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More Hard Knocks

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By Jason Klein 

I remember watching that first episode of Hard Knocks with my wife.  The two of us bopped our heads to “Shivers” as we watched Aaron Rodgers launch training camp missiles with precision. “That boy is cold,” Garrett Wilson said at the time. 

The players were in awe.  I was in shock.  I turned to my wife and said, “I can’t believe this is real.  This guy’s a Hall of Famer and he actually wants to be on the Jets.”  Unless you’ve lived with a Jets inferiority complex, you can’t possibly understand what this meant at the time.

I hadn’t been this proud to be a Jets fan since those 2009 and 2010 seasons…1998 before that. Everything was in place to make a legitimate run at a Lombardi. There was hype. There was national attention. There was reason to believe the “Same Old Jets” were dead.

Then, I uttered those words. The ones us Jets fans always regret saying out loud: “This time it’s going to be different,” I said.  We ALL said it!  That’s why this is so disappointing…even for a fanbase that is routinely tortured and teased in the cruelest of ways.

This time, the football Gods did us dirtier than Lucy ever did Charlie Brown.  They pulled the rug out from under us just 4 plays into this experiment and everything changed. After that Achilles pop, we never got the Rodgers experience we were promised.

I’m optimistic that Aaron Glenn is the right hire at head coach, but that doesn’t make this empty feeling go away. It doesn’t make that Super Bowl III Trophy any less lonely, either. Not yet, anyway.  Quarterback purgatory is a tough place to be.  Jets fans have spent most of their fandom there.  I thought Rodgers was the one to get us out of the darkness.  We all did.  Maybe this next regime will finally find a franchise quarterback to get it done.

Life with Aaron Rodgers was just full of hard knocks.

Time To Jet Up

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By Jason Klein

(Updated January 9, 2025)

When I was a kid, I used to spend time
Writing down notes about Jets games in rhyme.
I’d document things that happened each week
Some things were real good and others quite bleak.

I started the year they went 1 and 15.
That season was brutal for fans of Gang Green.
I wrote about Kotite, and Keyshawn and Wayne.
All of the losing and all of the pain.

With things looking up, the time just felt right
To once again give my Jets rhymes the greenlight.
In case this new season is really our year,
I chose to start up before Week 1’s premiere. 

This one just feels different. The roster is loaded.
A ring is the goal with a QB who’s GOAT’ed.
Rodgers is back from his ruptured Achillies.
Can he secure the team’s first since Joe Willie’s?

The legacy logo thrilled fans at release.
We can’t wait to see it on Sauce and on Breece.
This season is huge. There’s so much at stake.
It’s time for these Jets to go “All Gas No Brake.”

The ’24 Jets have pushed in all their chips.
They’re ready to tear up those tired old scripts.
The “Same Old Jets” are a thing of the past.
No longer the punchline or finishing last.

The Jets, through the years, have kept us all humble.
We’ve seen every fake spike and every butt fumble.
It’s time to get past it, it’s time to attack.
We’ve moved on from guys like Sam Darnold and Zach.

We’ve seen all the miscues, we’ve watched all the clips,
We’ve been through the Mud Bowl, the Mono and Yips.
We had to watch Belichick slither away,
Refusing to be HC of N Y J.

Heidi and Tebow, Idzik and Gase.
IK hit Geno real hard in the face.
Favre sending pictures and Sam seeing ghosts,
Doug Brien not able to split the goalposts.

Leon’s pass in Detroit and a darkness retreat,
Chad and his shoulder. Rex and his feet.
Planes over practice for Woody to see.
Vernon, Blair Thomas and then there was Dee.

Le’Veon Bell and the Prez went away,
Testaverde went down on opening day.
Gastineau’s gaffe and Byars’ dropped ball.
Too many moments so hard to recall.

We’ve been tortured and teased in the cruelest of ways.
They’ve given us heartbreak. They’ve given us greys.
But here comes a legend, the one and the only,
To make sure our Lombardi is no longer lonely.

