An Unbelievable Loss

I'm still in a state of shock that we actually lost that game last night.  For 54 minutes the defense played an amazing game.  I think the Broncos started drives on our side of the field 4 or 5 times and came away with 3 points.  The playoff hopes aren't dead, but it isn't looking good.

Some Observations:

1.) For the first time, I am losing hope in Mark Sanchez.  He looks extremely tentative throwing the ball and his accuracy is suffering because of that.  If he had waited an extra half second in the pocket Santonio Holmes would have had an easy touchdown.  Instead, he threw the ball too early, while under no pressure, and Von Miller made a good play and tipped it away.  The interception for a touchdown was unacceptable in that situation.  The Broncos offense couldn't move the ball 10 yards the entire half and Sanchez decides to hand them a touchdown.  The offensive line isn't playing well (I will get to that in a second) but Sanchez has to adapt.  I believe that Sanchez has the intelligence and arm to play quarterback in the NFL.  I think there's something seriously messed with his internal clock.  There are times when he holds the ball for way too long and gets sacked and there are others when he seems terrified of a sack and releases an off balance throw that has no chance of being caught.  I don't know if there is a way to "fix" Sanchez but my initial thought is that it is not going to happen this year.

2.) The offensive line play can be summed up in one play.  Sanchez took a one step drop and throws a ball parallel to the line of scrimmage to Santonio Holmes and gets absolutely destroyed.  Now, how exactly do you let your quarterback get hit on a one step drop?  I'm pretty sure nobody has an answer for that question.  Wayne Hunter is terrible at right tackle and it is becoming more and more apparent each game.  He is letting Sanchez get hit way too often and I'm not sure how Rex still defends him.

3.) Brian Schottenheimer (or Shittenheimer if you prefer) is going to be the person to take the fall for this team's offensive performance.  It is really hard for a fan to fairly evaluate an offensive coordinator's job performance but like the offensive line, one play last night summed it up.  The Jets had a 3rd and 5 inside Broncos territory when Schottenheimer calls a direct snap to Joe McKnight.  Now, if you make this call with Shonn Greene or LT it is understandable.  Maybe you catch the linebackers on their heals expecting pass and you rip off a nice gain up the middle.  However, calling this play with a 3rd string running back is absolutely uncalled for.  This was a huge conversion that the Jets needed and Schottenheimer expects the third string running back to get his hands on a direct snap! Absolutely unbelievable.  If I were Rex I would fire the guy today.  Hand the job off to Callahan or see if Tom Moore wants to fill in for the end of the season.  Anything beats crap like that play call.

4.) The final play was another play call which absolutely baffles me.  You have a quarterback who you know if not going to throw the ball.  Rex has even said that he told his defensive players that there was no way Tebow was going to throw in that situation.  So, what does the logical person do in that situation on 3rd and 5 where the main object is preventing a touchdown?  Spy Tebow with David Harris (which we did all game anyways) and set the edge on the outside.  I am no football expert but that is just logical.  You want to make him throw the ball or you want him to run inside where somebody puts a body on him.  What do the Jets do?   Send an all-out blitz and give the responsibility of setting an edge to Eric Smith.  Like he did all game (and all of last game) Smith takes a horrible angle and gets beat.  Tebow runs 25 yards untouched into the end zone   Great call.

5.) Hey Joe McKnight, HOLD ON TO THE FUCKING BALL! That is all.

6.) One side note to this game was the refereeing.  This DID NOT make us lose this game in any way but I thought I would point it out.  There were about 3-4 hits on Sanchez which seemed like spearing or happened extremely late.  Von Miller is a great pass rusher but I couldn't believe some of hits he was getting away with.  If the Broncos do make the playoffs somebody had better inform him that he can't do that against quarterbacks who the referee respects.

That is all.

Season Overview and Jets/Broncos

I took about a year off from blogging but I'm going to try to get back into it because fitting my thoughts on Twitter is getting way too annoying.

Some early season observations:
1.) Darrelle Revis is the best corner in football and may even be the best defensive player.  The way he moves in and out of his cuts to follow receivers is absolutely incredible.  He may get away with physical play more than other corners but star players get star treatment.  Tom Brady gets a roughing the passer call if somebody touches his jersey.  That's the way sports work.

