Post Game Thoughts: Jets 32 Jaguars 3

Thanks to the presence of Jacksonville QB Luke McCown the Jets walked their way into a very easy win against the outclassed Jaguars.

Offense

The offense got off to a great early start and its seemed as if they were focused on all the attention they had gotten in the media for their first quarter woes dating back to last year. QB Mark Sanchez opened the game 4 of 4 for 60 yards which culminated in a touchdown reception by WR Santonio Holmes who made a grab end zone grab to take the quick lead. From there the offense sputtered not being able to find any real rhythm in the running game and Sanchez making numerous poor decisions. Sanchez made a terrible read on a pass attempt to Derrick Mason leading to an interception and then another miserable play that led to an interception by CB Rashean Mathis. Luckily for Sanchez if there is a team to make these mistakes against it is a team like the Jaguars that simply can not capitalize on offense. Sanchez definitely looks to be in a pattern where he gets very attached to his target of the moment, which is decided on in the huddle, rather than scanning the field. He did throw a beautiful pass on his second touchdown throw, this time to TE Dustin Keller, that reinforces how good Sanchez can be at times. Keller had a tremendous game and looks like a different player than in the last three years. Keller is playing for a new contract and hired a new agent, likely meaning he will be looking for an extension before the season ends. With games like this he just may get it.

The bigger worry comes from the offensive line. All Pro C Nick Mangold went down with injury and missed the majority of the game. The Jets have to hope it is not serious as his replacement, Colin Baxter, was a nightmare at times. He snapped the ball early. He snapped the ball late. He didn’t pick up assignments. He got run over. With the exception of an injury plagued 2005, the Jets have had solid play at the center position for over a decade and games like this really make you realize just how good the teams centers have been through the years, Mangold in particular. The bigger problem is RT Wayne Hunter who is so bad that he would be replaced if the Jets had any depth or any faith in 2nd year pro Vlad Ducasse. Hunter received two costly penalties and was brutal in pass protection. He got Sanchez hit a few times and what looked like it was destined to be an injury at the end of the game when his man just popped Sanchez. He just does not look like the same player who filled in for Damien Woody last year. The run game continues to struggle, with starter Shonn Greene averaging just around 3 yards a carry. Unlike last year this is not a situation where Greene struggles and the backup plays great. This is just a team failure up front and not the fault of any runner. Greene had his bell rung off a Baxter early snap but manned up and finished the meaningful portion of the game and even scored a touchdown. After the hit he took, plus the tackle he made on a Sanchez interception, which almost looked like it could draw a fine, he deserved that goalline touch. The Jets offense definitely looks like a work in progress right now.

Defense

When I previewed the game I said that if the Jets were seeing Blaine Gabbert QB’ing the Jaguars that they did their job and that is exactly what happened as the Jets defense were NFL fantasy superstars on the afternoon. Luke McCown is awful and he certainly made life easier for the Jets defense, but you have to give the Jets defense credit for never allowing him to feel at ease and taking advantage of most of the mistakes, something that most people probably will not do. The Jets made RB Maurice Jones Drew a non-factor early on in the contest and that was pretty much the football game for the Jaguars. He had one big run when the game was still somewhat in question, but was never a factor leading to McCown having to take the lead role and he was horrendous. Had S Eric Smith caught all the passes that came to him, McCown would have had 6 picks on the day rather than just 4. CB Antonio Cromartie picked on McCown with two picks, Smith had a nifty grab which made sure the Jets carried all the momentum into the half and Josh Mauga ended the pick parade and McCown’s day for the Jaguars.

