I NEED THE BYE WEEK

I was talking to a friend Monday...someone who didn't see the Jets game Sunday.

I was explaining to him how the Jets should have won the game, like the previous Dolphins game, which the Jets also should have won. And I started thinking and said, "So the Jets are 4-4, which they really deserve to be...but man, they could have been 5-3. And if they had beaten the Dolphins that first time, they could be 6-2." And the more I thought about it, they should have beaten the Bills in that disaster of the game...dare I say they could have been 7-1 at this point?

I know, you can 'would have, should have' any team to death - but really, the Jets are that close to having turned 3 games right around - the two Dolphins games came down to the last play and the Bills game was an overtime loss. And the Jets gave the best team in football a run for their money in the Saints.

So I guess the second half of the season holds quite a bit of promise...filled with games the Jets could and probably should win...but I'm sure it, too, will hold its share of disappointments:

vs. Jacksonville
at New England
vs. Carolina
at Buffalo
at Tampa Bay
vs. Atlanta
at Indianapolis
vs. Cincinnati

On paper that looks like 4-4 again, leaving the Jets at 8-8 on the season, right where they belong. But if those would-have, should-haves had come through, the Jets would be sitting much prettier for that valued post-season experience for Mark Sanchez...and who knows what kind of team they are coming out of the bye week? (Actually, I think I know - a weaker team, less the likes of Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington.)

All told, the 3-0, back to 3-3, ending up at 4-4 has me pretty wiped out. (I can only imagine how the players feel.) Unless something dramatic takes place, I'm taking full advantage of the bye week and not writing about the Jets for a week. I need to regroup.

There will be plenty else to write about I'm sure, and we'll make this the last word on the Jets for now.

DOLPHINS 30, JETS 25

Can't blame the defense this time. And the offense did its job (in the second half, at least).

If you're pointing fingers, this one falls squarely on the shoulders of the special teams.

Kick returns for touchdowns are terrible. They come after a score (barring the opening of a half), taking away any excitement you just built. But every once in a while they happen. And you move on. Until they happen again.

That's what happened to the Jets on Sunday...and there's really no excuse for it. Yes, Ted Ginn can be explosive in those situations, but on the second kick return, the Jets should have had him at about the 20 - first Larry Izzo whiffed, then someone else flat-out missed him, before he made his moves and bolted 100+ yards for his second return touchdown of the third quarter.

That's why the special teams played the biggest role in dropping the Jets to 4-4.

The defense was very good. They only gave up 9 points (there was a defensive touchdown by Miami in that third quarter as well), and looked like they had the Miami offense figured out...but the Miami offense was not very good either, so take that for what it's worth.

The Jets offense was nothing to shout about either for the first part of the game. Mark Sanchez saw a lot of pressure, and made some pretty bad passes - short-hopping a number of his throws. When they needed to, though, after falling behind in the second half, they again scored seemingly at will on the Dolphins' defense, like they did Monday night in Miami a few weeks ago.

Until the final drive.

Let's stop here to examine two things - 1) the Jets mismanaged their points, and 2) they kind of got jobbed by the refs.

They mismanaged their points because in the third quarter they started chasing 2-point conversions when they didn't need to yet. Kicking an extra point would have left them in the same position at the end of the game that their failed 2-point conversion left them...although I guess it didn't hurt them tremendously either. (I'll add that after the Jets scored following the second kickoff return TD I would have gone with an onsides kick - it would not have been returned for a touchdown like their previous two kickoffs, and the Jets could have recovered. At the very least the Dolphins would have had the ball at midfield instead of in the Jets' end zone...)

The Jets got jobbed because after they scored to make it 24-19 Dolphins, they converted a 2-point play that was negated by an illegal shift penalty. There was no clear violation...though if you held a gun to my head I'll admit that Mark Sanchez took a step backwards while the receiver was in motion, which could have been the shift. (But Phil Simms didn't see it, so if he doesn't call it, who am I to say I saw something.) Anyway, that's a terrible call in front of the home crowd, and it cost the Jets the game, because at the end (after the Dolphins went for a questionable 2-point conversion), the Jets needed a touchdown and couldn't get it on 4th down, when they could have kicked a game-tying (or winning) field goal.

