Post Game Thoughts: Jets 34 Redskins 19
Things are never easy for the Jets, but with 4 weeks left they are right in the middle of the playoff chase.
Offense
A very different approach for the team today. You got the feeling from watching the team that the head coach got more involved in the gameplanning on offense this week as the Jets went ultra conservative and completely dialed the offense back. 15 of Mark Sanchez’ 19 completions were thrown less than 10 yards with only a screen to RB LaDainian Tomlinson going for more than 10 yards. There were a large number of “Wildcat” type plays, none of which worked, that seemed to be an attempt to recapture some of what worked from time to time the last two years with former WR Brad Smith. Most plays were designed to get the ball out of Sanchez’ hands early and get him in a rhythm with minimal chances at a turnover. It certainly worked early with the Jets putting together a 17 and 10 yard drive on 2 of the first three possessions of the game before completely stalling until the 4th quarter. Give Sanchez credit for the game winning drive. The offense got set up again with great field position and he made two great plays to win the game. On a 3rd down play he hung in there and delivered a short sidearm strike to RB Shonn Greene that saved the drive. He followed it up with a beautiful pump fake and 30 yard throw to WR Santonio Holmes to seal the deal.
Still those were basically the big bright spots of the day for Mark. He got away with a number of bad passes on the afternoon. He nearly got Holmes killed on this terrible flutterball that he put up for grabs. He missed a wide open TE Dustin Keller down the field and if not for Keller being athletic enough to get a finger on the ball it would have been a Redskin interception. He decided to use a timeout on a 3rd and 23, a decision far worse than his timeout taken against the Patriots. There is just nothing to gain by making such a call. The following play was a 5 yard screen to TE Matthew Mulligan. The lowest point of the game came when the offense was given the ball deep inside Redskin territory and could not convert on a 3rd and 3 culminating in a missed field goal. The team needs better play from the position if they want to go anywhere. Hopefully the early drive and late drive show Sanchez and the staff something, but a few goof plays is not going to beat a decent football team.
The rest of the offense continues to be hit or miss. The WRs seemed more intent on working hard during the game perhaps more cognizant of the criticism that has been thrown on them for seemingly quitting on plays. Neither RB Joe McKnight nor WR Jeremy Kerley seemed to do well running the Wildcat, Kerley looking like he was running at practice speeds. Both McKnight and Tomlinson were injured at one point in the game and with so many Jets players slipping around I wonder if it was the fault of the field condition and the Jets maybe not having the right cleats. Greene ran hard early and ended up with decent stats after a long run late when the Redskins had given up, but the Jets cant really count on the running game, especially when it’s clear that the offense is going to throw the ball 4 and 5 yards down the field. The line kept Sanchez untouched though they do get pushed back too much. LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson gave up a pressure leading to a batted down pass and is not having a great second half to the season. Penalties for all continue to be a problem with Mulligan accounting for another one leading to him getting into an argument with someone on the sidelines about it, but it has been a problem for him all season long and is not getting better.
Defense
A terrible start as the defense looked like they left their spirit on the train. The Redskins ran right down the Jets throats and then got WR Fred Davis wide open for a 40 yard gain that looked to be the fault of CB Antiono Cromartie who just got completely confused about what Davis was doing. The Jets just looked slow and uninterested. The Redskins illustrated the problems the Jets have when the defensive line cant get their hands into the backfield due to the speed of their players in the middle of the field. When guys get outside the Jets containment zone all the slower defenders can do is try to arm tackle and it never works.
Luckily after Redskins put up 10 early points the defense completely settled down. Sure things are helped when the opposing QB is Rex Grossman, but this wasn’t like the Jacksonville game where things were just handed to them. They still had to make plays. There were frustrating moments, like a few missed interception chances, but the Redskin offense was pretty much shut down. A few players have big games for the Jets. LB Jamaal Westerman was very impressive and may have earned more playing time. He had a big run stop as well as a QB sack. He is competing with LB Garrett McIntyre for snaps but McIntyre is not the athlete that Westerman is. DE Aaron Maybin continues his relentless pursuit of the QB. His sack and forced fumble iced the game. LB Calvin Pace continues to make a case for a Pro Bowl selection.
