Post Game Thoughts: Jets 14 Giants 29
The battle for NY was a pretty clear knockout win for the team in the Blue corner.
Offense
59 pass attempts, 258 yards. That’s pathetic. This is a big play league and to play that style of football just shows all the problems with this team. After all these years they replaced Chad Pennington with a more inaccurate version of Chad Pennington. You have a QB that completes around 55% of his passes and you play a game where a “chance down the field” is 9 yards. The longest positive play on offense came on a questionable pass interference call. It’s horrific. The play of QB Mark Sanchez today was so substandard that it makes you question the immediate future for him. Rex Ryan can make all the excuses in the world about the pressure he faced and the fact that they didn’t play a game suited to their style, but Sanchez caused most of that pressure. The indecisiveness is terrible. Sanchez was sacked 5 times on the day. At least 3 of them were his fault. Maybe 4. The only one I remember that was a clear letup by the line was the one allowed by LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson who is just not having a good season. The others were Sanchez holding the ball forever, pump faking multiple times, and failing to pass. The safety at the end of the game summed up how poor Sanchez has been in the pocket and poor situational awareness. The only thing you cant do in that spot is backpeddle and take a sack. He did both. He did the same on the drive where they missed the field goal. He stares down targets, specifically TE Dustin Keller, so badly it isn’t even funny. He clearly has not progressed in his third year. Even his TD run he made more difficult by being confused with what to do. The Jets have given him more responsibility and he can’t handle it. Is he the only reason they lost today? No. But he is not a reason they win and in year three you have to have games where you look at the QB and say he is the reason we won a game. He doesn’t take over games. Not even close.
The lack of awareness between QB and receiver is disturbing. One of Sanchez’ picks was a clear miscommunication between he and WR Jeremy Kerley. Kerley sat down and Sanchez threw long. Considering Kerley doesn’t usually run deep that is probably on Sanchez more than Kerley. The real big mess was between he and Keller. Keller’s concentration is atrocious. He drops so many passes and none worse than the one that hit him in the helmet when he forgot to look at the football. Someone will look at the stat sheet and say he had a good game, but he didn’t. He missed easy catches and he wasn’t the only one. WR Santonio Holmes was close to another fumble and probably caught a break on the ruling. The Jets don’t use him right and he isn’t happy in this offense. He can say whatever he wants but it shows in his play. WR Plaxico Burress got called for a ticky tack pass interference call, but they may have been a makeup for the pass interference call that went the other way. The Jets didn’t even seem to try to get him involved.
The offensive line had a bad day, specifically Brandon Moore who I believe had 3 penalties on the day. C Nick Mangold had the bad snap that led to a fumble on the 1 yard line. RT Wayne Hunter gave up a pressure that led to a sack. They did fine run blocking, but for some reason the Jets did not want to run the football. I have no idea why, but both Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson were running well and they refused to try to go to them. By the time they started to try to establish the run it was too late.
Defense
The defensive effort on the day was great except for two or three plays. The bottom line is CB Kyle Wilson can’t cover, CB Antonio Cromartie can’t tackle, and the speed is the secondary is horribly slow. That’s really it. But big plays kill you in the NFL. It’s why the Giants won this game. 9 completions, 225 yards. It blows away what the Jets attempt offensively. The Jets defense dominated the game, but those handful of plays make it all worth nothing and when your offense plays as bad as it did today you cant afford mistakes and the Jets made two of them.
I kind of got the feeling that this was the last gasp of this defense as we know it. They made Eli Manning, who had been so good this year, look terrible. CB Darrelle Revis was all over Hakeem Nicks, who caught one pass on the day. The running game never did anything until it was garbage time. But the Jets could not handle the speed of Victor Cruz. Cruz’ ability to turn a 10 yard pass into a 99 yard gain killed the Jets. They dominated the game up to that point in time and lost it all in 1 play. Wilson missed, Cromartie then made such a bad attempt at a tackle that he should be sent back to high school to learn, and S Eric Smith just couldn’t catch up to Cruz who lept over Smith’s outstretched arm to have a clear field to the end zone. Smith tried but he just isn’t gifted enough to make those plays and its why the Jets need a new safety. The play where Cruz just outran Wilson for a 35 yard pass finished them off. It showed in the play afterwards when the run defense fell apart and they let Jacobs and Bradshaw run for 42 yards and a score. They lost their confidence and couldn’t figure out what was going on.
