Chad - Good. Trax - Not so much

So week 1 in the NFL is over. The Jets wound up winning a nailbiter, that should have been a blowout. Paging Mr. Nugent, you better start hitting some kicks son, or you will be booted out on your ass. I can understand missing a field goal, but a point after? Not good. Herm may not have minded, but Eric is a little cranky about it methinks.

Thankfully, I was able to watch the game, and saw an offense that actually moved the ball. Apparently, for one week at least, the ghost of Paul Hackett did not possess Brian Schottenheimer. While the running game did not look very good, and the injury to Kendall may hurt them in the long run, Chad Pennington had a very good game, throwing for over 300 yards and two TD's. He was picked off in the red zone, for the first time (!) in his career, but a borderline pass interference call nullified it. So his streak lives.

I was very impressed with Chad. He made the throws he had to make. Granted, most of them were short range, but when he had to go down the field a bit, he did so, connecting with Coles for 41 yards (and the ball went over 30). Here's the thing, Chad never had a strong arm, even before the injuries. What he did was move the ball, and he did it again yesterday. The guy is a leader, that's it. The team wants to play for him, and they want to win for him. I still think they will only win 6 games this year, but I think they will play hard, and not get blown out. If in a few weeks they have a couple of more wins, I reserve the right to change my mind, but for now, I am trying not to get too excited.

My last comment on the Jet game before I move on to the Mets - Jeff Fisher is an awful coach. First, he names Kerry Collins, a Titan for all of 2 weeks to start over the vet, Billy Volek. Then, he puts in Vince Young for 1 series. Young actually moves the ball before tossing an interception, but then is stuck to the bench for the rest of the game. I know Collins led them back, but one TD was from the 1 yard line following a fumble. Collins was awful. Young brings another dimension to the game, and he should have gotten more of a shot.

As for the Mets, well, an up and down weekend against the Dodgers, splitting the series. El Duque bounced back nicely, Glavine pitched real well as well. Alas, the two men fighting for the #4 spot in the playoffs spit the bit. The fact that both faced SUCKME lefties did not help of course, but there is still concern. And yes, Willie started a back-up lineup yesterday, not helping Trax, but frankly, it would not have mattered if the starting lineup was there, given how poorly he performed.

Of the two, frankly, I would lean towards Maine getting the nod. Trax is a vet, and was 12-1 in 18 starts prior to this month, but he has fallen apart. Yesterday he did not get out of the third inning, and admitted to have no breaking stuff. This cannot happen in the playoffs. Maine at least throws hard, and challenges hitters, which gives him an edge over Trax. It troubles me that people are quick to write-off Maine after a poor start, but not Trax, who has had 3 poor starts in his last 4 appearances. Time for The Jacket to get to work on both of them.

Similar to not getting to high with the Jets, I am not going to get down on the Mets. They have 88 wins, and a magic number of 4. I'm not going to panic over their inability to hit lefties of late. I will panic if the next time they face one Willie does not put out a good lineup however.