The Giants won the right, via coin toss, to play the first regular season game at the new Meadowlands stadium, and Jets owner Woody Johnson is flipping out.

Almost immediately after the NFL announced that the Giants - via coin flip - would play the first regular-season game at the new Meadowlands stadium, Woody Johnson released a statement aimed at NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, criticizing the coin toss process because it took place without a presence of a representative from either team.

“An NFL coin toss has a few fundamental elements that are missing here, most notably the presence of the teams involved”, said Johnson, whom one source described as “outraged” by the procedure. “That’s how it’s always done in the league, whether it’s determining the order of the draft or deciding who’s going to kick off the game”.

The funny thing is that Johnson claims it was his idea to use the coin toss, but the NFL initially rejected the idea. He said it was “the fairest way to resolve the issue”. Johnson said he was informed on Friday that the coin toss occurred at the NFL league office, and the Jets had lost.

“We rejected a process in which neither team was present”, he said. “The league departed from our time-honored tradition and declined that the opportunity to set the matter straight with a transparent process.”

After the coin toss on Friday, the Jets posted a story on their website Saturday night, reporting the NFL had made plans for a coin flip. The story promoted the coin toss idea, saying the Jets wanted to make it a media event that their fans could witness. It appears the story was a ploy to put pressure on the NFL league office into a do-over.

According to sources, Goodell didn’t invite the teams to send reps to the coin flip because the Giants didn’t want to flip. To appease each team, Goodell’s plan was that the coin toss winner would open the stadium on Sunday and the loser would host the first Monday Night Football game the following day.

The Giants will play the Sunday afternoon game at the Meadowlands on opening day and the Jets will play the next day at 7:00 pm on Monday Night Football. The opponents for both games will be announced on Monday at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Florida.

I’m surprised that the usually mild-mannered Woody Johnson publicly released such a strong statement. Maybe the speaking style of Jets’ head coach, Rex Ryan, is rubbing off on him.

Are you amazed that the New York Jets have made it all the way to the AFC Championship game? Do you think the Jets have no chance at all at beating Peyton Manning and the Colts? Consider this…

Jets disbelievers said that the Colts and Bengals “rested” against the Jets in the final two weeks of the NFL regular season - MAYBE.

They said the Jets would get booted in the AFC wild card game against the Bengals - WRONG!

They said there was absolutely no chance that the Jets could beat the 13-3 Chargers - WRONG!

And now they’re saying the Jets have no chance whatsoever to beat the Colts - WRONG AGAIN!

I have just one thing to say to the disbelievers - remember the 2007 New York Giants? The Giants limped into the playoffs with a 10-6 regular season record. They defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC wild card game, the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Championship game and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game - all on the road.

And the icing on the cake? The Giants were 12.5 point underdog to the undefeated Belichick-Brady Patriots (16-0) in Super Bowl XLII. No body game the Giants any chance of winning. We all know the outcome of that game - the Giants became Super Bowl XLII Champions - remember?

You can draw a lot of parallels between the 2009 Jets and the 2007 Giants.

Here are 10 reasons why the Jets will beat the Colts in the AFC Championship game:

1. Jets have the best overall defense in the NFL
2. Jets have the best against the pass in the NFL
3. Jets have the best rushing offense in the NFL
4. Jets beat a team (the Chargers) that had won 11 games in a row in a game. A game the “experts” said the Jets had no chance to winning
5. The Jets believe in their coach Rex Ryan and themselves
6. The Colts are last in the NFL when rushing the ball
7. The Colts only beat the Ravens last week because of the Ravens mistakes: Two lost fumbles, two interceptions and seven penalties for 65 yards.
8. The Colts offense only scored 20 points against the Ravens in the AFC Divisional Championship even though the Ravens turned the ball over 4 times.
9. Jets have nothing to lose and there is no pressure on them
10. Jets are on a roll and cannot be stopped. The Jets have the momentum.

The AFC Championship Game prediction by the odds makers hve the Colts favored by 7.5 points with the under/over set at 40.5 points.

Thenlfthisweek.com AFC Championship Game prediction:

Jets 24 Colts 21

The 2009 New York Giants defense is an embarrassment and its time to clean house, especially after their showing against the Eagles this week in the NFL.

The New York Giants have always prided themselves with playing great defense. From the early days at Giants stadium (1976 - 2009), defense has always been the name of the game. In a game where the offense always gets the glory, it were NY Giant Hall-of-Famers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson that helped define “D-Fence” in NFL Football.

Over the last 25 years the Giants have had 5 coaches: Bill Parcells (1984-1990), Ray Handley (1991-1992), Dan Reeves (1993-1996), Jim Fassel (1997-2003) and Tom Couglin (2004 - present). In all these years except the current 2009 season, Defense defined the Giants. But no longer.

So what is the problem with the Giants defense?

Sure, you could use the excuse that injuries have plaqued the Giants defense but the other NFL teams and past Giant defenses have had to deal with the same issues. Some might argue that the Giant offense isn’t controlling time of position and therefore not giving the defense sufficient rest - THAT’s BULL!

The problem with the NY Giants defensive problems starts with defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan (in his first year) and ends with the lack of talent and depth on the defensive line and especially it’s secondary. To see opposing QB’s sit in the pocket for ever and seeing opposing receivers wide open in the secondary - it’s hard to watch - and even harder to swallow!

If you are questioning whether the Giants Defense are the cause of their problems consider this statistic in last night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles @ Giants stadium (12/13/2009):

The Giants lost 45-38 despite outgaining the Eagles 512-374 and holding the advantage in time of possession by nearly 10 minutes.

For the record, the New York Giants have given up over 40 points in three games in 2009 - just absurd for an NFL team that prides itself on defense.

So if Tom Couglin and the Giants really want to compete in 2010, they will need to have the defensive reserves audition in the final three weeks of the NFL season. Then its time to look for a new defensive coordinator and defensive talent in the off-season - the Giant Fans will demand it!