It would have been easy for the Jets to fall into a trap today against the Rams. The game was against a weak opponent, sandwiched between two divisional road games and the second of those is Thursday in New England. Someone forgot to let the Rams know they should set one.
There wasn't much that went wrong for the Jets today. They cruised down the field and scored on the opening drive, forced a three-and-out and then added a field goal. The game wasn't in doubt after the next Rams possession. Abram Elam came like a cannonball on a safety blitz to force a Marc Bulger fumble, Calvin Pace recovered and returned it for a touchdown. It was 17-0, just 10 minutes were off the clock and things only went downhill from there for the Rams.
It was a complete effort for the Rams as well, completely inept. They turned the ball over five times, gained 200 yards and looked about as happy to be in New Jersey as a low-level mafioso who insulted Tony Soprano's goomah. During the game, I got a text from a friend suggesting that Alabama would beat the Rams. My reply, "So would Michigan," should let anyone familiar with college football know how pathetic the visitors' effort was this afternoon.
Pathetic may seem like a strong word, but, really, based on the way the Rams played, effort is the stretch in that last sentence.
The Jets scored on all seven first-half possessions and led 40-0 at the break. That was actually one point below their franchise-best first-half. For the Rams that was perhaps the hollowest moral victory in the history of hollow moral victories. They did wind up losing to the Jets by a larger margin than any other team in history. Hey, if you're gonna lose, you might as well do it flamboyantly.
Thomas Jones ran for 149 yards and scored three times for the Jets, while Dustin Keller was the only receiver Brett Favre needed. The rookie had 107 yards and a touchdown, Favre only needed to throw 19 passes on a day carried by his teammates. It was the second straight complete effort for a Jet team that struggled in that regard all season.
As mentioned, the Jets won't have long to enjoy this win. The Patriots loom on Thursday in what should be one of the pivotal games in the AFC this season. The last two weeks have erased many of the concerns about the way the Jets were playing, this Thursday could see them become a serious contender for the Lombardi Trophy.
Jets 47, Rams 3: Jimmy Hoffa Had a Better Day Than St. Louis originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
