After the Jets’ loss to Pittsburgh I found myself wondering how they could have let such a perfect opportunity slip through their fingers. After beating New England I was convinced they had what it took to get to the Super Bowl and for the first time all season, was sure they would get there. So what happened?

Rex Ryan had devised two brilliant game plans to beat the Colts and Patriots and I believed he had something in his bag of tricks to take down the Steelers. Although there were some flaws in his game plan, it was good enough to get the win but it was the poor execution by his players that lost the game.

For the first time in years Jets fans actually felt confident going into a big game. I will admit, I did not feel good about the Jets’ chances going into New England last week but after they took care of business against one of the most dominant offenses in the league, I thought they had an excellent chance to win in Pittsburgh.

But the entire team was flat in the first half and you are not going to win against a good football team like the Steelers without a complete effort. In particular, it was the Jets’ defense that did them in.

Donald Starver from steelerstoday.com stopped by to do some Q & A with us. Check out his responses to our questions.

What a difference a week makes. Last week Rex Ryan claimed his match up with Bill Belichick was personal and at every press conference he seemed to be calling out the Patriots’ head coach.

But this week he is a kinder, gentler Rex and has had nothing but praise for Mike Tomlin and his team. So what changed?

As the dust settles from the Jets’ huge upset over New England, the Jets turn their attention to Pittsburgh, which stands in the way of the team’s first Super Bowl berth since 1969. Just 30 minutes away from the big game last year, this year’s Jets seem to be on a mission to win the ultimate prize.

Rex Ryan gave all the credit to his players in his Monday press conference. Downplaying his match up with Bill Belichick, he said his team just executed better and deserved the chance now in front of them.

I can’t say enough good things about Eric Smith. Besides providing some big hits and being one of the leaders in tacklers, he made solid plays on special teams.

He tackled Patrick Chung for a loss after the Patriots’ safety fumbled a direct snap on a fake punt. Smith also recovered Shayne Graham’s second onside kick to secure the win.

Let’s be honest, prior to kickoff, who really thought the Jets were going to win that game yesterday? I knew they had a chance but was not overly confident and based upon pre-game reports from NFL analysts, I was not alone. Very few had the Jets beating the mighty Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

Last week Rex Ryan came up with a great game plan against the Colts but Tom Brady and the New England offense had been wiping teams out the last two months, including the Jets, and with Bill Belichick getting an extra week to prepare, it did not look good for Gang Green.

Jamie Pacheco from musketfire.com stopped by to do some Q & A with us.  Check out his responses to our questions.

The Jets were dealt a blow on Wednesday when they were forced to put RT Damien Woody on injured reserve with an Achilles injury. Woody had sat out the Jets’ final three games after arthroscopic knee surgery and worked hard to return for the Colts’ game.

But he injured his Achilles on the Jets’ final drive and is now done for the season. Wayne Hunter will step in and he did a great job filling in during Woody’s last absence.

Now that Jets’ fans have had more than a couple of days to soak in the team’s dramatic win in Indy, it is time to refocus and set our sights on the Patriots. We all know about the December 6 debacle and on Monday, in his press conference, Ryan cleared the air as to what went wrong.

“I realize that I was outcoached in that game...For whatever reason, I did not have my team prepared the way it should have been prepared and that falls down on me...It’s about him (Belichick) against me and that’s what it’s going to come down to.”

Mark Sanchez was awful in this game. He endured some early pressure and it seemed to affect him for the rest of the game.

Since the start of the season, Jets fans have noted that the team will only go as far as Sanchez can take them and after last night’s performance, he certainly left doubt in many peoples’ minds.

Advantage Ryan. After a week of soundbites from the Jets’ head coach, Jets fans knew all too well that Saturday’s match up would probably come down to a battle of wits between him and Peyton Manning.

We had heard it all week - Ryan was 1-5 vs. Manning and his one win was only made possible by Jim Caldwell who sat his starting quarterback in the second half of their week 16 match up. This time Manning played the whole game but Ryan and his players found a way to win.

If the Jets’ player interviews are any indication of how they will play against the Colts, Jets fans will certainly be happy. To a man, every player sounded confident and prepared. Mark Sanchez, Damien Woody , Shaun Ellis, and Darrelle Revis all spoke highly of the Jets’ game plan, which was quite telling.

We have not heard players reference the team’s game plan so specifically this season and their mention this week has to be a good omen for tonight’s game. Rex Ryan and Brian Schottenheimer’s game plans have left a lot to be desired and to hear players speak so confidently about them now leads one to think that they know something we do not.   Read More...

During his press conference earlier in the week, Rex Ryan said this week’s game against Peyton Manning is personal. With a 1-5 record against him and a tough loss against him in last year’s AFC Championship Game, Ryan’s ego is clearly bruised and in typical Ryan fashion, he let the whole world know it.

But what Ryan did not talk about is how he has used the revenge factor to motivate his team. Most of the players from last year are still with the team and recall the bad taste left in their mouth after losing a game they had within their grasp.

On the flight back from their tough loss in last years’ AFC Championship Game, Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan drew up their plan to take down Peyton Manning. They needed to fix their secondary if they were to compete for a title in 2010.

Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie torched Dwight Lowery and Drew Coleman for 18 catches, 274 yards and 2 touchdowns and erased a 17-6 halftime deficit and propelled the Colts to a 30-17 win.