In a quiet moment yesterday morning at Weeb Ewbank Hall, Bill Parcells and Al Groh met.
“Congratulations,” Parcells told Groh in the wake of the Jets’ stunning 20-19 comeback win over the Patriots Monday night. “You had them all the way, didn’t you?”
Groh smiled, showing little of the stress that had to engulf him only hours earlier, and said, “That’s how we planned it.”
In truth, though, Groh could not possibly have anticipated the drama and compelling circumstances that have surrounded his 2-0 start.
He said before the season that he believed his team was a “tough-minded” one and Groh has been dead on with his assessment.
The Jets are one of nine teams in the league that, through two weeks of the 2000 season, are 2-0.
In the last five years, 30 of the 43 teams that began their respective seasons 2-0 have gone on to earn playoff berths. That’s 69.8 percent – an encouraging thought for Jets’ fans still smarting from last year’s disappointing end.
It must be pointed out, though, that all is not perfect with the Jets.
Pick a couple of plays in the Jets’ first two games of 2000 and, if they go the other way, the Jets could be 0-2.
It’s important that the 2-0 Jets are cognizant of this sobering fact as they confidently race toward Sunday’s AFC East showdown for first place against the 2-0 Bills at Giants Stadium.
This is not to rain on the Jets’ compelling parade in Groh’s rookie season as head coach. But the fact is this: As well as the Jets have played when it has counted – and they should be commended 10 times over for that – there are some problems that threaten to eventually take them down.
Punt return (ranked 29th in the NFL), punt coverage (ranked 30th in the NFL), kickoff return (ranked 29th in the NFL) and backup running back are significant early concerns for the Jets.
Still, though, the poise and heart the Jets have shown in winning on the road at Green Bay and by overcoming the Patriots after being outplayed for 50 minutes cannot be overlooked.
In both games, the Jets engineered dramatic fourth-quarter comebacks.
“It can’t get no better than that,” Jets’ SS Victor Green said. “On prime time, Monday night TV, to come back and play through adversity like we did all game, I wouldn’t have scripted it any better way.
“It shows the type of character and heart we have. We can’t give up. We won’t give up. We won’t let each other give up.”
Through the first two weeks in the NFL, the average margin of victory is 9.93 points, the lowest since 1970.
The message there is that these two weeks won’t be the only close games they Jets find themselves in before the end of the season.
“Get used to it,” Groh said. “If you want to have a good record and be there at the end with a chance to get to the postseason, you’re going to have to win your share of these games. You’ve got to be able to weather those tactically and competitively.
“So many teams’ ability to win games are essentially the same,” Groh went on. “Your record doesn’t always depend on superiority and dominance. It’s do you end up with a point or two more than opponents or don’t you?”
“If you anticipate that you’re going to have a lot of games like that, you want a team that has a stomach for it.”
Through two weeks, the Al Groh Jets have shown they have an iron-cast stomach. Bring on the hottest chicken wings Buffalo has to offer.
The Jets have a chance to knock off the rival Bills for the outright lead in the AFC East and a 3-0 record for the first time since 1966.
This time, they’ll hope to be sharp from the start and not have to rely on fourth-quarter heroics.
If the vociferous Giants Stadium crowd for Monday night’s home opener is any indication, Sunday’s atmosphere for the Buffalo game will be super-charged.
“In most games I don’t even hear the crowd,” Groh said. “But I couldn’t fail to hear them [Monday] night. They had a tremendous energy. I hope the fans can get as juiced for this next one, because they were a great aid to us.
“It might be a bit more difficult to get so-called juiced, though, since the game is 1 o’clock instead of 9 o’clock.”
Groh shouldn’t underestimate the enthusiasm of the Jets’ tailgating nation. Giants Stadium will be charged with energy and emotion Sunday.