Horse Racing, greyhounds and snooker specialist with thirty years experience of writing about sport across multiple platforms. A QPR and Snooker fan
I was lucky enough to go to the International Series game in 2009 when the New England Patriots played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As a fan of neither team, it was disappointing to see the game become a blowout quickly and as it was only the third game in the series, the atmosphere felt very forced. Almost as if the NFL thought it was being watched by 80,000 robots.
Whilst I had a great time, I made a conscious decision not to return unless my favourite team, the New York Jets came over.
Fast forward to 2015 and I got my wish. Whilst I had another great time (of course I did as the Jets won), the atmosphere still felt very forced and I'd be surprised if I found myself at another Wembley game that didn't involve the Jets.
Being the designated home team, it felt as though the neutral element of the crowd felt compelled to cheer for the Dolphins which made it extremely painful to watch as the game quickly got away from Miami.
There was plenty of pre-match entertainment outside the stadium but unlike in 2009 when it was all held inside one block, the NFL just dropped various activities, shops and food & drink stalls into wherever there was space and it was chaos as kick off got closer with a combination of fans milling around looking for various things to do & fans making a beeline for the stadium.
If you've never been to one of the Wembley games then my advice would be to wait until your favourite team comes over as watching a blowout as a neutral isn't much fun.
Anyway, enough about the experience and onto the vastly improved New York Jets as they moved seamlessly into their bye week with a 27-14 win to push them to 3-1.
In all honesty, it was a victory that looked assured the moment the Jets forced Miami to punt on their first four possessions.
In fact, without a couple of dubious pass interference calls, the Dolphins may have been shutout in the first half.
I want to shout from the rooftops about how great it is to see a Jets team winning & playing with confidence but years following Gang Green & being an Everton fan have taught me to be realistic and I'm happy to call the first four games a good starting point for the season ahead.
One major positive to come out of week four was that it was a typical Jets performance. Suffocating defense, a run game that moves the chains and a passing game that manages the clock, makes simple throws with the occasional long ball to stretch the field.
Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't going to win many games with his arm and when he's asked to do too much (see the week three loss to Philadelphia), he'll make mistakes. But, he used every ounce of his veteran footballing brain to keep the Jets offense ticking over today after their defense just stifled Miami.
The Jets physicality will bring plenty of injuries and after flying back across the Atlantic tonight, they have just one practice scheduled this week which will be used to get everyone back healthy.
The worry is that when they return in week six, they'll have 12 games to negotiate in 12 weeks with little time to recuperate from any injuries.
But those worries can wait. For now, it's time to enjoy the New York Jets for being a decent football team and not for off the field headlines.
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