How Tom Moore Saved The New York Jets' Season

The New York Jets improved to 8-5 on the season with a 37-10 demolition of the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, and after a shaky start to the year the Jets are now in the driver's seat for the AFC's sixth playoff spot and on the cusp of another road playoff odyssey.

Should the Jets indeed reach the postseason, it may well turn out that their saving grace this season wasn't something that transpired on the field but the arrival of Tom Moore in the Big Apple as a full-time offensive consultant for the Jets.

Moore, best known for the 13 years he spent on the coaching staff of the Indianapolis Colts, had been working from his home in South Carolina scouting opponents and breaking down game tape, but the 73-year-old agreed to join the team full time after a request from head coach Rex Ryan.

Many pundits have theorized that that request is an unspoken indictment of New York offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

While Ryan has vehemently denied that is the case, you can't deny that the Jets have been an inconsistent offensive team this season or that Schottenheimer's complicated offense and penchant for throwing the ball seemingly runs antithetical to Ryan's smash-mouth, "ground and pound" philosophy.

You also can't deny that the New York Jets have played two of their best offensive games of the season over the past two weeks in scoring 71 points, or that running back Shonn Greene's play has picked up remarkably, with the third-year pro carrying the rock 46 times for 217 yards and four touchdowns over that stretch.

Moore's arrival may not have been the cause for this offensive surge, but it seems rather, um, coincidental that it occurred just as he arrived in New York. In any event Ryan convincing Moore to join the squad full time for the stretch run is a coup that could pay off big-time down the road.