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Jets let actions speak loudly with dismantling of Titans

By Thomas George | NFL.com
Senior Columnist


Kevin C. Cox / GettyThomas Jones' 96 yards rushing was part of balanced attack for the Jets.

NASHVILLE -- The Jets arrived having talked about what Brett Favre means and having worked their way to a seventh victory by knocking off the pesky Patriots. The Jets talked about what dumping unbeaten Tennessee could bring and they talked about how to do it.
They talked about a complementary game of offense, defense and special teams. They talked about strangling the Titans monster running game and placing more pressure on quarterback Kerry Collins. They talked about quick throws on offense to beat the Titans' ruthless pass rush.

They talked about realizing who they are -- and what they can become.
"And then," said Jets running back Thomas Jones, "there comes a time when all the talk and understanding in the world gets you nowhere. There comes that time that you actually have to do it. That's what this was all about. Man, you just have to go play."
Well, they talked to themselves -- and then shouted a few things into the Titans' ears.
Like: Your house can become our house.
Like: Undefeated season? Over.
This Jets 34-13 licking on the Titans here on Sunday at LP Stadium was not your normal NFL fare. The Titans were 10-0, the league's lone unbeaten team. They had won 13 consecutive regular-season games. They had won six straight in this stadium.
The Jets (8-3) were supposed to be a nice little team that could, Favre's new team, one that finally created an answer for the Patriots and maybe could use that as the table-setter for Tennessee. Maybe became a certainty as the Jets dispatched of the Titans as if New York's hardest work was already done. As if they are preparing for much more than this.
The Jets' plan and the execution of it were superb.

The Jets' resolve was encompassing and impacting.

"The thing I stressed before the game is execute the game plan," coach Eric Mangini said.
It was not talk that proved cheap.
When you get the ball for more than 40 minutes and they have it for fewer than 20, when you lead in rushing first downs 9-1, when you lead in rushing yards 192-45, only punt once and are penalized only three times for 27 yards, you got the game plan.
When you mount scoring drives of 76, 78, 66, 35, 80 and 75 yards -- and the last four were in consecutive order to end the game -- you got the game plan.

Mangini was proud. Rightly so.

His defense cracked the Titans on their first drive -- three-and-out. His offense took over and drove 76 yards in nine plays, with Jones scoring on a 10-yard pass from Favre. Favre connected on his first six passes and afterward never blinked. Nor did the Jets.
"Our game plan was to keep No. 4 on the bench by us keeping the ball like that," Titans tight end Alge Crumpler said. He shook his head and frowned over how the Jets turned that upside down.
"Favre was hardly holding the ball," Titans safety Michael Griffin said. "It was three steps and out of there. He was doing it on plays called. When we backed off, he was checking to that."
Quick slants and quick screens and quick shots that frustrated the Titans' defense. Seven to LaVeranues Coles, six to Jerricho Cotchery, six more to tight end Dustin Keller, three to Jones and one apiece to three other players.
"You've got to give that guy credit," Griffin said. "Favre knows everything."
The Titans had looked like a team that knew everything en-route to 10-0.
"They got the ball out very quickly," Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan said. "Now, that's not a problem when you know it's coming the same way. If you get in the right spots, it's no problem. We weren't in the right spots enough."
No, they were not. The Titans were gashed in the running game (96 of those yards by Jones) and dissected by Favre. The Jets' defense gained a sack, three tackles for loss, recovered a fumble and limited Chris Johnson to 10 carries for 46 yards and LenDale White to one carry for minus-1 yard.

White with 7:04 left in the first quarter ran left on a third-and-1 play from the Tennessee 42 and lost a yard. He did not carry the football again.

And he was not happy about it.

"I work hard in practice, I prepare, I'm ready and I don't get a shot," White said. "It's stupid. Once I saw I wasn't going to get the chance to play I didn't pay attention to the game. This is crazy."

Every Tennessee fan who watched this game must have thought the same thing about this loss after watching their team streak toward an undefeated season. "This is crazy!" they were likely muttering in the stands.
From unbeaten to broken. Smacked, really.

The Jets had two turnovers, one more than the Titans, and the game was still lopsided in New York's favor. And Tennessee helped ruin its chances with dropped passes that killed drives.

With everyone doing their part for the Jets, the result was a consistent green wave of success and occasional dominance. But Leon Washington found a way to shine apart.
He sped 61 yards for a late rushing touchdown. Then he capped the game's scoring with a picking-and-choosing 4-yard inside run. Washington put the bang in the Jets' attack and helped deflate the Titans beyond repair.
Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day is at Detroit. No time for the Titans to wallow in a lost chance at a perfect season. The Jets return home to face Denver.
They do so with a team that is learning not to blink. A team feeding off the Favre frenzy, this quarterback's maturity and knowledge and passion and talent.
They return home with something they gained in New England and increased here -- confidence.
"You know what," said Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, "we have been talking about playing in a confident way for a while and we've been talking about maximizing our potential. We've talked about keeping our feet on a team's throat when we get ahead and what it would mean for us if we could knock off this undefeated team. Now we don't have to talk about those kinds of things anymore. This puts the talk aside. This gives us a standard to maintain."