It’s clear the Jets need upgrades over Bart Scott, Calvin Pace, OLB2, Smith, Pool, and Wilson within the next two years. Pace is fine for another year. Wilson you can live with for one more year. The others really have to go. Defenses don’t maintain greatness. The Jets great year was 2009. They weren’t as good in 2010 and definitely not as good in 2011. When you watch the teams picking up the blitz packages now it points out just how slow and unathletic some of the Jets personnel is. In 2009 it looked great because teams were caught off guard. They aren’t caught off guard anymore. That’s not a problem this game, but it has been all year. It is time for Rex and company to admit that great coaching on defense can only take you so far and they cant keep holding onto these players for much longer if they want the defense to potentially reach the 2009 status again.
Special Teams
I doubt Mike Westhoff goes out like this. K Nick Folk missed a critical FG. Poor returns by Cromartie. Penalties. Just not a good effort. The Jets have really been helped by specials for most of the last 6 years, but it has tailed off greatly this season. The Giants were well prepared for the Jets deep kick return decisions and the Jets got baited into it time and time again. A non-factor.
Coaching
Rex created a frenzy for the game and maybe he should not have. The Giants played with so much more passion and sense of urgency that I wonder if all the needling he did to them backfired. Rex made it known how important this game was to him and his team and how his team was so much better. Because the Giants play in the same town the soundbites are magnified 100 times in the local press over the usual bluster against opponents. The only team I can think of that Rex ragged on this badly was the Miami Dolphins in 2008 who beat the Jets twice. I get why Rex did it—he thought his team was wilting under the playoff pressure—but when it doesn’t work it looks bad, just like it did in 2008.
Part of me says he bought into it too much. The gameplan is unexplainable. It’s as if he wanted to prove that Sanchez is just as good as Manning. After the game he said they weren’t built to play that way. He’s wrong. They are built to play that way, the problem is they don’t have the QB to play that way. Sanchez tried to claim the situation called for all the passing. That’s just bull youknowwhat. Before the Giants broke it open on the Bradshaw TD the Jets passed 30 times with just 17 run attempts, and that does not include the two minute drive where they were forced to pass. The Jets were trying to prove something and I cant figure out what that was. All I know is it didn’t come close to working.
4th and 2 shotgun was as bad as it gets with this team, even if they got bailed out by a PI call. Every announcer on the telecast couldn’t figure that one out. A two minute drive consisting of 2 and 3 yard dumpoffs? It’s so bad. They can’t scrap this offense fast enough. Whether its Schottenheimer or Rex, one has to go. Either Ryan has to fully give in to what his OC wants to do or he has to get a guy that runs his kind of game. To keep the game in the hands of a guy who just is not getting the job done and has receivers who have hands of stone on the day is asinine. But the Jets stuck with it forever. By the time the decision was made to run to set up the pass the game was over. This was as bad a coaching job as they have had all season. And before anyone tries to defend the staff by claiming players execute calls, part of the coaching job is having players ready to execute the plays. That was the old joke about Rich Kotite that you always hear Boomer Esiason talk about. “I don’t care what you do during the week just give it your all on Sunday”. The problem is when teams are practicing plays during the week and being coached hard they execute on Sunday. Those Jets, just like this Jets offense should be executed (to steal an joke from Rich McKay).
Overall
The Jets now need major help. They need the Ravens to beat the Bengals and they need the Texans to beat the Colts, plus they need to beat the Dolphins. I also think they need either the Broncos or Raiders to lose. The odds of all happening are pretty slim. Miami is playing better football than the Jets right now and the Jets look to be headed to an 8-8 finish, as predicted by one of my faithful readers, Jazz, early in the year. I really want the team to get to the playoffs, but at the same time I would rather them finish 8-8 rather than having some excuse about tiebreakers keeping them out at 9-7. These Jets don’t deserve the playoffs.
These Jets have no upside. It’s over. They play so bad against good teams. The window is closed. It’s time for the front office to hunker down and start to rebuild around their building blocks by finally having a good draft. 2008-2010 has reared its ugly head this season. They couldn’t escape it any longer. The Jets will have the flexibility to be active in free agency next year, but they cant get trapped into thinking they are one big player away. They are a number of small players away. They need younger mid priced and low priced players to fit roles. The Jets are extremely top heavy. Who are the low cost contributors? Sione Pouha? An often injured Mike DeVito? A learning Muhammad Wilkerson? That’s probably it. The other guys are all big ticket players for the most part. You don’t win in the NFL that way. You have to balance it out and the Jets did not balance it out. That’s why they were so good in 2009 and to some extent 2010. Guys like Revis made pennies and enhanced the overall package that let them spend big money to bring in Faneca, Scott, and Pace. Nobody has replaced Brick, Mangold, Revis, and Harris as low cost key parts. It has to change.
