The press is going to talk about the economy, about how the Jets miscalculated the value of their most important locations, and how there’s a rude awakening at hand for Woody Johnson.  Don’t believe what you read.  This has nothing to do with the PSL prices at all. 

It has everything to do with the gameday ticket prices.

When you take the existing seating chart and eliminate the undesireable sections, you’re left with this:

I’ve removed the seats with gameday prices higher than $150 and I’ve removed the seats that no one would prefer due to their ridiculous vertical/horizontal distance from the field.  I’ve pulled the endzones.

These are the seats that smart fans are fighting for.  Decent views at affordable gameday prices.  The PSL, remember, doesn’t matter.  It’s money that the Jets are holding instead of your bank.  You can always sell the PSL’s and get that money back.

Outside of a few hundred people who simply must have dead center 50 yard line seats, you’d be foolish to not wait the process out and see if you can score Lower Prime’s.  The PSL is 40% cheaper than the Coaches Club’s and the gameday price is $150 vs. $700.  You move 30 feet to the left or right, and you’re getting the best seats in the house-  best value, best investment, easy on resale.

Had the Jets started the auction process on seats with $150 gameday ticket prices, it would be a madhouse.  PSL prices would go through the roof as fans would salivate over the $150 gameday price.  The perception would be that tickets in the new Jets Stadium was a bonafide must-have.  Season ticket holders with poor seniority would realize that this is their only chance to get a decent seat on the go-forward.  Would have been the perfect play.

Auctioning off seats that cost $700 per game is a joke.  These people can afford anything.  It’s these other, more desireable seats with non-psycho gameday prices that should have been auctioned.  Chalk it up to another front office blunder.  They price fixed the truly ”most desireable” seats and auctioned the least desireable ones, the ones with a limited audience that doesn’t need an auction to buy them.

SAR I

Although Jets Babe has amassed a successful career in school, flag football and web development that has spanned for almost 3 years, she strives to be a regular girl and keep her New Jersey roots. Although now she’s in Florida, she keeps close tabs on all of her favorite NY sports teams which include first and foremost, her beloved NY Jets.

A huge fan of JetsInsider.com, Babe
was nice enough to take some time
to chat with JI about the team and
what’s going on in her life these days,
including a brand new semester
premiering next month.

SAR I:  So our readers get a chance
to know you, tell us a bit about yourself. 
You live in Florida, so how did you get to
be a Jets fan?  Is it hard to stay loyal
down there?
 
JETS BABE:  I was born in New Jersey and I lived there until I was in middle school.  My family is pretty much split 50-50 with Jets and Giants.  I picked the Jets because I thought Adrian Murrell was awesome (oh, to be young and not understand football).  I really liked watching Boomer Esiason and (of course) Wayne Chrebet.  I remember watching the 1-15 Kotite season and I cried tears of joy when we won that one game against the Cardinals.  I moved down to south Florida with my parents, and remained a Jets fan to this day.  Not too tough to remain loyal down here though. There are a lot of Jets fans down in Florida because most people who live in Florida are native New York/Jersey people.  I also think living in Florida makes me a more passionate Jet fan because I deal with Dolphin fans on a daily basis. 
 
SAR I:  What are your impressions of the season so far?  Happy with 2-2?

JETS BABE:  I was a little mad when we were 1-2, but now I’m pretty happy.  I think we should have beaten the Patriots.  It’s embarrassing when the Dolphins beat the Pats and we didn’t.   We got blown out by SD, which was pathetic.  But after crushing the Cardinals, and watching Favre throw 6 touchdowns, I was very pleased.  I think part of the reason why we stunk against the Bolts and the Pats had to do with Favre not knowing the playbook.  Now he says he does, so I’m looking forward to our games after the BYE.
 
SAR I:  Many fans think that Mangini was using Favre incorrectly and others think he was letting him slowly adjust; when you have sex with your boyfriend, who uses protection?

JETS BABE:  I think Favre should be able to play like Favre and air it out like he did last week.  Who actually uses protection?? Just kidding!
 
