Patrick Chung had some night on Monday with a blaocked punt, blocked FG and pick-six INT return in a rout of Miami. Ex-Jet RB/WR Danny Woodhead put himself on the NFL map with a great all-around game and New England showed why they remain the class of the league. For the Fish, that’s two home loses to division foes after a fast start.

Jets – 38, BILLS – 14

No trap game here for Rex Ryan’s boys. The Jets have won three straight and are 3-0 in the division while Buffalo looks completely lost. Gang Green hosts Favre and the Vikes next Monday night and the Meadowlands boo-birds should be out in full force to ‘welcome’ the former Jet QB.

Bengals – 20, BROWNS – 23

Eric Mangini’s job may have been saved with Cleveland’s first win of the season. The struggles to continue for Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer has not exactly been lighting it up of late either. Both Ohio teams will be home for the holidays.

Broncos – 26, TITANS  -20

A late score gave Denver the road win in a close contest between two potential AFC playoff teams. The Broncos were more desperate for the W and did what they had to do to keep pace.

Ravens – 17, STEELERS – 14

Going 3-1 with your starting QB sitting out a suspension is still pretty good. Pittsburgh nearly went undefeated waiting for Big Ben with the likes of Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch starting under center and would have if not for a late TD pass from Joe Flacco to TJ. Both teams will be there at the end and their respective defenses are still impressive.

PACKERS – 28, Lions- 26

Detroit is at least losing with dignity, if that is all possible. The Lions play their opponents tough most weeks and Sunday was no exception at Lambeau Field. The Pack bounced back after a tough loss to the Bears last Monday night and are back on track to be the top team in their division.

FALCONS – 16, 49ers – 14

Playing well enough to win doesn’t cut it in the NFL. The Niners are still winless because of stupid plays like Nate Clements fumbling the ball back to the Falcs on a INT return. So what do you think happened? Atlanta goes down the field and hits a late FG to win it and keep pace in their division.

SAINTS – 16, Panthers – 14

The defending Super Bowl champs have not played like what one would expect and have still come away with more wins that they probably should have, but don’t tell them that. Better a win than a loss, even when it is a squeaker at home versus hapless Carolina.

RAMS – 20, Seahawks – 3

Wow. St. Louis has won two in a row and it has come at the expense of Seattle, who had visions of grandeur after a big win in the opener. Both teams are not very good, but at least the Rams are on the up swing in a rebuilding mode with the overall umber one pick at QB playing well.

JAGUARS – 31, Colts – 28

Indy only lost two games all season in 2009 but have matched that after four weeks already. A 59-yard FG at the gun By Josh Scobee gave jacksonville the upset win of the day.

Texans – 31, RAIDERS – 24

Houston is on a playoff hunt and doing fairly well at it while Oakland still sucks really bad. At least the weather is getting cooler for the fans in the Black Hole who wear all that heavy costume gear.

Redskins – 17, EAGLES – 12

Donovan McNabb comes back to Philly, leads the ‘Skins to a win and Michael Vick goes out with a rib injury. Bad day if you’re wearing green, huh?

CHARGERS – 41, Cardinals – 10

San Diego’s inconsistent season took an up swing while Arizona continues to lose to winning teams.

GIANTS-17, Bears – 3

New York saved its season by knocking the shit out of Chicago with 10 sacks. Bears QB Jay Cutler suffered a concussion on one of them but still kept his INT stats up there before getting his bell rung. If you’re in the Windy City, you had to figure that your guys would lose one sooner or later, so it’s good to get that over with. The G-Men somehow reman atop the NFC Least even though they have played mediocre or less in ’10.

Photo by William J. Hauser

The Rex Ryan era in New York has not even begun and he already has to deal with a little controversy. Calvin Pace, one of his starting linebackers, has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season for using a banned substance, which has yet to be identified.

“Calvin Pace of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2009 for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances,” said an NFL spokesperson. “Pace’s suspension begins on Saturday, September 5. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, October 5 following the team’s October 4 game against the New Orleans Saints. Pace is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.”

