20-20 Hindsight

First off, I wanted to wish everyone a very happy new year!

With the NFL playoffs starting this weekend some fans are hoping their teams can become last year's Giants, while other fans are left wondering what went wrong? NY Jets fans seem to be doing a lot of that these days, and a lot of them are answering that question with two words: Brett Favre.

Isn't 20-20 hindsight a beautiful thing?

Before this season started Jets fans were screaming about getting Brett Favre. There was no way they could go into the season with Chad Pennington as their starting QB. Pennington is washed up, he can't throw the ball downfield, he can't stay healthy, etc. So Mike Tannenbaum listened to the fans, went out and got the future hall of fame quarterback, and said good bye to the aforementioned Pennington. Pennington signed with the hapless Dolphins and the Jets stood poised to make a big post-season run with Favre at the helm.

Isn't 20-20 hindsight a beautiful thing?

If you asked ANY Jets fan right now who they would rather have as their starting QB, they would answer Chad Pennington. "How could we let him go? Look what he did with the Dolphins this year. We missed the playoffs with a washed up QB. What a stupid move it was."

I bet they wouldn't have been saying this when the Jets stood at 8-3 after they beat the undefeated Titans and rival Patriots in consecutive weeks. The Favre move looked like a stroke of genius at that point. A mere 5 weeks later and it looks like the bonehead move of the year.

Isn't 20-20 hindsight a beautiful thing?

This is what makes sports so interesting and so exciting. Who would have thought that an injury-prone, much-maligned quarterback would lead a team that went 1-15 in the previous season to a first place finish in a division that boasted a team who last year was the first team ever to go 16-0. Yes, I know that the Pats lost Tom Brady for the season in the first game, but that is the beauty of sports. No season is ever decided on paper. Nothing is ever a certainty.

I think the Jets GM made the right decision to bring in Favre. It was the LOGICAL decision. Pennington had run his course in NY. They needed something new. Which is why I get a kick out of hearing fans (in any sport) complain at the end of the season "How could we have traded this guy?" or "What were we thinking signing this guy?"

The simple answer: because you just don't know what will happen. GM's have to make decisions based on past performance, team goals, instinct, and so many other factors. If it works they look like geniuses, and if it doesn't, they look for new jobs.

20-20 hindsight is a beautiful thing.....if you're a fan trying to explain what went wrong.


Enjoy the NFL playoffs everyone!

Oh and um, if you disagree....go ahead and tell me I'm wrong.