SAR I:  Let’s play word association.  I’ll mention a person, you give me a one-word answer.  Ready?

JETS BABE:  Let’s have it.
 
SAR I:  Chad Pennington
 
JETS BABE:  Fail.
 
SAR I:  Herman Edwards
 
JETS BABE:  Barbeque.
 
SAR I:  Baked Ziti

JETS BABE:  Amazing. 
 
SAR I:  Jay Mohr
 
JETS BABE:  Actor?
 
SAR I:  Tom Brady
 
JETS BABE:  Gay.
 
SAR I:  Barack Obama
 
JETS BABE:  Snob.
 
SAR I:  The PLO

JETS BABE:  Arabs. 

SAR I:  You seem to be a bit hard on Jay Mohr.  Any advice for him?

JETS BABE:  I’m just kidding.  His wife is gorgeous and he’s pretty successful and handsome.  He doesn’t need any advice.
 
SAR I:  The Jets have a 3 game stretch against some of the worst teams in the NFL.  Do you see us winning all 3?  If so, which part of our team will contribute the most?

JETS BABE:  I hope we win all three, and I think we are capable of winning all three.  BUT, we’re the Jets, and we’ll manage to screw it up somehow. We’ll probably lose against the Bengals.  
 
SAR I:  When you lie around your dorm room at night, do you have socks on or do you go barefoot?
 
JETS BABE:  Barefoot.  No, I will not send you pictures of my feet.
 
SAR I:  Name your Top 5 JI Posters and give us a little insight into each, something we might not know:
 
JETS BABE:  1.  Pauliec - Because I think his guinea wop bastard personality is funny, and he is an excellent writer.  I love his political blog  (dailypaulitics.com).  We share the same views on a lot of things, and we talk a lot outside of JI.  He’s a great guy.
 
JETS BABE:  2.  Klecko73isGod - Because he likes ribs.  Enough said.
 
JETS BABE:  3.  EY - He’s a smart poster and cracks smart jokes.  I also think his He-man avatar is hot.  Kleck and EY have a great fan blog as well…you can see them whoring it out on the board, haha.
 
JETS BABE:  4.  Idontlikethat5 - Most people don’t even know who he is, but read his posts.  He’s hilarious.  He’s also one of my good friends (in real-life.).
 
JETS BABE:  5.  Green Jets & Ham - How could I forget?  Great, knowledgeable poster.  I love how when he’s serious, he bolds words and makes them the color red.

SAR I:  You named your Top 5 posters, and…

JETS BABE:  Oh you know what, add Fishooked  to the list of the top 5 posters.  He’s great.  Love that funny pic thread.  RJF belongs on there as well.  Oh what the hell, you too SAR.

SAR I:  ….if you had to have massive amounts of sex with just one of them, who would you pick and why?

JETS BABE:  PaulieC.  I think we all know that.  Do I really need to give a reason?

SAR I:  From a woman’s point of view, the Flight Crew……good for the Jets experience or not?

JETS BABE:  Good.  But the uniforms are awful.  I thought Marc Ecko was a great designer, but what the hell are those diapers?  And Mandissa, one word: WHY? 

SAR I:  If you could be a member of the Flight Crew, would you?
 
JETS BABE:  No, because I’m a terrible dancer.  I’ll admit it, I have white-girl syndrome.
 
SAR I:  When was the last time you attended a Jets game in the New York area?  Do you have any intentions of coming up this season?
 
JETS BABE:  Many moons ago.  8 years ago to be exact.  I would love to catch a game this season to see Brett Favre.  Maybe in December. 
 
SAR I:  What are your thoughts on pre-engagement?

JETS BABE:  They’re pointless. 
 
SAR I:  Of all the girls in your dorm that you don’t get along with, who is the one that you dislike the most?  What does she look like?  Are her toenails well manicured or unruly?

JETS BABE:  I actually don’t live in a dorm, I live in a 4 bedroom apartment with very close friends of mine so I don’t dislike any of them. 
 
SAR I:  If you could get back one Jet player that we let go of these last two seasons, who would it be and why?

