Using computers to simulate real-world events is no new phenomenon. In fact, those kind of calculations are pretty much the reason computers exist in the first place. Due to the prevalence of complex, highly realistic sports video games, fans have it particularly good in this department. Any old dude with an Xbox and an internet connection can run a single-trial simulation for their favorite team. Throw in a masters in statistics, and pretty soon you’re running multiple variance calculations and…chi square…stuff…with isosceles triangles and shit. Hey, don’t look at me. I’m no Nate Silver, I’m just the guy who funnels all his knowledge of statistics into hastily made faux hip-hop videos.

True to my bare bones understanding of probability tests, I opted to utilize the most bare bones football video game available to test the outcome of the 2010 Jets season. No, not the NFL 2K series, not NFL Blitz 96, not even Tecmo Super Bowl on Super Nintendo. Nope, I decided to use regular old Tecmo Bowl on the regular old Nintendo Entertainment System. This 8-Bit wonder was always a treasured favorite as a child, and now, updated to contain 32 teams and (almost) current NFL rosters, it provides us with the surest evidence yet that the Jets are Super Bowl bound.

Stop yourself right there. Are you going to argue with a computer?

Last night’s penultimate Hard Knocks continued the series’ trend of becoming increasingly less fun each week, this time fully corroborating my conviction that, and I am directly quoting myself here, “This preseason has sucked.” With backups eating nearly all 60 minutes of game time tonight in Philadelphia, the Jets hasn’t just run out of chances to convince fans that they’re for real, they’ve run out of chances to convince themselves as well.

What have been the largest criticisms of these Jets this offseason? On the field, they tell us that our quarterback is too green to compete, and that even if he one day evolves into a top rate passer, he is presently capable of washing our entire season down the drain. They tells us that we lack chemistry and maturity, and that by cutting out veteran leaders in favor of mercenaries and bargain bin replacements, we’ve stripped our locker room of its guiding voices. We’ve heard numerous times that we’re either cheap or broke, and that we’ll never be able to pay all our stars, or that next spring is going to turn into a fire sale.

The fourth episode of Hard Knocks didn’t validate any of these beliefs entirely. But it did prove that the team is conscious of these criticisms, and on some level, fears them as well.

My apologies for my little unannounced four or five day vacation. The new academic year began a week ago, and I’ve had some trouble adjusting to the rigors of balancing this site with all my other projects, clubs and homework. I decided it best last Thursday to just take a breather and try to work [...]

For me, the most interesting development of the night didn’t come on TV, but on Twitter, where Jets fans displayed a fractiousness that I have not seen since the worst days of last season, when snipes at Brian Schottenheimer were routine and the hot debate was whether Mark Sanchez should sit or not. At the center of this argument is one Mr. Joe McKnight, rookie running back out of USC. McKnight appears to have stepped into a torrent, becoming the scapegoat for all those who cringed at the unscrupulous dumping of the Jets’ other, less-than-core four: Thomas Jones, Jay Feely, Alan Faneca and Leon Washington. In fact, it was the enigmatic performance of the latter that caused the debate to erupt. Stuck in the doldrums of the fourth quarter, a captive Jets audience had little choice but to acknowledge our former player’s glorious night, in which he lead Seahawks onto the field before punching in an impressive and conspicuously healthy looking touchdown. The second guessing began immediately. @NYGreenMachine argued that the team failed to find a suitable replacement for Washington. @JfaulkNYJ countered by arguing that we have yet to see McKnight run substantial time behind the first team O-Line, and that he was primed for a good season. Erik from Jets Twit felt attacked for supporting Washington’s post-Jets career, and expressed remorse that some fans viewed this as “traitorous” behavior. There were those screaming “STFU about Leon!!” and others pulling for Chauncey Washington to usurp McKnight’s roster spot (before his fumble, of course) and general chaos all around. Inflammatory things were said by some, possibly including myself. So I called him “McKnightmare.” So what? I couldn’t resist the pun!

Tonight Gang Green travels to Charlotte for a slightly less high pressure matchup with the Carolina Panthers. The starters will only get a quarter of play in this one, which is fine, because we already know what they’re capable of. It is the backups who blew it last week, causing Rex to scold them for their lack of intensity and inability to perform like “bad mothas” (yeah, seriously). From top to bottom, on offense, defense and special teams, there are a whole lot of roster spots on the line for the second and third stringers, who have exposed us as one of the league’s shallowest teams.

More than anything, the world’s eyes – and Darrelle Revis’s -will be on the cornerbacks: Antonio Cromartie, Kyle Wilson, Dwight Lowery, Drew Coleman and Marquice Cole. Many are predicting that Revis will return to the Jets, but only after he’s seen enough evidence that the Jets corners can’t perform without him to back the team into a corner. If this is so, then last week’s game surely left him with some ammunition. While Cro and Wilson played decently, 31 did miss two easy picks, the kind that Revis never would. Lowery, Coleman and Cole, meanwhile, were remarkably terrible, and the Jets defense may be in for some serious trouble if it must rely on these names for the entirety of its nickle and dime packages. More play like that and the only thing Revis will be sweating is whether to show up before or after our bye week. You want to redeem yourself, Lowery? Go pick off Clausen two or three times. How difficult could that be, anyway?