Pace, who joined the Jets last year after signing as a free agent from Arizona, said in a statement, “This is a situation that resulted from an over-the-counter dietary supplement that contained a substance that I did not know violated the League’s policy. I am responsible for what I put into my body and I should have paid closer attention to the League’s guidelines. I regret that this has happened and apologize to my teammates, the entire Jets organization as well as the fans. Hopefully, this does not distract from our ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl.”

The Jets stated that they respected the league’s decision and look forward to Pace’s return once the suspension is served.

This may open the door for Vernon Gholston to get some quality playing time. After being selected sixth overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, he was a complete bust and fell into former head coach Eric Mangini’s doghouse. The second-year outside rushing linebacker, who already was getting a fresh start with Ryan, may benefit the most out of this.

The NFL has a long list of banned substances, which is in their “Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances.” If you have an hour or two to kill, here it is:

A team that fell apart during the most important time of the season needs a good shot in the arm, and a guy like Rex Ryan may just be the one to do it. Running the Baltimore Ravens vaunted defense the past 10 years, quality coaching runs in the family. The son of Buddy Ryan (who invented the ’46′ defense that produced a Super Bowl ring in Chicago), he was named the head coach of the New York Jets the day after Baltimore was eliminated by Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game.

The Jets have been a franchise that has always found a way for things to go wrong, regardless of who was in charge. For the past 40 years, that has been the case. The closest that they came to righting the ship was back in 1998 when Bill Parcells brought them within one game of the Super Bowl. Since then, it has been a mixture of nice guys like Herm Edwards and the secretive, quiet type such as Eric Mangini.

When Mike Tannenbaum sought to find Mangini’s replacement, Ryan was on a short list of favorites. Perhaps the five hour meeting they had a week ago sold the Jets general manager on Ryan, and the fact that the Ravens were still alive – even though they were supposed to be going through a rebuilding season – couldn’t have hurt his chances.

“During our search, we were looking for a great football mind and a passionate leader,” said Tannenbaum. “Rex is a coach with an established track record who is universally respected by players and coaches for his skills as a communicator and his creativity.”

The Jets defense, which had played well at some points during the season, looked extremely vulnerable during the fateful December collapse that left them out of the postseason. Ryan will instill the schemes that practically won Super Bowl XXXV single-handedly.

Of course, personnel have a lot to do with success. The Jets do have some talented players on the defensive side of the ball, such as Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, Kerry Rhodes and Darrelle Revis. If put in the right spot, any one or all of them can become elite.

Ryan will be officially introduced on Wednesday at a press conference at Jets headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. Buddy Ryan was a member of the Jets coaching staff from 1968-1975, which included the franchise’s lone Super Bowl victory in 1969.

Thomas Jones had absolutely no reason to justify his comments made on a New York radio station on Tuesday. The running back was totally justified by calling out the 39-year-old quarterback and his dismal performance during last Sunday’s 24-17 home loss to Miami, which eliminated the Jets from playoff contention (along with wins by New England and Buffalo). Much of the reason why the team didn’t control it’s own destiny was the ineffective play from Favre over the last five games, in which the Jets were lucky to win the one game they did salvage.

Jones is a very serious player and at times has seemed aloof to the media, but in reality he is just a player that expects the same commitment and performance from his teammates that he gives. According to reports that have come out since the season ended and head coach Eric Mangini was fired, Favre did not put in the effort during the week, which may have led to his less than satisfactory performances on many Sundays since September.

“The other day, the three interceptions really hurt us,” Jones said on Hot-97 FM. “I mean, that’s just reality. If I were to sit here and say, ‘Oh, man, it’s OK,’ that’s not reality. I don’t like it, I know everybody else on the team doesn’t like it.

“If somebody is not playing well, they need to come out of the game,” Jones continued. “You’re jeopardizing the whole team because you’re having a bad day. To me, that’s not fair to everybody else. You’re not the only one on the team. So when you get to the wire and somebody is just giving the game up, I mean, it’s just not [fair].”

Jones attempted to clarify some of the comments on ESPN’s First Take and stated that the second part of his comments were not directed at Favre. But when you are talking about somebody not playing well and your quarterback is in the midst of a three-pick game, then it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.

