Brian Schottenheimer Shrugs Off Conservative Label by Remaining Conservative

When the Jets ran the ball to start each of their three drives in overtime against Oakland last weekend, you couldn't help but wonder if Brian Schottenheimer shouldn't have been the Republican candidate for President of the United States. Offensive attacks don't get more conservative than that.

It seems like Schottenheimer's father, Marty, is calling the plays, and he'll never be mistaken for a forward-thinking offensive mind.

So Schottenheimer's hearing criticism. Not all of it's justified -- Brett Favre's had more bad days than good -- but it won't stop until the Jets offense produces on a weekly basis. He's shrugging it off, telling curious reporters that the game plan varies from week to week to keep defenses guessing and make the most of match-ups. That's a fine answer, but he may have revealed more than he wanted to in other comments.

"I felt really good with the way we were running the football. So I was pleased with it. I don't think it was that unusual from what we do, other than the Arizona game. I was fine with it."

The Arizona game, which featured 56 points from the Jets, was the best game plan that the team came up with all season. They took chances, exploited Favre's arm, and went for the jugular. In every other game they've played it exceedingly safe and lost three of those five. Conservative is too tame a word for a guy who keeps doing the same thing when it clearly isn't working. It's time for the reins to come off.