So now the Jets are .500, and really, they're no better than that. But they could have stolen another game and gotten to 5-3, which would have been a whole lot closer to the beneficial playoff experience that I want for Mark Sanchez.

GOOD BOUNCEBACK

The Jets put a pretty emphatic end to their 3-game losing streak, shutting out the Raiders in Oakland 38-0.

I don't know about you, but I was pretty surprised.

Not so much that the Jets won....just the way they won. No matter how bad the Raiders have been throughout the years (especially recent years), the Jets have always had trouble out there. So I never expected them to hand the Raiders their most lopsided home loss ever.

The Jets' running game and defense helped out Mark Sanchez, coming off a 5-interception game last week, which was the direction Rex Ryan said he'd go. Shonn Green, he of the monster pre-season but only about one or two games so far in the regular season, had a big performance, going for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns.

For the first time this season, and probably the first time in years, I didn't seek out the Jets. They weren't on local TV, and I didn't go out to find them...I guess because I'm still recovering from the 400-mile round trip last week just to watch them crap out on TV.

The most disappointing part of not watching the blowout was that I didn't know until I saw some highlights afterwards that the Jets' road Titans uniforms are awesome. I love blue and yellow in a uniform, but for some reason, I don't love the Titans uniforms - the home ones, anyway...the blue, I think, way outdoes the yellow. The road ones are awesome, with the yellow pants, white shirt, blue helmet. I really like those.
So now the Jets get the Dolphins again. The Dolphins are coming off a loss to the Saints - a game which they should have won. The Jets showed that they are going to win their share of games still this season - they can beat the bad teams, and their schedule is full of bad teams the rest of the season....so if they can get a win at home against Miami, that will go a long way to deciding whether or not they'll be a playoff team. And hopefully there's still a bad taste in the Jets' mouths from their trip to Miami not three weeks ago.

I know the Jets aren't a legit playoff threat, but they really could win enough games against bad teams to get in...and that would be one more huge learning experience for Mark Sanchez (and Rex Ryan) in a season full of learning.

I SUPPOSE IT COULD BE WORSE....

Every time I want to wallow in my own misery with the Jets I have to remind myself that they're doing the right things...and once Mark Sanchez works through his "firsts", things will be OK. Really, things are on the upswing for the Jets. There are other teams that are not so lucky:

*Take the Tennessee Titans. Was I missing something huge here picking them to do well again this year? They're essentially the same team as last year's that piled up the best record in the league. Now they're 0-6...and coming off a 59-0 thrashing to the Patriots. And it's only going to get worse for them before it gets better.

(A positive note for Tennessee, though, is that they were part of the "best-looking game" of the season, as far as I'm concerned. I love the red/white Patriots uniforms, and those uniforms looked especially good on the field with the old Oilers' blue and white uniforms...and then with the snow background, they just looked even sharper. So congratulations on that, Titans.)

*Then there's the Washington Redskins. Seems like no matter how much money they spend, things aren't going to go their way under their current ownership. And I thought they were going to be good this year...they've now lost back-to-back games to the struggling Chiefs and Panthers...after barely getting by the Bucs and losing to the Lions. That's a rougher stretch than what the Jets have been going through...oh yeah...and the Redskins' quarterback of the future is not really panning out (hopefully the Jets aren't going to follow that script).

*The Rams and Buccaneers are in a downward spiral, sitting at 0-6 and not going anywhere anytime soon...and the aforementioned Chiefs, as well as the Browns, are lucky to have a win. Those teams are all far worse off than the Jets.

*Then there is a team like the Cowboys, who play well year after year, and are likely to make the playoffs again this year....but if you've watched them play, they won't win anything this year.

So I guess all I'm asking is for the Jets to take advantage of this time where I'm not going to be terribly upset by the growing pains...so that when they reach full maturity, I won't be disappointed year after year and I can finally enjoy some consistent winning football.

Speaking of winning football - the Saints looked good again beating the Giants on Sunday. About the only thing that keeps me from wanting to see them do well is the presence of Jeremy Shockey on that team. Otherwise, they seem a very likeable bunch....and they're really, really good.

Yes, Drew Brees continues to put the ball where his receivers can make plays. But I've NEVER seen a group of receivers that more consistently makes plays without dropping balls. They just haven't made mistakes yet this season - especially the two games I've watched them play extensively - against the Jets and Giants.