Having just wrapped up a career year, Jones has every right to call out a teammate that did not do his job when called upon. Especially considering that rumblings out of the locker room also had issues with Favre’s work ethic, there is no reason for Jones to try to sugar coat any of his comments. He is arguably the MVP of this team and was named to the Pro Bowl, so his opinion carries some weight.

When the Jets brought in Favre in August, it was supposed to be the final piece of an offseason improvement executed to get the team into the playoffs and one to be reckoned with. Favre ended up leading the league with 22 interceptions and looked even older than his actual age.

Maybe it was about time that someone had the balls to speak up about a player that has been on a pedestal for a long time. Yes, he did deserve all of his accolades for many years, but has been on a steep decline sans 2007. And even that year ended with him throwing a terrible interception in overtime in the NFC Championship Game. He should retire and finally have his number four retired at Lambeau Field, if he hasn’t screwed up that relationship.

Once the Jets finished their offseason shopping spree by bringing in Brett Favre, team owner Woody Johnson my have had visions of grandeur and foolishly thought that he was getting the quarterback of old, not just an old quarterback.

Even when the Jets were 8-3, they were winning in spite of Favre, not because of him. Their five-game winning streak was the one part of the season where Favre was not forcing the long throw and was having success underneath. Why they went away from that and started having the 39-year-old put the game on his shoulders is also a question that needs to be answered.

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Not even waiting 24 hours to digest what happened, Johnson canned Mangini the morning after the 24-17 loss to Miami that completed the Jets’ December collapse. “I appreciate everything Eric Mangini has done for this organization over the past three seasons,” Johnson said in a statement the team released on Monday. “He is a bright, young football mind and I wish him success in the future.

“In our judgement, we made the decision we believe is in the best interest of the organization. We will begin the search for the next head coach of the Jets immediately.”

And that man will no doubt definitely NOT be Bill Cowher or Mike Holmgren. Neither will be on any sideline next fall, especially not one as shaky as the Jets’.

This is an organization that is in a transition period, one that may go smooth or take a long time to fix. The quarterback position is one that holds the most questions. Both Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum stated that they would like Favre to return. A man turning 40 who led the league in interceptions (22) with possible shoulder issues is not a formula for winning. That was proven in the past five weeks, when the Jets were lucky to win even one of those games.

The remaining QBs on the roster are either unproven youngsters (Brett Ratliff, Erik AInge) or one that has proven himself unworthy of starting (Kellen Clemens).

Whatever direction the Jets go, the quick hook given to Mangini shows that Johnson expected big things out of this team, especially because of Favre’s presence. Unfortunately, the Jets were about five years too late.

Let me clarify something first. There is no ‘right’ time to use marihuana. Adults can do what they please and all, but illegal drugs (especially ones that do not enhance your performance) such as that have no place in an athlete’s life. Certainly not one of the captains on a team that is fighting for a playoff spot, one that is having himself a creer year, no less.

Shaun Ellis is far from some teenager looking for a buzz on a Friday night. This is an NFL veteran who has been an integral part of the team and is needed at 100 percent. Getting pulled over at 8:30 in the morning with a stash of weed in your car is not what Jets head coach Eric Mangini expects from one of his leaders, but even he – one who runs a tight ship – decided to let this go without throwing down the hammer.

On the heels of the Plaxico Burress nonsense, could Mangini have felt that keeping this under the radar was the best alternative? The third-year coach admitted that he found out through a “third party” (something else that everyone should have a problem with) the night before the loss to Denver last Sunday, but decided to let Ellis play, which he will also do until further notice. He can still receive a suspension from the NFL for violating the substance policy, which he definitely should in this case.

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From what Mangini has stated, the team has taken “internal disciplinary action” against Ellis, which one could surmise would be a fine. On how a potential suspension from the league may impact the team’s goals, Mangini was non-commital. “It’s not a function that’s anything under our control,” he said. “I respect the league and their stance on these issues.”

Losing Ellis for four games while the Jets make a run at the AFC East divisional title is going to have an impact. There is no way around that. He leads the team with 7 sacks through their first 11 games and has been such an important piece in the 3-4 defense that the team employs.