LB Bart Scott may have had his best game of the year with a huge tipped pass and two crucial run stops. Scott has had a miserable year and may not last on the team next season despite the guaranteed salary. If he has more games like today he may guarantee a roster spot for himself next season. S Eric Smith played well and had a fumble recovery. NT Sione Pouha had a quietly good game. The one player who had a terrible game was CB Donald Strickland who seemed to be flagged constantly and allowed players open. His defensive hold negated an interception. All in all you don’t get the feeling that this is a dominant defense, but when they hold teams out of the end zone they are going to give the offense a good chance to win every week.
Special Teams
K Nick Folk hit some monster field goals but somehow missed his lone easy attempt of the day. It’s hard to really react one way or another when that happens, but he has clearly been a better kicker than he was last season and much closer to the early career Pro Bowler this season. TE Josh Baker made a great runback off a Redskin short kickoff where they were afraid to kick to Cromartie, likely in the game as much for lack of faith in the offense as for McKnight’s injury.
But the praise stops there. Special teams has slowly become a detriment for the Jets. The revolving door of punt returners is doing nothing but leading to turnovers. I think every fan at home and most of the coaches on the sidelines all screamed in unison why isn’t Jim Leonhard in the game when Kerley fumbled the punt away. McKnight mad a bad decision to field a kick in the corner at the 1 yard line. TJ Conley had a terrible 35 or so yard punt that was returned for 20 yards. McIntyre should have been called for roughing the kicker diving into the plant leg, but got away with just a running into the kicker call. When you have an offense that is struggling special teams can not give up field position with poor punts, fumbles, return decision, and kick coverage, buts its happening every week. Had the Jets lost this game it would have primarily been because of this unit.
Coaching
I have always been a big fan of Redskins coach Mike Shannahan and wanted him to coach the Jets when they hired Rex Ryan, but Ryan completely schooled Shanahan today. Ryan understood the situation perfectly today and had a gameplan designed to limit possibilities of his QB making a backbreaking play. Rex understood the flow of the game. When he liked the way the Jets were moving he made the gutsy call to go for it on fourth down. Rex made a quick decision on a challenge that could have turned the game. Shanahan, seeing his QB is awful, inexplicably decides to pass, pass, and pass some more even though the running game was going well. If I was a Redskin fan I would probably want him, and at the very least his son who is calling the plays, fired.
That’s not to say everything was all rosy. At one point they seemed way too content with a field goal chance rather than trying for a touchdown. While that may have been part of the conservative gameplan it was almost like giving up for fear of a mistake, which may have been too much respect for the Redskin defense. Some of the offensive playcalls, such as going 5 wide shotgun on a short field and losing the playfake and a 3rd and 2 shotgun Wildcat, were head scratchers, but the calls on the Holmes TD and the pass Keller broke up were excellent.
One thing that stood out to me was when Sanchez called a timeout on the decisive scoring drive that Rex seemed completely detached from the process. Normally you get the head coach, QB, OC, backup QB, and maybe a WR in a huddle. Rex was not in the grouping. Down the line that has to change. Sanchez discussed after the game is plays getting in late and leading to personnel problems such as all the 12 men in the huddle calls the Jets seem to get. Maybe that also has to do with the more hands off relationship Rex has with the offense.
Overall
With the Cincinnati Bengals in free-fall and the teams in the AFC West so inconsistent the Jets are back into serious playoff contention for the final wildcard spot. Five teams are now 7-5, one of which will win the AFC West, and the Jets have the most favorable schedule of all the contenders. Still the Jets will not have any clear tiebreaker advantages, but they have likely put themselves back into a position where winning out would pretty much guarantee a playoff spot. With the way things have gone this season that is about as good a scenario as one could hope for with this team.