Now both teams may not be as good as advertised (the Jets are no better than their 3-3 record indicates, and the Giants are still good but did beat up on some bad teams...), but that doesn't matter when evaluating New Orleans.

They are the real deal - and if they keep this up, they'll be the Super Bowl champions.

BILLS 16, JETS 13 OT

It took almost an entire overtime period for the Jets to drop to 3-3 and officially be considered a .500 team.

But if you watched the game (which in one of my most desperate acts as a football fan I drove to New York to do), you saw early on that the Jets really are no better than a .500 team.

You may remember in the preseason that I said Mark Sanchez's fast start (48-yard touchdown on his first throw) was probably the worst thing that could happen to him. I also said the humbling game he had against the Ravens might turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to him. I forgot about that lesson as the Jets jumped out to a 3-0 start this year. And I take back what I said about his first preseason game - the 3-0 start to his career is THE worst thing that could have happened to Mark Sanchez.

What today's game showed me is that the Jets are far closer to the team that went 0-3 the past few weeks instead of the team that started the season 3-0. And Mark Sanchez, at this stage in his career, is more likely to throw 5 interceptions than throw, oh, I don't know....6 touchdowns.

The Bills are terrible. That assessment did not change after watching them play today. But the Jets are not too much better.

Because of their upcoming schedule, the Jets may continue to fool people into thinking they are better than they really are. They'll beat up on some teams that are worse than they are...and, as they showed today, they'll probably lose to a couple of those teams as well.

It's all part of the learning experience with a rookie quarterback...and a rookie coach. It's just unfortunate for them that they made people forget what comes along with rookies in those spots with such a fast start.

And unfortunate for me that I was one of the people who got caught up in the ride.

DOLPHINS 31, JETS 27

Well, that was unexpected.

I didn't think the Jets would lose to the Dolphins...but the Dolphins played a really great game.

They ran the Jets' defense ragged all game - a very tough defense looked tired all game.

Chad Henne looked good, but mostly because he had the time to make things happen. It's the same thing that allowed Miami to win last year - they have a very good offensive line.

It was nice to see Braylon Edwards make such a significant contribution right away. Hopefully it's because of a chip on his shoulder, and hopefully that chip stays all year.

The bottom line is the Jets' strategy, which we've seen all year, in which they don't turn Mark Sanchez loose at key moments when they're leading, came back to bite them tonight. We saw it when they started trailing - he can be trusted to throw the ball. He can help protect a lead...it doesn't have to be only the defense.

I think I'm getting old - Monday Night Football is too late for me these days.

At first I was surprised when I saw the schedule and saw that the Jets play the Dolphins again so quickly - just a few weeks from now. Now I'm really glad they get them back so soon...there's some hatred back in this Jets-Dolphins rivalry.

I know I'm glad Chad Pennington isn't playing - it makes it easier to hate the Dolphins. I want the Jets to get back on the field against them tomorrow.

I hope the Jets players feel the same way.

SAINTS 24, JETS 10

Last week, after a Jets win, I chose to focus on the negatives. This week, after a Jets loss, I'm going to focus on the positives.

But the first thing that needs to be said is that New Orleans is very good. Not because they beat my team...but because they made the Jets look so bad in doing it. Even when the Jets were only down one score I didn't feel good about their chances because I didn't think the Jets could get the two scores they would need to win against New Orleans the way they were playing.

I knew about the New Orleans offense (which I now am even more impressed by, seeing their receivers catch EVERYTHING Drew Brees threw their way), but that defense was very good. I missed the boat on the Saints in my pre-season rankings - they're going to be a force in the NFC all year.

Now, onto the Jets. This is not a season-killer by any means. This was a loss to a legit team (a non-conference team, at that), and the Jets are still 3-1 with a big division game coming up next week. It's not like they're barely clinging to 3-1 like, say, the Bengals, who eked out a 3-1 record (rather than a 2-1-1 record) in overtime versus Cleveland.

My reaction to this loss is kind of like in the pre-season, when Mark Sanchez needed to struggle a bit to learn from his mistakes. I look at this game as a huge learning experience. He made rookie mistakes in this game - which he hasn't really been making yet. The interception that Darren Sharper returned 99 yards for a touchdown was a poorly thrown pass. Doesn't that ball have to go to the back corner of the end zone, especially when Sanchez's receiver is double-covered? He threw it where two Saints had a better chance of catching the ball than his receiver. And Sanchez simply held onto the ball too long in the end zone on the fumble that was recovered for a touchdown. Two rookie mistakes. I bet they don't happen again anytime soon.