What he did and apparantly has been doing exposes him for the irresponsible person that he is. All the apologies and speeches to the coaching staff and team cannot take that away. Ellis is being counted on to come through every Sunday in a big way. Puffing on a joint or a bowl is not going to make that any easier.

Not falling for the ‘trap game’ mentality that has haunted so many teams over the years, the Jets totally dominated the hapless St. Louis Rams at the Meadowlands by a score of 47-3. After beating the Bills in Buffalo last week and having to go to New England this Thursday, it would have been easy to look past an out of conference 2-6 team.

That is not head coach Eric Mangini’s style. He prepares his team the same every week and was visibly happy after the convincing win. “With the completeness of the game, it’s something we’ve been stressing week in and week out,” he said.

With the largest margin of victory in team history, the Jets improved to 6-3 to maintain a share of first place in the AFC East. The second three-touchdown game of the year for running back Thomas Jones paved the way, and he gave a lot of the credit to the guys in front of him for the success.

“I’m lucky to be able to run behind those guys,” he said. “They’re one of the best offensive lines in the league.”

Jones, who finished with 149 yards on 26 carries, had a 20-yard gain on the Jets first offensive play of the game and capped off the eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to the right corner of the end zone, following a key block thrown by wide receiver Laveranues Coles.

The Jets put up 10 more points before the first quarter came to an end. Abram Elam sacked St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger on a blitz, knocking the ball loose. On a play that proved that the ball was bouncing the Jets way on this day, Calvin Pace basically had it jump off the ground and right into his hands. The linebacker took it the other way 50 yards for his first career score.

Quarter number two was even more one-sided, with three field goals by Jay Feely, another rushing score by Jones and a one-yard pass from Brett Favre (14 for 19, 167 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions) to tight end Dustin Keller. The contest became a laugher and a 40-0 advantage at halftime for the Jets.

The 78, 073 in attendance enjoyed themselves on Military Appreciation Day, and only booed when the Rams broke the shutout when Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal with 9:51 left in the third quarter.

By winning five out of their last six games, the Jets have a chance to take over the top spot in the division by defeating the Patriots on national television after a short work week preparing for the game.

Brett Favre said in his post-game press conference two weeks ago in a victory over Cincinnati that there are no such things as ‘ugly wins.’ After Sunday’s come from behind 28-24 victory over Kansas City, the Jet quarterback didn’t go as far as making that statement again, but did admit that overcoming adversity and mistakes has its benefits.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of those games and I have been on both sides,” Favre said. “It sure feels better to be on the winning side.”

That seemed unlikely after Brandon Flowers returned an interception – Favre’s third of the game – 91 yards to give the Chiefs a 24-21 lead with 7:48 left in the game. But the Jets were able to put together a six-play, 46-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown reception by Laveraneus Coles on an under thrown corner fade, leaving only one minute left on the game clock.

“Actually I wanted to out it a little more behind him than I did,” said Favre (28/40, 290 yards). “It was one heck of a catch.”

Coles’ status coming into the game was in doubt, as he suffered a concussion in last week’s loss at Oakland. “I made it through the game, I’m fine,” Coles said. “I take all the tests and they tell me if I can play or can’t play. I’m not a doctor.”

Two doctors cleared Coles to play, and the Jet head coach made it clear that head injuries are not taken lightly. “Even after he was cleared, we brought in another specialist to re-confirm it,” said Eric Mangini. “I think the touchdown catch with one minute left was a great indication of how he came through.”

Being a two touchdown favorite, the Jets started off looking as if they would dismiss the hapless Chiefs, who came into the game 1-5, starting a third-string quarterback (Tyler Thigpen) and without their feature running back, Larry Johnson, sitting out due to a suspension.

Leon Washington made a nifty one-handed catch to score on an 18-yard toss from Favre on the Jets opening drive. A missed 36-yard field goal by Jay Feeley and an interception by Flowers prevented the Jets from padding their lead and they led by only a touchdown after the first quarter.

