You can’t argue that the Jets aren’t at least trying to put something together this year. Today they whupped the lowly Buccaneers 26-3. And they didn’t even have the services of the man who has got them to this point, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who was injured in last week’s victory against the Buffalo Bills and has no timetable on a return.

But the Jets have now won three straight games and now are at 7-6, putting them right in the thick of the AFC East playoff race with four games to go, almost dead even with the Dolphins and Patriots.

The Jets defense has certainly turned a corner from embarrassments such as their two shootout losses to the Dolphins. Today they absolutely shut down an offense that is known even by their fans to be atrocious (hint: the biggest round of applause of the game was when they completed their first first-down three minutes into the second HALF).

The offense gelled from the get-go, spurred on by Thomas Jones, who had a couple HUGE runs including a 33-yard TD breakout that tore the game wide open for the Jets in the second quarter. And remember that guy in preseason Kellen Clemens? Well since Sanchez is out he is, for now, their starting quarterback, a job he wanted all along. And he got the win. Good things come to those who wait.