I said it early this season that these new practice rules and lack of offseason would hurt the Jets. The team is short on talent compared to other squads and without the practice time it exposes these types of players much more. Revis is the best guy on the field, but you cant compare those Giants front 4 and even their safeties to the Jets counterparts. They are 100 times more talented. They have receivers who play like they are playing for something rather than guys that already have it. I’d kill to have a guy like Victor Cruz on this team. Young, passionate, and energetic. When you put that together in one package he is far more effective than what is looking like a 45 million dollar mistake if they don’t get the QB spot straightened out.
The Jets made this game into something far bigger than it needed to be both for themselves and the fanbase and they got kicked down hard. Rex said this was as big as a playoff game on the radio. Fans have been used to the Jets doing well in those spots under Rex, but they ran into a better prepared team and got handled. They had every chance early to break the game open and never took advantage or changed the plan to do something that might work. They got embarrassed in front of their home crowd. The Giants have bragging rights. About the only bright side is that with so many people off this week it won’t get the local media play it normally would by WFAN and even 1050ESPN. If the Giants lose next week it will all be forgotten, but I hope no Jet fan tells the Giant fan they won nothing if they lose to Dallas. Maybe they didn’t but they ended our season on Christmas Eve. That’s all that matters. The better team won and its time for our team to go back and regroup and figure out what is wrong.
Better luck next year I guess. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! Go Jets!
It's all about the QB. Despite all the Jets' deficiencies this season, a league-average passer (or even a below-average passer who can at least manage to avoid the huge mistake, a la Alex Smith) gives them 2 more wins, minimum. That's not enough for a Super Bowl or even enough to topple New England, but it puts us securely in the playoffs. Sanchez is just not an NFL starter, period. Maybe he'll revive his career somewhere else, but the clock is already ticking on his time in New York.
Tannenbaum needs to get a QB in the middle rounds and bring in a backup who can actually play. You hold a competition, and hopefully whoever wins out is good enough to hold the fort and maybe sneak into the playoffs a couple times while you rebuild the OL and defense and try to land a blue-chip signal-caller. I just don't see the Jets' window opening again until that happens.
Windows open and close quick in the NFL and I think they could reopen it fast with the right draft. If they are committed to Sanchez they need an electric runner in either the first or second round, a capable RT via free agency and hope they find a real stud on defense in the draft. The defensive staff is so good that they can be a Raven/Steeler quality year in and year out defense, but they cant do it with the personnel they have now. Its just not good enough.
Defense, Running Game, Special teams all played well enough for a win. the QB, TE's & recievers... they were non competitive. It seemed like the Offense had no confidence when pass plays were called.
Plays to have your head examined:
- End Run on 2nd and 4 from mid-field
- 3 INC passes to start the 2nd half
- Run for 2 straight first downs...
3 INC & a punt
and so many more...
It is never over until it's over, let's win in Miami and hope for the best..
I'm willing to give Sanchez a chance with another OC. I really think the playcalling and the design of the offense (whether its the routes being run, the strategy, the audibles...EVERYTHING) is just historically bad. I dont know what QB would be great in this offense. Yes Sanchez no doubt has a long way to go--55% completion percentage throwing dink and dunk passes all day is beyond awful....but I want to see him work with an OC who has a clue.
The gameplan on offense was one of the worst I've ever seen in my 20 years watching the NFL. Have they watched any film of the Giants? The Giants weaknesses are allowing big plays down the field due to lack of speed at LB and safety...and stopping the run. Even REX FRIGGIN GROSSMAN has gashed them this season. Yet the Jets took maybe 1 shot down the field, and that one came at a horrible time (4th and 2). Its the same old dink and dunk approach. And going away from the run was inexcusable.
Slauson is good for a 6th round pick. He's an average player, which is great for a #6 pick.
Shonne Green is an average player, which is fine for a 3rd round pick.
Keller is a great disappointment as a first round pick, sign him to the league minimum or let him go.
Maybe Kyle Wilson will improve, maybe. He's a bust as a first round pick.
In fairness to Sanchez, Keller dropped and easy pass and got hit in the head on another which he could have caught had he been looking at the QB. Still, I think Sanchez hasn't progressed and consider him a mediocre QB. Maybe with a different OC like NORV TURNER! he would do better?