The Jets are going to try to use these next few weeks to redefine their offense and hopefully get hot and make the playoffs. It just seems like this is going to be a throwback to the old Chad Pennington era offense with a focus on managing the game and minimizing turnover potential. Some might be upset with it and use it as further proof of a failure with the development of the QB, but if the Jets receivers are ok with it and it allows them to take a few chances down the field here and there maybe it can jumpstart a pretty stagnant offense. The team may have scored 34 points, but a majority of those points were gift wrapped by the Redskins and too often the Jets need that kind of help to score.
Defensively the Jets can not have the same collapses on a drive like they did to start this week or end the Denver game. It might not be a perfect unit anymore, but they have to play as perfect as possible from this point forward. No more communication problems. No more poor form tackling. You can’t have guys with hands on their hips looking at each other when there is a bad play or Darrelle Revis yelling at Kyle Wilson for making a mistake on the field. Ryan has to set out the objective to the defense to hold everyone to under 17 points from this point forward. It’s a tough task but with 4 games to go they have to find a way to do it until the offense can get more consistent.
Chiefs, Eagles, Giants, and Dolphins. 4 games. All winnable. Kansas City and Philadelphia are terrible. Take care of business and get yourself easy wins before you get into the final two against much better and tougher teams. The Kansas City game is especially important because it is an AFC opponent and the Jets can not afford an AFC loss. The Jets can’t overlook that team. They are an awful team, but have found ways to win 5 games this year. Those teams are dangerous when you overlook them, just like how the Jets seemed to overlook the Denver Broncos earlier this season. This is the time of year that the league separates the men from the boys and it’s the time of the year for the Jets to stand up and force that separation to occur. Go Jets!
ss where the team goes from here. On paper they should win the next 3 games, but they are not playing up to “the paper” level. Some may say that if there is a week to stumble it is next week against the Redskins since it is on the road against a NFC team, but the Jets need a streak, not to be 6-6 saying that running the table gets them in. The Jets really have to be 8-5 when they head into Philadelphia. Then they can at least think of splitting games with the remaining NFC teams depending on how their rivals in the AFC are playing. But they have to win next week. If they don’t the season is likely over. Hope for the best Go Jets!
and the Bengals lost
Too bad Denver won.
I thought it likely the Jets were going to lose.
Thank goodness Rex (not Ryan) came through. I was glad to see Helu not running or Fred Davis not getting anymore 20+ yard passes.
I continue to be disappointed in Sanchez. He made some nice plays, but also made a number of bad throws and decisions. Why is it that teams like Miami can pick up a cast off, like Matt Moore who does as well as Sanchez, and cost no draft picks?
The Jets are not good enough to win without Sanchez being a contributor, not just a game manager.
I find it amusing to watch Aaron Maybin. 2/3 of the time he is redirected harmlessly somewhere, or thrown to the ground, but every so often gets a sack or pressure. He certainly has value to the Jets - it will be interesting to see if he can develop into a more versatile player, and/or improve his pass rush.
I am shocked at all the special teams fumbles. I'll take the sure hands over the dynamic player who puts the ball on the ground.
The Defense doesn't look especially good, its gradually declined.
Unless the jets get a couple of good starters from this draft, they are staring mediocrity in the face. Watching the Giants game, seeing Victor Cruz - an UDFA, why can't the Jets get a guy like that once in a while? Jason Pierre Pal taken lat in the first round is a stand out, our recent first round picks are feh.
Still, a win is a win is a win. GO JETS!!!
Jazz- Sometimes its amazing that the Jets find ways to score all these points. Its such a bad offense. I mean they arent Cleveland bad, but still its a chore to watch. Watching them just basically give up after the Redskin turnover and just play as if a 3 point attempt was almost as good as a 7 was disheartening, but at the same time I understand the worry and Sanchez has the ability to give a number of those turnovers right back.
