flight violently crashed in the decisive second half of the contest.

Despite their utter demise over the final 30 minutes this past weekend, the Jets (11-8) had a truly remarkable season and they will fly into next year as strong favorites to win the AFC East title for the first time since 20002.

Jets NFL All-Rookie quarterback sensation Mark Sanchez admitted that the loss to the Colts was indeed a heartbreaking one.

Nevertheless, Sanchez, a three-time Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week winner, expressed confidence that the Jets will rebound and become a legitimate championship contender for years to come with Head Coach Rex Ryan at the helm.

“You lose a tough game like that, we make it as far as we did, it’s frustrating,” said Sanchez, 23, who the Jets selected out of the University of Southern California (USC) with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft.

“Once you get past that part – I don’t know how long that’s going to take – it’s important for me to understand as a rookie this was pretty special personally, (and) as a team, unbelievable. Rex came in and just really changed the culture of this franchise in one year. That’s big time. We believe in him and I think the best thing he said maybe the entire year was, ‘This is just the beginning.’ He told us to ‘Wear your Jets stuff with pride, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. We had an awesome year. We came up a little bit short.’ That stuff happens so we’ll rally and bounce back.”

Manning crushes Jets' Super Bowl dreams with a 30-17 victory posted by Joe Anello

Don't mess with Peyton Manning. That's what the number one ranked Jets defense learned Sunday afternoon, as they saw their 11-point second quarter lead evaporate under the intense heat of the Colt offense on the way to a 30-17 loss.

After a Colt field goal started the second quarter, an 80 yard pass from Mark Sanchez to Braylon Edwards put the Jets on top 7-3. Responding to another Colt 3-pointer, wide-out Brad Smith tossed a 45-yarder to Jericho Cotchery to set up a touchdown to Dustin Keller, stretching the lead to 14-6. From there, Manning whipped out his leather-skinned scalpel, switching to surgical mode in a 26 of 39, 377 yard performance. 

Rex Ryan's defense did exactly what they wanted to, which was keep Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne under wraps. Wayne only snagged three balls for 55 yards and Clark caught four for 35 and a fourth quarter TD. What they couldn't account for was the man-sized games of Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie, who each went over 100 yards receiving. Each of Garcon's 11 receptions were critical and helped keep Colt drives alive. Collie's 46-yard grab set up the second of Indy's scores, keeping it close before halftime. When the break ended, it was all Manning. Well, mostly anyway...

More than in recent weeks, Manning had help in the form of a solid running game from Joseph Addai and Donald Brown. Their 101 yards on the ground came from only 24 carries, averaging better than the Jets' vaunted rushing attack. Indy managed 27 first downs and over 400 yards of total offense versus Ryan's D, proving that no matter how good your defense is, Peyton Manning can beat it. Uncharacteristically, the Jets committed six penalties, three of which gave up first downs to the Colt offense. You can't shoot yourself in the foot when Manning will shoot you in the face. Jay Feely's two missed field goals certainly didn't help matters.

Joe's Opening Drive: Conference Championship Sunday posted by Joe Anello

Here it is: the last weekend of real football. Conference Championship Sunday is here and isn't lacking for drama. From Brett Favre and Peyton Manning's legacy to the Jets' dominating defense or the surge in New Orleans, every team is a great story. Who do I think will make it to the Super Bowl in Miami? Read on in this edition of the Opening Drive!

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts
2:00PM ET CBS

If the New York Jets weren't crazy enough already, just wait if they somehow manage to defeat Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. They will be insufferable for the two weeks heading into the Super Bowl, and I'm not even talking about the fans. That team is boisterous and confident thanks to their equally as cocky head coach Rex Ryan. All-Pro corner Darelle Revis will be locked against Reggie Wayne, leaving Dallas Clark for the Jet safeties or linebackers to handle. New York's defense should have no problems shutting down the Indy running game, so the pressure is on their secondary to cover Manning's complement of receivers. On the offensive side of the ball, Ryan must ensure rookie QB Mark Sanchez isn't put in dangerous situations. If all goes to plan the Jets will have 40-plus rushing attempts with Shonn Greene and Thomas Jones, keeping Sanchez somewhere in the 18-24 pass attempt range. Any more than that and the Jets cannot win. 

