While some football rivalries have stood the test of time, the new decade ushered in several more exciting opponents for the New York Jets.

Here’s a look at the New York Jets‘ top five best current rivalries:

1) Miami Dolphins: Rex Ryan added fuel to the fiery rivalry between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets by flipping a middle finger at Miami football fans during a mixed martial arts event in South Florida in Feb. of 2010.

As much as I want to give the New England Patriots the No. 1 spot on this list, I believe a rivalry can only be great if it features two evenly matched teams.

I hate to admit it, but the Patriots will likely play at a superior level to the Dolphins and Jets as long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are running the show in New England. That leaves the Dolphins and Jets as the two teams who will be fighting for the second-place spot in the division for the years ahead.

2) New England Patriots: Rex Ryan was fined $75k for cursing at a New England Patriots fan during halftime of a Jets loss in Nov. of 2011, in an incident that punctuated the recent rivalry between the Jets and Patriots.

In recent years, this matchup has been all about the Patriots’ explosive offense against the Jets‘ stingy defense. The Jets lost twice to the Patriots in 2011, one year after upsetting them in the 2010 divisional playoff round.

3) New York Giants: Whenever you share a stadium with a team, a fierce rivalry is bound to happen. Not only do the Jets and Giants share MetLife Stadium, they are also constantly battling for the cover of sports sections in New York area newspapers.

The Giants won two Super Bowls in the past five years, and the Jets haven’t done much besides making odd business decisions like signing Tim Tebow to backup Mark Sanchez. The Jets were outclassed by the Giants on Dec. 24, 2011, after a week of buildup that included plenty of trash-talking from both sides.

Rex Ryan got the hype machine rolling by saying the Jets were better than the Giants in a nypost.com report. “I recognize that they’re an excellent football team, but I think we’re better,” Ryan said on a conference call. “I never came here to be little brother to anyone. So, it’s on.”

4) Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore gets the No. 4 spot on this list because they are a spitting image of the Jets in many ways.

Much like the Jets, the Ravens hope to beat you with a ground-and-pound attack and stifling defense. The end result is usually low-scoring affairs that feature brutal sacks and hard-hitting tackles from both sides. Since 2007, the Ravens have won three straight against the Jets.

5) Buffalo Bills: The Jets topped the Bills twice last season, but it could be a much different year for Buffalo now that they have Mario Williams patrolling their defense. I fully expect the two-time Pro Bowler to set the tone of the season early for Buffalo by delivering several crushing blows to Mark Sanchez in the season opener on Sept. 9.

Which team is the New York Jets’ top rival? Let me know in the comments.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nyj/, Pro Football Reference, New York Jets stats

New York media wants Peyton Manning for obvious reasons

Three Things to consider on this Peyton Manning Wednesday:

Thing 1: The New York media is already going into overdrive to make this Manning Brothers Reunion happen.

Respected NFL writer Gary Myers strongly advocates the New York Jets signing Peyton Manning, even if it means dumping incumbent Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez has a cap number of $14 million in 2012, Myers notes, and is due a $2.75 million roster bonus on March 28. More troubling still, Myers writes, is that Sanchez has “lost the locker room.”

With Tony Sparano already running the Jets offense, Chad Pennington being brought in to tutor Sanchez and Chad Henne possibly on the Jets’ radar as a backup option, that’s a ton of Dolphins ties running through Florham Park.

Stealing Manning away from the desperate Dolphins would only add to the tension between these two rivals.

Thing 2: Today’s noon press conference figures to be emotional for Manning, but one benefit for the career-long Wearer of the Horseshoe is he won’t have to track @JimIrsay’s Twitter timeline anymore.

The constant rock-lyric tweets are cool for a while, but once you start sifting through them for Colts-related clues, it can be exhausting.

And what the heck was that one about sitting with the late Whitney Houston — “a sweet, amazingly gifted soul” — at a Dolphins game in Miami circa 2001?

Dolphins owner Steve Ross, by the way, does not tweet — thankfully.

Thing 3: Strong showing for the Miami Heat last night in that 30-point blowout win over the lowly Nets. 

Afterward, with the NBA trade deadline now just eight days away, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra insisted there was no need for a major addition to his 29-9 team.

He talked about Pat Riley, Nick Arison and Andy Elisburg “always doing their due diligence,” but downplayed some of the recent big-man workouts the Heat have been conducting.