The other good news was that even though the Jets couldn't get anything going offensively, their defense still gave them a chance. The Jets were in this game the entire time, because their defense kept them in it. And this wasn't a team with a bad offense - this was the Saints, who have an excellent offense. So that's a huge positive.

The Jets still don't seem to have things going on offense. I feel like they haven't put it all together yet....and they're still 3-1. So I think there's still some upside in a season that so far has been mostly up.

Next week is huge for the Jets - a division game, with a chance to get to 4-1 (which sounds a whole lot better than 3-1 coming off this loss). It's also big because the Patriots won again, beating a less-than-impressive Ravens team (their defense did not look as imposing as it had in previous weeks...and it also looked undisciplined in certain instances). So the Jets are now tied for first in the division, rather than alone in first. It's time for them to start proving their 3-0 start wasn't a fluke.

TELLING MOMENT: Apropos of nothing, other than the fact that I noticed it, I think I put my finger on why exactly Tony Romo and the Cowboys don't win important games. After Brandon Marshall made an impressive move to give the Broncos (ugh!) the lead inside of two minutes left in the game, the camera cut to Romo on the bench. Peyton Manning or Tom Brady would have been fired up, looking at the clock and thinking, "1:46 to take my team down the field and tie this baby up!"

Romo was waving his hand in disgust at the Cowboys defense. He actually did lead a good drive...but came up a couple of yards short of the end zone. And I think he'll always come up short in big situations.

JETS 24, TITANS 17

Another great win by the Jets against another very good opponent. They're 3-0. Almost more importantly, they're 3 conference wins, including 1 division win, in a season that is sure to come down to some sort of tiebreaker.

So I'm feeling good about the Jets....for the most part.

Instead of really celebrating the third win, though, I want to spend a bit of time looking at a couple of the Jets' flaws...because I'm sure other teams are starting to notice.

1) With a lead late, the Jets seem more than willing to let their defense run out the clock rather than the offense. A normal team leading by a touchdown with 9 minutes or so left in the game might milk the clock and try to limit the other team's possessions. The Jets don't seem to care about giving the ball back quickly and putting their defense back on the field. I understand the idea that it's their stronger unit, but at some point that unit is going to be tired, and the end of the game is where it's going to show the most. I'm going to start to get a little uncomfortable with opponents getting 3 or 4 chances to tie the game late in the game, as the Patriots and Titans have now had in consecutive weeks.

2) The offense hasn't exactly been lighting things up. If Tom Brady had connected on a few passes last week and the Titans hadn't played a terrible opening 10 minutes on Sunday, the Jets could easily be 1-2. They're 3-0, which is great, but Mark Sanchez can only be effective if the Jets have a running game...and they had no such thing on Sunday. It was a weird game for Tennessee - they showed why they are 0-3 in those first 10 minutes, but after that they showed flashes of the team that opened last year 10-0...and the Jets couldn't do much against that latter version. So I'm sure there's a book being written on Mark Sanchez, and the first chapter deals with stopping the run and putting some pressure on him to make throws. He looked the worst this week of his small three-game sample.

3) Thomas Jones is not playing well. Don't be fooled by the numbers Jones put up in that first game against Houston. Remember, he only scored two touchdowns because he spelled Leon Washington at the goal line and then ran all over a tired defense in fourth quarter garbage time. After that it was 14 carries for 54 yards against the Patriots and 14 carries for 20 yards against Tennessee. Yes, numbers 2 and 3 here go hand in hand. And Thomas Jones needs to help set that running game tone...and if he doesn't do it soon, it might be all Leon Washington all the time.

Those are the big issues I see with the Jets. Mostly it's been positive - they're winning, which comes ahead of anything. And they've won these three games without the suspended Calvin Pace, so they will only get stronger on defense. And they've already benefitted once from a Buffalo near-upset - playing New England after the Bills almost beat them. Now they get New Orleans next week after they struggled most of their game against Buffalo. So thanks again, Bills, for helping show the Jets the way. I have a feeling, though, that Drew Brees will present the Jets with their biggest challenge against an opposing quarterback so far this season.

