One thing I know for sure: The Jets are for real. They are THE real deal, spirit-killing franchise. How do I know? Because the indominatable, never-say-die Brett Favre, who teetered on the edge of retirement for years before finally taking the plunge, only to hear the call again and force his way back into quarterbacking in the NFL, had to come to the JETS to know true humiliation, to know hopelessness, to finally and completely learn what it is to be a loser.

The Jets could be an effective clearing house for football players who just don't know when to hang it up. Send 'em here and we'll send 'em home - for good.*

*(rant possibly null and void if Favre comes back next year)

I'll add that I watched this final game with a fellow Jet fan who wore a #10 Miami Jersey. And I was fine with that. Once the Pats won, and it was obvious the Ravens were gonna win, I lost the sense of confusion I began the game with and rooted for the Fish. Good for Chad, bad for Bill B, good for me. The Jets weren't going anywhere in the playoffs anyway.

I do think it's kind of unjust that an 11-5 team should miss the playoffs, but the spoonful of sugar in this case is that team is the New England Patriots.

They gambled on an aging QB and an inexperienced head coach. I'm not necessarily saying that they were unreasonable or unsound risks, but it appears that they may have whiffed on both.

Feh. I repeat what I said in the previous post, it reminds me of a skipping record in a locked deejay booth.

I loved how Charlie Brown kicked her right in the arm she was holding the ball with once. That was Chad today >;)

After all of the whining through the next two months is over, here's what'll likely happen:

Tannenbaum and Mangini huddle with Woody and both get extensions.

Mangini fires both coordinators and hires Romeo Crennel and whomever to replace them.

Brett Favre decides to retire based on his latest injury results (a diplomatic way of saying, "I don't want to play with you guys anymore, you suck!)

Tannenbaum makes a run at Matt Cassel, who takes a deal with whatever team Bill Parcells is signing on with.

Mangini is forced to switch to 4-3 defense and all New Jersey and LI stone him for getting rid of Jets' best defensive players over the past three years.

What SHOULD happen:

Bill Parcells makes triumphant return to NY and gives Mangini one year to grow a pair, then replaces all of his assistants with former Parcells protegés. Elevates Tannenbaum to VP of Operations so he can safely "advise" on contract negotiations without making damaging personnel decisions. Gives Favre a dignified sendoff, then signs Matt Cassel.

What we KNOW:

Bill Belichick was right: no one in their right mind should be HC of the NYJ, and Mangini is not ready for it. Oh well, in either scenario he has some time to become a good coach, and the key is to be patient and not totally disrupt the organization by firing the head coach and bringing in a totally different system. I don't think anyone in the Jets are that good or experienced at doing what they do now, from the owner on down. But if there is continued regression in the borrowed amount of time, then they have no choice but to blow it up again and start from scratch.

That said, I also have hope for Gholson; how do you go from being a top defensive back in college to a total bust on a talented defense? Same thing happened with Dwayne Robertson and D'Brickishaw Furguson. I smell bad coaching...

That said, here's hoping the Yanks' coaching moves can provide as much of a boost as their signings have, thus proving my point >;)

In other news: Go Giants!

And for the last 10+ years, that's pretty much how life has been for Dallas fans as well.

And the NY Times reports that Mangini is out.

Oh well, choice three was the obvious way to go, wasn't it? (")