“We feel we have enough,” Spoelstra said, “and I think we’ve proven already that if we play the way we’re capable of, we feel confident against anybody in this league. It’s more about that than it is personnel for us.”

Maybe so, but I still wouldn’t mind seeing them add a proven space eater off the bench who would be more reliable than Dexter Pittman and Eddy Curry.

The New York Jets had no choice but to “play and pray” on Jan. 1. Unfortunately, the football gods weren’t there to answer their prayers, as a 19-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, combined with the Tennessee Titans’ 23-22 win over the Houston Texans, mathematically eliminated them from the playoffs. With the Jets losing and Titans coming away victorious, the AFC playoff picture is a bit clearer.

Sanchez was downright dirty in the playoffs in 2009, helping the Jets make it to the AFC Title Game.
Wikimedia Commons

The game was over when: Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, who threw three interceptions in the game, was picked off by Dolphins linebacker Marvin Mitchell with 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Jets were down 16-10 at the time, but just 10 yards away from taking the lead back with a touchdown pass. Instead, Mitchell jumped in front of Shonn Greene to grab the pick, and took it all the way back to the Jets’ 36-yard line, which set up a Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter for a 44-yard field goal to put his team up 19-10, essentially sealing the win.

The difference: Even though the Dolphins had one of the toughest defenses in the NFL to run against, the Jets reverted back to the ground-and-pound style of offense that made them so successful in 2009 and 2010. LaDainian Tomlinson, playing in what could be the final game of his career, put in a vintage performance and looked like a guy with plenty of gas left in the tank.

Tomlinson rushed for 33 yards on six carries in the first half alone, and he surpassed Jerome Bettis early in the third quarter for fifth all-time in rushing yards. The Jets also established Shonn Greene early on, utilizing his downhill, straight-up-the-middle rushing approach to wear the Dolphins out by the end of the first half. Greene had 10 carries for 38 yards by halftime. Greene finished with 55 yards on the ground.

But with the Jets falling behind in the second half and with time running down, they were forced to rely on their passing attack, and Mark Sanchez’s late-interceptions would ultimately do the Jets in. Sanchez’s final line was abysmal, as his 207 passing yards and two touchdown completions didn’t mean much in comparison to his three game-changing interceptions.

Overall: The first half was ugly on both sides. Manish Mehta, Jets beat writer for the New York Daily News, tweeted at halftime that “The Dolphins’ last four drives include three 3-and-outs and an INT. Not good.” Seconds later, Mehta tweeted “#nyjJets offense: Four 3-and-outs in six drives in the first half. Also, not good. #nyj.”

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez didn’t do much to quiet his critics, as his interception toss nine seconds before halftime resulted in a 58-yard field goal from Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter. With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Santonio Holmes was seen on camera screaming at one of his teammates in the huddle and was then benched. At his post-game press conference, he was asked if he wanted to return to the Jets next year and he responded by not answering the question, simply saying “Thank you guys” to the media on hand.

Even if the Jets won, they would have been out of the playoff chase with Houston falling short against Tennessee, but a well-played victory over the Dolphins could have been a nice springboard to propel them into next season. Now, after finishing 8-8 with three straight losses down the stretch, they have a long offseason to ponder what exactly went wrong this year.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

www.nfl.com, NFL, player and team stats

www.twitter.com/thejetsstream, Manish Mehta tweets

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Looks like nobody stayed on script since mid-Fall in this Season at the Improv, when the Dolphins were in mid-free fall and first saw the Jets.

Matt Moore, who made his first Dolphins start that night, plays quarterback for the AFC offense with the most pass plays longer than 25 yards and featuring the Dolphins’ first 1,000-yard receiving and rushing combination, Brandon Marshall and Reggie Bush (but not Sunday). The Dolphins didn’t see their coach fired after an 0-7 start, but after their second loss in the next five games. With the playoffs in sight, the Jets got smacked around each of the past two weeks and have been less consistent than the Dolphins.

Now, New York’s green team comes to town needing a win to start the dominoes falling toward another in-by-their-heel-skin playoff berth.

OK, that you might have guessed. That’s typical of a game that features the Dolphins and Jets, who comprise the NFL rivalry that regularly pours the wacky sauce on an NFL weekend.

Season finales are no exception. Remember how Brett Favre’s season in New York, 2008, ended foiled by a leaping Ted Ginn touchdown catch and defensive end Philip Merling’s interception-return touchdown?