MORE GOOD NEWS: Hall of Famer Gary Carter's Long Island Ducks will play a deciding fifth game Tuesday night in their playoff series after winning Sunday night to tie the series at 2. All the credit to the manager.

WHAT'S UP WITH TOM BRADY?

OK Jets fans...let's cool it with the "Brady Sucks" chants.

Tom Brady does not suck. Tom Brady is just playing below the significant bar he has set for himself to this point in his career. I know, it's much too wordy to chant at a game. But it's more true than "Brady Sucks".

At the very least, Brady sucks right now. The question is, why?

Here are the facts:

Game 1: 39-53 for 378 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Game 2: 23-47 for 216 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

Going deeper than the facts, Brady only had as many yards against Buffalo as he did because they didn't run the ball and he completed short passes. And if it wasn't for the final five minutes of that game he would have shown no life at all.

Against the Jets, he should have gotten a win. All he had to do was complete one pass at any of five or six key moments in the game - and he overthrew or threw behind his receiver each time.

I'm hearing that the Jets' pressure was affecting his timing and that every throw was made a step sooner than he would have liked. But I don't buy it. Because there were times he was throwing to the sidelines when his receivers were going long, or vice versa. He was throwing over guys' heads. To be honest, I didn't think the Jets' pressure in Week 2 was all that great. He had plenty of time to let things unfold most of the game.

My wife was quick to a theory - "Remember he had the shoulder injury in the pre-season?" I do remember, and it's certainly possible that his shoulder is bothering him...many a lesser quarterback suffered through such injuries and never came back (Ken O'Brien anyone?). And of course, he's coming off major knee surgery. So he still may come around as he gets his legs under him.

But I'm not so sure I'm buying the injury thing either. Is it because he's hurt that Brady takes his sweet time coming on and off the field? Casually coming up to the line and letting delay of game penalties rack up? I don't really think so.

To sum up what I'm noticing I need to give you some background. Even as a Jets fan I've always liked Tom Brady. He was hard not to like. He always had an answer for the reporters, he played the game hard, he seemed like a nice guy.

The Brady I'm watching on the field right now looks like a punk.

He looks like he's slinking on and off the field. Really, he does. Watch him. He doesn't look like he's hustling. I know it's hard to tell sometimes with football players with all the padding and helmets and stuff...but he doesn't really look like he cares.

Then there was the interview he blew off after the Buffalo game. Tom Brady doesn't do that. He stops and answers the questions, or at least makes an effort to hear the reporter ask the question. He doesn't give an on-the-run "I can't hear anything you're saying." At least he doesn't do it when it's live TV and it's ESPN. Is it an off-the-field thing that's bothering him and made him wary of a reporter's on-the-spot question? He and his supermodel wife are expecting a baby, and then there was a lawsuit publicized Tuesday against their bodyguards for gunshots at the wedding. The problem here is that Tom Brady doesn't bring that type of stuff with him onto the field.

I know it's silly that I sound so concerned. As a Jets fan, part of me is enjoying watching this - it's been a long nine years. But the football fan in me misses watching a professional go about his job.

And it also makes me think how lucky the Jets would be if Mark Sanchez turns into the type of player I expect Tom Brady to be...on and off the field.

MONDAY MORNING IMPRESSIONS: JETS 16, PATRIOTS 9

I don't want to make a huge deal out of this...but I got a game ball on Sunday.

"I think our fans are huge in this victory," said head coach Rex Ryan. "In fact, we're giving a game ball to our fans. It will go up in our trophy case. I thought they were the difference."

It's not the first time I've been given a game ball, incidentally. I remember I was awarded one after the Jets' playoff win over Jacksonville in 1999. I was loud then, too.

But I wasn't alone in this - I did have help. Besides the 70,000+ others screaming for much of the game, there was the Jets' defense. They played pretty well. They still have yet to give up a touchdown on this young season, holding the Patriots to three field goals (and after the Texans scored last week on only a defensive score).

And then there was Tom Brady. I'll delve into this one later in the week, but again he looked terrible, this time without the end-of-game flurry like the ones the Bills handed him last week. And there were times that he had the Jets' defense beat, but threw a terrible pass, and didn't seem on the same page as his receivers.