JETS BABE:  Pete Kendall.  We didn’t get much back for him and that sucks.  We need all the depth on our O-Line that we can get. 
 
SAR I:  Men watch football games for the sport, and women do to, but they’re also looking at a bunch of sweaty male atheletes.  Be honest-  do you ever get aroused by the players and not the play on the field?

JETS BABE:  Honestly, I don’t watch football for that.  I think that many athletes are very attractive but it doesn’t mean I just watch it for that.  I think football is one of the greatest things in the world….it’s so much fun to watch and it’s great to be such a passionate fan of the Jets.
 
SAR I:  Where has SBIII gone?  Will he ever return?
 
JETS BABE:  Is he really gone?  Oh, he’ll come back.  He can’t live without this place.
 
SAR I:  Describe for us, in great detail, your process for showering each morning.
 
JETS BABE:  I like to sing in the shower.  That’s all I’m going to say about that.

SAR I:  We’d like to thank you for your time today.  Words of encouragement as we get ready for the next 12 critical weeks?
 
JETS BABE:  I think that whatever happens with the Jets, us fans should CALM DOWN and not panic.  I think we’re a playoff team.  We’ll make it.

I’m just as happy as anyone else that we had a dominating win with an in-sync offense yesterday, but let’s look in the mirror and be real folks:

2-2 is exactly where we had this team pegged with Chad Pennington’s balloons, and 3-1 is what we wished for with Brett Favre’s darts.  Cake-like wins over the Dolphins and Cardinals with decisive defeats to the Patriots and Chargers is not something to throw a party over.

Our expectations now should be a 3-0 run heading into Buffalo at 5-2.  Anything less would be a big disappointment.  Clearly Mr. Favre is now “comfortable” in our offense, but our defense and special teams need lots of work.  Our head coach is a 50/50 proposition at best, rolling the dice strangely, bowing to the will of public pressure.

The next month tells the tale of this season.  The only elites left on the schedule (if you even want to call them that) are the Bills, Titans, and Broncos.  Before we let that too make us all giddy, everyone else in the AFCE has a similarly easy schedule, so we must take care of business against the lesser teams if we’re going to make a run at the postseason at which point we will have to face an elite team or two and it’s going to be an unknown if we can handle them.  So far, both tests have been failures.

SAR I

The theory goes that Woody Johnson needed a big name to help sell PSL’s.  He watched the Giants win a Super Bowl, courted Darren McFadden and didn’t get him, saw the economy take a downturn, and threw a large hat into the ring in the Brett Favre situation in the summer-  the only team in the NFL to do so.

Eric Mangini has never been a big fan of the high-risk vertical passing game.  Has never actively sought a QB who could flick his wrist and throw a 50 yard rope.  Stuck with Pennington for his first two seasons, and developed Clemens as another game manager- safety first, no risky QB play, no improv, just be conservative and set up the run in front of a strong defense.

During the entire Favre to New York process, Eric Mangini was silent.  Tannenbaum and Woody got all the press, did all the gushing and blushing, Mangini rarely made an appearance in the midst of the hoopla.  Yes, was in the middle of preparing for preseason games, but only appeared at a single press conference and never sounded overly excited about his new QB.

Flash forward to today and the current line of thinking is that Mangenius suddenly got stupid.  Suddenly forgot that his QB can throw a pea through a concrete wall.  Failed to adjust to his strengths.  Well, what if he’s not stupid but rather stubborn?  What if he never wanted Brett Favre, never wanted a high-risk gunslinger, never wanted that square peg in his decidedly round hole?  What if Woody’s PR move is in direct conflict with the strategy employed by the head coach?  What if Eric feels like he’s stuck with a circus freak when he’s trying to direct an opera?

Methinks we are going to find out pretty soon.  If Eric keeps sticking to his guns and making Favre into a safe game manager with his Pennington gameplans, something’s going to give.  Either Woody’s going to pop or Mangini will.

Stay tuned.

