You're Nervous About Facing This Bunch? Seriously?
To be honest, most of you Chargers fans are pissing me off. You’re scared of the Jets!
Really? You’re scared of the middle-of-the-pack, 9-and-7, lost-twice-to-Miami-once-to-Buffalo-and-at-home-to-Atlanta-and-Jacksonville New York Jets? You’re concerned about facing a defense that your team buried deep into the Qualcomm Stadium turf with a 48-point blitzkrieg of a performance just last season?
You’re losing sleep about having to play a team that is only in the playoffs because its final two regular season opponents purposely fell on their swords? Hell, if the Kansas City Chiefs could have ended the season against Indianapolis and Cincinnati, maybe they’d be the ones coming to town on Sunday. I guess you’d be worried about them, too.
Everybody is coming up with all kinds of storylines and scenarios and working themselves into a sweaty frenzy over this AFC Divisional Playoff. The Jets can run the ball. The Jets can control the clock. The Jets have Darrelle Revis (apparently the most dominant player ever to strap on pads). The Jets have come up with the greatest defense since the invention of Penicillin.
The Jets. The Jets. The Jets. J-E-T-S. Jets, Jets, Jets. You’d think they’ve resurrected Joe Namath, Don Maynard and coach Weeb Ewbank (along with John Riggins, the only Jets in the Hall of Fame, by the way). Might as well have Mark Sanchez guarantee victory.
Or…here’s a scenario that makes as much sense as anything else: The daughter of Jets owner Woody Johnson, 30-year-old Casey Johnson, died suddenly earlier this month. (Tragic, but true. An autopsy is being conducted, but the Los Angeles coroner’s office has not yet determined the cause of death). Johnson, who grew up on the socialite scene with famous friends such as Paris Hilton, was recently engaged to reality star Tila Tequila (not tragic, but also true). Tequila had a fling with Chargers’ linebacker Shawne Merriman earlier this season. That, as you may recall, didn’t turn out so well. Tequila now despises Merriman. And now she’s heart-broken (”We will Marry when I see U in Heaven,” she tweeted).
Tequila’s could-have-been-father-in-law’s team beats Merriman’s team on Sunday. Tila’s revenge.
Well, if you’re silly enough to think the Jets can beat the Chargers, then maybe you’re silly enough to believe in that kind of stuff, too.
Certainly the Jets believe it. The bravado coming from their coach Rex Ryan this week seems to be treating this contest as if it were a mismatch for the ages. Albert Pujols hitting against Charlie Brown. Linebacker Bart Scott said the Jets are far too tough for the Chargers. In boxing terms, he proclaimed the Jets would come right after San Diego and floor them. All the while, he said, the Bolts would be playing rope-a-dope. Tyson vs. Urkel.
There has been no such confidence in San Diego. Chargers fans — despite their team’s dominating 11-game win streak, Maserati-powered offense, big-play star-studded defense and textbook-perfect special teams — seem to be preparing for the worst. Remember 2004? Sure. But why doesn’t anybody remember last year when the Bolts rolled it up on New York and won by three touchdowns?
Yeah, but Revis is a great cornerback. He’ll stop Vincent Jackson and take him out of the game. He’s a shut-down corner. OK. But if the Jets have one shut-down corner, the Chargers have two — or has everybody forgotten that Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer wear Lightning Bolts? (By the way, even if Jackson is shut down — no guarantee — last I checked, the Chargers have a couple of other weapons).
Yeah, but the Jets have the best defense in the league. Yeah. But would they be ranked No. 1 had they faced the Chargers every game this season? It’s a little easier to pile up nice defensive numbers against the likes of Oakland, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and two teams that didn’t even try. Miami put 30 on ‘em twice this season.
Yeah, but what about the Jets’ rushing offense? It’s the best in the league, too! True. But what did that get them? New York scored less than 20 points in seven (nearly half) of their games. They scored one TD or fewer five times. Nobody can beat the Chargers unless they can get over 20.
Yeah, but having the No. 1 defense and the No. 1 rushing attack is the perfect recipe for success in playoff football. Actually, that one’s not true. The only two teams ever to win the Super Bowl while leading the league in both those categories were the ‘72 undefeated Dolphins and the ‘85 (once-defeated) Bears. Truly two of the greatest teams ever to play the game.
The Jets aren’t in that league.
And they’re not in the Chargers league, either. While I don’t condone over-confidence and pregame blabber, I’d at least like to see some confidence. You guys sound like you’re making plans for Peoria and spring training rather than Miami. Seriously, of all of the remaining teams in the playoffs, who would you rather face? The Jets coming to San Diego is like a dream come true. Almost as easy as advancing past the bye last week.
At least that’s what I’m thinking. But the Eastern-based national sports media has eaten up every ounce of hot-wind blown this week by Ryan, and now it has many of you buying into it, too. Good thing the Chargers themselves aren’t listening.
Taking their role as favorites and handling it with perfection, the Bolts have carried only a quiet confidence heading into this weekend’s tilt. The Jets are like the guy in the big black turban in the famous “Raiders of the Lost Ark” scene who wields his gigantic sword, handles it with circus-like precision and flair, and threatens Harrison Ford with his menacing glare. The Chargers are like Ford when, after watching the spectacle and supposed danger before him, he just calmly grins — and then shoots the guy.
That’s what this Sunday will look like. So stop worrying.
– Ello
