File Under: Schottenheimer, thanksgiving, cowboys, bowens
11/21 — Shortly before the buses left for the airport at noon, Brian Schottenheimer strolled through the second-floor hall singing.
“I fell into a burning ring of fire,” he belted out at Weeb Ewbank Hall. “I went down, down, down … ”
And so with a Johnny Cash sendoff, the Jets are on their way to Dallas. After playing seven of their first 10 games (including a road date against the Giants on Oct. 7) at the Meadowlands, the Green & White embark on their longest road trip of the year. It’s a 2,662-mile round-trip voyage to Big D.
The Jets leave here a loose bunch. You sensed a bit of the relief from the players after their victory over the Steelers Sunday.
“To get a win against a great, quality opponent like Pittsburgh — where we had to play not only four complete quarters but also had to be successful in overtime — it does a lot for our confidence,” said QB Kellen Clemens.
The six-game losing streak is far behind this club now. You could argue that this is a great time to have a short week and a great time to watch the Jets on national TV because the Green & White just played their best game of the season.
“If someone’s grandma is sitting around watching it because all of the guys are, I don’t think she would look at our team and say we are a 2-8 team,” said veteran OLB David Bowens. “Our confidence has picked up, our pride has picked up. Last game we played a lot more physical and made a lot more tackles. We didn’t have many mental errors. It has to be the same.”
Can Thomas Jones repeat his effort from a week ago when he totaled 117 yards on the ground against the NFL's top defense?
Dallas has the NFL’s fourth-ranked rush defense, but TJ is going to be motivated for this one. Younger brother Julius owns bragging rights from their first Thanksgiving encounter three years ago.
“He got the best of me that day,” TJ said Monday. “We'll see how it goes on Thursday."
So the Cowboys will get all the national headlines entering this contest. They are 9-1 and have their eyes set on the big prize, but they are going to be challenged Thursday.
“We think of ourselves as a good team that hasn’t played well,” said LB Matt Chatham. “I don’t think that’s really going to change going forward.”
We'll have to wait a day to see who will come out on top in "The Ring of Fire." Randy will drop you a note later when the team arrives in Dallas.
Anonymous Said:
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 2:21am EDT"i think thomass jones is one of the best back in the NFL, i never seen such great vision from a back, the leading back in the NFL lead because they have great run blockers, our blockers are not use to pounding the ball and jones have to do what he can, he is the best person on our team all season and i never seen him complain about not getting the handoff that he sould get my point is get him a TD"
Steven Said:
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 8:51am EDT"I think the Jets will have a decent day. The thing is: they're a football team who doesn't deserve to be where they are. I've noticed over the years whenever they play someone tough (like the 9-1 Cowboys), they play that team tough. They have the potential and no one seems to give them the credit they deserve, even when we have a playoff year, it's the same thing. "
Warren Said:
Thu, November 22, 2007 - 9:39am EDT""Never..never..never..never, give up." Winston Churchill must have been a Jet fan. Please keep the play book open. Aggressive Defence....Creative fearless play calling....Sound Special team coverage, and courage from the coaching staff. We have nothing to loose."
Row Said:
Wed, November 21, 2007 - 2:53pm EDT"I'd sure like to see the same D that showed up on Sunday. It'll actually be warm in Dallas. Clemens is going to connect those long passes and T.O. will get stuffed at the line. This will be his worst game of the season, I'm looking forward to it. Go Jets - can't get much better then thanksgiving watching Jets football. "
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