Take the situation of one of the two probable Hall of Famers possibly ending their careers Sunday, the Jets’ LaDainian Tomlinson and the Dolphins’ Jason Taylor.

Taylor has played the second-most games as a Dolphin behind arguably South Florida’s greatest sporting icon, Dan Marino. He has been a local community pillar, similar to Marino. And it’s entirely possible during the pregame ceremony honoring him — the Dolphins ask that fans be in their seats by 12:45 p.m. — he will hear boos from the Dolphins fans who can’t forgive Taylor for being a Jet during 2010.

“There are a lot of coincidences I guess,” Taylor said. “It’s great to end at home. It’s great to have a chance to walk away and do it in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against.

“I want to win. I want to win the game. I don’t want to win the game so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career and all that stuff. It’s not about that. There’s guys in this locker room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs, trying to improve and grow their game and their career, so I’m just a small piece of this team train.”

That train has gone on some serpentine tracks. Ask Dolphins players if this is the weirdest season they have been a part of and you get either “definitely” or a head-shaking “it’s football.”

Nobody’s saying the Jets marched in a straight line to their end, whatever that might be. Instead of a secure future with a quarterback settling into a groove, Jets coach Rex Ryan finds himself refuting questions about Mark Sanchez’s future and fielding a mediocre defense.

“I really think we can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” Ryan said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defense, I think we can run the football and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.

“So, can we do some things if we can get in? I think we can. Are we better than the eight wins? I think you are who you are. Right now, we’ve won eight games.”

But, then in the next breath, Ryan said: “I’ll tell you what’s interesting. When you look at when we played Miami … 0-7 to start with, 5-3 their last eight games. I’ve always said that they were a better team than their record. I never thought there was any doubt. And the fact that they’re 5-3 in their last eight games I think proves that they’re a better team.”

Just like it all graphed out two and a half months ago.

MIAMI – Jason Taylor’s ready to hang it up, while the New York Jets are desperate to keep playing.

Taylor plans to retire after Sunday’s season finale for the Miami Dolphins. They’ll try to send him out with a win against the Jets, who need a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of making the playoffs.

Even if the Jets win, to earn a post-season berth they’ll also need losses Sunday by Cincinnati, Tennessee and either Denver or Oakland.

“This is the first time I have ever been in a situation like this,” said receiver Plaxico Burress, a 10-year veteran. “If we do get in, great. If things don’t work out, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

The Jets (8-7) lost control of their destiny when they were beaten last week by the Giants 29-14. Now the Jets are in danger of missing the playoffs after reaching the AFC championship game each of the past two years, and elimination could come at the hands of the AFC East rival Dolphins (5-10).

“It would be beautiful to ruin their playoff dreams,” Miami defensive end Kendall Langford said. “We’re playing for pride. They’re playing for a playoff spot.”

The teams meet in a regular-season finale for the first time since 2008, when the Dolphins won to clinch their only division title since 2000. That game eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.

This year the Dolphins have been consigned to a spoiler’s role since Halloween, thanks to their 0-7 start. Taylor’s retirement announcement this week provided some additional motivation for the last game.

The NFL’s active sack leader spent 13 of his 15 seasons with Miami, made the Pro Bowl six times and ranks with the greatest players in franchise history.

“His presence will be missed, not only in our locker room, but in this organization,” receiver Brandon Marshall said. “Those guys are once-in-a-lifetime guys. We would love for him to go out with a win.”

Coincidentally, Taylor played last season for the Jets before rejoining the Dolphins.

“He was a great teammate, and we loved having him here,” Jets tight end Dustin Keller said. “But they’re going to want to send him off with a big win, and we can’t let that happen. We know what kind of player he is and what he’s capable of, and we can’t let him disrupt the game.”

Taylor has 16 1/2 of his 139 1/2 sacks against the Jets, although he managed none when the teams met in October. New York won 24-6, and while the Dolphins have been a much better team lately, they’ll be without 1,000-yard rusher Reggie Bush because of a knee injury.

The Dolphins took a 17-point lead at New England last week before losing 27-24, which left them 0-5 in games decided by a field goal or less. The Jets’ loss to the Giants carried even more sting, because it may wind up costing them a playoff berth.