When Jim Caldwell decided to shut it down in week 16 against the Jets, I'm sure he didn't give it a second thought that he could see Rex Ryan's scrappy bunch again in the playoffs. Now Caldwell's highly criticized decision will be under the microscope again as his Colts welcome in the team they let into the postseason. Now we all know about the prolific offense powered by Peyton Manning's brilliance, but the Colt running game has been missing all season. They ran the ball a healthy 25 times last week but only managed 42 yards. They use the pass to set up the run, but Manning will have no problem slinging it all day long like he has all year. What hasn't been addressed enough is the stellar play of the Colt defense this year and in their playoff game from last week. While everyone wants to debate Indy's offense vs the Jet defense, the Colts defense is the real key. If they can hold up against the Jets ground and pound attack early and force a few punts, they can eventually force Mark Sanchez to throw the ball late. Against Dwight Freeney and that pass rush, that's exactly what the Colts want.

The Jets Will Meet Obama "in The Next Couple Of Years Anyway" posted by Colin Linneweber

The improbable New York Jets will play the dominant Indianapolis Colts Sunday in the AFC Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indiana.

In order to get to this point, the Jets (11-7) defeated the Chargers 17-14 in San Diego and the Colts (15-2) trumped the Baltimore Ravens 20-3 at home in their respective Divisional Round matchups.

The Jets currently stand one victory away from making their first appearance in the Super Bowl since 1969.

In their last championship season 41 years ago, the Jets were considered colossal underdogs in Super Bowl III versus the Baltimore Colts.

Prior to the epic contest, brash Jets quarterback Willie Joe Namath boldly proclaimed, “We’re gonna win this game. I guarantee you.”

In one of the greatest upsets in football history, the Jets emerged victorious 16-7 to validate Namath’s bold proclamation.

From the virtual instant that the Colts selected quarterback Peyton Manning out of the University of Tennessee with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, Indianapolis has fielded a solid football team.

In the past decade, despite winning only one crown, the Colts were an utter juggernaut on the gridiron.

On the contrary, the Jets have mainly fielded a litany of average and subpar squads over the past 20 years of their wretched existence.

The Colts have developed into something of football royalty.

In sharp contrast, the Jets have long been the NFL’s version of red-headed, bastard children.

Jets stun Chargers 17-14 in San Diego posted by Joe Anello

It was an ugliest of games for the team in the prettiest of cities. After winning 11 straight games to finish the regular season, the San Diego Chargers came out with a resounding thud at home against the Jets on Sunday. Penalties, missed field goals and turnovers formed a perfect storm of suck for the Chargers and kept the Jets in the game until the final quarter where they took and held onto the lead to advance to the AFC championship game with a 17-14 victory.

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Chargers jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Philip Rivers found rarely-used tight end Kris Wilson in the endzone. That was the lead taken into halftime, thanks to a stingy Jet defense and a lackluster but safe Jet offense. New York added a field goal in the third to close the gap, but you never felt like the Chargers offense could be stifled for four quarters. Seems like the Jets offense didn’t get the memo, as they were the ones who refused to be held down.

After a fantastic pick of Rivers by Revis, the Jets were forced to punt it right back, minimalizing Rivers' mistake. On his very next throw Rivers was intercepted again, returned by safety Jim Leonard 11 yards to the Charger 16.  A touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller capitalized on the turnover, giving New York their first lead of the game. On their next drive, rookie Shonn Greene broke through the San Diego defense for a 53-yard scamper to the endzone, putting the Jets up 17-7. A late rally by Norv Turner's offense was marred by poor clock management but did result in a touchdown to bring it back to 17-14.  A failed onside kick gave the road team the ball, which they ran on four straight plays including a gutsy fourth-and-one conversion by Thomas Jones to secure the win. All the Chargers could do was watch.

Joe's Opening Drive: Divisional Sunday posted by Joe Anello

Even if yesterday's were drama-less (story of the playoffs so far), I couldn't miss a second. That won't change today as the most hyped game of the weekend starts Divisional round Sunday. New York's Cinderella story (is Rex Ryan the fairy godmother?) closes out the night with a west coast appearance. The Opening Drive of Divisional Sunday in the NFL starts now!

