Road to the Super Bowl underway

Road to the Super Bowl underway
AP Photo/Kathy Willens

The road to the Super Bowl tournament is underway. First the teams must finish out the regular season, play a post season or playoff tournament, and then advance to the Super Bowl, which will be contested on the first Sunday in February. Everything is still wide open, with several spots already clinched.

This Saturday, Dec. 17, the New York Giants will meet the New York Jets. Both teams share Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Fans will be going wild all over the place even in the parking lots before and after the contest.

Fans are urged to get to the ball field early, as the roads will be crowded. A sell out is anticipated. And there will be no clear cut favorite. This game is for the bragging rights of New Jersey.

Led by quarterback Mark Sanchez, the Jets keep improving every week. When the Jets met Kansas City, it seemed that was the best game they played all year, as the offense, defense and special teams all clicked at the same time.

Now the Jets are awaiting the “Battle of New Jersey.” Just ask coach Rex Ryan about the game. He and the players still agree ‘we take one game at a time.!’

“We are always feeling confident about ourselves,” Ryan said, after the Kansas City game.

“We have to keep focusing on our next opponent. That’s just what we’ve done. We aren’t worried about the rest of the teams in the league. We have to take care of ourselves and can’t worry about the other teams in the league.”

“The crowd will be going wild,” said Jets’ linebacker Aaron Maybin. “We know that there will be a high pressure atmosphere. We can’t get our emotions caught up in the game. We’ll take it like we take any other game. We know our goals (meaning getting to the playoffs) and we know what we have to do in order to get there (meaning keep winning).”

“We have to prepare the right way during the week,” added corner back Antonio Cromartie. “We focus on one game at a time. We have to do things that we need to do for the (remainder of the schedule) and try to get ourselves into the playoffs.”

And once the players get there, then anything can happen.

Wide receiver Pat Turner feels very confident about his chances against the Giants.

“The Giants present another good challenge for us,” Turner said after the victory over the Chiefs. “We’ll be out for the win. This game means a lot to us. And wide receiver Plexico Burress (who played for the Giants at one time) has a lot to prove.”

“We have to keep on winning,” added offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. “And we have to let the chips fall where they may.”

The Jets’ defense also keeps improving every week. For example, the Jets’ defense made five quarterback sacks against Kansas City, the best that they put together all season.

Now the coaching staff and players feel very confident about the Giants game.