By The Numbers :
Passing
Sanchez : 21/30 - 220 yds - 3 td - 124.3 Passer Rating
Rushing
NYJ : L. Tomlinson - 11 car 76 yds 6.9 ypc
S. Greene - 15 car 52 yds 3.5 ypc
Receiving
NYJ : D. Keller - 7 rec 115 yds 1 td
B. Edwards - 5 rec 45 yds 1 td
J. Cotchery - 4 rec 26 yds 1 td
Efficiency
1st Downs - NYJ - 23 - NE - 20
3rd Down Efficiency - NYJ - 6-13 - NE - 5-11
Turnovers
NYJ - 0
NE - 3
Penalties
NYJ - 6 - 58
NE - 6 - 79
I look at these numbers and I just have 1 question......
Where the HELL was this last week?????
If the Jets were half as aggressive against the Ravens, we would be talking about a 2-0 team and not pushing the panic button after the Week 1 loss. Anyway, enough about the past. It's time to look back on what was a tale of 2 halves for Gang Green.
The 1st half had a back and forth feel. Both teams were sizing each other up seeing what they could and couldn't do. The Pats employed a ball control style of offense keeping the ball for almost two thirds of the 1st quarter. The Jets on the other hand ran only 3 plays giving the fans and yours truly a very restless feeling. Despite the lack of production from Sanchez and Co. the quarter ended with no score.
The 2nd quarter had some fireworks. The Pats ended a nice drive with a TD to Welker. Welker beat Cromartie on a nice out route to the corner of the end zone, Brady put the ball in a perfect spot and you got 6 for New England. The TD comes with an asterisk though. On that same drive, on a 3rd and 12, Brady fired a pass to Welker that was too high for him to handle but Eric Smith for reasons beyond imagination cracks Welker on the top of the head and gets hit with a personal foul for hitting a defenseless receiver. 15 yards and an automatic 1st down on a 3rd and 12. UNACCEPTABLE. These guys have got to control themselves, especially Smith. He's a decent safety with good athleticism. He's a better blitzer than he is a cover guy but he's a bit of a loose cannon and that reckless abandon cost the Jets on that drive and may cost them more down the road. Rex has got to reign these guys in.
The Jets responded with a TD of their own capped by a nice fade pass from Sanchez to Edwards. That was the good. The bad was Braylon getting flagged for taunting after the play. He stared right at the CB and did some motion with his hands and dropped the ball by his feet. This is another bonehead play by another talented but boneheaded player. This guy is the last person to be taunting and talking shit to people. He's made more news about his dropped passes than his TD's. Just SHUT UP AND CATCH THE BALL!!! You're not elite enough to get in people's faces and dance in front of them when you catch a 11 yard fade pass. Do that every week and MAYBE you might have earned the right to yap.
Towards the end of the 2nd quarter, the Jets were driving with a chance to put more points on the board but the drive stalled giving the Pats the ball with just over 2 min to play. I didn't even have to look at the TV.....I knew the Pats were going to score. You can't give Brady the ball with that much time on the clock with all the weapons he has at his disposal. What happens.....a 46 yard catch and run by TE Aaron Hernandez to be followed by the play of the day. Brady fires a bomb to the end zone for Moss who beat Revis on a fly route and snatches the ball out of the air with 1 hand. An amazing catch. 14-7 Pats.
Now everyone remembers the catch and Revis grabbing his leg after the play but I saw something else on that play that should be noted. The Jets were not set defensively before the snap. Players were out of position, still trying to line up, moving all over the place. Brady saw the confusion and did the smart thing, he took advantage of it and snapped the ball. It was clear from waching the "coaches film" that Revis was supposed to get safety help from Jim Leonhard over the top but he followed TE Aaron Hernandez going across the middle who was already covered by Eric Smith. The broken coverage allowed Moss to go single up on Revis and once he got the outside position it was just a simple game of pitch and catch. This play should never have been run. Ryan should have called time out to get the right defensive alignment in place and give Revis help on Moss. That didn't happen and the Pats scored.