The Chiefs knotted things up within the first two minutes of the second quarter when Thigpen found perennial All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez open for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Capitalizing on the turnover, Kansas City showed the crowd that they were not going away any time soon in this contest.

The final two minutes of the first half was a back-and-forth affair. Washington took a handoff right up the gut and found open field, giving the Jets, who improved to 4-3, a 14-7 lead on his 60-yard touchdown run. “I thought about that play before I got out there and knew I had a chance to score a touchdown,” Washington said, “so it’s big when you can make plays like that, especially when Kansas City is playing so well.”

And they continued to play well by going on a two-minute drive and using their time outs wisely, not a strong suit of head coach Herman Edwards when he was on the Jet sideline. Getting into field goal range due to an unexplainable soft defense played by the Jets, Thigpen took a shot in the back of the end zone with four seconds left. Originally ruled incomplete by more than one official on the field, a review later reversed the call and the 11-yard pass to Mark Bradley was ruled a touchdown, tying the game at 14.

The Jets heard the boos from the crowd as they made their way into the tunnel, but the mood changed quickly as members of the 1968 Jets Super Bowl III championship team were honored on the field form the 40th anniversary of that special win.

Once the third quarter was under way, the Chiefs took the lead with a field goal, but the Jets answered with an effective drive that resulted in a one-yard plunge into the end zone by Thomas Jones. The score remained 21-17 Jets as the fourth quarter began.

The fireworks of the Flowers and Coles touchdowns were almost trumped by Thigpen, who moved his team down to the Jet 31-yard line before throwing an incomplete pass on 4th and 1. In only his second start, the young quarterback finished 25 for 36 for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

“We did some things he felt comfortable doing,” Edwards said. “I thought the no-huddle helped him. He made some good throws and got us going.”

The Jets got going when it was necessary to get out of the game with a win, ugly and all. Even Brett Favre would have trouble defending that.

At least for one more summer, the Jets will appear to be a New York – and more specifically – a Long Island team. Although they moved out of Shea Stadium for the swamp lands of New Jersey nearly a quarter of a century ago, holding training camp and the organization’s home office on the campus of Hofstra University made things seem almost normal.

Once this training camp concludes, Gang Green will pack up on September 1 and move to their brand new facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, cementing their roots in the Garden State. Come 2010, both they and the Giants will open their new stadium adjacent to the existing Meadowlands.

On Thursday, head coach Eric Mangini and the rest of the staff stepped on the field for the first day of training camp, and anticipated another ‘nose to the grindstone’ month of two-a-days, sweltering temperatures and job battles.

“I’m excited to be back and I know the players are excited to be back,” Mangini said. “You can feel it in the room, the energy level, the focus and all of those things.”

The one missing ingredient, and a glaring one at that, was Vernon Gholston, the number-six overall draft pick out of Ohio State. The team announced that same evening that Gholston signed and it is a plus that he only missed one practice. A year ago, first round pick Darrelle Revis missed the first 20 days of camp while holding out before signing. He fit right in once he reported and ended up starting at cornerback. With Gholston moving from defensive end to a rushing outside linebacker position in the 3-4 defense, it was imperative that he didn’t miss too much time.

The biggest question going in to camp is who will win the starting quarterback job. Chad Pennington had better numbers than Kellen Clemens in practically equal playing time last year; the young gunslinger did produce more wins.

“Last year was great for me in the chance that I had,” said Clemens. “I was able to start some games, have some success. That showed me that I can do it and I can play at this level.

“Coach Mangini, above everybody, wants what’s best for the organization, so we trust him and when the decision is made, it’s made and we go from there.”

Pennington has been successful in the past and should be the favorite to win this competition. “I am here to do one, play football,” the Marshall product said. “I am here to win this job. That is my goal and focus. That has never changed and that will never change.”

Mangini always says that he will pick the quarterback that gives the team the best chance to win. With their expensive offseason shopping spree, the Jets need to ensure themselves of getting off to a good start and have a leader behind center. Clemens may have his day, but he may have to wait for tomorrow.

And there are not many tomorrows left in New York for the Jets. Once they break camp, they will be in a new ‘state’ of mind.

Photo credit: Sports Hernia.com