Bart Scott is the man, no doubt. Robert Gates needs to hire him in his Defense Department. Scott would get things done. He’d have Ahmadinejad and the Iranians begging the U.S. for forgiveness and scrapping all remnants of nuclear weaponry in fear that Bart and the Jets would come over to Tehran put a can on them. That’s what they did Sunday to Brady and the Patriots, as the New York Jets proved they belong in the Super Bowl hunt with a convincing 28-21 victory over New England the Patriots at Foxborough.

Many considered the Patriots unbeatable. Rex Ryan, Bart, Antonio Cromartie and Revis Island didn’t. They talked all week–usually not a good sign–but they sure backed it up. If you haven’t seen the interview with the colorful Scott after the Jets victory, here it is:

The Minister of Defense:

The Jets were simulating flying like planes after the game and Braylon Edwards did the most awesome cartwheel into a back flip I’ve ever seen by a football player. These Jets are incredible athletes.

Braylon:

This team will not stop talking and backing it up until they finish their job in Dallas. They talked a big game in Hard Knocks, the preseason HBO show on the Jets, but they are really backing it up. Not only do the Jets talk a big game, they play a big game. They are highly entertaining, led by Coach Rex Ryan and a classic collections of personalities.

I’ve thought Rex was funny all along. His comments that it’s personal between him and Peyton then him and Belichick seemed to fire his team up. He’s a showman, but he’s also a stellar defensive coach. I thought the Jets good fortune would run out against the Patriots, but they were just the better team. Like Scott said, the Patriots were the 25th best defense in the league and the Jets offense, led by Mark Sanchez, who just keeps winning playoff games, exposed the Patriots’ defense.

Sanchez was 16-25 for 194 yards and three tds and a quarterback rating of 127.3; that’s awesome. Shonn Greene ran for 76 yards and the clinching 16-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter after Antonio Cromartie had made one of the plays of the game when he scooped up a Shane Graham onsides kick at the New England 45 and returned it 23 yards to the NE 25. It was a beautiful play by an exceptional athlete. He’s another one of those game changers who wins football games for his team like the quarterbacks and Troy Polamalu and some others.

But there were many more highlights. Sanchez’s 37 yard pass to the amazing Braylon Edwards led to a beautiful seven yard swing pass to LaDanian Tomlinson which LT took in for a score to put the Jets uo 7-3 in the second quarter.

New England made their biggest mistake of the game on fourth and four at their own 38 late in the first half. They faked a punt and short snapped it to upback Patrick Chung. The mistake wasn’t in the play call in my opinion–despite what other people say I thought it was pretty cool call. I enjoy teams that take risks. It would have worked; the mistake was in the execution. Chung bobbled the snap and was stuck running around and trying to get the first down. He didn’t get it. He would have made it had he not fumbled the snap. The right side was open and he could have reached the marker at least and maybe gotten a lot more. I like Belichick for calling that. He’s always had the courage to take risks. He gambles some times to try and win the game. That’s good coaching. It just didn’t work. It backfired this time. It should have worked though.The Jets took it in on a Sanchez to Edwards 15-yard pass in which Edwards caught it at the eight and basically dragged two Patriots with him into the end zone. It was another beautiful play by the incomparable Edwards. The Jets led 14-3 at the half.

Brady took his team down for a touchdown and two point conversion to cut it to 14-11 as the third quarter ended. Then maybe the most important play of the game occurred. On second and six at the Jets 29, Sanchez found Jerricho Cotchery, of? Phillips High School in B’ham, for a fantastic 58 yard play. Cotchery has pretty much gone unnoticed with the arrival of Edwards and Santonio Holmes this season. They are great players, but Jerricho is a playmaker and a top flight receiver. He played a huge role in the game with five catches for 96 yards. Two plays later, Sanchez hooked up with Holmes on a seven yard score in which Holmes made an acrobatic catch in the end zone, diving getting a his right knee down and his left foot in bounds. Just a tremendous play. The Jets went up 21-11. Brady tried to get the Pats back in it, but the Jets were relentless. They were victorious proving their doubters wrong once again. I was one of them. I knew they were good, but thought the talking last week would hurt them.

