Post Game Thoughts: Jets vs Bengals

I know the games mean little but hey it’s the first game so lets get some thoughts up on the game:

Offense

I wouldn’t look too much into the poor performance of the first unit tonight. It’s the first game of the season and they were playing without their starting WRs. I think the offense will be a focus tomorrow since it looked a lot like last seasons, but this is way too early to make those leaps of faith. The one thing I will say is that Mark Sanchez needs more work with Stephen Hill. Hill seemed to be on the field a lot but Sanchez was throwing mainly to Turner and not even looking elsewhere. That will come with time, but with the poor WR group the Jets need it to happen sooner rather than later.

Tim Tebow looked like he had worked on his throwing. His motion was way more compact than I remember in Denver. He did regress on one pressure where he cocked the ball all the way back down below his hip and I have a feeling when plays break down he will regress, but if they can keep him in controlled situations he may be more effective than we all thought. He doesn’t look uncomfortable at all under center, though. He’s like half a step slow coming up while the rest of the team is already into the play. That is going to put a ton of pressure on his offensive line.

For all the talk of Bilal Powell in camp I thought he looked terrible tonight. He looked slow and unsure of what to do. McKnight looked better, albeit against the nobodies, but I think Powell falls back down the chart now. Jeff Cumberland was a nightmare. That was first cut bad out there. The Jets better hope nobody gets injured on the offensive line. They have no depth at all. I have a feeling the Jets will be actively scouting the waiver wire the next 4 weeks to find bodies.

Defense

Rex couldn’t have been happy with his unit. The second drive of the game was identical to what bothered the Jets last season- Tight ends and running backs in the passing game. It was like a bad dream from 2011 watching that drive. Whenever you hear people talking about older player being “in the best shape of their career” that’s usually code for “he can’t play anymore, but we are going to play him anyway”. Bart Scott got caught up on a pass to BenJarvus Green-Ellis that was almost comical. Calvin Pace blew one a play or two later to take some of the heat off Scott. Cincy looked like they should have scored on the drive when AJ Green dropped a TD, but I didn’t watch the replay so maybe Revis made a play on it.

The backups were pretty bad. I’d imagine Rex laying into them like he did during the Hard Knocks season. Isaiah Trufant might have a tough time making the team. The one thing many of us have said is that the depth on the team is somewhat poor, mainly from the lack of draft selections, and that shows in these games. That said their defensive line depth is better than it has been in the past.

Demario Davis looked decent and Quinton Coples looked more competent in his four quarters than Vernon Gholston did in his entire career. He was gassed towards the end, but that’s why rookies play the full game. They need to be ready for the regular season. I thought Jay Richardson made a case to keep his name in the hunt and played well.

Special Teams

I don’t see how Tebow can last as a punt protector. I almost wonder if there is some contractual reason for him to be there….Really bad showing overall for these guys and you can bet there will be a lot of yelling going on.

Next Week

Let’s see how things go next week against the Giants. Its only preseason, but that’s the team that sent the Jets season out of control last year and then made the offseason even worse by winning the Super Bowl. I think the Jets starting offense needs to do something against them just to get rid of some of those memories. Hopefully Santonio Holmes can play for a few series. I think if the offense plays like they did tonight the team will be pretty deflated. Go Jets!