11.06.2009

The art of sarcasm - by Bart Scott

Ask any of my friends or family members to describe me and one thing you’ll hear across the board is that I’m quite sarcastic and known to be quite passive-aggressive at times.  This may help explain why I find Bart Scott’s personality so damn infectious. Sunday night after the Jets loss to Miami I sat in awe in front of my TV when I heard his comments during the post game press conference:


"They’re a great team," Scott said. "They’ll probably contend for the Super Bowl.  They have a hellacious offense, great running backs, great quarterback, great tight ends. They're stacked across the board. I’m serious. They are great. “  
"Like I said, they have a great team. They have a tremendous offense and they showed it today. They are Super Bowl contenders and they will probably take it all the way."


I couldn’t help but laugh and totally agree with Bart after hearing those comments.  Not one ounce of me saw it as a stab at the Dolphins but more stating his obvious disappointment with his own team.


The fact is every player on the Jets defense should be angry and upset more than anyone about that loss.  Three weeks ago on Monday Night Football, the Jets defense let the team down.  They let the Dolphins run all over them, and take away the high status that this new defense had gained during the first three games of the season.   Despite the offense being inconsistent that night,  the game would have been won had the defense played with half the intensity they showed in the weeks before.   


Last Sunday,  the defense wanted nothing more than to come out and prove themselves.  You know that Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine didn’t rest until they found a solution to stopping the infamous Wildcat.   And what happened…..they did it.  The defense did EXACTLY what they were supposed to do.  They came out and completely stopped the Dolphins offense.   They worked hard all four quarters to rectify what they had done three weeks ago.  They learned from their mistakes and did what no other team has figured out how to do yet this season. 


Despite their great performance,  the Jets lost.  It’s one of those losses that statistically just does not make sense.  The offense was non-existent in the first half, with conservative play calling by Schotty to blame.   Special teams let Tedd Ginn run right through them for 2 TD’s and in the end the Jets managed to lose a game that was theirs to win.


Every news clip and replay of that game should have centered around the Jets defense and how they were successful at stopping the Wildcat cold.  Sports reporters should be praising the Jets D this week, but that’s not the case.  Instead the only thing talked about is Ginn Jr and his record breaking returns.  People criticize the Jets for talking too much,  yet the only players talking are from the defense and they backed their words up!  I’m all for not throwing your teammates under the bus after a loss,  but you tell me how anyone on this defense could walk away without being angry?


Bart Scott and Darrelle Revis have every right to feel let down and to display some sarcasm, some passive aggressiveness towards their team and opponent.   They showed up and did their job on Sunday.   There’s nothing more that they could have done that would have won this game.  I can only imagine how difficult it is to stay tight lipped after a game like that one.  Leave it to Bart to find a creative way to get his true feelings across;  he couldn’t have gotten his point across any clearer.


Stop your whining Dolphin fans,   not every word spoken by Jets players is about you and your team.