Finally, Jets Look Good Again in Win Over Fish

On Saturday, I thought LSU was crazy for wanting to get rid of Les Miles. Now, I think they’re off their rocker for keeping him. Because, after watching Jarvis Landry’s one-man act against the Jets, all I keep thinking is, how did Miles’ Tigers lose three games in 2013 with Landry and Odell Beckham, Jr. as his receivers? (Oh yeah, also, his QB was the Titans’ Zach Mettenberger, and the Bengals’ Jeremy Hill was his primary RB. Way to do Les with more, coach).

Landry may well have been the best player on the field on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Fortunately for the Jets, he wasn’t quite good enough to offset the awfulness of his team. The Dolphins are really bad -- so lousy, in fact, that Gang Green’s dominating performance -- their most complete effort in more than a month -- should probably come with an asterisk.

Still, a W is a W, and the 18-point victory provides a huge boost for the Jets -- and their postseason hopes. Additionally, even against the suspect Fish, the rebound for Ryan Fitzpatrick and Chris Ivory was welcome news.

After lackluster showings in the last two contests, Fitz went into the Miami game knowing that a subpar start would likely get him benched. But the Amish Rifle looked good from the get-go, and came through with one of his best games of the season, notching four TD passes with nary an interception.

Ivory also started strong -- with a 16-yard dash up the middle on the game’s initial play. Then he basically did nothing for the rest of the first half. In the second half, however, the running back was back with a thud, breaking tackles like the Ivory of the early part of the season.

Heading into the season’s stretch run, it looks like Ivory is running downhill again -- and, of course, destroying all obstacles in his path.

Unlike Fitz and Ivory, Brandon Marshall and Muhammad Wilkerson had nothing to come back from. The receiver and d-lineman were great on Sunday, just like they have been all year.

Now in his fifth NFL campaign, Wilkerson is on the verge of a huge free agent payday, even though he has yet to earn Pro Bowl recognition. That should change this season, as he’s been as good as lineman in the league not named Watt.

At this point, five-time Pro Bowler Marshall isn’t playing for a ticket to Hawaii. He’s aiming for an ugly yellow jacket, the kind they give you in Canton. The WR was a force vs. the Fish, shredding Miami’s pass defense so badly in the first half that, in the second, Dolphins CB Brent Grimes decided on a new plan of action: tackle Marshall before the ball got to him.

Amazingly, it still didn’t work. I’m not sure what does against a WR who is as big as a linebacker and has hands like a surgeon.

Second-year pro Landry has the tools needed for a Marshall-like career. Now he just needs to find a decent team. Question for Mike Maccagnan: when does Landry become a free agent?

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