JETS RATTLE BRADY AND MAKE STATEMENT TO PATS

For the first time since 2000, the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots at the Meadowlands. The revamped Rex Ryan defense had Tom Brady scrambling all day and held the vaunted Pats offense without a touchdown. Rookie quarterback, Mark Sanchez, had a tremendous second half leading the Jets from a 9-3 deficit at the half to a 16-9 win. It was another all-around great effort that leaves the Jets 2-0 and in first place in the AFC East after two weeks.

Clearly, the Jets have bought into Rex Ryan's system. I have never seen the Jets have such a dominating defense. The aggressiveness is such a breath of fresh air from Jets defenses of yesteryear. I love the fact that there is a defender waiting to tackle the receiver immediately. I love the fact that they have allowed very little on the ground. And oh yeah! They have not allowed a touchdown against two very good offenses. Look at what Houston did against Tennessee yesterday. The Jets defense shutout that team and then they scored 34 points against a good Titans defense!

Granted the season is only two weeks old and offenses will have better days against our defense, but you cannot help not being excited about it as a Jets fan. Bart Scott, Kris Jenkins, Darrelle Revis, David Harris, and others have absolutely grown into big time players. The pass rush has been outstanding and remember they will get Calvin Pace back in two weeks to add to the attack. And what about the Jets not dropping back into the prevent defense for Brady's final drive? Keep doing what you have been doing all day. I loved that! Prevent defenses only prevent winning.

Mark Sanchez has been very solid as well. He was not allowed to do a whole lot in the first half yesterday, but the second half was a thing of beauty. He did not light up the stat sheet, but he engineered three scoring drives and was very smart in his decision making. The play before punting to the Pats for their final drive was very smart. Instead of forcing a pass somewhere down field, Sanchez wisely took a sack making Brady and company have to go 90 yards to tie the game. You make that decision when the defense is playing the way it is. Why throw something up or chance having the ball being stripped? If he makes a mistake there, the Pats would have started from midfield or better. It was a great decision on Sanchez's part. One Brett Favre wouldn't have made!

As far as Rex Ryan, I think the team has clearly bought into his attitude. Some players need to cool down with their talk, but I like the chemistry between the players and coaches. Ryan's phone call to the season ticket holders also worked. I have never heard the Meadowlands so loud for a prolonged amount of time. He asked the crowd to make things difficult and his request was granted. The crowd forced the Pats offense into four delay of games. Ryan made a great move giving the game ball to the crowd after the victory.

Now Jets fans have been disappointed more than most fans in the NFL. We have seen great starts turn into terrible finishes. Just look at last year. The Jets were flying at 8-3, and there was talk of an all-New York Super Bowl. Then it all fizzled so quickly. So obviously we need to be careful before proclaiming we have a championship level team, but we should also really enjoy the new attitude this team has. Looking at the schedule before the season started, I thought the Jets could be 0-5 against those tough opponents. So to be 2-0 is a major plus and we'll see where they go from here.

Pat Morgan

J! E! T! S! JETS! JETS! JETS!