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The Jets Are Getting Defensive

© Brian Igel

“There’s nothing bad I can say about them. The Jets look like a playoff team that has a chance to go a long way.”

You’d never guess to whom this quote is attributed. Believe it or not, it was Zach Thomas of the Miami Dolphins. The same Zach Thomas that went off on a tirade following Miami’s October loss to the Jets, in essence calling the early season victory over the Fins a fluke and the Jets a non-player in the AFC. But ahh, how things have changed.

After this latest Dolphins loss to the Jets, their eighth in a row, Thomas calmly discussed the Jets superiority. When asked about the difference in demeanor this time around Thomas replied, “I’m just showing my respect. Last time I didn’t have to because they didn’t deserve to win. Over the past month, they’ve been playing great. Beating Carolina, KC, the Saints, and now us. They did their talking on the field.”

In shutting down the Dolphins, the Jets continued what must appear to be an alarming trend for the rest of the AFC – namely putting the clamps down on opposing offenses. During the current 4-game winning streak, the Jets defense has given up just two touchdowns and an average of 220 yards.

Defense wins championships and the mountaintop that seemed unimaginable three months ago is clearly coming into view. After opening the season with a Charmin-like degree of softness, Ted Cottrell’s defensive unit is no longer a liability. In fact, it is the defense that has been scoring points and winning games for the offense during this streak. After some early growing pains, the confidence level on D is rising.

"You can feel the confidence level surging on this team,” said Safety Victor Green. “That showed in Miami (last week). What's beginning to show, too, is that we're getting pretty confident in general."

There’s no reason to believe that the Jets can’t come out on top in the AFC. At 7-3, they enter their bye week with a half-game lead over their personal patsies, the Dolphins. New York is an impressive 5-0 away from home, 4-1 in their division, and 5-1 against the AFC as a whole. These numbers suggest that the Jets can handle the pressure of a playoff drive.

This is a playoff caliber team today. The key to the Jets season, of course, is maintaining their current high level of play, lest anybody forget last season's monumental collapse. Under former coach Al Groh, the 9-4 Jets seemed poised to win at least the Division Title. They then proceeded to tank their final three games and eventually fell out of the playoff picture. This year’s team swears that kind of collapse won’t happen again and I, for one, believe them. After all, this is not the same old New York Jets team.

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