Sure, I'd like to think it was all me causing the back-to-back delay of game penalties (following a time out, no less), but some of that blame falls on the quarterback. And on this day that QB did not look like a former Super Bowl MVP.

The Jets' rookie quarterback, meanwhile, was able to bounce back from his mistakes. (And I did my part to help the offense by resting my voice while they had the ball...but again, this isn't about me. I was only part of the team, game ball or not.) After a first few possessions that were just terrible (a Sanchez fumble that put the ball inside the 5, a Leon Washington fumble that the Patriots recovered), Sanchez managed to get the Jets 3 points in the second quarter (after some questionable play-calling where the Jets seemed to give up the chance at a TD), and then came out of the gates in the third quarter with a quick, efficient touchdown drive to give the Jets the lead for good.

Sanchez could have easily had a second touchdown but he overthrew a receiver in the end zone...but he managed to limit the mistakes and help the Jets hold the lead.

In the end, as Rex Ryan said, the Jets were the better team on this day. They're starting to look like they might just be a better team than most this year. Again, we'll have a better idea when the Jets take on the Titans at home next week.

I just hope they can manage without me there.

SUNDAY PAPER

I should be excited.

I'm going to the Meadowlands for a big Jets game against a division rival...and it is shaping up to be a great game. I should be really excited.

But I'm kind of dreading it.

Even growing up in Queens the trip out to Rutherford, New Jersey was such a pain. Actually, the trip there wasn't so bad - we could finagle it so that we could beat most traffic. Coming home was the disaster.

Now, trying to go to a Jets game from Framingham, Massachusetts is nothing short of a mistake. I'm going to try out the new train transportation to get there, but again, I'm worried about how long it will take to get out of Jersey...and then what time I will end up back in Massachusetts that night (a school night, no less).

It was a huge tease when it became clear that the Jets were going to be involved in building a new stadium, and the west side of Manhattan was thrown out there (not to mention the faint possibility of them moving back to Queens). It would have been too easy. So what happened? They built right next door...still in Jersey.

It's too hard to make a trip that way too often ends in disappointment. Not too mention that we're not treated well. My dad has had Jets season tickets since the mid-1960's...and when the time came to get tickets to the new stadium, the Jets didn't acknowledge anyone pre-late 1970's. The result - a minor seat change, closer to midfield, still in the upper bowl. Not that we would have paid for any seat licenses and gotten much closer to the field. (How exactly can you own a seat in a stadium that is shared by two teams and two sets of season ticket holders?)

I'm in too deep to return my fan card over all this - but I certainly won't be showing up at the stadium too often anymore. It's looking like, barring a playoff appearance, my first visit to see the Jets in 2009 will be my last visit to Giants Stadium (and a lot less sentimental than my last visits to Shea Stadium). And I might just do the trip one more time - when the Jets open up their new stadium...then my dad is thinking of giving up the tickets, and I won't stop him.

So I am excited to see the Jets hopefully beat the Patriots. I am excited to see the home debut of Mark Sanchez. I am excited to hang out with a couple of great friends, which is the real reason I'm making this trip to begin with. But I'm not excited about watching the game surrounded by the mostly idiotic football fans in Section 336. And I'm not excited about the inconvenience of getting to the game.

*Seems like the Jets did way too much talking this week. Part of me thinks it's a good sign, the sign of a confident team. A bigger part of me feels like it's just rattling the Patriots' cage in a bad way.

*Can't get a clear Red Sox radio signal 10 minutes away from my house in Framingham, but driving down Saturday night I picked up the Reds radio broadcast in the middle of Connecticut clear as a bell.

*High on my list of concerns with traveling to the Jets game today: When I arrive back in Framingham, it will be well after night falls. Sunday nights are garbage nights. I'm putting it at better than 60% that I will see a raccoon on my street. That will set me back about a week's worth of sleep.

*LI Ducks update: Looks like Hall of Famer Gary Carter has the Long Island Ducks right where he wants them - in the post-season. They will be facing Southern Maryland in the first round, starting later this week. This is where it gets exciting - and this is where a Gary Carter-led team does its damage - in the post-season. We'll certainly keep you posted.

MONDAY MORNING IMPRESSIONS: JETS 24, TEXANS 7

Now that's defense.

In the recent past, you couldn't really blame the Jets' defense for their problems. But it was still frustrating to watch the bend, don't break style, where they'd give up huge chunks of yardage until they finally clamped down.

