Jets' heart is strong, but it won't beat long in playoffs

Dan Pompei

The patient, the New York Jets, appears to be reasonably healthy but is complaining of having problems passing things, and also of an irregular heartbeat.

It's time for the Jets to change into a hospital gown, have a seat on the doctor's table and prepare for a thorough examination. Let's find out just how healthy this team is.

Here is the Jets' heartbeat in the first quarter: thump ... thump ... thump ... thump.

And in the fourth quarter: THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP.

Previous tests have shown there is nothing wrong with the patient's heart. It's a great heart. In fact, it's probably working better than any organ on the team.

How else could you explain the fact that quarterback Vinny Testaverde has a 116.1 passer rating in the fourth quarter of games, and a 55.0 passer rating in the first three quarters of games? Or that the Jets have won four games with fourth-quarter comebacks? Even when the Jets lose, it's not for lack of fourth-quarter production. Their 30-23 loss last Sunday to the Broncos was typical. They fell behind 17-0, then made a game of it before running out of juice.

The Jets are playing beyond their abilities late in games more than they are playing below their abilities early in games. But the heart is showing symptoms of stress that are emanating elsewhere. Let's check some other potential problems.

Offensive constipation. Forget the numbers; this is the Jets' biggest problem. The Jets' yards have come in gobs, like ketchup from a new bottle. They are overly reliant on a passing game for which they are ill-suited.

The Jets had first-and-goal and a chance to tie the score from the 2 against the Broncos with less than a minute remaining. Despite the fact that the best player on the team is running back Curtis Martin (he is the only Jets player that is rated as a "blue," or difference maker, by the personnel departments of three teams we surveyed), the Jets chose to pass four straight times. All the of the passes fell incomplete.

Throughout his 14-year career, Testaverde has been at his best when throwing quick passes on timing. Conversely, he has struggled when he has had to do a lot of reading. At times this year, he has played like the field has been too big for him.

He hasn't been helped much by a below-average group of wide receivers. So confident were the Broncos against the Jets receivers that they played man-to-man the entire game.

Wayne Chrebet, Dedric Ward and Laveranues Coles, the Jets' top three receivers, average 5-10, 186 pounds. You've seen bigger decorative shrubs. Hence, they struggle to get off the line of scrimmage, they don't get open well, and they don't make contested catches as well as a lot of receivers. Testaverde isn't accurate enough to throw to covered receivers.

It would be un-American not to root for the heroic Chrebet, who gives up his body for the good of the fight, and whose finest moments typically occur when they are needed most. Actually, Chrebet is a better action hero than he is a receiver. You want him on your team, but Chrebet is not going to carry a passing game. He's not the fastest guy around. Against the Dolphins, he was run down from behind in overtime by middle linebacker Zach Thomas.

The Broncos prevented Chrebet from breaking their backs. But Denver cornerback Ray Crockett came away thinking Chrebet is a "great" player enhanced by the scheme. "Chrebet really doesn't have any routes ... he has free rein to do what he wants," Crockett says. "It helps that he can play sandlot football. Vinny looks for him pretty much every play, and he does what it takes to get open. He's a good guy to do that because he's quick. In a short area, he's hard to jam."

Some defenses have jammed the Jets' receivers with success. On a third-down play in the fourth quarter at New England, cornerback Ty Law held up Chrebet at the line, which resulted in a Testaverde sack. Coles is fast, but he can't use his speed when he can't get off a jam like the one Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison gave him earlier this year. On that deep throw, Coles didn't get to the ball, and the pass fell incomplete. That is part of the reason why Testaverde has completed only 31 percent of his pass attempts beyond 20 yards.

Equilibrium, Interceptions and fumble recoveries have kept this team from falling down. In fact, this team has no balance without takeaways. The Jets have 20 takeaways, which has compensated for 22 giveaways.

"The key to trying to beat them is not turn the ball over," says Dolphins offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. "They've done a good job of getting turnovers because they can rush the passer, and they've got athletes in the secondary who can run, jump and catch the ball. They get bodies to the ball with their speed at linebacker, and they get to loose balls on the ground."

The Jets have two pretty good cornerbacks in Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman. Teams throw away from Glenn, a superb man-to-man cover guy who can really break on the ball, so Coleman gets most of the action. Although Coleman is a little gangly, he has good ball skills, which lead to the interceptions.