2.) Kyle Wilson has turned a corner.  He worked out with Revis this summer and the results of that are showing up on the field.  Wilson is finally locating the ball in the which is cutting down on his penalties. (My last post gets on Wilson because he was not locating the ball in the air)

3.) Rex's Defense.  The defense has been way too inconsistent thus far for the Jets to make a serious run.  They look great one week (against Buffalo) and can't stop anything the next week (New England).  However, I think the easy schedule from here on out could give them some confidence heading into the playoffs.  That has to start tonight with stopping Tim Tebow and the Broncos running game.

4.) Joe McKnight has been a great kick returner.  His yards per return average is tops in the NFL by about 10 yards a return. However, special teams mistakes have contributed to at least 2 Jets losses that I can think of right now.  Cromartie's fumble on the kick return in Oakland essentially ended that game and McKnight's fumble of the punt last week against New England was a huge momentum swing.  The special teams can't be making stupid mistakes like that.

5.) Along with the rest of the team Mark Sanchez has been inconsistent.  Sometimes he looks like a quarterback who is more than capable of leading this team on a deep playoff run and others he is throwing the ball 10 feet over open receivers heads.  I don't think he has had that bad of a year considering the horribly inconsistent offensive line play but he definitely needs to show something in the second half.


Jets v. Broncos 11/17/2011

Prediction:
Jets- 24
Broncos- 6

What will the Jets do?
Run Run Run.  The Broncos pass rush has been one of the best in the league with rookie Von Miller leading the way.  The way to combat this pass rush is getting a running game going and letting Sanchez use play-action.  The loss of Tomlinson in this one hurts a bit but I think McKnight can easily pick up the slack.

What will the Broncos do?
Run Run Run Run Run Run Run Run.  The two teams may punt a combined 50 times.  Denver has basically given up on the pass under Tim Tebow and will be looking to wear down the Jets run defense.  Revis and Cromartie will be matched up one on one on the outside and will have to stay focused as the Broncos attempt to run the ball 60 times.

Keys to the Game

1. Build up a lead. If the Jets are playing from ahead the Broncos may have to give up on the run which would play right into the Jets hands.
2. Stop the run.  It's fairly simple in this one.  If you don't stop the run than you don't win.  Tebow's option offense will require each defensive player to stick to their assignment and make tackles.  It is kind of like the Broncos are giving us a 60 minute defensive fundamentals practice.  
3. Eliminate mistakes.  I don't see the Jets losing this game unless they give up points on offense or special teams or make a huge special teams mistake.  
4. Trap Game?  This seems to be the definition of a trap game after the Jets put everything into last weeks tilt with the Patriots.  I'm looking for a slow start but I think that will be overcome quickly.

Jets v. Broncos Preview

The Jets come into the game as one of the hottest teams in the league after taking down good teams like Minnesota, Miami and New England.  The Jets fly into Denver to face a Broncos team which excels in the passing game and seems to have its sole mission be to get Kyle Orton 10,000 yards passing.  The Jets secondary will have to be ready to combat a QB who may throw the ball 50+ times.  Our defense's bend but don't break philosophy has been pretty good all year and if we can shut down the Broncos passing attack in the red zone I can see us running away with this game because they have absolutely no running game.  The Jets offense will have to control the ball with the run and keep Denver's offense off the field.

What to watch for....

• The Jets still haven't allowed a first quarter point.  Let's see if they can continue that trend today.

• Darelle Revis did not look like himself last week coming off the hamstring injury and he will be needed this week to shut down the Broncos passing attack.  IF Revis plays, he has to be sure he's 100% ready.
• The Jets need to take advantage of a very beat up secondary of the Broncos.  Brian Dawkins, Andre Goodman and others in their secondary will be missing and Sanchez will have to take advantage of that.

Who to watch for...

• Tomlinson should be able to pick apart the Broncos run defense.  He has looked great in the past few weeks and I fully expect him to pick up near 100 yards today.
• Calvin Pace, Jason Taylor, Shaun Ellis: These three (and others) will need to get after Orton and not allow him to sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary.  Get to him early and make him play a step quicker for the rest of the game.
• Santonio Holmes:  I think Holmes will have a good game today in his second full week back.  He should be full go today and he will need to cut out some of the drops that plagued him last week.

The Jets should go in to Denver and win this game.  However, I am more nervous about this game than I normally would be against an average team because of the Broncos passing attack.  They will attack, attack, and attack more in the passing game and we can't allow big plays.  

