The difference between the Jets and the Giants

Utter ineptitude...

...versus a championship squad.

Same old Jets

You would have thought that when the Jets swung an offseason deal to acquire Brett Favre that they'd finally secured the critical piece that had eluded them since the days of Joe Namath: a difference-making, superstar quarterback.

You would have thought that when the Jets surrounded Favre with $140 million worth of free agents and trade acquisitions that they had given Favre the supports necessary to turn a 4-11 team into a legitimate AFC contender.

You would have thought that when Tom Brady went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 that the stars had aligned for the revamped Jets to make a run at the Super Bowl berth that has otherwise been off limits in the Brady-Belichick era.

You would have thought that when the Jets went into Foxborough and beat the Patriots in Week 11 and that when they then went into Nashville and ended the Titans' undefeated season the following weekend that they were indeed taking advantage of their best championship opportunity in recent memory.

Nope.

Four weeks and three disgraceful losses later, the Jets have completed an epic collapse that stands alone even in their putrid history. It culminated in a downright pathetic 13-3 setback to the three-win Seahawks yesterday, a loss that all-but guarantees they'll be home come January.

Just how badly did the Jets play with their season on the line yesterday? Their defense registered zero sacks of Senaca Wallace, stymied by a patchwork Seattle offensive line of 5 (!) backups. Their quarterback, legendary for his cold-weather prowess and his cannon arm, was abysmal in the snowy conditions, underthrowing every pass except a 4th-and-4 heave with 2:21 to play that Laveranues Coles dropped. Their coach, touted as a "genius" just two years ago, showed zero faith in his team of 7 Pro Bowlers, opting for a chip-shot field goal instead of a touchdown try in the first quarter and then a punt instead of a 50-yard field goal try in the fourth.

But then again, what else would you expect but a gutless performance from a team that lost at home to the Patriots in Matt Cassel's first professional start? That fell to both Oakland and San Francisco (combined record: 10-20) this season? That made the freefalling Denver Broncos look dominant three weeks ago? That needed a gift from the football gods just to get by the lowly Bills last week?

Sp put those dreams of an all-Jersey Super Bowl (Jets vs. Giants with Bruce Springsteen performing at halftime) to bed. Start gauging Bill Cowher's interest in coming out of retirement. Don't even wait for Favre to start his annual will-he-or-won't-he retirement drama -- just show him the door.

This once-promising season is now down to a nightmare showdown against Miami in the Meadowlands next weekend. A season-ending loss to Chad Pennington, who the Jets cared so little about after acquiring Favre that they let him sign with a division rival, would be the ultimate slap in the face. Then again, a win would open the door for the hated Patriots to clinch a miraculous postseason berth. Regardless, it'll be one more punch to the gut, as if Jet fans haven't endured enough already.

Jason who?

At the start of the Nets' clash with the Dallas Mavericks last night, the 9,899 fans who braved stormy conditions and journeyed to the Izod Center may have felt a tinge of nostalgia. Triggering those sentiments was the return of Jason Kidd, the man whose 2001 arrival in New Jersey signaled the dawn of the franchise's greatest years since it won a pair of ABA championships in the 70s.

By the end of last night's game, however, as the clock wound down on a 121-97 drubbing of the Mavs, the sparse crowd was singing a different tune. "Thank you, Cuban!" it chanted, a nod to the Dallas owner who took a disgruntled Kidd off the Nets' hands in February and gave them Devin Harris and two first-round picks in return. With those cheers, a night that began as a celebration of the Kidd era ended with fans embracing a new chapter of Nets basketball, the face of which is undoubtedly the 25-year-old Harris.

Mired in the relative obscurity of the Swamp, Harris has flown largely under the radar this season. But thanks to Kidd's much-ballyhooed return to New Jersey, Harris finally had a captive audience before which he could strut his stuff. He didn't disappoint, torching his former club to the tune of 41 points, 13 assists, and 3 steals.

It might be the signature performance in a season that has seen the shoo-in All Star thrive under the total freedom afforded him by coach Lawrence Frank's unorthodox dribble-drive offense. Harris is one of three players -- LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the others -- to average at least 23 points and 6 assists per game this season. He has developed an uncanny knack for getting to the free-throw line, trailing only Dwight Howard with 10.5 attempts from the charity stripe per game. Most impressively, Harris has been at his best against superior competition. At the tail end of the Nets' West Coast trip in late November, Harris outplayed Deron Williams and Steve Nash on back-to-back nights, totaling a combined 81 points and leading New Jersey to two impressive road wins.

And then there's his flare for the dramatic. In a Nov. 7 game against Detroit, in which all the pregame chatter surrounded Allen Iverson's first game in a Pistons uniform, Harris stole the show, tallying a then-career high 38 points. A week later, nursing a badly sprained left ankle, he dropped 30 and 8 on Atlanta. Most notably, in a Nov. 26 game at Sacramento in which he was held to just 2 first-half points, Harris rebounded to drill a game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation before nailing a go-ahead 16-footer with 12 seconds left in overtime, leading the Nets to their first win at Arco Arena in over a decade.

There's no question that the Nets' surprising 13-12 start, which has included a 6-4 mark against the vaunted Western Conference, has been a team effort. Contrary to what some prognosticators believed at the beginning of the season, Vince Carter has not sulked his way into a trade to a contender and has in fact strung together arguably his best season in New Jersey (23 PPG, 40.5 3P%). Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson, the team's two first-round picks in the 2008 Draft, may not be scoring in droves, but they've made contributions on defense and on the glass. The bench, led by Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling, has been solid. But Harris is the engine that makes it all run, something that started becoming apparent when the Nets went 0-3 while he was sidelined with an ankle injury earlier this season and continued through last night's dazzling performance.

If Kidd's legacy was defined by the unprecedented team success the Nets experienced under his stewardship, then Harris has a lot more winning to do before he matches his predecessor. Officially handed the torch last night, Harris proved he's up for the challenge.