Yesterday was an example of the same futility. Even if we overlook the loss in momentum, and even if we ignore the probable loss in focus it instills in Sanchez (erratic passing?), the two penalties on the wildcat yesterday, subtracted from the paltry yardage they gained collectively, was negative yardage in total. Yet, there is no Jets fan so foolish or inebriated as to assume that that failure, along with the formation's failures in previous years, should result in anything but a continuation of the utterly pointless strategy. If madness is the continuation of a failed strategy expecting different results, then this offense has gone mad.
Also, how many times were we going to see an off-tackle run to the right on first down yesterday? It never gained more than four yards and the Washington defense seemed to have it dialed in before the game even started. And what happened to the designed rollouts after the first quarter?
No matter how hard I hope for a loss so damning tht even Rex will recognize what (and who) his team's offensive failings pivot on, the hug he gave Schotty at the end of that miserable performance yesterday (along with the two year extension in the off-season) convinced me that Rex will live and die with Schottenheimer. As a result, I hereby resign my postiion as a hater and suggest to all that, where the Jets offense is concerned, it is the best of all possible worlds. Do not expect any criticism from me in future. Dr. Panglss and I are now encamped, and we will not emerge in the foreseeable future.
They said only difference between Grossman and Sanchez this game was the last 5 minutes...which is becoming Sanchez's identity.
The D looked better (after the first two drives) though they still strugle to cover bunch formations, probably will continue to seeing more of that in the future. They definatly have lost the swagger of the past two years, a lot more guys with hands on hips looking at one another when the other teams offense hits on a play.
I hope they leave Leonard back to return punts, though not a threat to break one he doesn't put them on the ground and actually does have some nice 10-15 yard returns. What is going on with the kick off return team, the production has really dropped?
The Jets are in the same position they have been the last two years, playing for a wild card, but this team feels different, the defense and special teams don't seem as up to the task of bailing out the offense until the last 5 minutes of every game. That said I am sure that I felt pretty bad about their chances after the Jacksonville loss in 09 and the Patriots fiasco last year.
Liam- If you thought this was boring just wait until next week when Kansas City strolls into town. Its one thing when you have good defenses playing great football that keep scoring low (ala the Steelers/Ravens games of the past few years) and an entirely different thing when its offenses being inept. Sure the Jets corners played a role yesterday, but did they have anything to do with Grossman throwing the ball 10 yards beyond a guy or 3 yards in front on him into the dirt? Absolutely not. He isnt a NFL quality QB, but hes John Elway compared to what the Chiefs will field next week...Id agree that I dont feel too good about this team, but all it takes is getting hot at the right time and the Jets do have offensive weapons if the QB gets hot. Its happened before. Its a myth that Green Bay was explosive last year. They got hot late and found their way. Same for the Giants of 2007. It happens from time to time. Maybe it will for the Jets in 2011.
I really don't see how anyone truly believes this team is any different than last years. Last years team needed four borderline miracles just to get 11 wins. At Cleveland, which should have been a tie, at Detroit, where if Suh didn't kick an extra point we lose, at Denver, where Sanchez sucked and a 4th down pass interference call gave us the W, home to Houston, where Houston's horrific secondary took the heat off a defense that couldn't hold a lead (sound familiar?). Then, the 45-3 fiasco, followed by losing at home to the fins where the D dominated all game. (sound familiar?). The reality is, the Jets were a 9-7 football team last year, and are probably a 9-7 football team this year. We finished 11-5 last year by winning the close/miracle like games. We're 7-5 this year b/c we haven't won the close/miracle games (Denver, Oakland). The offense is the same, the defense is slightly worse, and the special teams similar. This year's version of the Jets certainly seems sloppier with turnovers, however, I have nothing to support that claim. The bottomline is, these are the Jets. We crush our opponents by winning by 3. Our defense is good enough to keep us in every single game. Are offense isn't good enough to dominant any game. It is what it is, and right now the team controls its destiny. Sanchez has done enough to warrant the starting job, and will be around for years to come. Hell he's only won 30 games his first 3 years, been to 2 AFC title games, and won 4 road playoff games. "All he does is win games" 10 4th Qtr comebacks. Does anyone really think Matt Stafford, or Matt Ryan, or Joe Flacco are playing that much better than Mark? Does anyone really think the Jets would be better with any of those guys? Jet fans this year seem to expect the world, as if this team should be dominant and win 28-10 weekly. I find it baffling. We are who we are, a team progressing toward becoming a regular contender year in and year out. I'd submit Jets fans need to find some faith and optimism b/c this team has the ability to make a deep playoff run. There has been 60min of football played against NE with the teams separated by only a TD. Don't be surprised if the Jets go to Houston, and then to NE, beat them both, only to lose @ Balt. Remember, this team is no different than last year's!