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
1:00PM ET FOX

I don't know if you knew, but Brett Favre is a Viking. Back for one last (?) Super Bowl run, Favre has done all Minnesota has asked him. Now its time for his team to show up. That means blocking for Adrian Peterson and the secondary showing up to play. Hopefully Brad Childress did some coaching this week,

Dallas has been under fire for failing in December and the post-season for several years. Now, they've broken both "jinxes" and found themselves one game away from the NFC title game. Wade Philips saved his job with a pounding of Philadelphia last weekend and will look to blow Favre up in the pocket. 

Analysis: Minnesota wishes they had Dallas' offense. The Cowboys have been committed to and successful with the run, and Romo has been efficient with 20-26 throws a game. Felix Jones needs another huge run to loosen up the Vikings' D so Miles Austin can strike deep against poor-playing corners. Favre will be under pressure from DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff all afternoon, which will cause at least one interception, maybe two. Dallas' defense is playing dominant football while the Vikings have been inconsistent at best. Adrian Peterson has to be the game-breaker today and not the poster child for fumblitis.

The Amari Awards Revisited posted by Amari Harris

Well, the playoffs are in full swing and many of the end of season awards are settled.  My prior predictions were a bit off as Peyton Manning received the MVP and Charles Woodson received the DPOY award.  It's hard to argue with those choices, but I like arguing so I'm going to do it anyway.

 The same flaws that I pointed out in my previous post surfaced with Woodson in their wildcard game against the Cardinals.  Woodson got burned a lot in that Wildcard game, but he made some plays too (just not enough).    His aggressiveness killed him a couple times in the game…but at least he’s got a trophy.  Revis got flagged a couple times, but shut down Chad Ochocinco and grabbed a pick in the process.  The Jets pulled the upset with a dominating performance and if they continue to advance everyone will question whether Woodson was the right choice.  

I feel like Peyton's award might be like Dirk Novitzki's from a couple years ago.  Best player on the best regular season team...but they get knocked out of the playoffs unceremoniously and everyone questions the MVP. No doubt, Peyton is the best quarterback in football and his team would be nothing without him but if you’re going to give him the award in what can be considered a down year for Peyton then why even wait to give out the award?  We should just give it to Peyton at the beginning of every season.  It’s just too easy to simply say that this guy is the best player on the best team.  I think that Favre’s story is more interesting and quite simply his numbers are better.  You can talk about the Vikings possibly making the playoffs with Tavaris Jackson, but I just don’t see them being anywhere near where they are.  They had a tougher schedule than they had last year for one thing.  Adrian Peterson wasn’t his usual dominant self.  And I cannot honestly say they would’ve swept the Packers if Brett Favre wasn’t on this team.  I think the voters just shimmied their way out with the easy choice in manning instead of giving it to the 40 year old guy who is simply playing his ass off. 

Mark Sanchez & Pete Carroll are "going to do things better than it's ever been done before" posted by Colin Linneweber

After New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez helped lead his team to a 24-14 Wild Card victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati Saturday, the precocious signal-caller found time to tweak his former college coach at the University of Southern California (USC).

Sanchez, 23, a three-time Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week winner, was publicly chastised by recently resigned Trojans Head Coach Pete Carroll last January after he declared himself eligible for the draft with a year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

“The facts are so strong against this decision,” said Carroll, 58, of Sanchez who went 12-1 and was awarded with the 2009 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player in his only season as the Trojans starter.

“After analyzing all the information, the truth is there – he should’ve stayed for another year.”

Sanchez always possessed the necessary tools to be an elite professional quarterback and it was quite evident from the outset that Carroll’s ass was chapped strictly because “The Sanchise” was his ticket to a potential third national championship.

Undaunted, Carroll decided to cite a study to the media that indicated 62 percent of underclassmen quarterbacks who declare early for the draft flounder in the professional ranks.

“Big Balls Pete” further lowered himself when he openly projected that Sanchez would not be selected until the second round of the draft.

“Mark’s chance to increase his value and become the top player in college football next year would have been worth $10-$20 million or more – likely more,” whined Carroll, who is known to employ a player-friendly, relaxed style of coaching.

