Time Will Tell Which Jets These Are

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"We've gotta find ways to win, instead of finding ways to lose."

Beating a dead horse, a broken record for the faithful of the beleaguered Jets franchise, possibly the cream of the crop in, not winning, but coming agonizingly close, making for a good game and an exciting finish whenever they have a chance to make something happen. 

Rex Ryan's oozing confidence, like the Jets roster oozing with talent, cannot clinch victories for the team. Despite injury setbacks, Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington cemented to the injured reserve for the rest of the season, the Jets have soldiered on.

They're a few plays short of a 6-2, perhaps even 7-1 record. A botched snap, a defensive stop, and a clutch play shy. Prior to those plays, earlier in those particular sequences the undisciplined Jets shot themselves in the foot with penalties that significantly altered the result of the game.

Superiority on paper evidently doesn't translate to superiority in the standings and the Jets can talk a good game but apparently can't manage to win under difficult circumstances. The frustrating factor about these implosions is the amount of talent on the roster and the potential this team has.

The Jets have a relatively soft segment of their schedule on horizon following the bye week.

Peeking around the rest of the AFC, it is becoming clear that a wild card berth would be extremely difficult with the success of the Texans and Colts in the AFC South, Steelers, Bengals and Ravens in the AFC North, and Broncos and Chargers in the AFC West.

Rex Ryan pointed out that a positive going forward is that the Jets are in control of their own fate, although they'll have to win a few games people would've thought wouldn't have been necessary a month before.

Namely, on the road against the Patriots and Colts. The Colts matchup comes late in December by when Peyton Manning and company could have not just a postseason berth, but the division and home field advantage in their back pocket.

Regardless, it'll be a stiff challenge and the Colts will be looking to muster up momentum against a celebrated Jets defense. The crunch clash against the Patriots, however, which is in the heart of a tough stretch for New England, featuring the Dolphins, Colts and Saints as well, is critical for the Jets' postseason aspirations.

Hopefully, the Jets can get back on track by then, or rather on the same page. Each phase has had its fair share of peaks and valleys, and each phase has single-handedly lost at least a game for the Jets while the other phases have been unable to pick up all the slack.

Until the final whistle blows, these aren't the same old Jets and they'll have plenty of time to respond to the typical New York adversity surrounding the typical New York Jets. 

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