Rex Ryan and the Jets: "The Biggest Show in Town"

The New York Jets Super Bowl aspirations were shredded by the Indianapolis Colts, 30-17, Sunday in the AFC Championship Game at Lucas Oil Field in Indiana despite outplaying the Colts in the first half and holding an impressive 17-13 advantage at the intermission.

Unfortunately for fans of Gang Green, the Jets magical postseason flight violently crashed in the decisive second half of the contest.

Despite their utter demise over the final 30 minutes this past weekend, the Jets (11-8) had a truly remarkable season and they will fly into next year as strong favorites to win the AFC East title for the first time since 2002.

Jets All-Rookie quarterback sensation Mark Sanchez admitted that the loss to the Colts was indeed a heartbreaking one.

Nevertheless, Sanchez, a three-time Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week winner, expressed confidence that the Jets will rebound and become a legitimate championship contender for years to come with head coach Rex Ryan at the helm.

“You lose a tough game like that, we make it as far as we did, it’s frustrating,” said Sanchez, 23, who the Jets selected out of the University of Southern California (USC) with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft.

“Once you get past that part – I don’t know how long that’s going to take – it’s important for me to understand as a rookie this was pretty special personally, (and) as a team, unbelievable. Rex came in and just really changed the culture of this franchise in one year. That’s big time. We believe in him and I think the best thing he said maybe the entire year was, ‘This is just the beginning.’ He told us to ‘Wear your Jets stuff with pride, there’s nothing to be ashamed about. We had an awesome year. We came up a little bit short.’ That stuff happens so we’ll rally and bounce back.”

The traditionally wretched Jets franchise has not captured a championship since Willie Joe Namath made his famous guarantee, and deal with the devil, in 1969.

Prior to the Ryan era, the Jets had only advanced to the AFC championship Game twice in the past 40 years.

What Ryan and Sanchez accomplished together in their inaugural debuts was historically astounding.

Ryan is a defensive mastermind and it seems apparent that he will be one of the elite coaches in the professional ranks for quite some time.

Similarly, although he had an erratic and often tumultuous rookie campaign, Sanchez has all the abilities and hallmarks of a dominant signal-caller.

The Jets are the youngest team in the NFL and they don’t have any overly glaring weaknesses on their squad.

Furthermore, the Jets will regain the services of three-time All-Pro nose tackle Kris Jenkins and 2008 All-Pro running back and return specialist Leon Washington from injuries.

Still, the Jets do need to tweak and improve their roster a tad this offseason in order to progress to the next level.

Jenkins is one of four Jets defensive linemen who are all in excess of thirty years of age.

It is simply imperative that Ryan and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum find younger and more athletic players to enhance their line for next season.

The Jets secondary should remain very strong, primarily because All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis will only improve as he enters his fourth year as a professional.

Regardless, the Jets defensive backfield was badly exposed versus Manning and the Colts.

Cornerback Lito Sheppard was flatly torched Sunday and he can’t be considered a reliable cog in the Jets starting rotation.

Safety Kerry Rhodes is extremely talented and his skills are ideal for Ryan’s aggressive defensive schemes.

Sadly, Rhodes is now widely considered to be a diva in the mold of Zsa Zsa Gabor in pads and his career playing in the swamps of Jersey is likely finished.

Therefore, Ryan and Tannenbaum will also need to revamp a portion of their vaunted secondary.

Granted, like virtually every team in the NFL, the Jets have voids to fill this offseason.

Although Gang Green has holes at certain positions, the Jets future is brighter than the Empire State Building at night.

“We’re going to come back hungrier than ever,” said Ryan, 47, the Jets portly and genuinely respected leader.

“We are the biggest show in town and that’s what it’s going to be.”

For the first time since Namath and Woodstock, the Jets actually “are the biggest show in town.”