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By David Levy-Fan Experience Reporter

For the past year and a half, New Meadowlands Stadium now MetLife Stadium has been home of the New York Jets. But Sunday will feel like their first game in the new billion dollar stadium.

When the Patriots come to East Rutherford in a gigantic AFC East match against Gang Green,  it will be a test to see if all those years of waiting will make this stadium be home to the Jets and their fans or just another upscale VIP event.

To date, this will be the Jets biggest game they will play in the new stadium.  But to the fans and everyone watching, will it feel like it. More importantly, will the Jets play as it is their biggest game played in MetLife Stadium.

For as long as I have been filming at MetLife, the former New Meadowlands Stadium, no one has enjoyed it.  Fans have had reason to hate the PSLs.  The fans hate the way it looks like a prison from the outside.  It has no life.  The stadium feels like a shell of something that could be grander.

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By TJ Rosenthal-Special contributor-The Jet report

The Jets, once 2-3 with no identity and a growing hole to climb out of, have suddenly gained a share of the top of the AFC East. Owning a piece of the penthouse that will come as a surprise to detractors, who saw this club as one ready to implode after a brutal early road trip. It shouldn’t. A defense returning ten starters and an offense that has added key pieces, are simply beginning to gel. The Jets are NOT the same team that culminated a three game skid in Foxboro. Gang Green’s crucial Sunday night matchup with the Patriots comes at the right time. As all systems are go.

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By TJ Rosenthal-Special Contributor

The Jets exited the field of Met Life stadium on Sunday, entering the much needed rest of a bye week as owners of not only a crucial comeback win, but possibly of a roadmap containing an identity and blueprint for the future.

Down 21-10 midway through the third quarter to the 4-1 Chargers was not how Gang Green had drawn up their pre game battle plans against a Bolts offense known for delivering high powered knockout blows. Then again, neither was a 3-3 start to a 2011 season that was racing towards a scenario that would have left the club three games back of first place with half the year already in the books. Then it all came together. On both sides of the ball.

A ten play 55 yard TD drive that started with 7:30 left in the third quarter, was soon followed by a game changing interception by, who else, Darrelle Revis. Just like that, a two score deficit became a one score lead. Along with it, the re emergence of hope for a season that a short while ago, contained Super Bowl goals.

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By TJ Rosenthal-SPecila Contributor-The Jet Report

Aaron Maybin’s strips and sacks of Matt Moore Monday night provided a speed in pursuit the Jets sorely needed from the LB position. Big Kenrick Ellis blasted through the Dolphins line to stuff a key Dolphin rushing attempt by the goal line. These two first year Jets, both arriving with different suitcases full of baggage, could be the keys to injecting this slow starting defense with the production it needs to return to it’s place as one of the NFL’s best.

Maybin, a former Penn State Nittany Lion, started only one game in two seasons for the Buffalo Bills after having been selected 11th overall in the 2009 draft. Maybin told Bob Wischusen on 1050 ESPN Tuesday night that with all due respect to the Bills organization, “it was hard to make plays” while not being on the field. Maybin is making plays as a Jet. His tag as a top round “bust” may soon turn to “steal” should his quality play continue.

After making the 53 player roster out of camp, Maybin was surprisingly released only days later. His return came in Baltimore after being re signed prior to the matchup with the Ravens. Jets fans got a glimpse of what could be exciting things to come when he hunted down QB Joe Flacco, causing a fumble in Ravens territory. At a time in the game when the Jets were in position to continue their comeback.

The opportunity was wasted one play later when Mark Sanchez threw an interception to Lardarius Webb that resulted in a 73 yard return for TD. It was a play that essentially sealed the game, but the play by Maybin was one that turned many Jets fans heads. Finally, some devastating speed had arrived.

Maybin’s play picked up again Monday night as he stripped Dolphins QB Matt Moore twice and sacked him once. This “Mayhem” style that seems predicated on spying behind the Jets defensive line, may bring the Jets more short fields to work with going forward. A concept that will be music to the ears of the Jets who are still searching for an identity on offense, and can use all the help they can get.

Ellis, whose draft stock dropped due to his facing a felony charge in a case that has been moved to Feb 7, 2012, was a risk that for now could pay off in 2011. The third round pick out of Hampton was finally activated for the first time Monday night to the delight of Jets nation.

Should his size and presence help plug a run defense that has been burned by many running backs so far this season, perhaps the Jets will once again, be able to force opposing teams into third and more long situations. A scenario that would be welcome by head coach Rex Ryan and his blitz packages.

The Jets are giving up close to 22 points a game this year, up from 19 a game last season. Maybin and Ellis could help return this team to a place where less is asked of Mark Sanchez and company. If so, the Jets could once again base their foundation off of the defense. This way the offense and special teams could also go back to lending a key hand without being elevated into the primary provider role . A formula that allowed the Jets to win enough games to earn a trip to the postseason in both years under Ryan.

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By TJ Rosenthal-Special Contributor

Derrick Mason said he would never criticize an offensive coordinator. The Jets claim that he was benched Sunday in Foxboro for his lack of performance. Not for allegedly voicing his displeasure. Here we go again. The Jets are back in the weekday spotlight. Where they have resided so many times during the Rex Ryan era. Let the “he said she said” episode begin. As perhaps some insight as to what is really going on inside of Florham Park makes it’s way to the surface.