Can the Jets expect to continue to keep getting takeaways? Probably not, unless one of the free safeties (Scott Frost, Kevin Williams or Chris Hayes) can play better. As it is, the safety coverage has been unsatisfactory.

This team will remain addicted to takeaways because the Jets probably will continue to keep turning the ball over. "What gets us down is obvious," Martin said after the loss to the Broncos. "We turned the ball over. We can't afford to turn the ball over."

Testaverde is to interceptions what Elizabeth Taylor is to marriage. His 13 interceptions are second highest in the NFL this season, and his 204 career interceptions are second highest among active quarterbacks behind Warren Moon. But that doesn't stop the Jets from lining up with an empty backfield an inordinate amount of time. "They throw the heck out of the ball from a spread formation, so that gives you opportunities to get picks," says Buccaneers strong safety John Lynch.

Muscle. No problems here.

The Jets might have the finest group of linebackers in the league, and the blue-collar defensive line enables the linebackers to flow to the ball. "Their linebackers are the strength of the defense," Gailey says.

New defensive coordinator Mike Nolan has used this strength wisely. With relentless defensive tackle Jason Ferguson and linebackers Bryan Cox and Marvin Jones manning the middle, the heart of the Jets' defense is a big, balled fist. With a head-on hit, Jones makes running backs go from forward to reverse without a transmission shift. Cox is playing his best football in years, attacking runners viciously and rushing passers furiously.

There also is no atrophy on the other side of the ball. The Jets clear holes for Martin with a line that plays better than it has a right to. It isn't exactly a group of All-Pros, though second year guard Randy Thomas is a rising star at guard, and center Kevin Mawae also is darned good. The Jets went into last weekend ranked second in the NFL in sacks allowed per play. The Jets need to emphasize their offensive muscle more.

The doctor's diagnosis: The Jets are not as healthy as they appear. Unless they change their lifestyle, they can't be expected to live beyond the first week of January. Further testing in Indianapolis and Miami the next two weeks is prescribed.

TSN's Power Poll

Rk. Team              W-L    Streak

1.  Tennessee         8-1      W8
2   Minnesota         7-1      L1
3.  Oakland           8-1      W6
4.  Miami             7-2      W2
5.  St. Louis         7-2      L1
6.  N.Y. Giants       7-2      W4
7.  indianapolis      6-3      L1
8   Washington        6-4      L2
9   Tampa Bay         5-4      W2
10. N,Y, Jets         6-3      L2
11. New Orleans       6-3      W5
12. Baltimore         6-4      W1
13. Buffalo           5-4      W2
14. Kansas City       5-4      L1
15. Philadelphia      6-4      W1
16. Pittsburgh        5-4      L1
17. Denver            5-4      W1
18. Detroit           5-4      L2
19. Jacksonville      3-6      W1
20  Carolina          4-5      W1
21. Green Bay         3-5      L1
22. New England       2-7      L3
23  Arizona           3-6      W1
24  Atlanta           3-7      L1
25. Seattle           3-7      W1
26  Dallas            3-6      L2
27. Chicago           2-7      W1
28  San Francisco     2-8      L5
29  Cincinnati        2-7      L1
30. Cleveland         2-8      L7
31. San Diego         0-9      L9

Through last Sunday's games. TSN's Power Poll is determined by TSN editors

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1. Vote 2000, A Buffalo radio station organized a mock election with fans voting for either quarterback Doug Flutie or Rob Johnson. The message was far from sublimina-ble: With these candidates, there is no clear choice, and Ralph look like Johnny Unitas.

2. Detroit. Owners select cold-weather Silverdome site for 2006 Super Bowl. Detroit after dark in late January has temperatures in the teens with a nasty windchill. A good reason for NFL players to be in bed-their own beds-early instead of out on the town.

3. Fans. The Packers revoked two season tickets because of disorderly behavior by farts in those seats. Put those same fans in Cleveland, take away their shirts and put dog bones in their mouths, and the network cameras find something lovable.

4. Bryan Cox. Once known as a problem child, the Jets linebacker is playing well and staying calm. Advertisers are looking to buy space on the enormous helmet restrictor pad above his shoulders.

5. Realignment The league tentatively approved a realignment into eight four-team divisions. The teams will be grouped according to the number of times they have threatened to move out of town. --Mike Kilduff

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Senior writer Dan Pompei covers the NFL for THE SPORTING NEWS. E-mail him at pompei@sportingnews.com.

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