With the Jets now down by 7, things looked bad. There was still over 1:30 on the clock and 3 timeouts for the Jets to play with but you just had that feeling that Ryan and Schottenheimer were just going to take a knee and go into the locker room. Well that didn't happen. The Jets showed some balls and drove down the field using mainly Keller in the seam to pick up nice chunks of yards and getting into FG range. Now it was time for Folk to kick a 49 yard FG. Hold your breath........It's good!!!!!!! A HUGE score before the half.
Pats 14 - Jets 10
We now move to the 2nd half which in a nutshell was just an ASS WHUPPIN by the Jets. The defense held the Pats to 80 total yards and 0 points. That's just domination and here's the kicker.....They did it without Revis. His hamstring kept him back in the locker room for the 2nd half. Antonio Cromartie played like a man possessed in Revis' absence. They put him on Moss and he locked him down. The rest of the "D" followed suit and got the job done. This is a testament to Ryan's gameplan. He abandoned his all or nothing blitz schemes for a more coverage based scheme that played more like a bend but don't break approach and it worked. The defense was more contain than attack which I wasn't expecting to see. It shows me that King Rex is not as stubborn as he appears. He's always coached with the kill the QB mantra and this time he realized that Brady can and has beat that style so he went a little more conservative and it paid off.
Of course none of this matters without the play of QB Mark Sanchez. In what was his best game as a Jet, Sanchez did more than run the offense....he LED them. The kid showed poise and presence. He also reintroduced himself to all of the critics that he deserves to play with the big boys and that he can be a franchise QB. How quickly people forget that Sanchez was no different on Sunday than he was early in the season last year. In fact, the Jets had to slow him down because he was too risky with the football. Everyone needs to chill out and let the kid grow. He's going to mess up but he's also going to make plays. On Sunday he made plays and acted like a leader. It's just a matter of keeping that momentum.
That's a wrap on the Recap. Now it's time for some quick hits.
Quick Hits:
1) The Jets once again won the turnover battle. This is an encouraging sign. Historically, when you win the turnover margin, you win the game. Last week was one of the rare occasions that it didn't happen.
2) Special Teams has been solid. Folk is 4-4 kicking FG and Weatherford has been clutch punting. I would like to see Folk kick more balls in the end zone though. Otherwise so far so good.
3) There was a Dustin Keller sighting. The Jets finally put their gifted TE to use. And they used him where he's the most lethal....in the seam against slower linebackers and smaller safeties. He had a breakout game. Keep feeding him the ball. Only good things can come from it.
4) Kyle Wilson had a nice bounce back game. He wasn't picked on as much but his technique was better and he made some nice plays. He does need to work on his blitzing technique though. Early in the 1st quarter, he came on a blitz and had Brady for a sack. To his credit, Brady made a nice move and very subtly ducked and avoided Wilson. However, Wilson still would have had him if he just controlled his path towards Brady. He was so aggressive that he ended up over running past Brady taking himself out of the play entirely.
5) The offensive line needs to do better protecting Sanchez. He was sacked 3 times Sunday. 2 of those sacks came from the guy that D'Brickashaw Ferguson was blocking. For a guy that's being touted as a pro bowl LT, he's not playing like one right now. He's getting beat on inside rushes. That's a byproduct of poor footwork. Instead of shifting his feet he's using his hands and by that time it's too late and Sanchez is eating grass. He's got to step it up.
6) The Jets have got to stop the stupid penalties. I mentioned them before but it bears repeating. 2 personal fouls, 1 taunting and 1 unnecessary roughness. Both UNACCEPTABLE! These guys have got to get it together and play aggressive but SMART football.
King Rex Quote of the Game:
Question: "What did you learn about your team this week coming off the loss last week?'
King Rex's Response: "I never learned a whole lot. I think other people learned that this team is tougher than people think. They got great resolve. We don't make excuses. We just go out and try to compete and that's what we did today."
Bottom line.....This was a big win for the Jets. Not because of the schedule. It was a chance for them to get back to playing the kind of football that we all know they are capable of. Is this a Super Bowl caliber team? I don't think so but they are on their way and that's all you can ask for when you are a fan of Gang Green.
Next up is another divisional showdown in Miami. This one can be tough. The Dolphins have a stingy defense and the loss of Revis could be big but I don't see the Jets laying an egg against them like last year. We'll have to wait and see.
Until Next Time......Now Let's Go Eat A God Damn Snack!
Great Recap! The best jets blog out there.
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