The Jets last played a regular season game in front of fans at MetLife Stadium when they took to the field against the Patriots on Sunday.
The team is coming out of a competitive loss with the Panthers in its opening match of the season. Rookie quarterback Zac Wilson showed promising signs. New head coach Robert Saleh has energized the organization.
There’s no reason why MetLife shouldn’t be rocking on Sunday.
The Jets Home Game has been an exciting event for a long time. Eric Decker caught a game-winning touchdown in overtime and lived up to another week of the team’s playoff dream when you might have to go back to the last time the Jets beat the Patriots in 2015.
Since then It’s been a rough ride. The team is 13-27 at home from that match and not good on the road. The truth is that the Jets didn’t give the fans much joy.
But Sunday seems to be an opportunity. It feels a bit like Week 2 in 2009 when the new coach and a striking quarterback made their home debut. That game was also against the Patriots. Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez were the talk of the town and the town went out to greet them that day.
Ryan made a record call to all Jets season-ticket holders in the week before the game, urging them to make the lives of patriots “pathetic”. Delivered by fans. The old stadiums in the Meadowlands were the same as before for the Jets game. The Jets won 16-9, keeping Tom Brady out of the last zone and announcing his arrival as the real contender.
“Dude, hey, dude, I’ve never been to a stadium,” Ryan said Wednesday afternoon. “The stadium shook. Like, literally, I’m on the field and in that fourth quarter and I was like, ‘This area is moving.’ It was too loud. “
Ryan handed fans a game ball, which is still sitting at the team’s headquarters in Florham Park in the trophy case. They sent mini footballs to season ticket holders. The game confirmed that Ryan could support his struggles.
Now and then, there is definitely a difference. It was Giants Stadium. The Jets are now in MetLife, which doesn’t match the feeling of the old place. Patriots are no longer patriots. Brady is a bookie and they are breaking into their own rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Although Saleh brought energy back to the organization, it was not Ryan’s inflammatory power.
This Jets team isn’t as smart as the 2009 version, and Sunday’s win won’t make people believe it could be a competitor. But this can lead people to believe that jets are no longer punching bags. Patriots are no longer Super Bowl favorites but they are also not pushovers.
Saleh will probably not record any phone messages for Jets fans this week but he is eagerly awaiting their arrival on Sunday. The Jets want their fans to come to their seats early and hit the spot with a frenzy that was just a memory this time around last year.
“I think I speak for everyone, including the fans, that it’s exciting, it would be great,” Saleh said. “It’s been a long time since the building has had jets fans, and when the chanting goes on and when things start moving, it’s going to be electric, it’s going to be great.
For the record, Ryan is a Saleh fan. Saleh loves the energy that comes out. Ryan captured a team that was more successful than Saleh had undertaken but faced an identity crisis, which Ryan solved almost immediately. Something Saleh is also trying to pull off.
“I wanted to bring back a little pride in that building,” Ryan said. “I think we did it. Hope this guy can turn it around. ”
Both Ryan and Saleh want physical teams, something Ryan’s team showed the right way by winning the first week over the Texans.
“I think we all showed up a week ago that we weren’t the same old jets,” Ryan said. “We were different. We weren’t going to whip the ass anymore. ”
It’s time for Saleh’s jets to show that they will no longer whip donkeys. In 2009, the Jets lost eight straight to the Patriots. The Jets are currently in the 10-game and overall the Patriots have lost.
Fans of the Jets can help Saleh’s team as much as they helped Ryan’s team years ago. They can make life miserable again for patriots.
