Curtis Martin is nowhere near an old man at age 31, but by football standards, many have been questioning how much gas he could possibly have left in his tank.
Martin had one of the most impressive games in recent memory, rushing for 196 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries and adding a touchdown reception to lead the Jets to a season-opening 31-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in East Rutherford. Box Score.
"I don't feel that I've lost a step," Martin insisted and Jets Head Coach Herman Edwards agreed, telling him he looked "like a gladiator".
It was a successful first season-opening for quarterback Chad Pennington, who threw for two touchdowns, going 20-of-27 for 224 yards, faring better than talented Bengal counterpart Carson Palmer.
A 46-yard touchdown reception for the Jets' Jonathan Carter helped him make amends with fans and teammates after fumbling away the opening kickoff.
Interestingly, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg used a pre-game press conference with fellow billionaire Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson to publicly reiterate his threat/warning that approval for the team's proposed West Side Stadium must get on the fast track or the city will forfeit its bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Meanwhile, fans jeered the prospect of losing the opportunity to tailgate.
While a Newsday columnist enjoyed the game for its "un-Jet-like script", the New York Post's primary provocateur suggests this season that the Jets are now the stable team in town.