Coach Rex Ryan declared months ago that these Jets are even more talented than the two teams he took to the AFC title game. But New York has given up 74 points while losing the past two games, and the offence was so out of sorts against the Giants that Mark Sanchez was forced to throw a career-high 59 passes. The Jets rank 27th in the NFL in yardage, stirring speculation about offensive co-ordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s job security.

With typical bravado, Ryan insisted the season might yet be salvaged.

“We can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defence, I think we can run the football, and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.”

But getting to the post-season is now a long shot. Three of the other games that will determine the Jets’ fate are late starts Sunday, which means that if they win, the Jets will likely be flying home when they learn whether their season is over.

“We’re just focused on the things we can control, and that’s trying to play well against Miami and coming up with a win,” Sanchez said. “After that, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we get a win and on the plane we find out everything worked out in our favour. But all we can control is winning.”

The Dolphins, meanwhile, are bound for another off-season of change. Coach Tony Sparano was fired Dec. 12, and the next coach will be Miami’s seventh since the start of 2004. With a losing record for the third consecutive year — the Dolphins’ first such stretch since the 1960s — a roster shake-up is likely, too.

Given his team’s situation, the 37-year-old Taylor decided the time was right to call it quits. He’ll do it after playing his 204th game for the Dolphins, more than anyone aside from Dan Marino.

“It’s great to have a chance to walk away in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against,” Taylor said. “I want to win the game, but not so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career. There are guys in the locker-room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs. So I’m just a small piece of this team train. I’m going to do my part Sunday to help win.”

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Rex Ryan expects Brian Schottenheimer to be running the New York Jets’ offence again next season.

Unless, of course, the embattled offensive co-ordinator becomes a head coach elsewhere.

Schottenheimer has been widely criticized by fans and some media as the Jets’ offence has struggled all season and quarterback Mark Sanchez has not progressed the way the team expected. Some reports have speculated that Schottenheimer’s job could be in serious jeopardy if the Jets fail to make the playoffs.

“I’ll say that, obviously, if he gets a head coaching job, then ‘See you later,’” Ryan said Friday. “I’ll be happy to see that. Do I expect him back? It’s probably 50-50 on that, because I think there is an opportunity for Brian to get a head coaching job this year. I thought it the first two years, but it wasn’t to be. He certainly will be a qualified applicant to be a head coach, that’s for sure.”

Schottenheimer has turned down a few interview opportunities in previous years to remain with the Jets, including Buffalo’s vacancy after the 2009 season. But with increasing criticism of the 27th-ranked offence and Schottenheimer’s play calling, he potentially could look elsewhere this time around.

Although Ryan mostly sidestepped the issue earlier in the week, Friday marked his most definitive show of support for Schottenheimer. When asked what would happen if Schottenheimer does not get a head coaching job this off-season, Ryan responded: “Then, I expect him back.”

Schottenheimer signed a two-year contract extension in the off-season that would keep him with the Jets through the 2013 season, and he said Thursday he would like to remain with the team.

“I’ve said all along, I love being here,” he said. “All I’m worried about is this weekend, because that is what I can control.”

The Jets (8-7) will play the Dolphins (5-10) in Miami on Sunday needing a win and plenty of help from other teams if they are to make the post-season for the third straight year.

Schottenheimer doesn’t think he needs his offence to have a great game to save his job, and he has taken similar heat at times in his previous five seasons with the Jets. But the public outcry against him has been stronger than ever — a Facebook page has been set up to support the cause — and owner Woody Johnson could potentially look to send a message if New York fails to reach the post-season after consecutive trips to the AFC title game.

Most players have publicly supported Schottenheimer, saying there’s plenty of blame to pass around for their subpar performance.

“We appreciate him being the type of guy to stand up in front of us and say, ‘You know what, guys? My mistake on that. That was a bad call by me,’” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said of Schottenheimer. “He’s done that plenty of times. So who are we to criticize? When I miss a block, that’s my own fault. I missed the block. We just have to hold each other accountable and have each other’s backs at all times.”

Schottenheimer, the son of former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, was surprisingly upbeat when he met with the media Thursday and insisted he wasn’t letting the criticism get to him.

“Rex and I talk about that all the time,” Schottenheimer said. “We learn so much about this game, just growing up around our fathers, that maybe it allows you to handle things like this a little bit better than most.”