We were hoping Hunter or Ducasse would play well, that Greene would be a force and that the line would open up holes for the running game and protect Sanchez...
In addition, we expected Sanchez, without any off season reps to step up...
Looking back... it would be the exception if everything worked out... but we have a shot... gotta keep the faith.
Uh, yes.
>>Does anyone really think the Jets would be better with any of those guys?
I do.
They may not be elite, but they are a lot better than Sanchez. A lot better.
Sanchez hurts the team by being unable to make several easy throws per game. The group you mentioned above may not routinely make clutch throws like Rodgers or Brady, but they add value on offense.
For QB development - or lack of development - is that mainly the QB coach? The OC? Both? The head coach too? Sanchez does seem to want to improve, and the throws he is misisng he is cabable of making. He is so erratic. I think some kind of shake up is needed.
The Jets can't win with Sanchez as he is now performing. Not unless they have the #1 defense, the #1 offensive line, and Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith at their prime.
Dave- I think the failure of the RB is really what hurt the Jets this year, but as you said hope for the best.
Brandon- I think all have to take the blame when you see the issues he has, but I will say that very rarely do QBs that improved as much as he did in his second year (and it was huge improvement based on where he was coming from) do any better statistically in year 3. Its hard to watch at times but the overall numbers are right on track with where they should be. I think the hard part watching it is that last year he had some big throws to remind you of the upside. This year he has had 1- the beauty 30 yarder to Holmes this past week.
I can't agree with your assessment of Sanchez as a whole. While the kid has not been consistent in "adding value" he has added value and played well enough to win in the biggest of moments two consecutive years. In my view, that isn't a coincidence, that is a trend. He showed great potential in beating Manning, Brady, and nearly pulling an amazing comeback @Pitt in last years AFC title game. He clearly outplayed Big Ben in that game, and nobody can say Big Ben was facing a superior defense given Pitt's. Nobody is saying Sanchez has ever shown the ability to carry a team, he will probably struggle to ever complete more than 60% of his passes given his accuracy issues, but as an NFL QB this kid can win games and definitely add value to a well rounded team. I'd take him any day of the week over Stafford (who's just as inconsistent), Flacco (who I'd say is definitely no better than Mark), or Matt Ryan. What do you think Atlanta fans are saying after his 20-47, 1td, 2int performance @ Houston losing to TJ Yates? That performance is worse than Sanchez @ Denver! Keep in mind Sanchez @ Denver came on a short week, at altitude, after a deflating loss, and traveling across the country. How's this for a fact, in the last fifteen years teams that played Sunday and traveled 1,500 plus miles for a Thursday game have NEVER won. Maybe Sanchez deserves a break for that performance, especially considering no Greene, No LT, and no Kerley. Remember, when you evaluate Sanchez you must give consideration to the intangible that doesn't show up on the stat sheet...the kid is resilient, and definitely plays his best ball in the biggest of moments. That's the kind of player you want under center when the TEAM gets to the post season. Again I'll take an inconsistent QB during a regular season that seems to find a way to turn his game on in the post season vs. a regular season stud who can't seem to win the big one. As Jason wrote, it's about who gets hot. Sanchez has shown that despite his inconsistency, he can get hot.