Mason, who now joins a Texans team in need of help with the recent injury to star Andre Johnson, could do more for the Jets than he did on the field, by airing his thoughts on the 2-3 club on his way out the door. Opinions that could provide a clue as to why the Jets have struggled on offense this season in both production and a focused direction.

The issues on offense have been widespread, yet tied together. First there is QB Mark Sanchez’s lack of growth so far, in this his third season in the NFL. The debate over his alarming lack of progress is over whether Sanchez’s inability to take that next step stems from his own limitations, or a deep lack of trust from the coaching staff. A fear emanating from the sidleines that has now found it’s way inside of the quarterbacks damaged mental state.

Then there has been the issue of playcalling, and how the Jets are unable to incorporate all of their pieces. A drama that has lead to a clear inability to stretch the field. Last week’s march by the entire wide receiving corps into Rex Ryan’s office, to complain about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s system, was a meeting that according to Ryan, actually never happened. More drama.

This supposed pow wow to express unhappiness by those who were brought in to bolster Gang Green’s air attack, was followed by the Jets curious desire to return to the Ground and Pound in Foxboro. Despite the inability over the first four games to have any sort of respectable ground game whatsoever. While Mason sat on the sidelines for all of six plays during the game.

Mason’s departure can and will be viewed in many ways. There will be the belief by some that this was a warning shot for any remaining players who lack trust in the coaches and their overall concepts. Mason will be painted by others as a convenient scapegoat for a season that has more cracks in it than anyone could have imagined back in August. When hopes were high, as new faces replaced loyal soldiers who were sent packing. The most notable element to this all could be that of a failing team chemistry.

Maybe the Jets, beyond any of the underachieving they’ve accomplished between the lines over five games, are now recognizing the imperative need to repair a singleminded belief in one another. One that, in following this theory, has somehow been disturbed by the behavior of Mason. A unity that prior to the recent string of defeats, was NEVER a question under Rex.

If the Jets are correct that trading Mason will provide a new energy, what remains to be seen from this point on, is whether the fresh start will translate into a spike in performance by the offense. Time will tell. One thing is for certain. The Jets brash confidence, invincibility, and sense of entitlement, has wilted amidst the confusion of a shocking three game slide.

The Jets have now made what they hope will be the first proactive step towards initiating a new starting point. A rebirth for a season whose wings were clipped miles away from home. Beginning in Oakland in week three. Where the Jets lost not only a game, but misplaced the essence of a collective pulse that Ryan helped to build singlehandedly. Brick by brick, from the ground up.

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BY TJ Rosenthal-Special contributor-The JET report

Rex Ryan is right. It’s time to return to the Ground and Pound. To smashing mouths and putting hats on people. Even if just to rev up a team that for the past two weeks has not only lost games, but has been beaten up emotionally and physically. Despite falling to 2-2 after getting knocked around in Oakland and Baltimore, the Jets still have time to get where they want to go. Ryan is toning down the Super Bowl talk for now and that’s a good thing. The Jets are not looking like a club that is headed for Indianapolis these days. However it only early October. Nobody gets awarded a ticket punched for the big dance yet anyway.

The “Ground and Pound” was the essential label the 2009 Jets carried with them in their luggage every week. Thomas Jones was the hammer. Shonn Greene the closer. With All Pro bodyguards Alan Faneca, Nick Mangold, Damien Woody and D Brickshaw Ferguson all paving the way. Jones is a Chief though now. Faneca and Woody are now retired and Mangold has been out for two weeks. With news of it’s “return” the obvious concern will be as to whether or not the Jets are daydreaming when they say they want THIS foundation on offense again, minus THAT personnel.

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By TJ Rosenthal-The Jet Report-Special Contributor to Football Reporters

Joe Namath’s opinion that Rex Ryan instilling of too much confidence in his players reared it’s ugly head in Oakland on Sunday, was met with a sharp response by Ryan on Monday after both spoke on 1050 ESPN radio. Ryan invited Namath to practice to see how hard the Jets work. How diligently they prepare everyday for upcoming opponents. Namath perhaps was trying to share a hard lesson he had once learned himself on the way to a Super bowl title. Ryan was rightfully defending the positive results of rebranding an organization that eternally felt sorry for itself before his arrival. The harsh words from Namath may not be entirely applicable or appropriate, but the drama that played out over the radio airwaves yesterday can become a helpful foundation for the Jets. A team that has publicly stated that they must win as often as possible, in order to reach it’s immediate goal. Playing home playoff games in January.

Namath is the symbolic patriarch of the Jets. Dick Wood. Mike Taliaferro. Remember them? We didn’t think so. Wood was the QB for the Jets in 1964. One year prior to Namath’s arrival in Green and White. As the most sought after collegiate star in years, Talafierro hung around backing up Namath as the Alabama star got his feet wet in the AFL. A league that Namath helped raise the awareness of, while simultaneously aiding the Jets in the local football conversation. One that was monopolized by the storied franchise from Yankee Stadium, the Giants, before Jets owner Sonny Werblin made Joe a Jet.

On Monday, Namath may have subconsciously been trying to help his beloved Jets get over the hump, by offering a warning about the thin line between having an inflated self opinion and playing desperate.

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