I'm not questiong any of that, Frank
But her's the whole story and I still don't understand what the lede has to do with anything:
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Dec. 4 — The excitement Sunday night in Eric Mangini’s home was palpable. Mangini, the Jets’ first-year coach, felt it as soon as he walked through the door.
Mangini’s 2-year-old son, Jake, was aglow after talking on the telephone with the Sesame Street character Elmo in a conversation that he was told his father had arranged. That made Mangini a magic man in his son’s eyes.
Fans in New York are looking at the 35-year-old Mangini in much the same way after the Jets’ 38-10 victory Sunday against the Green Bay Packers that left the Jets (7-5) with a better record than the Giants (6-6).
The Jets, who many considered would finish at the bottom of the standings, are tied with four other teams for the fifth-best record in the American Football Conference. The Giants, who were widely projected to be a Super Bowl contender a month ago, lost their fourth consecutive game Sunday.
The Giants’ best pass rusher, the injured Michael Strahan, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, has 132½ career sacks. The Jets have Bryan Thomas, a former first-round pick with 13 career sacks.
The Giants’ quarterback, Eli Manning, is a former first-rounder who has two other N.F.L. quarterbacks in his family. The quarterback of the Jets, Chad Pennington, is a former first-rounder who has had two career-threatening shoulder operations.
The Jets have 1,326 yards rushing as a team. Tiki Barber has rushed for 1,170 yards for the Giants.
The Giants have a coach, Tom Coughlin, who preaches discipline. The Jets, under Mangini, are practicing it.
The Jets do not criticize their teammates in the news media because they know Mangini would fine them. They are not making many dumb mistakes because Mangini makes them run extra laps in practice for every dumb mistake.
The Jets do not have to report to team meetings early to be considered on time, but they do choose to stay late to study so they have the answers for Mangini’s weekly quizzes.
They are constantly striving to impress their coach, who holds nobody’s starting job sacred.
“They are doing all the things we ask them to do,†Mangini said. “And then the players are doing so much more on top of that between the film study, the extra conditioning at practice. It’s all the stuff that they’re doing on a consistent basis outside of what I think is fairly challenging practices that’s helping us to make progress every week.â€
In the past four games, the Jets have played clean football, averaging 3.5 penalties. They have been aggressive, converting three of five fourth-down situations. They have been efficient, converting 42 percent of their third downs. And they have been defensively sound, limiting their opponents to 9 points in the first half (and no touchdowns).
They are 3-1 since their bye week, their only blemish a 10-0 defeat to the Chicago Bears a week after the Bears handed the Giants a 38-20 loss on the same Meadowlands field. The Jets have defeated the New England Patriots and the Packers on the road and the Houston Texans at home.
Their four remaining opponents — Buffalo, Minnesota, Miami and Oakland — have a combined record of 17-31. Around the New York area, a jet stream of positive vibrations is gathering force.
“I appreciate the excitement,†Mangini said. “I appreciate the fans’ excitement. I think that’s great. But if we lose track of the next game and get caught up in the other things that are happening, then that’s when you let a game slip away or you let some level of preparation slip away. It really won’t matter what happens outside of this building if we’re not continually focused on the task at hand.â€
Mangini does not look at the season as being three-quarters over. “There’s still a quarter of the season left,†he said. “A lot of football. So that’s what we’re focusing on.â€
