A Prescription For Violence

I know this is supposed to be about sports but does anything feel better than finally not being sick anymore? Everything matters again, at least a little bit anyway. I just wish things were going my way a little bit more.

I mean…the Giants are going nowhere but home and the Jets will be facing the Colts. Except for the great Ohio State victory over Arkansas last night, all the Northern and Eastern teams got beat in the Bowl Games. Teams I rooted for, like the Rams to beat the lowly Seahawks, went down in a flurry of dropped passes.

And there’s no baseball news to get excited about, not if you’re a Mets fan. If you’re a Mets fan, the only question about who’ll win the NL East is whether it’ll be the Phillies or the Braves. The latest Mets acquisitions have been strictly lower-level at best.

But maybe the most depressing thing of all for a defensively-minded football fan is that I can’t fathom the Jets giving the Colts a run for their money. They’ve got the really accurate Manning, the one who figures everything out at the line of scrimmage and just picks a defense apart, especially the ones being tricky.

I remember feeling the same way about the Niners offense back in Joe Montana’s heyday. The Niners threw all those short passes that required no time at all to throw, using precision and timing to frustrate the best defenses of the day.

But our very own Giants team did beat that Montana-led offense. Guys like Leonard Marshall and Lawrence Taylor wouldn’t let Montana finish the game and just creamed those Niners receivers all day long.

You just can’t assume anything in football. The favorites tend to win most of the time but any of those locks can go down in a wave of violence and momentum. Arkansas showed that last night before finally succumbing to a brilliantly-executed zone blitz.

I don’t expect the Jets to beat the Colts. That is, not unless they just do the following:

1. Knock the crap out of anything they see in blue.

2. Hit those wideouts and tight end right off the line. Mess up that timing. If you give up something along the way (and it’s almost inevitable but just once would be acceptable), so be it.

3. Go for the 3 and outs. Get that defense off the field.

4. Don’t try to outsmart Peyton Manning.

5. Swipe at that ball when it makes sense. Otherwise just make the hard tackle.

6. Run the ball. Use Joe McKnight if necessary.

7. Protect Sanchez, use max protect if necessary, he only sees one or two receivers anyway.

8. Continue with step 6.

Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes seeking redemption won’t beat the Colts, Mark Sanchez’s suddenly good shoulder won’t make the difference, Rex Ryan’s making it a personal battle won’t carry the day. What’ll beat the Colts is a 60-minute football ass-kicking.

The Jets need to feel insulted going in there. They have to be pissed off. They should remember that Peyton didn’t recognize any personal battle with Rex. He wasn’t aware of it. Rex was below his radar on awareness. The Jets have to hit this guy. Clearly.

That ballyhooed offensive line has to perform, Ferguson and Mangold and Woody have to show up. If they think in terms of long drives and clock-killing and 3 and outs, they can outperform those guys in blue. They can hold the ball forever. LaDainian Tomlinson isn’t chopped liver. This is the game for which he was picked up in the first place.

The game plan is so important. It should be conservative.

For Reggie Wayne there is Darrelle Revis and for Garcon there is Cromartie. There will be no Austin Collie or Clark to worry about. There is every reason to believe the Colts passing game can be held in check.

It goes without saying (and I’ve tried up to now not to say it), the Jets have to stop any sniveling Colts attempts to run the football. I mean, it’s Addai and Rhodes, not Arian Foster or, dare I say it, LaDainian Tomlinson. And hell, isn’t that what Rex Ryan really knows how to do?

Peyton Manning can get flustered. The Saints proved that last year. If you keep the pressure on Manning (or really just about anyone not wearing a big S on his chest), he can go bust. Of course, the Saints were a lot smarter than this Jets defense has yet shown itself to be. But they definitely gave Manning less time to think as the game wore on, and yet they still covered everybody.

The Jets can’t be the Saints but they can be a smarter Jets. Rex Ryan can’t try to be Sean Payton but he doesn’t have to be Herman Edwards either. He has to rely on his “best team in the AFC”, play conservatively and not make the big mistake. He has to concentrate on making the first down in three attempts, and, if not, punt.

Peyton Manning has to feel the pressure on every pass attempt. Let him know there will be no downs off when he can stand back there and survey the field. There must always be someone coming for him. But, in addition to the pressure of every down, Manning has to be made to feel the pressure of the game situation.

If the Jets play the physical game they’re noted for and keep the pressure on Manning and that precision-passing game, they can be assured of either staying close or maintaining a lead very late into the game.

If they make no obvious mistakes, if they can get Brad Smith free just one time, or maybe even get another safety out of a Jason Taylor, if they can just “out-football” that Indianapolis team for 60 minutes, that Colts team can be beaten.

I’d love to see it, to make Peyton Manning “aware” of Rex Ryan and the Jets.