Prediction:

Jets- 31

Broncos: 17

Game Review: Jets v. Bills

Jets- 38
Bills- 14

The Jets went up to Buffalo and turned in a dominant performance against an abysmal Bills team.  The running game finally took off as both LT and Shonn Greene both went over 100 yards and the defense completely shut down the Bills offense.  The Jets move to 3-0 in the division and 3-1 overall and are in a great position.  The Jets running game was absolutely dominant and they really had no chance to stop either LT or Greene.

Thumbs Up...

• LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene:  Both went over 100 yards and LT looked particularly dominant in this win .  His signature 26 yard touchdown run included a cut that made him look like the LT of old.  

• Dustin Keller:  Keller picked up another two touchdowns to continue his torrid streak.  

• Antonio Cromartie:  Cromartie has looked great in the last few weeks and today he shut down Lee Evans.  Cromartie had very tight coverage on every throw to his side and used his long arms to disrupt Evans and Fitzpatrick.

Thumbs down...

• Kyle Wilson:  Wilson has to do a better job turning to find the ball.  He got burned on the Bills second touchdown and he shouldn't be giving up plays like that.

The Jets came into this game expecting to win and delivered a great performance.  The running game and defense were top notch and there wasn't really much of a question who was going to win the game going into halftime.  The Jets sit atop the division and are looking great going into a Monday night game against Brett Favre and the Vikings.  The scary thing about this team is the potential return of three pro bowl players in Revis, Pace, and Holmes.  There is no other team in the league that is sitting at 3-1 (3-0 in the division) that is getting the kind of talent back that the Jets are.  Long time to wait until the next game.

Game in Review: Jets v. Dolphins

Jets- 31
Dolphins- 23

The Jets traveled into Miami on Sunday night and came out with a win against a good Dolphins team.  Going into the game I was expecting a low scoring battle between two pretty good defenses.  However, what we got was an offensive shootout with little defense on either side.  Mark Sanchez looked great for his second straight game and the Jets defense looked shaky in their first full game without star cornerback Darrelle Revis.  This was a key road win which puts the Jets on top of the division and gives them the leg up with wins over both division rivals.

Thumbs up:

• Mark Sanchez- Sanchez showed up to play for the second straight week and he has now gone three games without an interception.  Sanchez seems to be forming a pretty good connection with Dustin Keller and he connected with him for 98 yards in the first half alone.  Sanchez seems to be much cooler under pressure and has avoided big mistakes.

• LaDainian Tomlinson- Tomlinson continues to go out and look like the back that he was a few years ago.  He finished this game with 88 all purpose yards and a touchdown and showed some great burst getting around the edge on a few runs.  His enthusiasm is unmatched which is really incredible figuring how many years he has been in the league and the fact that he is already a hall of fame player.

• Brad Smith- Brad Smith was great on kick returns and continuously set the Jets up in great field position.  I have never been a huge Smith fan on kickoffs because he lacks the breakaway speed that sets apart good returners from great ones.  However, if he can continue setting the Jets up with good field position that breakaway speed becomes less important.

• Sione Pouha- Pouha seems to always make plays.  He is no Kris Jenkins but he has become an anchor in the middle of the defense and the Jets should feel comfortable with him for the rest of the season.

Thumbs Down:

• Kyle Wilson- I can't count how many times I yelled at the TV, "Turn around and find the ball," when it was throw in Wilson's direction.  He seemed so focused on watching his man at times that it made it easy for Dolphins receivers to make plays.  He needs to start turning to find the ball which will help him shut down opposing receivers and avoiding costly penalties.

• Shonn Greene- Greene has been very underwhelming this year after most people figured he would start and get the majority of the carries.  He has not run well so far and LT is clearly outplaying him.  Greene still delivers punishing hits but he doesn't seem to be showing the burst that he had in last year's playoffs.

• Penalties- I'm not sure who to put this one on specifically but this team will never win a Super Bowl with the amount of penalties that are being committed.  The Slauson holding call erased a Mark Sanchez TD run and there were plenty of other penalties which could have cost the Jets the game.  This has been a huge issue in the first few weeks and it's something that needs to be fixed.

Overview:

The Jets will look like a completely different team when they play the Dolphins next time.  They are the only team in the league which can boast that they have 3 potential pro bowl players returning in the next few weeks.  The infusion of Santonio Holmes, Calvin Pace, and Darrelle Revis into this lineup should make this team scary in a few weeks. If Sanchez keeps throwing the ball the way he is and LT continues to run with the passion, fire, and burst of a 25 year old we should be looking at good things in the near future.  We travel up to play the Bills next week in what should be a win.  