Rookie DE Muhammad Wilkerson recorded a sack and a safety in just his second game as a pro, something that the Jets last drafted pass rusher was never able to accomplish, something that has to be a sigh of relief for the Jets organization and fans. Much maligned CB Kyle Wilson made a great stick on a 3rd down play to prevent a reception as he continues to show improvements in his second season. LB Calvin Pace had a strong game. He just seemed to be all over the field making big tackles at the line or behind the line and constantly being a thorn in the side of McCown. You just have to hope that this does not mean Pace will be MIA in the next game or two, which has been something he has been prone to in the past. CB Darrelle Revis barely even got his name mentioned as he was thrown on only one time on the day. LB Bart Scott welcomed Gabbert into the NFL with a sack which led to the announcers to discuss how Scott was becoming a good blitzer. I found that funny because he has always been good in that role, the Jets just don’t use him there that often. Unlike last week I don’t think the coaching staff will find much wrong with the defensive performance in the win.

Special Teams

K Nick Folk continued the strong start hitting all three of his field goal attempts. Cromartie had two big kickoff returns to set the Jets up with nice field position and set up 10 points of scoring. Cromartie is going to be a real asset in this part of the game. P TJ Conley seemed short on his punts and may have been affected by the breeze in the stadium. Jacksonville got nowhere after fielding the punts and the coverage was great, but Conley might not last the year if he doesn’t get a booming punt or two a game.

Coaching

The players should have had a few objectives going into the game- score early, stop the run, make McCown uncomfortable, and put the game away early. The Jets met every objective on the day which means the coaching staff did their jobs of not letting the team get overconfident against an inferior opponent. Deciding to receive the opening kickoff and let the offense take the field and then airing the ball out after talking all week about “ground and pound” was a pretty solid strategic move that paid off well against the Jaguars. Rex Ryan made one challenge on the day and while it was not overturned it was the right choice to challenge the play as the initial replay looked as if the ruling on the field was incorrect.

Overall

Though the home crowd grew restless early on with the offensive problems, this is about as perfect a game as possible as one could expect, especially under the circumstances of losing Mangold for the game. Getting off to a 2-0 start is great, especially with back to back to back road games on the horizon. The Jets had a chance to rest key players as they prepare for a cross coast trip while their opponents had to play a nailbiter, that they lost in the last few seconds of the game against the Buffalo Bills. That could give the Jets at least a small advantage on a trip that is often difficult to make. Hopefully the Mangold injury is not terrible. He is already in a walking boot and the worst ankle sprains would probably lead to 4 games missed. If that is the prognosis the Jets are going to have to sign someone to play center because they won’t survive with Baxter for 4 games. This is where Robert Turner would have been invaluable but he is sidelined with injury. The Jets could be in a position where they will have to IR someone like Logan Payne to make way for at least another offensive lineman. They probably can not IR Turner as he may be the long term solution at right tackle if Hunter continues to struggle. It would not stun me if the Jets brought in Shaun O’Hara or Leonard Davis for a look at the two positions, though it would be a real surprise if they signed Davis who last year was probably as bad as Hunter, but the Jets have to send Hunter a message and Im not sure if the threat of Ducasse does that.

Offensively the Jets are still a work in progress. They have clearly made the decision to become more of a passing team, but they need Sanchez to make better decisions if they are going to continue to give him more responsibilities. You can live with a bad throw or a great defensive play to lead to a turnover, but they cant live with a guy staring down receivers and just not even seeing something on the field. They won’t win any of these next three games if that continues.

It is still early in the year and nobody knows much about any of these teams, our guys included. The Ravens looked unbeatable last week and then lost to a Titans team that just lost to the Jaguars. The Bills are 2-0 with the disclaimer that they beat the Chiefs, who look like the worst team in the NFL, and the never respected Raiders. Our Jets beat the Jaguars and Cowboys, who are currently losing 14-0 to the 49’ers. I think we will learn a lot about the Jets and the rest of the NFL these next two weeks of the year as the really good team begin to stand out and the pretenders start slipping up. But a 2-0 start is still good any way you slice it and these early season wins give you the breathing room you may need when a bad stretch may occur later on. Lets hope they make it 3-0 against the Raiders.

Go Jets!