Rodgers will lead us, no need to be leery.
Ignore every flaw and conspiracy theory.
He emerged from the darkness to answer our prayer,
And sit in the throne as Joe Namath’s heir.

Surrounded by players considered elite,
Mike Williams and Tippman are here to compete.
A roster with Quinnen and JJ and Garrett.
Saleh and Douglas have dangled that carrot.

By bringing in good dudes like Tyron and Quincy, 
We now can stack up with the Chiefs and with Cincy.
With CJ and DJ and AVT, too,
The Jets are prepared to go pull off a coup.

Forget ’68 and that Super Bowl drought,
The ’24 Jets are about to ball out.
The season is here. Pour a drink in your cup.
It’s time to Take Flight.  It’s time to Jet Up.

The Jets flew to Frisco to kick off Week 1,
McCaffrey didn’t play, still, they couldn’t stop the run.
Rodgers looked healthy and put up a fight,
Yet, they fell to the 9ers on that Monday Night.

Week 2 took the Jets out to old Tennessee.
Jermaine left the game with a tough injury.
Braelon and Breece showed they’re quite the duel threat,
While Aaron chalked up his first win as a Jet.

For decades the Pats showed the Jets no respect,
But flipping that script is a box Rodgers checked.
On Thursday Night Football, Gang Green turned the tide,
And Week 3 gave Jets fans a new sense of pride.

Everyone thought we were done with the pain.
Along came the Broncos…and so did the rain.
Coaching mistakes and the offense couldn’t score.
So they lost to Bo Nix in a soggy Week 4.

Sam and the Vikings were in the UK.
A Week 5 in London, but to our dismay,
The offense was sluggish and Rodgers threw picks.
Brand new continent. Same old tricks.

Two weeks in a row, the team looked uninspired,
So Woody went rogue and then Saleh was fired. 
In desperate need of a brand new approach,
The Jets made Jeff Ulbrich their interim head coach.

Throwback jerseys and a not to the past,
But the Bills beat the Jets. The good vibes didn’t last.
Flags and missed field goals. A sloppy Week 6.
Tons of bad habits for this team to fix.

Rodgers had wanted his pal from Green Bay.
So Joe D went out and he traded for Tae.
Davante’s a big star and everyone knows,
The Jets must win now or this window will close.

A Week 7 showdown in the Steel City,
The Jets were destroyed and it wasn’t real pretty.
Year after year it’s not hard to predict,
That we all buy the hype and again we get tricked.

The gloomiest Jets fan could not have forseen,
That our season would end just before Halloween.
A dysfunctional loss to the Pats in Week 8,
Had our fanbase disgusted, fed up and irate.

“Sell the team” chants in Week 9 out of spite,
Then a spooky thing happened on Halloween night.
The Jets beat the Texans with “Jumpman” G5.
His catch of the year kept the season alive.

Week 10 in the desert went horribly wrong.
A pitiful effort proved they don’t belong.
This year, the playoffs are not in the Cards.
The Jets, once again, kick us all in the nards.

1 o’clock with the Colts because it was flexed,
Showcased a Jets team that always seems hexed.
In this Week 11 they fell to defeat.
We’ll try again next year. Rinse and repeat.

The Bye in Week 12 is this year’s point of junction.
The Jets proved again they’re a team of dysfunction.
This franchise relentlessly puts us through hell.
Now they fired Joe Douglas. Sell, Woody! Sell!

Two weeks to prepare. The results were obscene.
A loss to the Seahawks capped off Week 13.
The Jets blew the lead and AR passed the blame.
We hoped things would change but got more of the same.

Garrett Wilson is sick of the Jets “losing gene.”
He made that well known, postgame, Week 14.
An overtime loss to the Fins was real gory.
Forever stuck in football purgatory.

The Jets could have easily pack up their bags,
And been a no-show for their date with the Jags.
But Davante went off Week 15 for the win,
Much to the pro-Tankathoner’s chagrin.

The Athletic reported Brick Johnson’s in charge,
And Woody’s reliance on Madden is large.
The Rams beat the Jets Week 16 in the cold.
This season’s a story that’s best left untold. 

