A WASTED OPPORTUNITY

Just one month ago this Tuesday, the New York Jets went into Tennessee and knocked off the unbeaten Titans in what was their best team performance in many years. That night and the next day, WFAN was flooded by callers dreaming of an all-New York Super Bowl.

And you know what? That did not seem like such an outlandish idea, and I've seen the Jets lose several heart breakers since the early 90s. The Jets had just steamrolled the AFC's best team in their own building. They also seemed to have the inside track for the conference's second bye considering the closing schedule for the Steelers seemed much tougher.

Twenty-eight days after that win in Nashville, the Jets sit at 9-6 and needing a Week 17 miracle just to earn a playoff spot. Never would I have thought that this kind of meltdown was possible. They have lost three of four, and the best team in that group was the Denver Broncos, who just lost at home to the Bills! Even the Jets found a way to beat the team fading more than them in the AFC East.

As a fan, I still hope for that miracle, but if it does not happen it will be a very long off season for the Jets. I doubt that Eric Mangini will be fired, but heads will certainly roll. I definitely see Bob Sutton (defensive coordinator) being canned, and perhaps Brian Schottenheimer (offensive coordinator) as well. Mangini doesn't deserve a pass though. He has flushed down the toilet that "Mangenius" nickname he earned two years ago. Is it just me, or is anyone else sick of same perturbed look on Mangini's face every time the team screws up? Do something to change it! Don't look like a kindergarten teacher when they frown at a kid to try and make them feel bad! I hope still it works out for him here, but next year will probably be it if he doesn't do something special. Remember he will be going into the second to last year on his contract, and owners perfer not to have lame duck coaches.

I hope that Brett Favre decides to call it quits. It hasn't worked! His stats were inflated early due to that Arizona game, and he has not been good now that the weather has turned. I don't think it's a coincidence that Favre's really poor play began on that cold, rainy day vs. Denver. His poor play is inexplicable considering how good Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have been this season. I'm sure Favre will hang us out to dry for a couple months as he contemplates his future. When does he demand that the Jets hire Mike Holmgren or else?

The defense has been utterly atrocious. The pass defense has been about as bad as I've ever seen here. They have made stars out of Seneca Wallace, Shaun Hill, Tyler Thigpen, etc. Maybe I could go out there and hurl it around a little. The secondary has been unbelievably soft. It seems as if they have been defending against the home run all season long. They don't bump anyone at the line of scrimmage. Not every team has a Randy Moss! Kris Jenkins's influence gave the Jets a very solid run defense through Thanksgiving, but even that has fallen apart. The scoreboard says they only allowed 13 to Seattle, but don't be fooled by that. They have been abysmal!

This meltdown is about as bad as it gets. The AFC and perhaps the NFL was wide-open for the Jets to do something special. They were hardly a great team, but there aren't any great teams and whoever gets hot is going to win. Tom Brady's injury opened up the AFC East for them to win for the first time since 2002. He'll be back next year, so the door on that opportunity has probably closed for at least the next couple years. And like I said, the Jets had embarrassed the AFC's best team in their building, so it is downright shocking how this has come down. It is somewhat comparable to how the inept Giants turned their season around for the positive last year. No one saw that team in December winning the Super Bowl! No one saw this Jets team over Thanksgiving weekend missing the playoffs!

I will tell you one thing. If the Jets don't get the help they need from Buffalo or Jacksonville, I will be loudly rooting for Chad Pennington to embarrass us further next week. He has led the 1-15 Dolphins to within one win of the AFC East crown.

Pat Morgan

THE MADDOG TO HANG 'EM UP

On Monday, Greg Maddux will announce his retirement from baseball. While the Bulldog has fallen into oblivion over the last six, seven years, he has accomplished things that will never be reached again. He won 15 or more games over 17 straight years that enabled him to finish with 355 victories in his career. From 1992-98, Maddux put up some of the best numbers the game has ever seen. Those were validated with four straight Cy Young Awards during this time frame.

Despite those mind-boggling feats, I have never been a big Maddux fan. No one can dispute those great seasons, but he was never a big time playoff performer. He also had a tendency of taking himself out of games after only throwing 60-70 pitches, and some of those were games in which he was dominating. So while Maddux is definitely a first-ballot Hall of Famer, I never considered him to be on the level of Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez in their hey day. Those are the best two pitchers I've ever seen. I would be stupid not to take Maddux over the long haul of a season, but there are countless pitchers I'd take over him in a one game scenario.

Like I said though, I can't dispute Maddux's numbers, and he is clearly the one that got away. After coming up in the Cubs system, it was one of the most crushing moments of my sports life watching him sign with the hated Atlanta Braves. He returned to Chicago in 2004, but that's like Arod getting lucky the current day Madonna. It will be interesting to see if Tom Glavine and John Smoltz decide to hang it up as well. It would be fitting to see those three pitchers go in the Hall of Fame together.

Pat Morgan