Okay Jets fans, although the Jets’ season ended just over a week ago, it is time to move on and shift our focus to next season. The Jets have 17 free agents and many of them will not be back next year.

With the uncertainty surrounding the league’s collective bargaining agreement, it is anyone’s guess as to what the salary cap and free agency will look like or whether there will even be a season for that matter.

After the Jets’ loss to Pittsburgh I found myself wondering how they could have let such a perfect opportunity slip through their fingers. After beating New England I was convinced they had what it took to get to the Super Bowl and for the first time all season, was sure they would get there. So what happened?

Rex Ryan had devised two brilliant game plans to beat the Colts and Patriots and I believed he had something in his bag of tricks to take down the Steelers. Although there were some flaws in his game plan, it was good enough to get the win but it was the poor execution by his players that lost the game.

For the first time in years Jets fans actually felt confident going into a big game. I will admit, I did not feel good about the Jets’ chances going into New England last week but after they took care of business against one of the most dominant offenses in the league, I thought they had an excellent chance to win in Pittsburgh.

But the entire team was flat in the first half and you are not going to win against a good football team like the Steelers without a complete effort. In particular, it was the Jets’ defense that did them in.

Donald Starver from steelerstoday.com stopped by to do some Q & A with us. Check out his responses to our questions.

What a difference a week makes. Last week Rex Ryan claimed his match up with Bill Belichick was personal and at every press conference he seemed to be calling out the Patriots’ head coach.

But this week he is a kinder, gentler Rex and has had nothing but praise for Mike Tomlin and his team. So what changed?

As the dust settles from the Jets’ huge upset over New England, the Jets turn their attention to Pittsburgh, which stands in the way of the team’s first Super Bowl berth since 1969. Just 30 minutes away from the big game last year, this year’s Jets seem to be on a mission to win the ultimate prize.

Rex Ryan gave all the credit to his players in his Monday press conference. Downplaying his match up with Bill Belichick, he said his team just executed better and deserved the chance now in front of them.

I can’t say enough good things about Eric Smith. Besides providing some big hits and being one of the leaders in tacklers, he made solid plays on special teams.

He tackled Patrick Chung for a loss after the Patriots’ safety fumbled a direct snap on a fake punt. Smith also recovered Shayne Graham’s second onside kick to secure the win.

Let’s be honest, prior to kickoff, who really thought the Jets were going to win that game yesterday? I knew they had a chance but was not overly confident and based upon pre-game reports from NFL analysts, I was not alone. Very few had the Jets beating the mighty Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

Last week Rex Ryan came up with a great game plan against the Colts but Tom Brady and the New England offense had been wiping teams out the last two months, including the Jets, and with Bill Belichick getting an extra week to prepare, it did not look good for Gang Green.

Jamie Pacheco from musketfire.com stopped by to do some Q & A with us.  Check out his responses to our questions.