In Week 17 the Bills swarmed and attacked.
They made Aaron Rodgers the all-time most sacked.
According to Sauce, some guys might be “checked out.”
Rock Bottom is something the Jets know about.

With little to play for AR was carefree,
By throwing 4 touchdowns he reached 503.
The Jets beat the Fins in a Week 18 clash,
Expectations were high, but this season was trash.

We thought they were ready, we thought they were ripe,
We all got excited and bought all the hype.
This was our shot to get out of the woods,
Instead Woody sold us the same bill of goods.

The Gods from above should have thrown us a bone.
Instead our Lombardi still sits all alone.
Rodgers maintains that he has no regrets,
Taking this challenge to rebrand the Jets.

Instead, after two years, it’s mostly the same.
AR’s not alone, there are plenty to blame.
The guy who said “thinking is so overrated,”
Must be found liable for the mess he created.

But Woody won’t sell, we’ll just have to sit tight,
And pray that they finally can get this thing right.
It starts with the search for a coach and GM,
To settle things down and stop all the mayhem.

Unlike past rebuilds, this roster’s not barren.
Will they run back with Devonte and Aaron?
Can Garrett be happy, avoiding a trade? 
Now is the time to make sure he gets paid.

No matter what happens, there should be no doubt,
The number one goal is to end this damn drought.
A return to the playoffs is long overdue.
Nothing has worked, so they’ll try something new.

We’ve been tortured and teased in so many ways,
It’s got to pay off for us one of these days.
Until then we’ll all pour a drink in our cup,
And dream of the day they can finally Jet Up.

If Aaron Rodgers Can Overcome Jets Wicked Past, He’ll Change Team For Good

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By Jason Klein 

“I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason.”

After arriving in New York, Aaron Rodgers saw Wicked on Broadway and heard Glinda deliver this iconic line.  The future hall of fame quarterback came to the Jets for one very specific reason.  He’s here to make sure the historically cursed franchise has been changed for good.

It’s been 55 years since another Broadway star, Joe Willie, secured the franchise’s only Super Bowl victory.  Namath defied gravity – and the odds – to add that lonely Lombardi to the trophy case.  Since then, our fanbase has been tortured, teased and tormented in the cruelest of ways.  We’ve been mocked and mistreated.  We’ve been baited and beaten. We’ve been disappointed, disillusioned and disgruntled. 

Unless you’ve rooted for the New York Jets, or you’re another notoriously green outcast named Elphaba, there’s no way you can possibly understand.  You can’t empathize with our inferiority complex or comprehend our constant sense of doom.

Somehow, Aaron Rodgers gets it, though.  Maybe because he knows what it’s like to live in darkness.  This spring, Rodgers spent a few days in the dark.  Jets fans have spent a few decades there.  Together, they will try to see the light.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been promised a brighter future, though.

Ken O’Brien had his moments.  Browning Nagle never did.  Boomer Esiason and Neil O’Donnell had big reputations, but little success. Vinny Testaverde got close.  Chad Pennington got hurt. Mark Sanchez got Tebow’d. Geno Smith got punched. Sam Darnold got mono.  Zach Wilson got the yips.

This time will be different.  It has to be, right?

Aaron Rodgers is a 4-Time MVP and a Super Bowl Champion.  He’s the most accomplished and talented quarterback the team has ever had.  He also genuinely wants to be here!  Since the moment he announced that his “intention was to play for the New York Jets,” he’s embraced everything that goes along with it.  The expectations, the media, the fans, the mentorship role, the Hard Knocks, the city and the history.  He isn’t just the new face of the team.  He’s the new face of the entire franchise.

Give him a shovel.  He’s the right guy to finally bury the “Same Old Jets” and change our sad narrative.

No more Fake Spikes and Butt Fumbles.  Put the Heidi Game on hiatus and dig out of the Miami mud.  It’s time to say goodbye to shovel passes and seeing ghosts.

We’re done talking about Gastineau’s gaffe in Cleveland and Byars’ fumble in Denver.  We’ve had enough of the Idzik 12, burner accounts and googly-eyed head coaches.  It’s time to finally heal from Favre’s torn biceps, Chad’s torn shoulder and Vinny’s torn Achilles. 

