Post Game Thoughts: Jets 27 Chargers 21

Today’s game is an example of why the NFL is the most popular sport in America. There are so many twists and turns within an game and the potential for a comeback is always there. After a disastrous start the Jets may have salvaged their entire season with a tremendous come from behind win against the San Diego Chargers.

Offense

Sometimes all it takes is a handful of bad plays to destroy a game and that is what it looked like was going to happen to the Jets. It began when TE Dustin Keller allowed LB Donald Butler to just rip a ball out of his hands as he was going down to the ground which Butler ran back for a touchdown. Keller is maddening to watch. That is the second time in two years he has allowed that to happen and it’s a complete lack of concentration and effort on his part. Bigger than that though was a holding call on C Nick Mangold which nullified a TD pass to Santonio Holmes. The Jets offense was cruising at that point and Sanchez threw a beautiful strike on the play. That took 7 off the board and Sanchez proceeded to make the worst pass of his last three games completely underthrowing what should have been an easy TD to WR Plaxico Burress and instead having it picked off. There were some other misses as well such as Sanchez failing to pull the trigger to a wide open Jeremy Kerley and Sanchez getting laid out when WR Patrick Turner whiffed on a block when an extra second would have been a surefire 7, but it was those 3 that were going to be the story of the day.

But instead the story completely turned around. The offense had by far its most consistent outing of the season. They started out fast and really were playing with a purpose. RB Shonn Greene ran as if he knew his job was on the line. The team seemed to go into the game with the intention of splitting series between he and RB LaDainian Tomlinson, who had a handful of nice runs and a great catch early, but LT went down with an illness and Greene completely took over the game. He isn’t going to make people miss in the open field but he ran hard and he ran guys over. It was the first time since the 2009 playoffs where you watched him run and said this guy is on a mission to carry the football team. A large amount of credit needs to go to the offensive line who also had their best game of the year. They set the tone early and immediately made it known that they were controlling the trenches. I don’t think the line gave up a sack until the last drive of the game in a spot where Sanchez was told to fall down if the play wasn’t there. RT Wayne Hunter is not going to make anyone forget Damien Woody anytime soon, but he has settled down after a disaster first few weeks. The only concern on the line was Mangold being the recipient of three penalties. He clearly isn’t 100% and I think the Jets may want to watch him carefully beyond the bye week. They can’t allow this to become a chronic issue because the backup option is so bad. They might consider taking a look at a center during the bye week.

Though Sanchez won’t wow anyone with his stats today it was how he played the game that mattered. Sanchez threw the ball well most of the game and finally looked settled down in the pocket. He took his time with the football and really hit some big throws. He made two big runs when a play broke down and did everything he could to be efficient in running the offense. He was finally able to use Burress as the Jets envisioned with Plaxico coming down with 3 touchdown receptions. Kerley continued to make some nice plays and Keller did his best to atone for his mistake early with a few nice grabs. He seemed to be doing a tremendous job of drawing the Chargers offsides who were so jumpy at the snap. Maybe San Diego thought they picked something up in their film study, but Sanchez wasn’t doing it this week. He got the offense a ton of free yards with his work prior to the snap. Had the offense played this well in Oakland and Baltimore the Jets would be sitting at 6-1 right now rather than 4-3. Hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

Defense This was a complete tale of two halves with this unit. Early in the game it looked like it would be another long day for the Jets defense. The Charger offense put up 14 first half points on the defense and it did it with ease. They could not stop the run and TE Antonio Gates was destroying the coverage. It got so bad that there were two occasions where the players in the secondary, in particular S Jim Leonhard, that were putting their hands on their hips and shaking their heads clearly looking to put the blame on someone else. It was a nightmare. When the offense tried to get the Jets back in the game the defense allowed the Chargers to march right back down the field and score another TD, with the big play being a spectacular grab WR Malcolm Floyd over CB Antonio Cromartie. The Jets just looked so undisciplined on the field. Cromartie was busy complaining that the ball was incomplete and nearly let Floyd get up and run for more yards. The team again had 12 on the field and then looked totally lost of the following play that went for a score, off a timeout to regroup no less.

What happened at halftime is something that only the Jets players can answer but this was an entirely different defense. The secondary coverage was fantastic with the exception of a blown coverage again on a tight end, this time Randy McMichael. The run defense actually played well. San Diego only ran 11 plays in the third quarter and never came anywhere near the end zone again. They were helped late by the awful play by QB Phillip Rivers, who ran a two minute drill like there was 5 minutes left in the game. He wanted no part of the Jets and it showed. I have always been a big fan of his, but this was rookie level bad. It was like he didn’t even care to try to win.

