Jets v. Giants Reaction

Analysis of the Starters:



Mark Sanchez:


First Drive:

• Bad decision on a throw to LT over the middle.  He missed the fact that the Giants were backing into a zone and LT was double covered.  Interception that turned into a touchdown for the Giants.

Second Drive:

• Sanchez looked composed during the second drive and seemed to check down most of the time.  He targeted Keller a ton and didn't take many chances down the field.
• Ended up getting a touchdown pass when the Giants left Brad Smith wide open on the outside at the goal line.

Third Drive:

• Put in a difficult position after the Robert Turner hold and wasn't able to do much with the drive.
• Put a pretty good pass just out of the reach of Brad Smith in the end zone.

Fourth Drive:

• Sanchez opens up with a few good throws to Cotchery and Edwards as he finally targets some wide receivers.
• Offense is opening up on this drive as Sanchez is beign asked to throw more.
• Playing against the Giants second team defense.
• 
  

LT:

• Tomlinson came in mostly on passing situations.
• He showed some great burst getting away from the linebacker on a big third and long catch which put the Jets into the red zone.
• On the third drive Tomlinson rips off a 15 yard touchdown run (called back because of holding).
• Showed great burst on the run.

Shonne Greene:

• As usual, Greene ran really hard and seems to have improved vision from last year.  He hit the hole a few times instead of simply trying to run through the opposition.

Dustin Keller:

• Keller ran a ton of routes between 5 and 10 yards and seemed to get great separation every time.  
• Sanchez targets him a lot which isn't overly surprising.

Nick Folk:

• 36 yard field goal in the first quarter was right on.
• Another short field goal for Folk

Defense:

• Jets came out on the first drive with a lot of penetration on the early plays and then a big blitz on third and long which confused Eli Manning.
• The second drive was more of the same after stuffing two straight runs and then sending the house at Eli Manning and forcing another bad throw.  
• The defense gave up points on the third drive but it was in part to a completely blown holding call on Shaun Ellis.
• Huge hit on Manning leaves him gushing blood.  Bart Scott looks like he's on a mission with the way he's getting to the quarterback in this game.

Antonio Cromartie:

• Had a few interceptions slip through his hands and he looked great in man to man.

Special Teams:

• Eric Smith with a great blocked punt.

That's pretty much enough analysis of the starters for me.  I'm sure somebody will catch my eye in the second half who I can add onto this post.

Preseason Game # 1: Jets v. Giants

The football season unofficially starts tonight for the Jets as they will open the new season and stadium with a game against the cross town rival Giants.  The outcome of the game doesn't matter much but here are a few things I am looking for in this game:

• According to Rex Ryan the starters will be playing at least a full quarter.  This should give us time to see Mark Sanchez and the new look offense on at least two drives.  Sanchez hasn't had the best preseason but now has the weapons around him to excel.  We will get a real time look at how Sanchez's knee looks after offseason surgery.
• Tomlinson has been taking the majority of snaps with the first team offense during training camp so it looks like he will be out there with the starters at the beginning of the game.  I don't see this meaning much as I expect Shonn Greene to really carry the load for us this year.
• Matt Slauson is currently winning the left guard battle with Vladamir Ducasse and should get the start tonight.  Rex Ryan has even gone as far as to say that Slauson could be the long term solution at the position.  This is our first look to see if he is right.
• The defense will be without Darelle Revis as he continues his hold out.  This will push Kyle Wilson up the depth chart and will give us an opportunity to see him play against the Giants first team wide receivers.  With the Revis situation looking grim it will be good to see if the combination of Cromartie and Wilson can get the job done.
• Kris Jenkins will be back anchoring the middle of the defense (although I don't expect him to be in there for many plays).  This will be a welcome site to Jets fans who thought the season was over last year when he went down to injury.
• Vernon Gholston has had a good training camp adjusting to his new position and he will look to continue that in tonight's game.  This season is the last one for him to prove that he can be a good, productive football player before the Jets cut ties so he has to make the most of every opportunity. 

Seeing the Jets come out on the field for the first time this season tonight will be exciting even though it is a preseason game.

Position by Position Overview: Offensive Line

The Jets return an offensive line that was among the NFL's best last season and should only improve this season.  The biggest move on the line was the release of Alan Faneca.  Faneca was the weak member of the line last year and this year he will be replaced by either second round pick Vladamir Ducasse or second year player Matt Slauson.  A few days into training camp it looks like Matt Slauson has a slight edge but this will remain a hot topic until the season starts.