Let’s focus on Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall and stop talking about Vernon Gholston, Blair Thomas and Dee Milliner.  Tell homie-hoppers to bounce and give foot fetishes the boot.

Crumple up that “HC of the NYJ” napkin and toss it along with Lou Holtz, Rich Kotite and Adam Gase.  While we’re at it, give Namath’s interview with Suzy Kolber a big kiss goodbye.

No more Pick 6’s, PSLs or Peyton Manning advice.  We’re done rooting for top draft picks and flying planes over practice.  We’ve had “too much Tebow” and not enough real “brilliant offensive minds.” 

We’re tired of twitching over Leon Johnson’s pass in Detroit and Doug Brien’s kicks in Pittsburgh.  Please, give the legend of IK Enemkpali a right hook and stop calling Cover Zero Blitzes.

We’ve unfollowed Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell.  We’re done being humiliated when Favre throws picks or sends pics.  We don’t want to be branded by 3-13 or 1-15 anymore.

No more Mud Bowls and Snoopy Bowls.  Only Super Bowls from now on.

Starting Monday night, if Aaron Rodgers can perform football wizardry and somehow lead the Jets down the yellow brick road to victory, it would be the greatest accomplishment of his Hall of Fame career.  It would be the top line on his already legendary resume, forever.  It would also leave a lasting legacy with the Jets, ensuring that they’ve been changed for good.

Towards the end of Wicked, Elphaba claims, “Everyone deserves a chance to fly.”

No one deserves it more than Jets fans.

Aaron Rodgers could be the right guy, at the right time, to finally help us Take Flight.

Afterall, I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason.

Old Jets Logo Was Cool…Like Kevin Arnold.

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By Jason Klein

I always thought Kevin Arnold was the coolest.

He had Winnie Cooper, but more importantly, he had that vintage New York Jets jacket.

Played by Fred Savage, Kevin was the star of The Wonder Years, a family

comedy/drama that was “appointment TV” for me from 1988-1993.  Well before Netflix or Prime, I made sure I was in front of a TV when it aired each week.  Back then, the only thing streaming were tears…each time an episode’s moral tugged at your heartstrings.

Change was a central theme of the story that took place during the turbulent late 60s and early 70s. There were political changes, social changes, and tons of personal changes that Kevin experienced over the show’s 6-year run.

Through it all, one thing remained constant for Kevin.

That Jets jacket.

I loved that jacket. There was something so endearing about it.  The Jets have never really had a place among pop culture.  Their players didn’t star in commercials.  Musicians or rappers never performed in Jets jerseys or caps.  The Jets were never even the most popular football team in their own city.  Yet, there was the star of a primetime network hit wearing a Jets jacket every week.

Taking place between 1968-1973, Kevin’s jacket featured the logo made famous during

Super Bowl III.  It was the same emblem Joe Namath wore the day he wagged that finger and delivered a Lombardi Trophy.  Namath was always so cool.  With that Jets logo on his jacket, so was Kevin Arnold.

As it turns out, Broadway Joe will be the only quarterback to ever win a title with that logo on his helmet.

That’s a guarantee.

Later today, change is coming to the New York Jets.  At 7:30 PM, Gang Green will introduce a new uniform and logo.  It will be the team’s first wardrobe change since 1998.  That’s when Bill Parcells pulled a Marty McFly and went Back to the Future – bringing those famous Super Bowl III jerseys back.

They wore the throwbacks for 21 seasons, but could never repeat what Namath did.

Vinny Testaverde got close, once.  Mark Sanchez had two shots at immortality, but came up short.  Even Chad Pennington made 3 playoff appearances in those Namath-style threads, but his ring finger remained bare, like the Jets trophy case over the last 50 years.

Maybe change is good. Perhaps a new identity will turn the tide, improve karma and provide some positive feng shui over in East Rutherford.

With a new head coach and two young cornerstone players in Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams, this feels like the right time to move forward with a renewed identity.

