Jets - Colts Notes: First Half

> Pre-game, the talk is all of 1969 and Joe Namath, and we also have a live eagle flying around the Indy Dome to a loud crowd. It's probably the loudest the crowd will be all day, because I'm expecting 10 to 15K Jet fans in attendance, since that New York dollar can buy a lot in Indy. Jets coach Rex Ryan smiles at the eagle, and I hope that he's not planning on eating it.

> The Colts win the toss, take the ball, and get a decent return to start at their own 30. Colts QB Peyton Manning throws back to WR Reggie Wayne on a fairly slow pattern, but the throw is perfect and it goes for 13 on the Non-Revis CB. RB Joseph Addai wiggles through a crack for two in the Keep Them Honest portion of the Colt attack. From the gun on second, S Jim Leonhard knocks down another slow pattern, this time to the second TE. On third, the Jet blitz overwhelms the coverage, and Manning eats it for a long sack. The Jet defense looked solid on that drive, and after a middling punt, Jet PR Jerricho Cotchery takes it at his own 29.

> Jets RB Thomas Jones gets three on the inevitable first down interior run, then goes nowhere on second. The really impressive thing about QB Mark Sanchez's second half against the Chargers is how almost all of his throws came from third and long; on this one, from the gun, he shakes off pressure to get it to Cotchery on the sidelines for a first. Wisely, Sanchez sneaks from no huddle to avoid a replay challenge, and gets two. RB Shonn Greene goes behind the right side and is stopped just in front of the sticks. On third and 1 from the Colts 45, Greene runs a long way for two yards, but he moves the sticks. Sanchez then awkwardly connects with WR Braylon Edwards on a slant, and the big WR avoids contact for 20 yards to put them on the Colt 21. Very impressive drive so far... but Greene gets snowed under on the edge for a loss of two. On second and 12, Greene is smashed on a draw from a fake bubble screen, and the Jets are moving backwards. Third and 14 is another bubble screen to Edwards, and gets nothing... and PK Jay Feely just misses from 44. I get how Ryan doesn't want to give Sanchez any chance for a game-changing mistake, but if his sphincter got any tighter on that drive, he could use it to cut rope. Advantage, Colts.

> Now from his 34, Manning holds it too long and takes another sack; it's amazing that he can't find a hot read against a 7 man rush, or that the Colts would rush 7 on first. On 2nd and 17, Addai gets back five. On third and 12 from the gun, Manning can't get it to blanketed TE Dallas Clark, and that's a three and out. Cotchery takes back a 56 yard punt from Colts P Tom McAfee some distance, and the Jets will start at their 24.

> A Sanchez throw to TE Dustin Keller is wildly out of sync as CBS's Jim Nance seems overly excited by the presence of sideline reporter Steve Tasker. RB Tony Richardson forgets his abilities on an east-west run, setting up third and 8. Ryan ups the Sphincter Factor on a give to Jones, who gets three yards and has no realistic chance at a conversion. Jets punter Steve Weatherford gets a lot of the ball, then gets lucky with the bounce and roll, and that's 60+ yards of field position. Meaningful, in the way this one is working out. The Colts start at their 11, and I hope you bet the under.

> Disturbingly, Snoopy sneezes out a blimp as Manning finds Clark from his first quick release of the day, leading to five yards and a cloud of competence. On second with a mild hurry up going on, rookie RB Donald Brown finds a crease and has a burst, leading to 12 yards and a first. Addai goes to the locker room as Manning finds WR Pierre Garcon, who shakes off Non-Revis CB Dwight Lowery for 27, and just like that, the Colts have the ball in Jets territory. With the offense humming, Colt Fan is suspicious of the timing of the injury to Jets CB Donald Strickland, but CBS is happy for More Commerce. CB Lito Shepard, benched for the start of this, comes in. Target! And just that fast, Manning finds Garcon for a great catch by the WR on a deep ball, as Garcon takes it off his face and falls down at the nine, a 36 yard gain. Ryan's irritable bowels call a timeout, and it seems to pay off as Brown is victimized by heavy defensive pressure, but manages to get it back to the line of scrimmage. On second and goal from the gun, Manning has time and tries Wayne on Revis, but there is nowhere for the ball to me. A false start moves it back to the 14, and with the clock running down, Manning settles on a scree to Garcon, who is stopped by Shepard at the six. A clip is declined -- curious, since the Jets could have tried to make the field goal more difficult -- and PK Matt Stover makes a 25 yarder to start the second quarter, which is the first field goal attempt made by a Jet opponent in the postseason. Still, a good time out and stand by Ryan, and while the Colts seem to have something working to Garcon for as long as Revis isn't on him, it's the rare playoff game that's won on early field goals. Of course, it's also rare to win playoff games with early field goal misses. Colts 3, Jets 0.

> A deep kick from Stover leads to a touchback.... and just that fast, the Jets take the lead, as Sanchez uses play action and a pump fake to free up Edwards for a game changer, who takes a fine deep ball to the house. Colts rookie CB Jacob Lacey, starting due to injury, just got national prominence in a way he never wanted. I'm just amazed that Edwards caught it, given that his specialty is the backbreaking drop, but just that fast, it's Jets 7, Colts 3, and Ryan's looking much more free and easy.