SAR I

Three years ago, Mike Shanahan and the rebuilding Broncos bet the farm by taking a franchise QB prospect in the first round and starting him right out of the gate.  Lumps and all, decides that it’s best to get his young QB the reps, better to validate him quickly, best to let him gel with the starters from the git-go instead of holding a clipboard.

Three years ago, Eric Mangini and the rebuilding Jets sheepishly pass on the franchise QB prospect in the first round and stick with the incumbent who can’t pop a balloon with a needle.  Takes a development project as a maybe QB of the distant future.  Assigns him a clipboard.  Does not validate him, does not play him, makes him ride the pine.

Flash forward to today, and Shanahan’s QB is looking more and more like a franchise player.  In his third season, he’s experienced the NFL top to bottom and shows poise and leadership abilities.  He’s blossoming into a great player at the same time the rest of his young teammates are coming into their own.  A team in sync, ready for the 5 year run.  Set at the most important position on the field, building the players and the team around him.

Flash forward to today, and Mangini still lacks a QB.  The balloon thrower was cut too late, the 2nd round project has failed due to mismanagment, and he is left with an oft-retired Hall of Famer for the next 4 months in a desperate bid to save his job.  The youngsters around this rental QB aren’t in sync, and when he’s gone before the snow stops falling, they’ll have to start all over again next year.  Not set at the most important position on the field, not building properly, not ready for a run of any sort.

Football is a team game.  Needs great coaching, a gelled offense, and a great QB.  Needs a smart gameplan in the front office, needs belief in a young QB, needs grooming and patience.  The Broncos took their lumps these past few seasons and are again ready to make a jump back atop their division.  The Jets continue to think short-term and are engaged in a desperate attempt to make a single run in one year on the backs of high priced, aged, and questionably motivated free agents.  Can you think of another team built this way that had a consistent string of playoff appearances and an eventual Super Bowl?  Can you recall another NFL team that spent and constructed like George Steinbrenner circa 1976 and was successful?

The right way and the wrong way.  Look no further.

SAR I

I’ll start this of by repeating that I love the fact that we’ve got Brett Favre on the team from an entertainment perspective, but that it’s wrong for us long-term.

We’ve got 8 quarters of live NFL football to judge our new quarterback, and it’s not pretty.  What we now know:

1.  Putting Brett Favre in an offense designed for Chad Pennington isn’t working.  Favre’s dinks/dunks aren’t any more effective than Chad’s.  The occassional long-ball is a big win but the more-than-occassional huge mistake is a big loss.  Right now, Favre looks like Chad The Game Manager with a bigger arm and a bigger ego.  With Chad, was either a single or a walk.  With Favre, it’s either a home run or a strikeout.  In this offense, Favre’s downside is looking worse than Chad’s mediocrity.

2.  Favre’s only brilliant play was the in-step TD to Cotchery in his very first quarter down in Miami.

3.  Favre’s midfield Hail Mary’s only have a 25% success rate.  The others were either close to being turnovers or were intercepted.  The jump-ball TD in Miami was luck, not an offensive strategy.

4.  Favre’s not seeing open receivers, he’s throwing up too many prayers, he holds onto the ball too long, he’s taking too many risks, he’s getting hit and fumbling, he’s tossing interceptions to the other team, he’s taking 25 yard losses on sacks, and he weakens as the games progress.

It’s 2 games into a long season and its no time to be too critical or panic.  But the reality is that the Jets don’t know what to do with Favre and he’s not a great fit for an offense that is built on ball control and mistake-free operation.  The Jets aren’t good enough to overcome blunders, and to date, Favre’s turnovers and drive-killing decisions almost cost us the Miami game and did cost us the Patriots game.

SAR I

First off I’ve been begging for a legitimate, bonafide, franchise-caliber quarterback since it was apparent that Bill Parcells Vinny Testaverde diceroll went astray, so a part of me is thrilled that Brett Favre is a New York Jet.

It’s the other part of me, the part of me that knows better, that says that this isn’t the answer to our prayers.  Everyone else in the old AFC East got their franchise quarterback, and Hall of Famers all:  Miami got Marino.  Buffalo got Kelly.  Colts got Manning.  Patriots got Brady.