Still, there’s something special about continuity and tradition.

I watched Derek Jeter win five World Series in the same uniform my dad once watched Mickey Mantle win in.  Now, my daughters see Aaron Judge try to do the same thing.  The generations change, but the pinstripes never do.

There are rumors, and unconfirmed leaks on Twitter, that suggest this Jets update will maintain some elements of the old logo.  I’d like that.  We’ll know for sure after tonight.

If I can’t have that classic logo, or Winnie Cooper for that matter, I’ll take a Super Bowl victory in whatever uniform they trot out tonight.

That would be cool.

Even cooler than Kevin Arnold.

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Like Parcells, Gase Has Chance To Change Jets Identity, 50 Years After Super Bowl III

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By Jason Klein

Fifty years.

That’s how long it’s been since the New York Jets won a Super Bowl.

Hell, that’s how long it’s been since they even appeared in the big game.

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Super Bowl III.  January 12, 1969 is this team’s identity.  It’s the defining moment in their franchise’s history and it happened 50 years ago today.

Yes.  Fifty!

Imagine being best known for something you accomplished a half century ago.

When will the narrative change?  Well, it’s been 22 years since their last, best chance.  In 1997, after winning just 4 of their previous 32 games, the Jets hired the coach they thought could rescue them from irrelevance and completely change everything.  This week, they did it again.

Tuna then. A Dolphin now.

There are a lot of similarities between what Bill Parcells faced in 1997 and what former Miami Head Coach, Adam Gase is about to take on.

Both inherited a floundering Jets franchise in desperate need of a new beginning.

Parcells’ rescue mission followed the team’s historically horrible two-year run from 1995-1996.  He began the makeover in his second season by introducing new uniforms.  He brought back a modern version of the team’s jerseys worn between 1964-1977, a tribute to that only Super Bowl team in franchise history.

Next, he added a ton of new players.  Game-changing players.  Names like Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae, Keith Byars and Bryan Cox.  They brought a new attitude and gave the team instant credibility.

Finally, he found a top-level Quarterback.  Vinny Testaverde arrived, leading the Jets to a Division Title, a 12-4 record and a trip to the AFC Championship Game.  Though they fell one win short of a Super Bowl appearance, the team had clearly turned a corner.

When Gase is introduced as the new HC of the NYJ on Monday afternoon, he’ll also inherit a team coming off a historically horrible run.  Over the last three seasons, they’ve won just 14 of their previous 48 games.

Like Parcells, Gase will attempt to change the team’s identity.

New uniforms are coming this spring.  With the third overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and close to $100M in cap space, Gase and GM Mike Maccagnan must find new, game-changing players like Parcells once did.  Lucky for Gase, he’s already got the QB in Sam Darnold.

Both Parcells and Gase took over Jets teams at pivotal junctures in franchise history.  They were both hired by questionable ownerships with limited football knowledge.  Gase also takes on an angry, skeptical fanbase who is tired of losing, just as Parcells did.

Parcells was able to quickly flip the script and almost get that elusive second Lombardi Trophy for the Jets.  Now Adam Gase has his chance.

“I’m excited about him coming,” said Joe Namath, the man under center 50 years ago today.  “I believe he can do it.”

If he does, according to acting owner, Christopher Johnson, he’ll be a “Freaking Legend.”  It’s been a freaking long time since this team had any real legends to celebrate.

Fifty years, to be exact.

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Darnold Gives Jets Fans Like Me Hope.

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By Jason Klein

Thursday night, I left the Meadowlands with a win.

I’ve walked out of there many times through the years.  This time felt different, though.

Inside, there were no passes thrown, no yards gained and no touchdowns scored.  My team gained no ground in the standings either.

I still left with a win, and it was unlike any victory I’ve experienced in that stadium, or the old one.

I won because I left with hope.

Like, long-term hope. Like, hey, I might have several years of meaningful football ahead of me kind of hope.  Maybe even a decade of hope.  Maybe even more.