Jets open NFL Playoffs with a 24-14 win over the Bengals posted by Joe Anello

It wasn't exactly how he'd like it to happen, but Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan will sure take it. The New York Jets suppressed the home team Cincinnati Bengals Saturday in a 24-14 victory, despite giving up 171 yards on the ground.

After being shut out last week, the Bengals took advantage of early field position to take a 7-0 lead off a Carson Palmer pass to Laveranues Coles in the endzone. From there it was all Jets. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez completed 12 of his 15 passes for 182 yards, including a well-called bootleg where he found tight end Dustin Keller for 45 yards and a score. Sanchez was backed-up by 164 combined yards on the ground from rookie back Shonn Greene and veteran Thomas Jones. Most importantly, Sanchez didn't turn the ball over.

Yeah, this passing thing didn't happen much. 

The same cannot be said for the Bengals, who committed two costly turnovers in the cold weather.  An early Coles fumble cost them at least a field goal and an ill-placed ball from Palmer to Chad Ochocinco was intercepted by Darelle Revis. Aside from those mistakes, kicker Shayne Graham missed his two field goal attempts, both of which were in the second half. Carson Palmer may not be like the elite quarterback he once was, but his receivers were over-matched and couldn't hold onto the ball.

After all the posturing and talk, Ochocinco was shut down by Revis for the second straight week, accumulating only 2 catches for 28 yards in the loss. Revis simply manned up on Ochocinco and removed him from the offense with physicality. The Jets D may feel angry about the rushing yards they gave up, but holding Palmer to 18-36 passing and only 110 yards total is a feat to build on.

NFL Playoffs preview posted by Ryan Turner

Is everyone ready for their repeat of Week 17 in the NFL? That’s certainly what it feels like, with the Eagles returning to Arlington to take on the Cowboys and the Packers returning to Glendale to face the Cardinals. At least the Bengals and Jets are giving us some variety by switching from New York to the Queen City for their rematch. The Patriots and Ravens are the only original match up of Wildcard Weekend, but when we look again, it’s still nothing new.

The Patriots beat the Ravens 27-21 at Gillette Stadium in Week 4. This fact would be surprising if you just looked at the box score. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes for the Ravens while Tom Brady had just one for the Pats. Ray Rice ran for 103 yards for the Ravens on his own while the Patriots had just 85 rushing yards as a team. Looking at that, one would think that the Ravens dominated this game and would have won by at least a touchdown. Baltimore did lose the turnover battle, but only 2-to-1, so it wasn’t that big of a difference. The Ravens simply didn’t get it done in the fourth quarter, getting stopped on fourth down twice. This game will likely come down to the wire again, but I’ll take the Ravens this time. Flacco’s got nearly two years of experience now and the Patriots will be without Wes Welker, one of the cornerstones of the New England offense. Sure, the Pats could get a running game going, but against Baltimore’s defense, I’d say that’s unlikely at best. They still have Terrell Suggs. They still have Ray Lewis, and Lewis hasn’t dropped off much despite his age. They can stop the run and they’ll stop the Patriots run on Sunday.

Jets turn to old hand Testaverde

Veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde is to start for the injury-hit New York Jets against Tampa Bay on Sunday. [read full article]

From BBC Sport

Chip off the old block? Rex Ryan following in father's brash footsteps with Jets (The Canadian

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Buddy Ryan's advice to son Rex when he took over as head coach of the New York Jets a year ago was simple: "Don't screw it up." [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Chip off the old block? Rex Ryan following in father's brash footsteps with Jets (The Canadian

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Buddy Ryan's advice to son Rex when he took over as head coach of the New York Jets a year ago was simple: "Don't screw it up." [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Chip off the old block? Rex Ryan following in father's brash footsteps with Jets (The Canadian

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Buddy Ryan's advice to son Rex when he took over as head coach of the New York Jets a year ago was simple: "Don't screw it up." [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Chip off the old block? Rex Ryan following in father's brash footsteps with Jets (The Canadian

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Buddy Ryan's advice to son Rex when he took over as head coach of the New York Jets a year ago was simple: "Don't screw it up." [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports