As for me, I was able to meet my pal Larry Peim who was driving out to the game. He met me across the street from Penn Station. It worked out well since he had a parking pass so we didn't have to walk that far to enter the stadium. After the game, I arranged to meet Larry & he gave me a ride back to the Bronx since he lives in Westchester.
As for a ticket, I got one thanks to another friend of mine, Alan Gimpel who has Jet season tickets. He had an extra one that he sold to me at below what he actually paid. I was grateful that he did. I wound up sitting with him in section 306 row 16 which is in the corner of the end zone. I usually prefer to sit on the side but I wasn't going to complain. As a professional observer I adjusted to the different perspective I'm used to having when I go to a football game. Honestly speaking, the view wasn't bad at all.
Before I went to my seat in section 306, I stopped off in section 312 so I could say hello to my buddy & long time Jet fan, Ira Lieberfarb aka Ira from Staten Island as he refers to himself when he calls into the local sports talk shows here in NYC and even other parts of the country. Ira is a class act who quietly watches the game pulling for his team. In matter of fact, he has now gone to all the Jet games home & away that they've played since 2006. That's what you call dedication. The Jets are notorious for being a mediocre bunch since their inception in 1960. Ira being older than me got to see Joe Namath play back in their glory year of 1968 when they won Super Bowl 3. Since then he's seen his share of ups and downs over the years.
After seeing him I went to my seat and I enjoyed Alan's company as well as the game.
As for the game we saw, the Jets decided to start rookie quarterback Geno Smith who they drafted in the second round of this year's draft. He went to college at the University of West Virginia. I did see a game there back in October 2007 before he attended school there. With that being said, this was the first time I actually saw him play a football game. As the game went on, I was impressed with his athletic talent & ability. He showed that he can run when the situation presented itself. I t should be noted that he was tentative about taking too much of a risk when he did. For example, he wound slide a yard or two early so he could avoid taking a big hit. He reminded me of RG3 to a lesser extent. In addition, he showed that he has a strong throwing arm.
The game was close throughout the day. The Jets got on the scoreboard first on a safety of all things. Josh Freeman, the quarterback of the Buccaneers wisely kicked the ball out of the end zone after taking a horrible snap with 8:35 left in the first quarter. By doing so, it only cost his team two points instead of seven if indeed the Jets recovered the ball in the end zone. I thought it was a great heads up play. Later in the first quarter, Freeman connected with wide receiver Mike Williams on a 17 yard touchdown pass to take a 7-2 lead with 1:07 left. The Jets got closer with 11:01 left in the second quarter when kicker Nick Folk booted a 43 yard field goal to make it 7-5. The Buccaneers extended their lead to 14-5 when running back Doug Martin run in from five yards out. The Jets managed to close the gap to two again at 14-12 with 34 seconds to go until halftime. Geno Smith hooked up with tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. for a 7 yard touchdown pass, his first in the NFL. In the second half, the Jets hung tough. The game stayed 14-12 until there was 5:05 left in the fourth quarter. That's when Nick Folk gave the Jets a 15-14 lead by kicking a 30 yard field goal. The Buccaneers answered back with just 34 seconds to go in the game as their kicker, Ryan Lindell, a veteran who played many years for the Buffalo Bills delivered a 37 yard field goal that gave the Buccaneers a 17-15 lead. After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, the Jets had the ball at their own 20 yard line. Geno Smith went back to work. He hit Kellen Winslow again over the middle for a 25 yard gain to the Jets own 45 yard line. The next play the Jets spiked the ball. Geno Smith then wasn't able to find an open receiver so he took matters into his own hands as he ran for 10 yards to the Buccaneer 45 yard line. It should be noted as he was running out of bounds, linebacker Lavonte David hit him late. He paid for his stupidity as he got called for a personal foul which resulted in a 15 yard penalty that put the ball at the Buccaneer 30 yard line. As a result, it gave the Jets an opportunity to win the game as time was running out. Nick Folk came on & he split the uprights from 48 yards out to give the Jets a 18-17 lead with just two seconds to go. The Jets kicked off and they stopped the Buccaneers after they tried to do some razzle dazzle. The Jets in unbelievable fashion won the game. Christmas came early thanks to Lavonte David & his bone head decision. As for Darrelle Revis he didn't do much as his former team who got the last laugh on this day.
Stay tuned for a very special post that will go into further detail about my latest encounter with my pal Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals. It will be a must read indeed.
Thank you for reading & following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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