Thursday night, I left the Meadowlands after the New York Jets selected Sam Darnold with the 3rd overall pick in the NFL Draft.  I was there, watching along with other Jets fans, at the team’s 2018 Draft Party.  When Darnold put on that crisp Jets cap and held up that green jersey, he immediately became the most promising prospect to play Quarterback for the Jets since Joe Namath left forty years ago.

He was not expected to be available for the Jets to select.  Like so many of the games I’ve watched in that Stadium, I felt Darnold was just a little out of reach. Too good to be true.  Not meant-to-be.

I was wrong.

Somehow, as I watched inside MetLife Stadium, Darnold, arguably the top Quarterback in the draft, miraculously fell into the Jets lap.  This sort of thing doesn’t happen to the Jets. Ever.  This is a team that finds a way to lose, even when they win.  Not this time, though.

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Attending the Jets Draft Party at MetLife Stadium

Mark it down as a “W.”

I’ve waited a long time for this.

I had a Ken O’Brien jersey as a kid.  I traded that for a Boomer Esiason uniform.  Browning Nagle and Glenn Foley were teases.  I never bought into Neil O’Donnell, but I fell hard for Vinny Testaverde and Chad Pennington.  Mark Sanchez brought me closer to a Lombardi Trophy than anyone since Vinny…twice. Ultimately, he had the rug pulled out from under him.  Brett Favre was a gimmick.  Tim Tebow was a distraction.  Geno Smith was never the answer and Ryan Fitzpatrick was a bearded bridge to nowhere.

So many different Quarterbacks through the years.  Some showed the promise to rise above the ineptitude that has so often hampered this organization.  All of them ended up sinking, one way or another, deep into the swamps of Jersey.

Unfulfilled potential. Unfortunate injuries.  Undermined by management.  Unbelievable misfortune.

This is different. Landing Darnold is a franchise-changing victory.

Sure, he could be a bust. He could turn out to be just another name to add to the list of failed Jets Quarterbacks.  We won’t know that for several years.

But, what if he succeeds? What if he’s a true Franchise Quarterback?  What if he leads the Jets to the playoffs?  What if he gets one of those Lombardi Trophies?  What if he gets more?

What if he has a long, historic career for the Jets?  Like, a 10-12 year career?  My daughters are in 2nd grade and pre-school now.  What if Sam Darnold is still the Quarterback of the Jets when they’re in college?  What if?

That’s what makes this pick a win. A conquest so different than all the others I’ve seen through the years in East Rutherford, NJ.

It’s the hope.  It’s the optimism.  It’s the faith and belief in my team that I’ve lacked for far too long now.

Sports fans need hope. Without it, what’s the point?  Why spend the time or the money?  Without hope, rooting for a team becomes a robotic ritual. Passionless and pointless.

I want my Sundays in the Fall to matter.  I want to trust in a process and be confident in a plan.

The last few years, I’ve watched this team with indifference.  There seemed to be no strategy for the future. Drafting Sam Darnold changes that.

Drafting Sam Darnold gives me hope.

For me, that’s a win.

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Jets Waste Opportunity. “Nick & Brick” Window Now Shut.

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By Jason Klein

Today, the Jets look towards the future without a very important piece from their past.

Bryce Petty gets his second start at quarterback just days after the team placed center Nick Mangold on season-ending injured reserve. The move could signal the end of Mangold’s 11-year run with the Jets. Even if he returns, this season’s injury woes proved that his best days are behind him.

One of the most dependable and talented centers in NFL history, Mangold has only one season left on his contract. He’ll turn 33 next month, and will carry a large salary cap charge of $9.1 million into 2017 – both reasons why the Jets could decide to move on.

If they do, it would be a wasted opportunity for a franchise that wastes a lot of them.

In 2006, the Jets drafted Mangold, and left tackle, D’Brickashaw Ferguson in the first round. Over the next decade, they would anchor a dominant offensive line and stabilize the team’s core. In all that time, the Jets failed to find a true franchise quarterback for them to protect.

Inexplicable.

It’s been almost 50 years since Joe Namath wagged his finger atop football’s highest peak. The Jets haven’t been able to replace him since. Perhaps most frustrating of all – the star-crossed franchise wasn’t able to do so within the 10-year “Nick & Brick” window.

