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 You had a feeling
it wasn’t the Jets’ day from the opening coin toss, when the referee
called them the Giants. Although Gang Green was game, in the end they
were outclassed by Peyton Manning and the Colts who will now head
to Miami to take on the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. The 30-17
win wasn’t easy, but no one on the Indianapolis sideline thought it
would be. New York sprinted out to a 17-6 lead, using Brian
Schottenheimer’s terrific play calling to keep the Colt defense
off-balance for the majority of the first half. Mark Sanchez executed
a perfect play-action fake and found a wide open Braylon Edwards
for an 80-yard touchdown pass to give the Jets the lead, 7-3. The pass
came on first down, just after Indy had taken the lead and was a classic
chess move that stunned the Colts as well as the crowd. It also
reinforced the Jets’ belief in the cause—they could win this game.
Indianapolis
tried to answer the lightning bolt, but after driving down to the one,
Manning actually tried to sneak it in on third down. He was far from
successful and Coach Caldwell decided discretion was the better part of
valor, taking the field goal to make it 7-6. At this point the Jets were
feeling pretty good about themselves, and for good reason. They would
feel even better after their next drive. Following a few effective Shonn
Greene runs, Brad Smith entered the game in the wildcat
formation. It looked like he was going to run the option with Greene,
but again, Schottenheimer realized that special games called for special
plays—Smith pulled back and threw to a wide open Jerricho Cotchery
for a 45-yard gain. Indy was on their heels. The crowd was nervous. The
Jets were doing it again. They rode the wave of momentum into the end
zone, Sanchez hitting Dustin Keller on a nine-yard touchdown toss
and all of a sudden it was 14-6. Looks of concern were seen on the Indy
sideline. Looks of “Yeah, that’s right—we’re up 14-6!” were seen on the
Jet sideline. But there was too much game left.
After Calvin
Pace was allowed to waltz into the Colts backfield and force a
fumble out of Joseph Addai, the Jets were set up on the Indy 29
with less than four minutes remaining in the first half and a 14-6 lead.
However, for some reason, the Jets played it safe. Thomas Jones
ran it on first down for three yards. Fair enough. But after a false
start penalty, on second and 12…they again ran Jones, who lost four
yards. On third and 16, Jones again got the call and gained five yards.
Feely hit the 48-yard field goal, but 17-6 is quite different from 21-6.
The Jets, in that instance, didn’t give themselves a chance to fully
capitalize on the turnover. They settled for the field goal, plain and
simple, and the Colts had to be thinking, “OK, we’ve screwed around long
enough—we get a TD here before the half and we’re only down four.”
Instead of, “Oh man. We’re down 21-6. Even if we score here, we’re still
down eight and these guys have been all over us defensively.”
The
conservative play calls helped the Indy mindset. Especially after
Manning got the ball with just over two minutes left in the half. After
an incomplete pass to Dallas Clark with 2:07 left in the half,
Manning made short work of the 80 yards in front of him. TIC—he hit Austin
Collie for 18 yards on the sideline. TAC—Collie again, this time
for 46 yards down the middle to the Jets 16. DOUGH—the Collie hat trick
completed with a 16-yard touchdown reception on a blown coverage. It was
the first time the Jets fooled themselves with their own complex
coverage…it would not be the last. New York wisely decided against
getting greedy (unlike the Ravens before them) and went into the locker
room with the lead, 17-13. Despite the score, it was pretty clear that
the tide had turned with that half-closing drive. Manning found his
rhythm, as he always seems to do in a hurry-up situation. It’s a wonder
that the Colts don’t just run their hurry-up set all game; they’d score
every time.
The Jets got the ball to start the second half, and
would bookend the questionable offensive play calling at the end of the
first half with some more at the beginning of the third quarter. After
two Greene runs and two well-thrown Sanchez passes, the Jets found
themselves at the Colts 37. They were primed for reestablish their
11-point cushion…until they outsmarted themselves. First down—a dink
pass to Tony Richardson, incomplete. Huh? Tony Richardson? Why?
Even if he caught it, the play was going nowhere. Second down—a Thomas
Jones three-yard run to the 34, setting up a third and seven. Sanchez no
sooner faded back when he was pressured into throwing an incompletion
to Braylon Edwards. Now it’s fourth and seven from the 34. I didn’t like
the first down play call—it set the whole series of plays up to NOT get
a first down—but I hated the fourth down call: a 51-yard field goal
attempt from Jay Feely? Surely he’s going to pooch it and pin the
Colts back inside their 10, right? Even deciding to go for it would
have been a better choice—there was no way he was making that field
goal, and the miss gave Indy the ball with excellent field position.
Manning didn’t need to asked twice—he went 6-8 for 56 yards and a
touchdown that put his team in the lead for good.