If Sanchez was a 3rd round pick like Colt McCoy, I would say "he's what you expect from the 3rd round". As the #5 pick he's not so good. He made a bunch of his typical inaccurate throws. Bad judgment and could have been intercepted a couple more times.
Comartie isn't that good and he cost a 2nd round pick. I guess thats break even, but he's getting paid a lot, eating up cap space.
I'll bet Santonio Halmes would do better with a better QB.
I blame Tannenbaum as a poor evaluator / accumulator of talent. The Jets have aged, the window is gone. They need better drafting.
It's not just the game plan, the Jets players are just not that good.
Maybe I can dream that Peyton Manning will be cut and the Jets will get him.
PS - Im still bummed that Greg MCIlroy was injured, because he looked ok in training camp. I'd love to see him get some game time or at least first team reps
You may be right though. It goes without saying he's looked like utter crap on the field, but I think you're right in that he doesn't respond well to criticism. He looks completely shell-shocked, and not just on the field. At times he looks like he'd be happier being a backup who never played.
Two years ago, formula #1 almost worked when the Jets had a #1 defense. Yet, instead of improving that unit in the off-season by drafting young talented players for that unit, they spent a lot of money and picks on offense, and only got marginal gains lasting no further in the playoffs. The result was an offense that improved slightly (although 11 quarters without a TD in December should have been a red flag), but the defense eroded and the team unraveled in the playoffs. This year, they continued this failed strategy, and things got worse. The defense is only good enough, slow and tired in many spots, while the offense has become inept, confused and rudderless under poor coaching. We appear to be headed in the wrong direction and we have been dismal in our plan which seems to be to build the old 49ers.
As for Sanchez, there is no longer any evidence of the assets that made a team draft him fifth overall. He is no where near the same player he was in his first season. He was an effective scrambler and good enough passer with good pocket presence and good feet. He looked poised and confident. That is all gone now. Whether that is permanent or will respond to a change in regime, only time will tell.
1. trading their 1st round pick for someone elses 1st and 2nd round pick NEXT year
2. they need better talent evaluators. Remember Victor Cruz? Hes an undrafted free agent.
3. while their trades have been ok, they need to start looking 2 years ahead. No more trading draft picks for slightly above average players like Cromartie.
4. As for Sanchez, maybe the Jets can get Peyton Manning (in my dreams, when the Colts dont want to eat 28MM), and dump Sanchez, and hope to draft a QB next year for the long term.
Mike- For the life of me I cant understand Holmes' role in this offense. Big play guy in Pittsburgh has been totally neutered as a slot style receiver. If that is the role they envision its wasted money. The teams situational playcalling and gameplanning on offense has been bad. Marks worst games seem to come against bad pass defenses. Dont know if he puts too much pressure on himself or something else, but they stink against bad defenses. The way they played NE and the NYG this year was atrocious. Never once tried to exploit weaknesses. When teams play us they pinpoint guys like Eric Smith and when the LBS end up in coverage.
Brandon- This is the year the poor drafts and trading of picks caught up with the team. Wilkerson looks like he can play so hopefully they have turned a corner in that regard. Its very difficult to win in a capped league with minimal contributions from low cost talent. Maybe even moreso now with 5 year prorations upping cap hits for most big stars.
dbatesman- I think he will be back unless the Jets actually did work out a trade for Manning or make a play on Drew Brees. Ill be curious to see what the Saints do with him. A franchise tag puts him on the open market and its a cost the Jets would be willing to pay based on their past history. If NO makes him exclusive the Jets cant sign him, but that pricetag is so high I dont think NO will make that move. If that was the plan they should have worked out a long term deal already.
Andrew- Its been tough to watch Sanchez. He just looks so much worse than he did in the past. At least in the past he made some plays here and there. Hes a gutsy guy but that confidence is toast. Not sure if its coming back....I think one of the missteps the Jets made was in assuming that 2009 was the norm. It cant be the norm. Its not the norm for any team. I did the numbers on here. FO had their own metrics that said the same thing. The same thing will happen to San Francisco in 2012 if they come back with the same team. I was thinking back to the Houston game two years ago the other day and how the Jets annihilated the Texans. Guys like Jim Leonhard were coming in free hitting Schaub. They run those same things and you dont see Eric Smith even getting past a tackle. Those schemes have all been scouted out and the lack of talent makes it easier to stop.