Imagine a baseball team boasting an elite pitching staff, all healthy and in their prime, but unable to secure any top hitters to score any runs.

A waste.

Aside from quarterback, a center and left tackle are arguably the most important positions on a football team. The Jets haven’t had to worry about filling those holes for a decade now.

Before this season’s ankle issues, Mangold had been a rock at center, going to 7 Pro Bowls and missing only 4 games over his first 10 years. Ferguson retired in 2015 after a 10-year career with the Jets. He went to 3 Pro Bowls and played in all 160 regular season games, only missing one play. One play!

The only thing more reliable than these two has been the team’s lackluster play at quarterback.

The Jets thought they found their man in 2009 when Mark Sanchez took them to the first of back-to-back AFC Title Games. That was as close as they would come, though. Sanchez fizzled and the search continued.

Today, Petty gets his shot.

It’s too early to tell if he’ll be the answer.

It’s too late for him to do it behind “Nick & Brick.”

Wasted opportunity.

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Same Old Jets? Not This Time…I think.

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By Jason Klein

Same Old Jets?

This time was different.

Blaming Sunday’s excruciating loss on a “well, that’s just the way it is” mantra is silly. I’ll be honest, I’ve been guilty of it in the past. I’ve been consuming the same old nonsense for over thirty years. It never gets any easier.

Growing up as a Jets fan, the terms “would have,” “could have,” and “should have” were a part of my daily vernacular. I would pepper grade school friends with them trying to defend my team’s yearly failures. Now I plead my case to my wife and children.

But “Same Old Jets?” Not this time.

Like the previous 46 Jets seasons, this one ended without a trophy. Not since Joe Willie waggled that finger back in January of 1969 has this team finished on top. Sunday’s season-ender was disappointing, frustrating, mind-boggling, and typical, but something did feel different about it.

The Jets now have a competent General Manager, a level-headed Coach, a dynamic Wide Receiver tandem, a top defensive unit, and a ton of confidence. By re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick, they’ll also have an intelligent and physically capable Quarterback who commands the respect of his locker room.

I’m not naïve. None of that guarantees a shot at Super Bowl run. In the NFL, luck is sometimes more important than talent and preparation. One minute you’re primed for a title run, and the next minute your scraping Vinny Testaverde off the turf with a torn Achilles.

It’s very possible, the Jets as presently constituted will never get another opportunity like the one they just lost. They took advantage of a soft schedule, and could have had a very realistic path to Super Bowl 50 in an anemic AFC. Next year could be completely different. Things fall apart quickly in the NFL – just ask Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez.

But I do know one thing. Heading into next season, I trust the people making decisions, and I believe in the process. Something I couldn’t always say about previous regimes.

So, no, I don’t think this is a case of the “Same Old Jets.” I may feel differently one day, looking back on it the same spiteful way I view Leon Johnson’s option pass in Detroit, Doug Brien’s missed field goals in Pittsburgh, or any other of the wacky and seemingly unfathomable ways I’ve seen Jets seasons mercilessly end.

But for now, I choose to view it differently. I choose to be hopeful instead of hopeless.

That kind of positive thinking will help get me through the next nine months.

That’s when I’ll pull out my green and white jersey again, take a deep breath, and put myself through the Same Old Thing all over again.

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Revis Makes Swift Return to New York

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By Jason Klein

Taylor Swift, you were wrong.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together? Think again.

Darrelle Revis returned, in Style, to the New York Jets on Tuesday night after short pit stops in Tampa and New England. He signed a 5-year, $70 million deal with $39 million fully guaranteed. Gang Green fans, punished for the last two miserable years, can Shake It Off now that they get their favorite toy back.

Welcome (back) to New York. It’s been waiting for you.

Jets fans are good at waiting – they’ve been waiting 47 years for a Super Bowl title. They waited two long years for owner Woody Johnson to awaken from his frugal slumber. They also waited for him to rectify the mistakes made by his former general manager, a man more concerned with counting pennies than title rings.

