NFL

Never been better time to be Jets fan

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Jets fans are a pessimistic lot by nature. Much like their Mets fan cousins, it’s in their DNA. Even when things are good, they look for the bad.

After Sunday’s 32-3 dismantling of the Jaguars, there was talk about the things the Jets didn’t do well: running the ball poorly, not finding Plaxico Burress, settling for too many field goals . . .

Just stop. Enjoy this team.

This might be startling for the half-empty sect, but this is the golden age of the Jets. It never has been better. Bruce Springsteen should write a song about it.

Since Rex Ryan took over as coach in 2009, the Jets are 26-14, including the playoffs. The only other 40-game stretches that have been better came from 1967-69. If the Jets reach the playoffs this year, it will be the first time in franchise history they have made three straight postseason trips.

Now, there is a glaring hole in the trophy case that has to be filled for this to truly be Gang Green Utopia. But, even without the Lombardi Trophy, Jets fans have plenty to smile about.

They get to watch the greatest defensive player in team history in cornerback Darrelle Revis. Mark Sanchez is going to be this team’s starting quarterback for a long time, and could be quite good. Surrounding tthem are key pieces: center Nick Mangold, tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson, linebacker David Harris and tight end Dustin Keller. All are young, talented and, other than Keller, locked up under contract for the next few years.

Then, there’s Ryan. If he does finally get the trip to the Rose Garden, Jets fans will petition to have streets named after him. Ryan could be the defining coach in Jets history, one the fans can call their own. The Jets have never had a Gil Hodges or Al Arbour. The greatest coaches in Jets history all had roots somewhere else. Weeb Ewbank pulled off the miracle of Super Bowl III, but he is best remembered for winning with Johnny Unitas and the Colts in Baltimore. Bill Parcells brought the Jets back to respectability, but he always looked more comfortable in blue and red than in green and white.

Since Ryan arrived in January of 2009, he has turned the culture around, making the Jets the cocky kids on the block rather than the ones waiting for disaster to strike. He has taken the Jets to two consecutive AFC title games, or the same number they went to in the 27 years before he arrived.

He and Sanchez give the Jets stability at coach and quarterback, something that has been missing since the days of Joe Namath and Ewbank. At times, it looked like the Jets might have it with Richard Todd and Walt Michaels or Ken O’Brien and Joe Walton or Chad Pennington and Herm Edwards. Each time it fizzled. The Sanchez-Ryan marriage feels like one that will last.

The period between 1967-69 is the only other in Jets history that compares with this current stretch. They fell just short in the AFL in 1967, when nine Namath interceptions led to three late-season losses. They won it all in 1968, and went back to the AFL playoffs in 1969.

Here’s the difference between then and now, though. The franchise was in its infancy then. It had not even been around a decade. Depending on their age, today’s Jets fans have lived through Lou Holtz, the Mud Bowl, the Fake Spike and Rich Kotite.

All of that pain and embarrassment should make these moments that much sweeter. The Jets are now the punchers, not the punch line.

So, savor this time. Tell your disbelieving kids there was a time when the Jets did not contend for the playoffs every year. It’s never been better to be a Jets fan.

Ryan’s Gang at its best out West

Jets players found a note hanging in their lockers Monday on how to prepare for this week’s cross-country trip: Get eight hours of sleep a night and be well-hydrated for the flight.

When the Jets travel to Oakland on Friday, they won’t have the baggage that used to accompany this team to the West Coast. Under Rex Ryan, the Jets have gone 3-0 in road games against AFC West teams.

The Jets’ woes out West became a story in 2008 when Ryan’s predecessor, Eric Mangini, went 0-4 in games at San Diego, Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle.

Ryan’s philosophy is simple.

“If you bring a good team with you, you have a chance,” Ryan said. “I think that’s the big thing and that’s what we bring to the road. We’re bringing a good football team with us. We’re not intimidated by any surroundings that we go into.”

Trying to force the issue

Here’s what I find troubling about the Jets trying to force a touchdown to Plaxico Burress on Sunday. Why did the coaching staff feel the need to do it?

It’s almost like they anticipated Burress being upset he did not have a pass thrown his way, so they tried to make a preemptive strike. But this wasn’t like getting a senior a catch in the big homecoming game. This was an NFL game that counts, and Mark San chez nearly got killed thanks to right tackle Wayne Hunter whiffing on a block.

Burress has been well-behaved with the Jets, as far as we know. There have been no reports of being late to a meeting or breaking any rules. Burress, for his part, did not complain publicly about having an 0-fer in the game.

This is the danger of the Jets’ roster. With that much talent come that many egos. Sanchez said in training camp he was not going to be worried about making everyone happy, that he would throw to the open man. But in the first game, he went to Burress and Derrick Mason and told them he would get them the ball. Then, Sunday they forced it to Burress.

Everyone is watching this chemistry experiment, waiting for an explosion.