> After an ugly return, Manning gives to Brown on a shotgun draw for five. Strickland's return seems unlikely, Addai's less so, as Manning drills third WR Austin Collie on a ball that the man just drops. A quick snap to Brown is stopped before the sticks, but cagey Manning did it to get a 12 men flag on the Jets for the first. Damn, he's smart and all. From the gun on first, Manning finds Wayne, who actually makes Revis (!) look bad on a twitch move to get 25. From the Jet 45, Addai is back and looking good for eight on the left side, as the Colts running game is looking good. Manning changes the play at the line to give it to Addai, who mans up through the middle for a first. Manning changes to another run by Addai, who makes the LB miss on a pretty hop move for eight yards. More Manning foofaraw before the snap, and the throw is incomplete to Wayne, who wants a flag on Revis for perfect coverage. Sad. On third and two from the gun, the Jets inexplicably rush three, and Manning finds Collie on a middle cross with room to run, and the WR takes it to the Jets four. That's four passes of over 20 yards already today for the Colts; the Jets just aren't tackling that well. Garcon can't bring in a hot slant on first, then Manning finds Collie inside the one. In hurry up, Manning tries a sneak that goes absolutely nowhere as the QB lobbies the refs for some reason, and Colts coach Jim Caldwell chooses the chip shot field goal. I suspect I'd have taken the field goal as well, but I'm damn sure I wouldn't have called for a sneak on third. Stover makes from 19. An impressive drive with an ugly end for the home team, and it's Jets 7, Colts 6.

> From the 23 after the KR Brad Smith goes backwards at the end, Jones gains four but is stopped by the first man in the open field, and the Jets might go more with Greene... who then burst for 12 from similar blocking from the right side. Greene takes a flip that looks promising, but S Melvin Bullitt takes him down for three yards. Smith comes in for a direct snap and throws just his second pass of the year to a wide-open Cotchery, who is nearly signaling for a fair catch on a bad underthrow. The play goes for 45 yards and sets up the Jets at the Colts 12 as Bullitt goes off. On first, Greene gets four on another good crease to the right. On second, Sanchez is barely able to get the ball out of bounds form heavy pressure, and boy, that was dangerous. Ryan takes his second timeout of the half to stop the momentum of what just happened, and I'm pretty sure the ref heard him coming from the seismic shake. Bullitt returns as Sanchez hits Keller for the touchdown while taking a big hit. Wow. The Jets lead 14 to 6, and a rookie game manager QB is outplaying the league MVP and a first ballot Hall of Famer, especially in the red zone. The Jets are 35 minutes away from going to the Super Bowl.

> With the Colts getting the ball to start the second half, this drive is huge; a stop and two subsequent Jets scores could put this game into wilding range for the Jet D. Addai takes a slow developing toss to the sideline and gets nine as Lowery goes out again with an injury. The RB moves the sticks on a middling run to the right. From their own 38 on first, Addai is destroyed on a run blitz and fumbles to DE Calvin Pace, who nearly took the handoff, as Leonhard recovers it on the Colt 30. Holy moley.

> Jones to the right for four, and a late flag is picked up. The Colts desperately need a three and out to keep this one in range. On second, the Jets take a false start as the clock goes under three minutes, then lose even more ground on a give to Jones, who looks a lot worse than Greene today. With the field goal now at over 50 yards, the Colts call their first timeout. Third and 16 is a give to Jones, who gets four yards and prompts the second Colt timeout. Feely's attempt from 48 draws through the uprights, and looks like it would have been good from 55. Jets 17, Colts 6.

> Feely's kickoff goes through the uprights on a bounce with 2:11 left. Manning misses Clark, covered well by S Kerry Rhodes, by a lot. Heh. From the gun on second, Jets Fan is getting loud, and Manning has too much time to find Collie for 18, who makes a man miss to gain a little more, and goes out of bounds at the two minute warning. From their own 38, Manning from the gun is talking a lot, and has tons of time to throw a perfect ball to Collie for 46 yards down the middle, then back again to the WR in the end zone, who makes a great reach and catch for the first touchdown of the day for the home team. That's an 80 yard drive, all of it to one receiver, in less than a minute, and so much for the Jet D putting this one away... and considering how they've played in the second half for the last two games, that wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. Jets 17, Colts 13.

> Smith needs a big return to give Sanchez enough rope with Ryan, but he only gets it to his own 21. A give to Jones gets seven, and the telling thing is that the RB fell down in bounds, rather than bust it for the sidelines. The Jets then huddle up to make their intentions more clear, and we're back to Ryan cutting bricks with his buttocks. The Colts call time just to see if a fumble happens on third and three, which Ryan responds to with a Sanchez kneel down. That's the half, and while the Jets lead by four, they just might be playing this too tight to win. I don't like my Colts to cover bet, though...