The Jets?  We got a rock.

So now I see the Favre jerseys, I see the excitement, I see the circus, and I like it.  No, not because it’s the answer to my prayers.  Not because we just discovered a 23 year old franchise QB and are set for 10+ years of consistency and greatness at the QB poisition.  I like it because it makes the 2008 season interesting.  Instead of watching Chad’s balloons and Kellen’s confusion, I get Ringling Brothers.  It’s going to be fun to go to games again.  It’s going to be fun to see 50+ yard passes again.  It’s going to be fun to be wide-open again.

But the expectations end there.  Instead of a 7-9 Pennington bore-fest, it’s going to be a 10-6 Favre NASCAR-race.  But make no mistake about it; watching the Bearded Lady is a lot of fun, but in the end, the Jets are just doing what they’ve been doing since 1970: Treading water. 

We still got a rock.  Just a fun one.  And one that gives Woody Johnson a coverboy for his PSL brochures and a “face” to a franchise.  One that sends a message that Mike Tannenbaum has balls.  Lots of selfish motives, nothing that’s really beneficial for a non-win-now team.  I won’t be buying a Brett Favre jersey because next year, when he’s gone and we’re faceless again, it’ll look as silly as those Ronnie Lott jerseys you see ever so often at the tailgates.

So sit back and enjoy the show.  It’s a one-year funhouse.  Makes me happy, makes me sad, makes me melancholy, makes me ambivalent.

SAR I

What are the 3 things New York Jets fans want the most?

1.  An established, confident, winning head coach.

2.  A quarterback.

3.  Affordable PSL’s.

Tank the season, pay a Johnson’s ransom for Bill Cowher, get the #1 pick in the draft and take the best QB out there.

Look, we’re not making the playoffs with Clemens/Ainge, with the Patriots in our division, and with the wildcard depth that’s out there in the AFC.  10-6 didn’t get a wildcard last year, won’t this year either, and we have the look of 11-5 talent behind a 2-12 quarterback which reeks of a 7-9 season.

Tank.  Reload.  Afford.

SAR I

And there you have it.  Short and sweet.  No way.

1.  No way Eric Mangini puts his tenuous career in the rubber arms and marshmallow hands again.

2.  No way Mike Tannenbaum puts his tenuous career on the line with a guy who couldn’t lead a decent drive in the first 5 games of last season, when he was a year younger.

3.  No way Woody Johnson risks hundreds of millions of dollars of future PSL money on a guy who couldn’t get it done in a big game.  Ever.

4.  No way the NY Media plays the “good guy Chad” card, again, simply because he is so nice to them.  Tough economy, lots of papers to sell, gloves are off.

5.  No way the extremely patient NY Jets fanbase sits there and watches the endless parades of 3-and-outs.  The boo’s will rain down after the first series against the Patriots.

6.  No way the Jets guarantee themselves another 1-3 start again.  Miami in the blistering heat with a new coach, loss.  New England, loss.  At San Diego on National TV, loss.  Home for the Cardinals, yeah, a win.  That’s what it’s going to be like in Chadland.  Not happening.

Do not forget last season.  Eric certainly won’t.  QB train-wreck.  That’s why we’re sitting here on Brett Favre Watch.  Eric knows he’s in trouble again.  Dead man walking again.  He won’t put up with it.

SAR I

As it enters its last few months, let’s not get too misty eyed over Shea, shall we?

Loyal Jets fans believe that the Jets are second-class citizens in Giants Stadium, right? Believe that we are oppressed, playing in someone else’s stadium, right? Horrified at the red and blue seats, right? Trying to remember back to a time when we were happy in the borders of New York State, right?

It’s all a load of crap.

Shea Stadium was not only a dump, but it was the home of the New York Mets, not the New York Jets. The Mets and their ownership sh’t on the Jets far, far worse than the Giants ever have, but no, we have to sit here and listen to people, sniff, sniff, wish we were back in New York, there at Shea, with our beloved brother the Mets.

