The New York Jets are a better team than the New York Giants.

Thanks again, Pro. -- Rebuttal -- Re: The Jets Are More of a Clutch Team The Jets finished out the regular season at 11-5 compared to the Giants 10-6. In other words, the Jets only won one more game than the Giants. This is not a huge difference, especially because as Pro points out the Jets barely won a few of their games. They consecutively went into overtime against the Lions and Browns, and then just barely beat the Texans. It's important to note that none of these teams are by any means elite teams, so it's safe to say the Jets had barely scraped by many times throughout the season. Let's look back to the early part of the season when both teams were 6-2. The Giants looked more impressive despite having the same record. They put up 41 points in back-to-back road victories over the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks (so let's not down play their away game flare). They also scored at least 34 points in most of their games. Meanwhile, the Jets' victories were close to lesser teams such as Denver and Minnesota, and they were shut out by the Pack [1]. Essentially what happened to the Giants was that they choked to Philadelphia and blew a 19 point lead; their season was pretty much done after that. They couldn't bounce back, but that doesn't mean they're doomed for next season. The reason the Giants didn't make the playoffs despite winning only one game less than the Jets (and more than the Seahawks who did make the playoffs) is because they play in a harder conference. I would even argue they play in a harder division except for the Cowboys' bad luck this season. The point here is this: what Pro calls resilience or "clutch" others might call downright lucky. Sanchez and Ryan will be the first to admit they've caught a few breaks. Regarding the Jets winning while playing away, sure it's a great accomplishment but by no means incredibly rare. The Patriots themselves lost the same amount of away games this season as the Jets - just two [2]. I'll conclude this point by noting that while the Patriots and the Colts are by no means shoddy organizations, the fact of the matter is that they are not the titans they once were - the Colts especially. The Patriots were the number one seed and deserve every bit of their success; however, after trading Moss and making some changes with their lines and defense you could tell this was more of a rebuilding season. Plus the Jets had beaten them earlier so everyone knew the hype and mental aspect would play an impact (plus Ryan's defense coaching). The Colts struggled early on and only managed to win ten games - same as the Giants. 2. Re: The Jets Are Statistically a Better Team. The power rankings are not necessarily reliable. For instance, the Superbowl winning Packers are ranked as the #9 team on that list. The same ranking also puts the Chiefs ahead of the Giants which I think is just silly. There are other ways and statistics to compare the teams. Here are how the two rank in terms of placement in the NFL for: -- Jets -- Points: 13th Yards: 11th Pass Yards: 22th Rush Yards: 4th -- Giants -- Points: 8th Yards: 5th Pass Yards: 10th Rush Yards: 6th As you can see, the Giants out-perform on offense except for rushing. However considering the age and health problems of Jets' back LaDainian Tomlinson, we can't expect him to consistently deliver whereas Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs will only get better and stronger. In fact the Giants already put up better rushing numbers in many ways. For instance Jacobs averages 5.6 yards per carry compared to Tomlinson, the Jets' best running back who averages just 4.2 [3, 4]. Morever, the same statistics pages can prove how the Giants' stats dominate on defense as well. For instance two Giants players had over 11 sacks (Umeniyora and Tuck) compared to the best player on the Jets getting just 5. I also contend that Pro's statistics are outdated and therefore flawed. For instance he says that point differential is the most important statistic and notes the Giants as having a lesser PD than the Jets. However that blog was from November 2010 and the stats have surely changed since then. 3. Re: The Jets Are Only Getting Better I agree that the QB is the backbone of any good team and that Mark Sanchez is improving. However just because he's improving doesn't mean he's on par with Eli Manning. Last season Manning completed 63% of passes compared to Sanchez's 54. Manning also has a better QB rating by 10 points [5, 6]. Manning also threw for more yards and TDs. With his Superbowl experience, the Giants are okay as far as the QB position going forward. -- Conclusion -- What do the Jets have that the Giants lack? What Tom Coughlin lacks in gusto and bravado he makes up for with experience and consistency. The Giants have a coach on par with the Jets. I'd also argue that the Giants have better running backs. The Giants' receivers also put up better numbers. For instance Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks not only have more yards per reception but also higher long reception numbers than Santonio Holmes [3, 4]. While Braylon Edwards does gain a decent amount of yards, he doesn't get very far after the catch. Needless to say the Giants have a pretty strong offense. While the Jets' defense is supposed to shine, the Giants have absolutely obliterated their opponents throughout the last season. In fact the Giants' defense had taken out 5 quarterbacks in 7 games [7]. Tony Romo was injured early and had to sit out the entire season thanks to the Giants. Their beat-downs were even more impressive considering they lost DE Mathias Kiwanuka who had a then team-high four sacks. In their first game without him, the Giants achieved a record high 10 sacks against the Bears [8]. With such an impressive offense and dominant defense, I don't see how the Jets look any better than the Giants going into the upcoming season. If anything some of their star power is aging while some of their key players are still green (Sanchez - arguably the most imortant player). On paper the Giants are the better team than the Jets; the Jets have definitely caught a lot of breaks though. -- References -- [1] http://newyork.sbnation.com... [2] http://espn.go.com... [3] http://www.nfl.com... [4] http://www.nfl.com... [5] http://sports.yahoo.com... [6] http://sports.yahoo.com... [7] http://sportifi.com... [8] http://www.longislandpress.com...