Sunday, in the Jets' 24-7 win over Houston, was everything you'd want to see out of a defense - it was the 'clamp-down' version of the defense over the entire game.

Instead of rare instances of pressure there was a player in Matt Schaub's face almost every play (by my calculation six of the seven plays on the Texans' first drive featured Schaub getting hit). The one bad stretch the defense had came in the second quarter, when Steve Slaton started to carve them up...but a timely hit on the ball resulted in a fumble and a turnover, and the Jets never looked back.

The game could have been a shutout, which would have been appropriate for the new attitude Rex Ryan has brought to the team, but the Texans managed a defensive touchdown for their points.

Which brings us to the offense. The interception returned for the TD wasn't Mark Sanchez's only mistake...it was just the one that the Texans made him pay for. Sanchez threw some ill-advised passes that weren't picked off...some were also caught by the Jets' receievers. But the overwhelming impression Sanchez gave on Sunday was positive. Most importantly, he was very poised on third down - the Jets converted 10-of-18 on third down. Sanchez was 18-31 for 272 yards overall, throwing 1 TD and 1 INT. Not bad for an NFL debut.

There were not many negatives to take away from the game, but I'm looking in Thomas Jones' direction. Sure, he finished with 107 yards and 2 TD...but it was just about the cheapest 100-yard game I've ever seen.

His first touchdown was the equivalent of a major league baseball reliever blowing an 8th inning lead on a starter, then watching his team score in their half of the inning, giving him the win. The "vulture win". Jones' first touchdown was a "vulture touchdown". Leon Washington did all the work getting the ball inside the five, then Jones punched it in from the one. He then ran ragged over a tired Texans defense in the fourth quarter, which was nice as far as closing out a game, but he went nowhere in the early stages of the game, which I think may have been more telling.

So the Jets are 1-0, and they looked great doing it. But it came against the Texans, a team I have made quite clear so far that I haven't bought into. Next week, at home, the Jets play the Patriots, and that will be the real test - for Sanchez, for the defense, for the Jets' chances in the division. It was a good opening week - the Jets showed there's reason for optimism. Let's just hope it lasts longer than one week.

SANCHEZ STILL LOOKS GOOD

I just finished watching the NFL Network's rebroadcast of the Jets-Giants preseason game - the first for the Jets since Mark Sanchez was named the starter.

The impression I came away with after watching Sanchez's performance: The Jets will be OK.

I'm not saying that you can tell everything from the preseason, but 13-20, 149 yards, 1 touchdown will make you feel good about your rookie quarterback.

When I first saw the numbers, I was excited, but I wanted to hold full judgment until I saw more than just the ESPN highlights (which basically consisted of the touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey, pictured at right).

There was another highlight-reel play which I hadn't seen, and it came earlier on the same drive as the Stuckey touchdown. And it made me realize a disturbing trend that is worth keeping an eye on.

It's the same problem that plagued Chad Pennington in his final years in New York, caused Kellen Clemens so many problems in his brief time as Jets starter, and threatens what is looking like a promising career for Sanchez.

He doesn't have much time to throw.

Both the Stuckey touchdown and the pass earlier in the drive, also to Stuckey, were thrown by Sanchez as he avoided a rush. He was on the run, if I remember correctly, when he threw his touchdown to Leon Washington against the Ravens last week. Rarely have I seeen Sanchez throw a pass when he has had time to get set in the pocket (though I have seen it, and he looks fine, no surprise, in those situations).

Listen, it's preseason. Just as it's too early to tell if Sanchez will be a star because of his preseason numbers, it's too early to tell if the offensive line will be a disaster. But it's certainly not something to be thrilled about - Sanchez has taken more than his share of hits in August.

The third preseason game, as I'm sure you're well aware by now, is the dress rehearsal. The starters will see very limited action in the fourth exhibition game, so Sanchez likely won't take a hit Thursday night against the Eagles (and won't it be nice that the media focus will be on the Eagles and Michael Vick and not the Jets and Sanchez that night). But he will likely take many hits in his first few regular season starts, unless the O-line gets their act together fast.

THE ONLY CHOICE

The official word was handed down Wednesday: Mark Sanchez will be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets to start the 2009 season.

