A Short Week Can Be a Good Week for the Jets

Focus shouldn't be a problem on Thursday night

A lot of teams don't like being scheduled to play on Thursday night. Four days is a quick turnaround for aching bodies and it's not much time to school players on the traits and tendencies of the opposition. As reasonable as those concerns might be, the Jets should be happy about the NFL's choice to send them to Toronto for a game with the Bills. 

Soap opera may be a little hyperbolic, but it fits well enough as a two-word description of the Jets season. Brash newcomer promising big things and handsome quarterback with a hint of mystery come to town and win their first three games to make everyone a little excited. Then a few losses have everyone acting like the end of the world is nigh. Key players get injured, disaster strikes for the golden boy quarterback, the ultraconfident coach breaks down in tears and Darrelle Revis is revealed to have an evil twin. Not really on the evil twin, but you get the point. Melodrama hasn't been in short supply. 

There's only so much melodrama that can crop up during a short week, although bringing in Joe Girardi to teach Mark Sanchez how to slide brought a nice touch of light comedy to the proceedings. There was also precious little time to dwell on beating the Panthers or crow about how the team has things turned around after that victory.

And there's no time for anyone to start thinking about the games that follow Thursday night's contest or the various permutations that can keep the Jets alive in the playoff race. No time for the players to do it, anyway, and no time for reporters working that angle to come up with questions to get the perspective of the guys on the inside.

Too often this season, the Jets have resembled a hyperactive dog whose eye gets caught by every shiny object that enters their field of vision. The schedule this week makes that impossible, which can only be a good thing since they can't afford to give away any more games. With so little time to prepare, the Jets had little choice but to prepare and that should bode well for them when they get on the field.

Alas, there is a downside. They'll have 10 days before their next game, which should leave plenty of time for catching up with all your favorite characters on "As The Jets Turn."

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.

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