Brandon- If they do trade for Manning there is no way it will be for a rebuilding team. There are some complications on a deal but as long as the Colts extend the deadline it can probably get done. Personally I think they will just look to load up defensively in the draft and then figure out where to go with a QB that has experience. The short term approach will see them draft an explosive running back early. I think if we see that it means they want one more chance with this same squad and go back to a run first offense.
BC- I cant cheer for the Jets to lose to Miami. The draft is such a crapshoot that I truly believe you have as good a chance at say 20 as you do at 14 of getting a good player. The only thing I dont want to hear is if they win and miss out about how some tiebreakers screwed them up.
I think we are all so spoiled by Revis that we dont appreciate average, good, and very good corners.
Dump Shottenheimer, Cromartie,Hunter to start with.
>>BC- I cant cheer for the Jets to lose to Miami. The draft is such a crapshoot that I truly believe you have as good a chance at say 20 as you do at 14 of getting a good player
Jason, I kind of disagree with you about this. A draft pick is like buying a lottery ticket, but not all lottery tickets pay out the same, nor have the same chance of success. Over the long haul, over many years, I would expect a #14 to be better than a #20, on average (obviously there will be exceptions where someone like Jason Pierre Paul - selected #15) will be much better than a #10 pick.
The Jets need to start drafting better, a lot better. And it seems their management isn't the best.
I think Rex has talent, but I offer him this suggestion:
"Rex, in the off season, sit down with a veteran football person, like an ex coach, and have him critique everything. have him look for a pattern of mistakes or lesser percentatge (bad) plays.
Peyton Manning does this, and it works for him."
A few weeks back there was some discussion of Peyton Mannings availability.
According to some article on nfl.com, the most anyone will pay for him is a couple of 2nd round picks.
If the Jets can work something out, maybe its worth cutting Sanchez, and getting Manning, for 3 years, and draft a QB in 2013 since 2012 will be lean.
>>http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8256f0f0/article/week-16-observations-gms-say-no-1-pick-could-fetch-a-ton?module=HP11_cp
If Sanchez had been taken in the mid 2nd or 3rd round, we wouldn't have had the expectations we had. Greg Cosell on NFL Videos has been down on him since last year.
Brandon- When I did my draft research a few years ago I actually didnt notice huge differences in talent based on where you pick within a round, though I guess Id have to do more analysis on it. The real noticeable ones were QB(draft top 11 or its very difficult to find real top talent) and LT (top 10 is almost a guaranteed good player and outside of it seems like a waste of a pick), but from 12-32 were all similar in final play. I get what you are saying though. Its always better to have 20 potential hits to choose from rather than only having 15. The larger the pool the better the chance.
I cant see how the price for Manning is just a few 2s. My own guess was a 1 and two conditional firsts (which would be a 2nd and 3rd round selection initially with an escalation to a 1 based on games played and playoff success). Maybe the bonus money brings his price down, but I think the Colts get a ransom for him if they move him.
I know Cosell had been down on him for awhile. They get far better footage to look at then we do. My only thing with some of the analysts is that they make their decisions before or with limited watching and then look for things that reinforce their initial opinions. Not saying thats the case here, but it has happened in the past. I try to be objective with Mark and just from a pure statistical standpoint he is exactly where he should have been expected to be, but watching him every week makes me think that the stats are just hollow numbers. I cant imagine Troy Aikman looking this bad in year 3 even though, like Mark, his year 3 and 2 stats were similar.
For example...a team that makes perfect sense in trading for Manning? San Francisco. Their defense is loaded at every position. They have a very good RB, a Pro Bowl level TE and are okay at WR. A great QB could definetly push them over the top.
I see that Braylon Edwards was cut, maybe the Jets will get him next year
Watching the Saints-Falcons, Brees is always looking waaaayyy downfield. Make sme sigh, I wish we had a QB like that.
On defense the speed in the middle became a huge issue and the blitz packages became more familiar and less effective as well. The decline of the special teams was just icing on the cake.
Rex came in here in year one and two and the team overachived in the playoffs with a run game and good d , this year the product on the field reflected the talent.
I would personally like to see Sanchez stay and the team look for a nasty run blocking tackle and maybe a gaurd in free agency and maybe another big back. I can see Sanchez being succseful in an offence that is run first. If not please get some help at QB, Sanchez does not look to have the accuracy for a short passing offense.
On D more speed in the middle at safety and ILB and is important as is a speedier olb that can set an edge agaimst the run. Revis and Cromartie still the Jets give a chance to run risks to generate a pass rush but the overload blitzes need to evolve.