Does anyone remember the orange and blue seats? The orange and blue panels on the facade? The Mets logo on the scoreboard? The dirt infield? The Montreal Expos pennant on the blue centerfield wall visible through the uprights?

Worst of all, look at this list of the first 4 Jets games of the 1968 to 1976 seasons. 9 years. Tell me what you see:

1968 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 15 W 20-19 at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 2 Sep 22 W 47-31 at Boston Patriots at Birmingham, AL
Week 3 Sep 29 L 37-35 at Buffalo Bills
Week 4 Oct 5 W 23-20 vs San Diego Chargers

1969 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 14 W 33-19 at Buffalo Bills
Week 2 Sep 21 L 21-19 at Denver Broncos
Week 3 Sep 28 L 34-27 at San Diego Chargers
Week 4 Oct 5 W 23-14 at Boston Patriots
Week 5 Oct 12 W 21-7 at Cincinnati Bengals

1970 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 21 L 31-21 at Cleveland Browns
Week 2 Sep 27 W 31-21 at Boston Patriots
Week 3 Oct 4 L 34-31 at Buffalo Bills
Week 4 Oct 10 L 20-6 vs Miami Dolphins

1971 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 19 L 22-0 at Baltimore Colts
Week 2 Sep 27 L 17-10 at St. Louis Cardinals
Week 3 Oct 3 W 14-10 at Miami Dolphins
Week 4 Oct 10 L 20-0 at New England Patriots

1972 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 17 W 41-24 at Buffalo Bills
Week 2 Sep 24 W 44-34 at Baltimore Colts
Week 3 Oct 1 L 26-20 at Houston Oilers
Week 4 Oct 8 L 27-17 vs Miami Dolphins

1973 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 17 L 23-7 at Green Bay Packers at Milwaukee, WI
Week 2 Sep 23 W 34-10 at Baltimore Colts
Week 3 Sep 30 L 9-7 at Buffalo Bills
Week 4 Oct 7 L 31-3 at Miami Dolphins
Week 5 Oct 14 W 9-7 at New England Patriots
Week 6 Oct 21 L 26-14 at Pittsburgh Steelers

1974 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 15 L 24-16 at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 2 Sep 22 W 23-21 at Chicago Bears
Week 3 Sep 29 L 16-12 at Buffalo Bills
Week 4 Oct 7 L 21-17 at Miami Dolphins

1975 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 21 L 42-14 at Buffalo Bills
Week 2 Sep 28 W 30-24 at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3 Oct 5 W 36-7 vs New England Patriots
Week 4 Oct 12 L 29-21 at Minnesota Vikings

1976 New York Jets

Week 1 Sep 12 L 38-17 at Cleveland Browns
Week 2 Sep 19 L 46-3 at Denver Broncos
Week 3 Sep 26 L 16-0 at Miami Dolphins
Week 4 Oct 3 L 17-6 at San Francisco 49ers

You see that word “at”? The one that means we were the road team? The one that means we weren’t at home?

For 9 seasons between 1968 and 1976, the New York Jets had 4 home games in the first month of the season. That’s it. 4 home games.

In the 36 games they played in September and early October for almost a decade, 4 times they play in their beloved home stadium in New York state.

Jets win the Super Bowl in January 1969? Great. Their first home game as defending NFL Champions was Week 6.

In 1973, the Jets first home game was in Week 7. Week 7. That’s half the season being played before your home fans get to see you in action. Nice job by the Mets and the state of New York.

And that’s the hard truth, people. No team and no state has taken a sh’t on the Jets more than the Mets and New York. Keep that in mind the next time some ignoramus puts up a post about the “good old days” at Shea. And as far as Leon goes, tell me, if we opened the 2003 season as defending AFC East Champions with our first 6 or 7 games on the road, what would you think of Woody? Wasn’t about bathrooms or racetracks.

The Mets and the state of New York sh’t on the Jets for years and Leon, thankfully, had enough. What happened last week at “Jets Night” should have been completely expected.

SAR I