SB Nation - Shaun Ellis

Jets Flight Connections 121509

dvdvil — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:59:21 -0000

We won't find out who will start at quarterback until at least tomorrow.

QB Kellen Clemens says "I did what was required" against Tampa Bay.

Is QB Mark Sanchez crucial to keep winning, or are we good with running the ball and defense?

Bob Wischusen lauds the whole Jets defensive unit.

HC Rex Ryan explains why he wouldn't commit to FS Kerry Rhodes starting the last game.

The Jets D is first in the league in many categories.

A couple of quotes from Matt Gagne of the Daily News. Rex on LB Bart Scott's unnecessary roughness:

There's going to be some ramifications for Bart. I'll just let him tell you. He'll find out on Wednesday. It's good news, bad news for Bart.

And RB Thomas Jones on his O-line:

This is the best offensive line in the NFL. Every one of these linemen deserve to go to the Pro Bowl. Every one of them.

More connections after the jump.

The Star-Ledger's Manish Mehta breaks down the Buccaneer game.

NorthJersey.com's J.P. Pelzman grades the Jets.

The Daily News's Rich Cimini grades the Jets.

I already had this yesterday, but The New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro also grades the Jets.

With the team still alive for the playoffs, Ryan is confident the Jets will win out.

Here is the AP's Dennis Waszak Jr. on the Jets' playoff chances, with quotes from Jim Leonhard, Shaun Ellis, Bart Scott, Thomas Jones and D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

T Ryan McKee came and went.

Get RB Shonn Greene's autograph - and get him to sign it, "I will protect the football." - today from 12:30 to 2:30 pm at this charity event in Manhattan.

Your daily Pro Bowl reminder, keep voting for the Jets as many times as you want. You have until Dec. 21.

And lastly, here is CB Darrelle Revis at 12AngryMascots last October:

New York Jets Run Defense vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Run Offense

John B — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:16:46 -0000

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The Bucs pass more than they run by a 403-293 ratio. Tampa might get more conservative this week with their rookie quarterback facing a blitzing defense. The top back on the roster is Cadillac Williams. He's got 572 yards on 144 carries, a 4.0 average. Williams has a lot of natural ability. He doesn't have a ton of weaknesses. The production hasn't really been there, though. Derrick Ward, his backup, is an elusive runner only averaging 3.6 per run on 84 carries. You have to think he's regretting leaving the Giants.

Williams and Ward are both good backs. The problem seems to be their blocking. We discussed earlier how Tampa Bay doesn't pass block well. Their run blocking also leaves something to be desired. The offensive line is comprised of five players who have consistently lost matchups this season. That's the only way a run game struggles with talented backs. Sione Pouha and Shaun Ellis have favorable matchups. Bart Scott and David Harris should stay relatively clean.

Given the run blocking struggles, it's somewhat surprising the Bucs haven't used Ernest Graham as a runner more. Graham is two years removed from a breakout 898 yard campaign. He's working primarily as a lead blocker this year. He's a tough inside runner capable of picking up tough yardage. He only has 12 carries this year.

One area the Bucs can burn the Jets on the ground is in the quarterback position. Josh Freeman has a 7.6 average on 18 carries. If the Jets sell out on the blitz, I do worry about Freeman's ability to turn a broken play into something if he finds some open field. Aside from that, the Jets seem to have an edge against the run.

Friday Injury Report. Ryan's Conference

David_Wyatt — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:36:10 -0000

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Out

Mark Sanchez- QB

Dwight Lowery- CB

Robert Turner- OL

Questionable

Alan Faneca- OL

Wayne Hunter OL

Probable

Marquice Cole- CB

Shaun Ellis- DE

Jim Leonhard- S

Calvin Pace- OLB

Donald Strickland- CB

Transcript of Rex Ryan's news conference is after the jump

On how Kellen Clemens has progressed this week…

He’s got a great grasp of our system. This is his fourth year under Brian [Schottenheimer]. He knows the system as well as anybody and it shows. He has great poise and ownership right now. The guys believe in him, just like they believe in Mark. He is very comfortable and very confident. I think most backup quarterbacks probably don’t have the system down as much as Kellen does. Kellen knows it inside and out. We’re very confident in how he’s going to play this week. I know his teammates feel very comfortable and confident in Kellen.