CB Darrelle Revis continues his dominant play. He gave up 1 reception all day, an early 15 yard pass to Vincent Jackson. He was in the right place at the right time to collect his interception but then made a great runback to get the offense right into scoring position. Revis’ is turning into quite the open field runner which was the only weakness (if you want to call it that) in his game before. Guys like Deion Sanders used to be deadly off an interception, and Revis is becoming that this season. CB Kyle Wilson continues to play better. He made up ground to intercept a Rivers pass to seal the game and also made a nice stop or two to prevent a first down. The only bad play on the day was a reception he gave up to Gates. DE Aaron Maybin had another sack. He is limited and can not play every down, but does he have a motor on him. I have no idea how the Bills got nothing out of him. He plays with energy that few others do. He is an example as to why sometimes playing the “what if” game in the draft doesn’t always hold water. Sometimes it just takes the right situation and right staff for things to work for a player.

The interior defense is concerning. Some of these players must be worn down from the deep playoff runs. It is the only way to explain the poor play from some of the Jets. LB David Harris got dragged down the field as he held onto the waist of RB Mike Tolbert. He just isn’t right this season. LB Bart Scott simply does not look the same as he has in the past. He has a lot of wear and tear on his body and its starting to show. NT Sione Pouha has not been nearly as effective this year either. The team played well enough late to mask the problems, but the Jets need to figure out how to turn this part of the defense around. It is very difficult to win when you are soft up the middle and right now from Pouha all the way back to Leonhard and Smith its soft. They need these guys to get back to form for the meat of the schedule from this point forward

Special Teams

Surprisingly this did not play much of a role today. K Nick Folk was perfect, but these were chip shot field goals. P TJ Conley only had 3 attempts one of which he placed down nicely in Charger territory. The return game was a non-factor for both sided. The Jets did have a few bad penalties on specials, but this game was also being officiated extremely tight, so who knows if they were really bad or not.

Coaching I don’t know what Rex Ryan did at the half but he fixed a sinking ship. The Jets season was basically over at halftime. The Jets defense looked listless and it was a comedy of errors on the field. Poor tackling. Not holding onto the football. Forgetting to cover receivers. Another 12 men on the field situation. The home team getting booed off the field and rightfully so. It was a different team in the second half. Full credit should go to Ryan and his staff for somehow getting the attention of these guys and making them raise their level of play. When you look across the field you see how much teams react when things are down—they pack up and go on vacation. The Jets didn’t and Ryan is responsible for it.

There are still a lot of things that need fixing. The fundamentals on the team, specifically on defense, are poor. The Jets definitely look to be a team really affected by the new practice rules. They need to devise something in the offseason to get them better prepared. The messed up substitutions are well documented. Not making sure the offense knew to stay inbounds at the end of the game was a situational mistake that this team does make from time to time, though they made sure to get it in Sanchez’ head to not make that same mistake.

Overall

I have to admit that I figured I would be writing a eulogy for the Jets when the defense choked at the end of the 2nd quarter. I had the feeling the offense would keep things close, based on how the game began, but once they fell behind by too many points I just thought it would be a shootout where the Jets just could not catch up especially with the Chargers getting the ball to start the 2nd half. Luckily the team proved me and probably every other fan wrong.

I would imagine that the Jets head into their bye week 1 game off the pace that they wanted. At the start of the year they probably would have been happy with a 5-2 record, but now will have to buckle down and play one game better than expected in their second part of the season. The Jets have not been a good team off their bye week and the rules make it even more difficult to prepare during the week. I don’t know if that will have much of an effect since Ryan has typically told the Jets to do as they want during the bye, but hopefully some of the guys will keep better focused than they have in the past.

Part of me knows that the team isn’t fixed, but the other part of me really wants to believe that what we saw in the 2nd half is what we will get in the second half of the year. It was the most complete performance of the year by the team and the most convincing win against a real NFL opponent. If the Jets don’t make those mental errors early on offense this would have been a 35-14 type win, but maybe it was good for them to have to come up with a real gritty and tough win. This wasn’t Tony Romo, Matt Moore, or Luke McCown handing the Jets the win, this was the Jets earning their first real win of the year. That’s a big step.

There are still plenty of questions about the team. They may be looking for some talent during the bye week to at least try out. Punter, Fullback, Tight End, Center, Nose Tackle, and Inside Linebacker may all be positions of interest. The Jets need some depth at those spots. It doesn’t mean they will find anyone, but this is always a good week to focus on looking for the help.

The next 4 games will be the games that make or break the Jets season. They have the Bills twice and the Patriots once along with a game against the Denver Broncos. If the Jets can find a way to go 3-0 against the AFC East in that stretch they will be right back in the hunt for the AFC East crown and in a strong position for a wildcard. 2-1 makes the division tougher, but still will be in good standing for a wildcard. 1-2 or 0-3 and you have real trouble. Hopefully Ryan will be able to communicate that message to his team before they head away for most of the week because they cant afford a blowout loss off the bye. If they can beat the Bills in Buffalo it is going to help rebuild that confidence they lost starting in Oakland.

Enjoy the week off from Jets football everyone. Go Jets!