Notes: LB Garrett McIntyre (knee) is questionable for Sunday’s game after being limited in practice. CB Antonio Cromartie (hamstring) and S Eric Smith (knee) also were limited, but Ryan says both will play. … S Jim Leonhard was in the locker-room for the first time since surgery two weeks ago on the torn patellar tendon in his right knee that ended his season. He was on crutches and said his recovery would be up to six months. Leonhard, coming off his second straight serious season-ending injury, is due to become a free agent in March. “I’m 100 per cent confident that I’m going to be playing football somewhere next year,” he said. “Obviously, with the history here, you’d like it to be here, but you never know.” Added Ryan: “A guy like Jimmy Leonhard, I expect that he will be able to come back. I don’t think he is through playing.” … The Jets announced their team awards, which included CB Darrelle Revis being named MVP by his teammates, Tomlinson selected “most inspirational” and TE Dustin Keller named the “Walter Payton Man Of The Year” for his extensive charity work.

NEW YORK JETS (8-7) At MIAMI (5-10)

Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS

OPENING LINE—Dolphins by 2

RECORD VS. SPREAD—Miami 9-6; New York 6-9

SERIES RECORD—Jets lead 46-43-1

LAST MEETING—Jets beat Dolphins 24-6, Oct. 17

LAST WEEK—Dolphins lost at Patriots, 27-24; Jets lost at Giants, 29-14

DOLPHINS OFFENSE—OVERALL (19), RUSH (10), PASS (22)

DOLPHINS DEFENSE—OVERALL (16), RUSH (3), PASS (26)

JETS OFFENSE—OVERALL (27), RUSH (22), PASS (21)

JETS DEFENSE—OVERALL (7), RUSH (15), PASS (5)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES—Mark Sanchez 2-3 against Dolphins, but has thrown
seven touchdown passes and one interception in those games. … Jason Taylor,
who plans to retire after season, has 16 1/2 sacks, three interceptions, three
forced fumbles and three fumbles recovered against Jets. He has faced them 25
times. … LaDainian Tomlinson has scored only two of his 145 touchdowns against
Miami. … Victory would allow Jets to finish with winning record for fourth
consecutive season, a franchise record. … Shonn Greene needs 1 yard rushing
for first 1,000-yard season. … Jets have scored TDs on 67 percent of red-zone
chances, best in NFL. … Only five teams have worse record than Dolphins, even
though they’ve outscored opponents 310-296. They’re 0-5 in games decided by
field goal or less. … Dolphins rank second to Green Bay with 38 completions of
25 yards or more. … Reggie Bush’s average of 5.0 yards per rush is highest for
a 1,000-yard runner this year. Bush led NFL with 519 yards rushing in December.
… Dolphins rank third in run defense. They haven’t finished that high since
1979. … Dolphins have allowed 51 sacks, two shy of the 42-year-old franchise
record.

Dolphins running game vs. Jets run defense: Reggie Bush’s incredible rebound year has seen him set career highs in rushing yards (1,086) and total yards (1,382), but it is in the month of December where Bush has played like an NFL elite back, with an astonishing 519 rushing yards on 83 carries (6.3 yards per run). Even with the offensive line being hobbled significantly by injury, Bush has had his way, primarily because of the emergence of quarterback Matt Moore and the deep passing game. The question is how affected Bush will be by the injury that sidelined him toward the end of the loss to the Patriots. EDGE: Jets

Dolphins passing game vs. Jets pass defense: Matt Moore is getting the hard part done, completing beautiful throws in the vertical passing game. What is holding him back are the more fundamental aspects of quarterbacking (the center snap exchange, taking bad sacks with plenty of time to throw the ball away). Still, Moore, if he goes without an interception Sunday, will end up with the fewest interceptions by a Dolphin in a stretch greater than eight games with only three in his final nine games, and he owns a 103.8 passer rating in his past eight starts. Brandon Marshall needs 149 receiving yards to set a career single-season high. EDGE: Dolphins

Jets running game vs. Dolphins run defense: The Dolphins, who two weeks ago had the club mark for fewest rushing yards allowed in a season as an attainable goal, have allowed 232 rushing yards since then, and need a season-best 28 yards allowed or fewer to break the mark of 1,430 yards that was established by the 1994 team. The Bills’ C.J. Spiller and the Patriots’ Stevan Ridley both have gotten to the edge with success following the Dolphins’ loss of outside backer Koa Misi to a shoulder injury against the Eagles. EDGE: Dolphins