Jets v. Dolphins

The Jets go down to Miami to take on the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.  The Jets need a win to avoid falling into a 2 game hole in the AFC East behind the Dolphins and Rex Ryan is looking for his first win against the Dolphins as the Jets coach.  A lot of the talk this week has revolved around Braylon Edwards and his drunk driving arrest earlier in the week which will put him on the bench for the first quarter of tonight's game.


What to watch for...

• It has been announced that the Jets will be without Edwards for the first quarter of the game.  This shouldn't play too much of a factor on the game as the Jets will probably just keep the ball on the ground and play solid defense in the first quarter.  Even without Edwards, Sanchez was good last week at finding Dustin Keller.

• Rex Ryan is looking for his first ever win against the Dolphins after falling to two crushing losses last year. Rex will have a defensive gameplan drawn up which should confuse Chad Henne and an average Dolphins passing attack.

• The key to this game on defense will be the Jets handling of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams.  If the Jets front line can stop the run game, as they have done all year, I don't see the Dolphins doing much on offense.

Who to watch for...

• Shonn Greene and LT will have to control the run game in order to give Sanchez time to throw.  Greene hasn't had his breakout game yet this year and hopefully today we can see the same guy we saw last year in the playoffs.  

• Antonio Cromartie has to play the same way he did in the second half of last game if the Jets hope to shut down Brandon Marshall.  Cromartie has to avoid stupid penalties if the Jets want to win this game.

Game Overview:

I look for the Jets to come out in the first quarter establishing the run to open up the game for Mark Sanchez later.  The defense has been rock solid so far and I don't see that changing tonight as long as the Jets can shut down the Dolphins running game.

Prediction:

Jets- 17

Dolphins-13

Game Overview: Jets v. Patriots

Jets- 28
Pats- 14

Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense came alive in the second half today as the Jets defeated the Pats 28-14.  Mark Sanchez and LT provided a huge spark in the second half as the Jets offense dominated the Patriots defense.  The defense suffered a major injury (minor injury but major name) in the first half when Darrelle Revis came up lame on a touchdown pass to Randy Moss and had to leave the game with hamstring troubles.  We will get more info on Revis in the coming days but my guess is that he will be held out of practice all week and will hopefully be able to start next week against Miami.  However, even without Revis the Jets defense showed a lot of life in the second half.  Cromartie took on Revis's role of covering Randy Moss and played a pretty good game.  He collected his second interception and assisted in Pool's interception.


Thumbs Up:

• Mark Sanchez:  Mark Sanchez played one of the best games of his career today in finishing 21/30 for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Brian Schottenheimer opened up the playbook today and seemed to do everything he was afraid to do last week.  The Jets allowed Sanchez to throw in running situations and got Braylon Edwards heavily involved right from the start.  Sanchez seemed committed to throwing the ball downfield and it was a great thing to see.  

• LT:  Tomlinson played a great game today and showed outstanding burst.  Tomlinson runs hard on every play and is showing why he is considered one of the greatest running backs of all time.  There are few times when he goes down at the first contact and showed great speed to get around the edge.  

• Brian Schottenheimer:  The three thumbs up are all going to offensive people partly because of how bad the Jets offense was last week and how much they improved.  Schotty expanded the playbook today and didn't back away from giving Sanchez a chance to throw the ball down the field.  I am extremely excited to see what he can come up with when the Jets best WR Santonio Holmes gets on the field.

Thumbs Down:

• Offensive line: I'm not sure who individually to put this on so I will just point out that the offensive line had a pretty horrible game in pass protection.  Sanchez seemed to be moving around in the pocket a ton, especially in the first half.  The pass protection needs to greatly improve or the Jets could be looking at an injury to Sanchez in the near future.

Game Overview:

Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the way that game turned out.  The Patriots looked great last week against the Bengals (a pretty good team) and we managed to beat them by 14 points.  The defense will not face many challenges greater than attempting to shut down that offense (especially without Revis) and responded by only giving up 14 points.  The main concern for the last week, the offense, was a completely different animal from what we saw last week.  Sanchez threw the ball great and Tomlinson looked like he did a few years ago showing some great burst and making people miss.  Schotty opened up the playbook and called more plays where Sanchez looked downfield and also got back to throwing the slant routes that Sanchez is so good at.  With the Dolphins game coming up next week this win was necessary and the Jets responded.