Where the Chips Fell

This team was never supposed to be here in the first place. Making the final four in the NFL? Down to one game away from the Super Bowl with a rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach? Who the hell just cooked up this script?

The 2009 New York Jets looked like they could be the team of destiny. The last season playing the Meadowlands, always riding in the backseat of a New York Giants bus in the city of New York. All of the sudden, the tables had turned, every single game that had to go the Jets way leading up to the first Colts game happened. It was like the Twilight Zone had descended on Mean Green. Four 1 PM games all went exactly the way the Jets needed, with Denver losing their late game just for kicks. Then, leading at halftime, the Colts take the foot off the pedal and let the Jets roar back and stay alive.

All of the sudden, it was week 17 and the Jets, who had started the season 3-0, then plummeted into mediocrity, were in control of their destiny. The last time this kind of absurd turn of events happened?

1997. Bill Parcells took over as Jets head coach after Rich Kotite threw the team into tailspin with a 1-15 record in 1996. Why I will never forget this season? The day that the Jets hired Parcells, my father put $100 on the Jets to simply make the playoffs. The odds were 100-1, payout of $10,000. The Jets were in control heading into the decrepit Pontiac Silverdome to face the Detroit Lions in the final game of the season. Things were going well until the 4th quarter saw a meltdown of epic proportions. Lions won 13-10 and Barry Sanders locked up 2000 rushing yards. A late 4th quarter touchdown would be the difference in the game. 3 members of the Jets threw interceptions in that game, two of them by non-QB position players. The NY Times had it a little something like this:

The Jets' implausible dream lasted until the final minutes of their final game. They will never know how far they might have taken it if certain things had happened differently today -- if, for example, the rookie fullback Leon Johnson had not thrown an option pass in the fourth quarter that was intercepted, when a chip-shot field goal might have propelled them into the playoffs. And there were the other things that happened, events, said Ray Lucas, ''that won't let any of us sleep tonight.''

That's correct, for all of Parcells coaching genius, he allowed a ROOKIE FULLBACK to attempt a halfback option. THIS is why losses like the one against the Colts yesterday are so excruciating painful to the lifetime Jets fan, that they border on unbearable. The 2009 Jets team weren't helmed by the incompetent Neil O'Donnell and they didn't throw fullback-option passes. This team did not have Adrian Murrell (5,199 career rush yards) as their lead rushing option. The 2009 Jets had the best defense in football. When a team that leads the league in rushing, leads the league in defense, and suddenly discovers a passing attack in the AFC Championship game with a 17-6 lead with 2 minutes until halftime, THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO LOSE. Teams with these credentials make it to the Super Bowl. They hold onto 11-point leads. But these are the New York Jets. The lovable losers. If there's a way to lose, they'll find it.

These kinds of failures don't just remain on the field, they go far beyond it. In fact, oftentimes they show up every April on draft day. Lets entertain a little visit from the Ghost of Draft Days passed...

1987 - WR Johnny Lam Jones, Pick 2 overall - Jones was a world class sprinter, but more of an athlete than a football player. He lasted only five years in the league, all with the Jets and amassed just 2322 yards and 13 TDs. Problem was, he dropped about three times as many passes as he had touchdowns. He was picked above Art Monk and Anthony Munoz. He also netted the first ever million dollar contract.

1995 - TE Kyle Brady, Pick 9 overall - This one really hurt. The crowd was chanting "We want Sapp! We want Sapp!" on the ESPN broadcast. Those chants fell on deaf ears. Brady stuck around for four seasons, racked up 949 yards and 10 TDs. Sapp would go on to get 96.5 career sacks at the DT position. Also still on the board were Ty Law and Derrick Brooks.

1990 - Blair Thomas, Pick 2 overall - Thomas was a Heisman runner-up that didn't do anything in the pros. 2000 yards over four seasons and a measly 7 touchdowns. Another runner that was still up for grabs that may have worked out a little better, Emmitt Smith. Oh yea, and Junior Seau was still there too.

2008 - Vernon Gholston, Pick 6 overall - Gholston was supposed to be a defensive beast coming out of Ohio State. After two years, he has 30 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 INTs. While it could still be early, he looks to be the next blunder. Especially when you consider DeSean Jackson, Jonathan Stewart, Ray Rice, Chris Johnson and Rodgers-Cromartie were still hanging around.

Drum roll please...the greatest NY Jets draft blunder of all time...

1983 - Ken O'Brien, Pick 24 overall - Dan Marino fell to the Dolphins. That is all.

Peyton Manning made the vaunted Jets D look like a bunch of hacks. The halftime adjustments that the Colts made changed every play into a two-step drop and fire to a five yard route. Indefensible plays. I wish the Saints luck in the Super Bowl.

But enough with the doom and gloom. The Jets will be OK, right? They've got a quarterback that is a ball of energy and has spent a whole season and playoff run growing up. A head coach that injects more confidence into his team than anyone else in the league. A defense that will get back Kris Jenkins next season. Revis Island. A legitimate number one receiver in Braylon Edwards. The best (arguably) offensive line in football, anchored by Ferguson, Mangold and Faneca.

This team will be OK, if not (gulp) good... right? I've looked at every picture of the Colts celebrating that the internet has to offer. I watched the entire post-game coverage, hoping to catch a glimpse of the "Manning Face" to fill my empty soul with a glint of cheer.

I've seen all of this and taken all of it in for only one reason. If the Jets do make the Super Bowl someday, I'll appreciate it tenfold. It will be one of the greatest days of my sporting life. And I'll have the Manning family to thank for it.