The unofficial word: Hopefully he will also be the starting quarterback for many additional years to come.

Rex Ryan gave a fair shake to the "incumbent", Kellen Clemens, whose only claim to the job, really, was having already been on the Jets' roster. Ryan declared the position open to a competition, may the best man win.

Trouble was, no one was best...the numbers this pre-season were pretty equal. And that's bad news for a veteran versus a rookie, because if the rookie can do what the veteran can do, why not go with the rookie...in this case the number five overall pick in the draft.

And in reality, the way the competition turned out is the way it should have gone anyway, because Kellen Clemens has not given any indication that he is capable of leading a franchise. That's why the Jets drafted Mark Sanchez, and now that the "Who's the starter?" discussion is settled it's time to get down to the business of football, and see if Sanchez is the guy capable of leading a franchise.

I have nothing against Clemens. Really, I don't. Unfortunately for him, he was caught in the wrong place, wrong time with the Chad Pennington's situation, when I felt that Pennington did not get a fair shake from the Jets. So I hold Clemens up to a standard that he is not capable of reaching. Now Sanchez has his own standard to uphold.

It's very exciting to follow a guy from the beginning of his career, especially at a position like quarterback. I was shocked to learn that the only other time a rookie quarterback started a season for the Jets was their first year of existence, in 1960.

What's fair to expect from Sanchez? I think it's unfair to make comparisons to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan and expect a playoff appearance right off the bat. Certainly it's possible in the NFL, where anything can happen any year, but I think it's more realistic to expect Sanchez to keep the Jets in games, and lead them to more of an 8-8 record than a 3-13.

Other than that, it'll be exciting to watch this career get started on the field instead of on the sideline and to see what the Jets have for the future. And it will certainly be more exciting than watching Kellen Clemens quarterback the team.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON MARK SANCHEZ

The worst thing that could have happened to Mark Sanchez is a 48-yard completion on the first pass he threw in a game in a Jets uniform.

The best thing that may have happened to Mark Sanchez is a poor performance, including an interception returned for a touchdown, in his first start.

Even the most level-headed rookie, which I think pretty well describes Sanchez, might get a bit worked up over the kind of success he had in his first pre-season game last week. Big hype, big city, home crowd - I'm sure it goes to your head a bit.

But the NFL's not that easy. If it was, we might have been sitting through Browning Nagle's press conference this year after he decided to come back for one more season because he just couldn't hang them up and end a Hall of Fame career.

On Monday night, Sanchez got a taste, or more like a mouthful, of what the NFL is like. And it should pay off in a big way.

First possession - Sanchez gets drilled by Ray Lewis and throws an interception that's returned for a touchdown. Second possession - he throws another pass that should have been picked and returned for six the other way.

Sanchez took a couple of hits, threw a lot of incompletions, threw a costly interception, and faced a tremendously difficult defense. And you know what? None of it counted. It's the best-case scenario. It's about the most difficult test a young quarterback can be put through, a game against this Baltimore Ravens defense, and it's usually a test that players have to face when the games count in the regular season.

I'm no expert, but what Mark Sanchez went through Monday night was probably more difficult than 85% of what he'll face during the regular season. It was just a really good practice.

And this is where Sanchez and the coaching staff will show what they're worth. Because the tape of this game is tremendously valuable. Sanchez can probably spend the rest of the pre-season learning from the mistakes he made on this tape, and figuring out what to do the next time he is in these situations.

He showed that he might have made some adjustments even in the game, as he rebounded to throw a touchdown pass on his last possession in the second quarter...and his replacement, Kellen Clemens, showed that he hasn't learned a tremendous amount during his four-year career, let alone from watching Sanchez's performance, as he threw an awful interception right before the half that was also returned for a touchdown.

So the first start of Mark Sanchez's career, although it was pre-season, was pretty terrible overall. And I think that's just great.

OTHER NOTES: I'm writing this at halftime, but I've seen enough to say that I'm not sure what to make of the defense. It's supposed to be the side of the ball that keeps the Jets in games this year, but the Ravens seemed to move the ball way too easily on them Monday night. Add in that Calvin Pace will miss the first four games of the regular season due to suspension and Shaun Ellis will be suspended for that first game as well, and it seems like the defense will struggle....Looks like Leon Washington hasn't missed a beat from last year. He'll be exciting to watch this season.