I was watching Sportscenter earlier this week, and as they have been doing for a while now, they have brought analysts on to talk about the AFC and NFC playoff picture.  However, this time there was an entire segment dedicated to the New York Jets and how they have a chance to “back in” to the playoffs if they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17.

The main argument is: after Matt Ryan threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez at the Meadowlands late in the 4th quarter in Week 15, that meant that the Jets would have to beat both the Indianapolis Colts, along with the Bengals to clinch a playoff berth.  Since the Colts clinched their division about 17 weeks ago, they pulled most of their starters in the 3rd quarter, allowing the Jets to pull away and get a victory.  This week, there is talk that the Bengals, who clinched the AFC North last week, are going to rest their starters as well, giving the Jets a chance to win back-to-back games against a couple of “B-teams” and clinch a wild card spot.

A lot of analysts are saying that this is a cheap way to get into the playoffs and that the Jets should be a little embarrassed by it.  So what??  If you break it down, there are 32 teams in the NFL, and I bet there are 20 teams wishing they were able to win their last regular season game and enter the playoffs (including my New York Giants).

I have never played organized football, but as a former athlete, I know it doesn’t matter whether you are playing against a bunch of All-Stars or a bunch of nobodys, you still have to put that uniform on and go win the game.  It seems that people are condemning the Jets for having this situation- it’s not their fault that the Colts and Bengals want to rest their starters for the playoffs.

What I’m basically trying to say is that for all of the nay-sayers out there, stop criticizing the Jets; you’re either upset that your team doesn’t have the luxury of controlling their own destiny in their final game of the regular season, or you’re scared of the Jets defense making an appearance in the playoffs.  Whichever reason it may be, just let them go out and play some football.