September 16 at Steelers (10-27)

After a tough game, the Jets suffered a disappointing loss today in Pittsburgh. The Steelers started the game with a field goal from the 28-yard line. The Jets responded with an explosive opening drive, with big gains by Greene and Kerley. The end result: a Jets touchdown by Holmes. The defense then played tough, holding the Steelers to another field goal from, as a funny coincidence, exactly the same yard line. Cool, things looking great so far. I was feeling pretty optimistic for a strong, well-done win.

Unfortunately, after that, near the end of the first half, there was a big momentum shift when Roethlisberger passed for a touchdown. The Steelers took the lead at 13-10 and never gave it back. I saw multiple problems that contributed to this slow and steady loss. Multiple personal fouls, two by LaRon Landry, gave lots of yardage to the Steelers offense to play around with. While I think he is a great addition to our defense and I know that some fouls are inevitable, there were way too many defensive fouls committed today. Also, we need to finish our tackles; Steelers running backs and receivers were able to break free way too many times.

On offense, the big problem was our inability to catch balls and make big plays in the second half. Sanchez was accurate and had no sacks and Tim Tebow had a nice set of downs to himself, running for almost twenty yards at one point. Yet Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill missed way too many balls to blame them all on the Steelers defense. We need to take more care and commit to the ball before we start running down field. Our final drive finally featured some good receptions and big plays, but by that point, well... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DunGvUIAYBw&t=0m21s

But do not read into me posting that link any more than a one-lyric joke. Because I still have great faith in my team, and that will never waver. We played hard against a playoff team in their home stadium, and that is never easy. But it is only the second game of the season, and with the Patriots' awesome loss today, all of the AFC East teams sit at 1-1. Two Sundays from now begins our hardest two-week stretch of the regular season, when we play the 49ers and Texans. But right now our focus needs to be on defeating the Dolphins next Sunday, and I have confidence that we will. J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!