Overall, there isn't a huge need to go over the individual positions on the line.  Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson are the anchors of the line and are among the best at their respective positions.  Ferguson just got a contract that will keep him here for many years to come and I'm sure Mangold's contract will come soon.

Brandon Moore is one of the most underrated lineman in the league and is a definite run blocking presence.  Damian Woody joins Moore on the right side of the line and should be a solid contributer to that side of the line.

A few interesting things to note about the offensive line.  The Jets had the same 5 starters for every game last year and we hope this can continue.  Mangold is having contract troubles (big surprise) and is hoping to get a new contract.  We will see how this plays out.

Revis Contract Situation

With the immense amount of talent on the Jets practice field right now people still can't help but question when the best player might show up.  Darelle Revis is staging a hold out after the Jets refused to renegotiate his current contract and make him the highest paid corner in the league.  On day three of training camp it doesn't appear that the Jets and Revis are any closer to signing a deal.  Rumors from the Revis camp say that the Jets offers are way off from where he wants them to be while the Jets front office is dealing with the problem of an uncertain CBA next year which is making it extremely difficult to give a lucrative, long term extension.  

My personal opinion: Revis shouldn't be at camp at his current contract.  Normally, I would side with the team in saying that if a guy is under contract he should be participating.  However, the Leon Washington situation last year changed all of that for me.  Washington entered the season with a contract on the table that would have payed him around 5 million a year.  He turned this down and went into the season unprotected and came out with a broken leg.  the team didn't show any loyalty to Washington (nor did they have a responsibility to) when they sent him to Seattle on draft day.  Revis looks at this situation and can see a similar thing happening to him.  If a player gets injured and the team has a way to get out of paying them they have every right to do that.  Why should Revis show up to camp with a small contract and no guarantees that he wouldn't be sent right along as Washington was if he suffers a bad injury.  Revis proved last year that he was the best cornerback in the league and an integral part of the best defense in the NFL.  He deserves to be paid and he more importantly he deserves to have his future guaranteed.  The only point that I am against Revis on is his insistence that he is the highest paid corner in the NFL.  This usually would not be a major problem.  The best player at a position deserves to be the highest paid.  However, Nnamdi Asomugha's contract in Oakland is absurd and should not set the benchmark for any future contracts.  Revis should accept a deal in the 12-13 million dollar a season range and be happy with that.  I hope we see him out on the field soon but until the Jets start submitting serious contract offers I do not blame him for staying home.

Position by Position Overview: Wide Reveivers

The Jets come into the 2010 season stacked at the wide receiver position after the addition of Santonio Holmes from the Steelers.  The trio of Holmes, Edwards, and Cotchery gives Mark Sanchez enough weapons to excel in the passing game.

1.  Edwards will be the #1 receiver and he is one of the most talented players on a talent laden Jets team.  He has a history of drops but I think he will find some rhythm with Sanchez this year and show everybody what he can really do.  He is playing for a contract as the Jets will probably only be able to keep him or Holmes after this season.  Edwards has the edge now and I wouldn't be surprised if he responds with a monster season.

2. Cotchery is a long tenured Jets who is one of the best possession receivers in the AFC.  He consistently puts up good numbers and was Sanchez's favorite target last year.  The acquisition of Holmes means that Cotchery will have to play the slot position some of the time and I think this is an area where he can excel.  Holmes and Edwards will provide the necessary deep threat to open up opportunities for Cotchery over the middle.

3. Holmes is suspended the first four games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy but he should be able to step in Week 5 and make an immediate impact on the passing game.  Holmes is super athletic and has big game experience (Super Bowl MVP).  Holmes has dedicated himself  this offseason to learning all three receiver positions and being able to mix up him and Cotchery in the slot and outside positions should provide a dynamic that few offenses have.

4.  Laveranues Coles was signed last week to take over for Holmes the first four weeks while he is suspended.  If Coles can work himself into good shape and prove himself there is no reason he can't stick around after Week 4.  To round out the receiving core, David Clowney, is looking to move up a stacked depth chart.  Clowney has long been a fan favorite because of his speed and ability to stretch the field but he has never seemed to "get" it.  Could this be the year that he does?  Probably not.