Same Old Jets? Not Quite

Same Old Jets.   The saying goes back for decades, and it encompasses some of the more dubious names and games in Jets history. Richard Todd, Doug Brien, Kyle Brady. Al Groh, Bill Belichick, Doug Brien (again). The 1998 AFC Championship game. Doug Brien.   When those Same Old Jets reached the AFC Championship Game last year, they were a surprise- and, therefore, not taken very seriously despite having just knocked off two division winners on the road. A halftime lead had the doubters sweating, but an overzealous Rex Ryan paid for his omnipresent blitzing as Peyton Manning marched Indy down the field in a way that only a cold-blooded assassin/quarterback like Peyton Manning can.   Rex refused to stop loading up the box, stop sending the house on every play, stop isolating his corners on islands begging number 18 to pick them apart. Which he did. Same Old Rex led to Same Old Jets. But the Jets had tasted success- road playoff success, no less- and a championship blueprint was su...