Regardless of
the score, the game was over right there. Listen, I know the Jets did
what they could and overall they played a very good game. I know the
Jets finally had trouble rushing the ball—they ran the ball 29 times for
just 86 yards—but there were a couple of major decisions that were
played too safely. It turns out the Jet brain-trust wasn’t so brash when
it came down to it; they had two chances to kick the Colts when they
were down and played cautiously both times. That those instances
occurred at key moments—any coach will tell you that the end of the
second quarter and the beginning of the third are among the most pivotal
times of any game—simply underscored the fact that the Jets weren’t
ready to make a Super Bowl appearance. Not yet, anyway.
 The Colts, on the other hand, were patient. Manning was
pressured and put off his game in the first quarter, but would not
deviate from the game-plan. He waited…and waited…and finally, as always,
he figured it out. He shredded the Jets’ number one defense for 377
yards and three touchdowns on 26-39 passing. Manning made no mistakes.
He would not be frustrated by early-game failure. Once it was clear that
the Jets were taking Reggie Wayne and the aforementioned Clark
out of the game with Darrelle Revis and double teams, Manning
went to the guys who were open…and they were open all game long. Collie
and Pierre Garçon didn’t play like a rookie and a second year man
out of Mount Union. They were out of their minds, running crisp routes,
making the most out of every play while abusing the threadbare Jet
secondary. Revis Island needed some expansion—the man can’t cover the
whole field. Just as Revis isolates and removes opposing receivers from
the opposing offense, so too did Manning isolate and remove Revis from
the Jet defense. He simply used his other, highly-capable options which
happened to be Collie and Garçon. Names like Lowery, Coleman, and
Ihedigbo were no match for Manning’s pinpoint accuracy—there’s a reason
the man is the MVP. He simply picked out the weak member and picked on
him, and every once in a while he’d throw to Wayne, who was guarded by
Revis…just because he could.
Heading into the fourth quarter
Clark had been essentially frozen out of the offense. Revis was on him
occasionally and when he wasn’t, Clark was double teamed and got barley a
look from Manning, even uncharacteristically dropping a pass with no
one near him. However, Manning never forgot about his trusty tight end.
When the Colts were driving for the coup de grace, Manning finally found
Clark for a wide open touchdown to make the score 27-17. The signal
caller waited all game for the Jets to take their collective eyes off of
Clark and when they did, he pounced. That’s his game. You take Wayne
away, he’ll find Clark. You take them both away and he’ll find Collie
and Garçon. You cannot stop him for four quarters. The Jets certainly
tried. They hung in there for as long as possible but in the end, there
was just too much Manning.
Collie racked up 7-123 and a
touchdown; Garçon totaled 11-151 and a score of his own. Two players who
were, until late this season, only known to the deepest of fantasy
geeks caught the passes and should be celebrated for their achievements.
However, the play of their quarterback is what made it possible. “I
thought we just kept our mouths shut and went to work this week,” said
Manning after the game. Perhaps a bit of a knock on the…loud style of
Coach Ryan and his players, but it sums up Manning perfectly—it’s all
about the work. He not only watched film of the Jets from this season…he
went back and watched film of Ryan’s 2005 Baltimore defense when they
took on Manning’s Colts. He commented that Ryan had some favorite things
that he likes to do each week and that he wanted to identify them all.
There’s work, and there’s WORK. When you’re that talented and have that
kind of work ethic…it’s no wonder the guy is a four-time MVP.
Perhaps
lost in the Colts’ second half performance was Sanchez’ day. He went
17-30 for 257 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. He threw an
interception, but the pass was deflected and the game was over before it
was thrown. In addition, the rookie threw with defenders in his face
all day—standing in the pocket, poised and taking punishment while
delivering passes on time and on target. Nothing more could have been
expected of Sanchez. In fact, he exceeded expectations…and to those of
you who doubted him on draft day, I ask how you like him now? He’s got
the moxie, the mindset to lead a team in New York and clearly has the
ability to make all the necessary throws. You could want nothing more
from a quarterback. After the game, he was a pro, giving props to
Manning while acknowledging his teammates and how well they played down
the stretch. Jet fans should feel optimistic about the future. But that
is small solace…
This was a well-played game…a clean game. Credit
to Rex Ryan and his players for playing hard, believing in each other
and finishing strong. They’ve given hope to a legion of fans who haven’t
even thought of the word in the past several seasons. But even Ryan had
to tip his cap to the better team. The defense held the Jets running
game in check…just long enough for the MVP to figure things out. So now
it’s on to Miami for the Colts where they’ll get a crack at another
Super Bowl title. I think every member of the Jets would admit that
Manning and his teammates earned it.
*The All Access
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Photos
Courtesy of Dennis Hubbard, NFL Draft Bible Photos
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