Rex Ryan is an amazing coach. He’s brash, outspoken, flamboyant, but what gets lost in the shuffle is he’s an exceptional defensive coordinator and has one of the best offensive coordinators in the league in Brian Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer has been making championship winning calls throughout the playoffs and Sanchez and his offensive teammates are executing his plays to perfection. Holmes, Edwards and Cotchery are three of the best receivers in the league; probably the best receiving corps.

And what about the Jets defense? Brady was 29-45 for 299 and two touchdowns, but was intercepted for the first time in 11 games and his passer rating was 89.0. That’s an off day for Brady. He had trouble finding receivers all game. The incomparable Cromartie and Darrelle Revis demoralized Brady and his receivers. They are awesome corberbacks. The Jets played zone to counter Brady’s underneath stuff that he has been capitalizing on all year and forced him to throw downfield. Wes Welker was not a major factor and neither was the Pats’ tight ends, whom had been remarkable all year. Linebacker David Harris had 12 tackles and picked off Brady in the first quarter. Defensive end Shaun Ellis was dominant with five tackles, two for loss and two sacks. A lot of Brady’s yards came late when the Jets started playing soft zone coverage. They fooled him all day. He had time to throw most of the time, he just couldn’t find his receivers. They were all covered. Would Randy Moss have made a difference? Possibly, but with the Jets’ corners, he may not have.

The Jets now move on to Pittsburgh to play in the AFC Championship against the Steelers Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on CBS. Can they do it again? I’m not doubting them. They have an explosive offense and one of, in not the best, defenses in the league. That’ll win you championships. Of course they’re going against Big Ben and Polamalu and a great defense in Pittsurgh. It’s a tall order. But I like the Jets to get it done against another outstanding defense and quarterback. The Jets run the ball better than the Steelers and that should help Sanchez. I don’t believe the Steelers can run the ball against the Jets. The Jets beat the Steelers at Pittsburgh, 22-17, in week 15. They’ve beaten Peyton and Brady, so who says they can’t beat Ben? They’re on a roll, the hottest team in the league, and they are backing up their words with victories.

The talk is highly entertaining and a sports writers’ dream to have quotes like what’s coming out of the Jets locker room. Ryan is a master motivator and his players love him. His players are highly talented and extremely confident. That’s a recipe for success. They keep playing with a chip on their shoulder. They want respect, and they’re getting it now. This could be  a team of destiny. They’ve got to get by a very tough opponent on Sunday, but if anybody can win at Pittsburgh, it’s the Jets.

In the NFC, it’s the Bears and the Pack in what should be a classic. This is the 182nd meeting between the two teams. The Bears hold the edge 92-89, but the Packers have won three Super Bowls (1966, 1967, 1996) to the Bears’ one (1985). The Bears have 29 Hall of Famers and the Pack have 26. They have the same number of playoff appearances in their history; pretty astounding stuff.

Something has to give. Aaron Rodgers is playing at an astonishing level. He was 31-36 for 366 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday against the Falcons. He had a 136.8 passer rating; incredible. Jay Cutler was almost as good Sunday. He is starting to live up to his unlimited potential. Cutler was 15-28 for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two more. His passer rating was 111.3, but that doesn’t do his performance against the Seahawks justice. He was a dominant player and showed what many thought he could do throughout his career. Jay just needs to get off to a good start and get his confidence going like  he did Sunday with a 58-yard td pass to tight end Greg Olsen on the Bears first drive of the game. It was a perfect bomb that hit Olsen right in stride. It set the tone for a dominant Bears performance.

Two great quarterbacks and two outstanding defenses go after each other at Soldier Field Sunday at 2 p.m. on FOX. The Packers have the outstanding Clay Matthews (outside linebacker) who plans on making it a long afternoon for Cutler. They also have phenomenal cornerbacks in Tramon Williams (int for td against Falcons and game saving int in end zone against Michael Vick and the Eagles) and Charles Woodson. The Bears will counter on defense with Julius Peppers, Tommie Harris and indomitable linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. Safety Chris Harris, a playmaker and game changer on the same level as Polamalu, had a hip pointer on Sunday against the Seahawks. The Bears need him. He told the Chicago Tribune he would have to be on one leg to miss this one. He’ll play.

Not sure who I like yet in this one. Kind of like the Jets right now, but want to do some more study. Will have analysis and predictions for both games on Friday. Please stay tuned. Should be an incredible Sunday of football in the National Football League.

(Left to right: Bart Scott, Troy Polamalu, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler will be ready for war on Sunday.)