The waiting is over.

With his green and white hat in hand, Johnson acknowledged the missteps of the previous regime. Revis is not 22 anymore, but at age 30, he still deserves to be paid as the best corner in the NFL. Woody gave him what he was asking for.

He couldn’t save money, but at least he saved face.

Two years ago, while traveling down the road to ineptitude and indifference, Woody and the Jets decided it was best to rid themselves of the future Hall of Famer, rather than pay him. They knew Revis created problems for opposing quarterbacks, but overlooked the Blank Space he left behind upon his departure.

When former GM John Idzik traded him away in April of 2013, the Jets secondary went from being an organizational strength to liability. Former head coach, Rex Ryan was never the most accurate prognosticator, but he accurately predicted his corner-driven defense would suffer without a once-in-a-generation player like Revis. In Rex’s mind, he felt: “Darrelle, You Belong With Me.”

If Rex was upset when Revis was traded, he’s got to be hotter than a basket of wings now, watching this Revis Reunion from his new coaching perch in Buffalo.

Rex may feel Revis’s return to New York is a Mean twist of fate, but the fans he left behind are elated. They realize it was Woody’s wallet, not Darrelle’s heartstrings, that pulled him back to New York, rekindling this Love Story. They also recognize that it doesn’t matter why he came back. The only thing that matters is that he did.

The move restores credibility within the organizational hierarchy and returns Revis to the place where he was drafted in 2007. In all likelihood, his Super Bowl victory was The Last Time he’ll play in any other teams’ uniform besides the Jets.

Gone two years ago, Everything Has Changed, and he’s back Safe And Sound in New York.

Can his presence alone get the Jets Back To December with meaningful games to play?

Crazier things have happened.

Crazier things like Darrelle Revis returning to the Jets.

Welcome (back) to New York, Darrelle.

It’s been waiting for you.

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Thanks, Rex.

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By Jason Klein

Thanks, Rex.

Although you never delivered the Lombardi Trophy you promised, you made me believe it was always within reach. You once had everyone believing, back before your team’s talent slimmed down faster than your waistline.

If today is the last time you don that black Jets vest, let me just simply say:

Thanks, Rex.

Thanks for navigating the Jets to within one game of the Super Bowl.

Twice.

Thanks for giving my perennially stale team a refreshingly colorful, vibrant image.

Thanks for your lighthearted press conferences and your Hard Knocks defense.

Thanks for making the New York Jets a place where free agents wanted to sign.

Thanks for bringing stability to an organization that historically lacks any.

Thanks for humanizing the head coach position with your public displays of raw emotion.

You were the biggest star in a town filled with them, and for a period of time, you were able to mask the dysfunctional stink that permeates all things Jets Football.

Most importantly, thanks for making the Jets relevant and credible. Before your bombastic arrival, the Jets had no personality and no hope. They were a “little brother” franchise, stuck playing in someone else’s building.

You stepped in and put the entire league on notice: “Here come the Jets!”

You refused to kiss Belichick’s rings…you wanted to go get your own. You made guarantees, wanted to meet the President, take “swipes” at other team’s players, “lead the league in wins,” and “Play like a Jet.” You brought “Rexy Back” and then got a “God damn snack.”

You made the media laugh and opposing quarterbacks cry. From your players, you demanded maximum effort and commanded ultimate respect. You gave Jets fans hope, even when ownership and the front office gave you none.

Over this past miserable year, you lost your bravado, a ton of games, and most likely, your job. Management set you up to fail, and ultimately, that’s exactly what you did. However, you don’t escape all culpability. Along the way, you had your own faults too. Everybody does, though.

Should you lose your “dream job” for it? It’s debatable. It’s possible your act has just run its course in New York. It could simply just be time to move on. If so, the Jets willingly let go of a brilliant defensive mind. They’ll fire one of the most competitive and confident men in the game, and someone who is adored by his players. They’ll say goodbye to the man who brought the Jets as close to a Super Bowl as anyone since Weeb.

Twice.

For that alone, I offer my gratitude and simply say:

Thanks, Rex.

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