On if Clemens’ struggles in 2007 were because of the offensive line…

I remember playing against him when I was in Baltimore. For three quarters they struggled offensively, but then they lit us up in the fourth quarter. He made some nice passes that day. That was how familiar I was with Kellen. It was based on that. I never went back and looked at all the other tapes. I know we have an outstanding offensive line now. We have an excellent group of receivers, great backs. I expect Kellen to play great. I expect him to really have a big game for us.

On if he feels the team won’t overlook the Buccaneers…

It’s hard to get overconfident for two reasons. Number one, you watch all that tape. You can look at last week’s game when they posted almost 500 yards against Carolina, which is not a bad defensive football team. That is really all you need to know there. And you can look at last night. Last night was a perfect example. You have the defending Super Bowl champs go into Cleveland to play a team that has won one game. The experts, as we say, are all picking Pittsburgh. Well, somebody forgot to tell Cleveland that.

We know what we’re going to get. We’re going to get everything Tampa Bay has. Likewise, they’re going to get everything we have. I feel confident that we’ll win this game. I know they’re going to get everything we have and I know we’re going to get what they have and we’ll see. I’m confident in our football team. We’re going down there on a business trip. We’re going to take care of business. We’ll see, like I said from day one, at the end of the season we’ll see how many wins we’ve got, how many losses and we’ll all take a look at it then. Right now, we know what’s in front of us and we have to go down there and lay it all on the line. I’m confident that we’ll get it done.

On if he is happy with Cleveland’s win over Pittsburgh…

You know I’m not big on lying. I’m glad that this happened. But it’s not what you think, I’m glad my brother [Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan] got a big win on a nationally televised game. They showed him every two seconds. I thought it was ironic that every time they did something good they show my brother and every time they did something bad they showed [Browns head coach Eric] Mangini. That was interesting to me. I told my brother that. I left a message for him. They needed that win. It’s a huge win for them. Oh, by the way, it helps us. I’ll take that also. Pittsburgh is a proud team and for our benefit we are going to need Pittsburgh to be Pittsburgh for the rest of the season, too. They are going to have to play.

On what problems Josh Freeman presents…

He did struggle in the red zone in particular. He threw the five interceptions. All that’s true, but he threw for 370 or something. He had a huge day statistically, but he did make those mistakes and that’s what happens a lot of times with young quarterbacks. He’s got a big arm. He’s a big man. He’ll take off with it, so that’s something you’ve got to be ready for. If the first guy’s not there, forget reading coverages, he’ll just run with it. I was really impressed with Freeman when we went on his interview. He’s a smart guy, very bright and physically, he fills a room. That’s a big man. We’re going to look to slap some Riddells on him and see what happens.

On ball security…

The facts are what they are. We’re 5-0 when we win the turnover battle and we’re 0-4 when we lose it. That’s got to be a point of emphasis any week and it should be every single week. It doesn’t matter that Freeman’s a young guy or not. We’re coming after him. We’re going to try to create bad plays for them.

On if maroon will be a new color code for Kellen Clemens this week…

That was great. The look on his face, that was fantastic. He never missed a beat. He just looked at me and smiled. "I believe it’s maroon." "Oh, good. Go get 'em, kid." He knew and everybody makes light of those things, but I know one thing, protect the football. He knows you’ve got to protect the football. They do a good job of rushing the passer. They do a good job in the back end of making big plays. We’ve got to be smart. We’ve got to protect the football and I think we’ll be just fine.

On Lito Sheppard…

I’ll tell you, it’s been a frustrating year for Lito. He started the season off playing terrific, then he gets the injury, probably came back a little too early, so he gets another injury on top of it, a more severe injury. We’ve been wanting to make sure he was back before we really felt comfortable putting him out there, trying to ease him in. There’s no easing in anymore.

He played a tremendous game [at Toronto]. In fact, we gave him a game ball last week. He gave up one completion. That was on the third down, 38-yard play. It was a great play. You can’t defend the perfectly-thrown ball. Lee Evans happens to be a heck of a football player. The thing that was impressive was he made the one-on-one tackle and prevented the touchdown. After that, he never gave up a completion. He was tremendous in that game.

Let’s not forget, that is a two-time Pro Bowl player. Lito is still Lito. I sense the confidence is back. I think the biggest thing he had to overcome was the injury. I don’t think he felt that he was all the way back and that puts some hesitation in his play. Now, I think Lito feels great. I think he knows he’s all the way back. Lito may be the fastest player we’ve got on defense. He’s got all the ability. It’s not bad when your second corner is a Pro Bowl-type corner. It’s not bad. We’ve been saying it from day one. We’re healthy now. Obviously, Lowery is out, but when we get him back, we’re going to be loaded. We have no excuses. We expect to play well. We know we’re going to be challenged by Tampa Bay, but we believe our guys will be up to the task.

Related Players

Jets Flight Connections 120709

dvdvil — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:01:33 -0000

Does the AFC East actually go through Miami? The Dolphins beat the Patriots yesterday. Here is the recap and the play-by-play.

There were plenty of people who thought Miami would win that game.

Did Mark Sanchez make the Patriots secondary overconfident?

Maybe New England is just not as good as they used to be, or maybe Chad Henne is just getting better and growing as a QB.

This game and a few others helped the Jets' playoff push.

This article looks at the other teams vying for a post-season spot.

Some more connections after the jump.

Is the media too harsh on Mark Sanchez? Backup QB Kellen Clemens thinks it's good for the rookie to be playing.

The Jets' starting quarterback is a competitor, but this article shows why the Sanchize needs to protect himself.

Should we try to sign former Buccaneer QB Jeff Garcia?

Head Coach Rex Ryan is happy with the rushing offense, and Thomas Jones is quietly getting some media attention. He and Curtis Martin talk about each other in this article.

Strong men also cry.

JetsConfidential notes that Shaun Ellis is playing well lately, but Vernon Gholston, not so much.

The Vikings lost last night, but Jets players don't really care how well or how badly Brett Favre does in Minnesota. Steve Serby reminisces about him in this book, if you haven't read it yet.

The Ravens play tonight, and Batimore OC Cam Cameron says Ryan really had another reason for bringing in Joe Girardi.

It looks like Rex is a big fan of New York sports. This article briefly - very briefly - mentions that he is apparently also a New York Rangers fan.

If we plan to go after Charlie Weis next year, would he get along with former QB Mark Sanchez. He's certainly not a big fan of Pete Carroll, Mark's former coach at USC.

Jets Flight Connections 120609

dvdvil — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:43:11 -0000

Hey there Jets fans, this is a new feature on GGN connecting you to some Jets links.

CB Darrelle Revis has been all over the news, just like he's been all over opposing wide receivers.

ESPN.com says, don't start your Fantasy Football WR if he's going against Revis.

Make sure Revis goes to the Pro-Bowl again by clicking here. Maybe we can see another goal-line pick like the one in this video.

Speaking of videos, here are a couple from last game: Revis highlights on NFL.com and Revis Island, featuring the INT, thrown-to's, completions and why DE Shaun Ellis should kiss him.

SS Jim Leonhard thinks "Revis is amazing," and Darrelle thinks T.O. became frustrated.

WR Terrell Owens says Revis is "one of the best" at CB. Back in '07 with the Cowboys, however, he didn't even know who Revis was.

Speaking of Cowboys, one of their top performers this season is WR Miles Austin, on whom the Jets passed as a free agent.

Austin is a Garfiled native, like former Jets WR Wayne Chrebet, who spoke about Hofstra ending their football program.

Speaking of former Jets, Curtis Martin spoke about RB Thomas Jones before last Thursday's game. This article shows some of their similarities.

Jay Greenberg of the Post thinks the Jets should have gotten a veteran QB in the roster, and Gary Myers of the Daily News misses Chad Pennington.

Maybe then we wouldn't be dealing with "SlideGate." Apparently, Head Coach Rex Ryan has been warning QB Mark Sanchez about diving headfirst since training camp.

Revis thinks Mark showed "heart and effort."

Rex hopes the knucklehead can still play in the next game at Tampa Bay.

We're not sure yet whether FS Kerry Rhodes will be starting in that game. Apparently, the one other thing he needed to do in order to regain his starting job was to have a talk with Dennis Thurman. Yes. The Defensive Backs Coach. Kerry never felt he needed to do this before.

What's everybody doing today? I'll probably be watching the Giants game, because I just read that banners are prohibited in that stadium. Even moreso when it says this.

Who is everybody rooting for? Here is Jets fan Ray Romano with his picks.

Lastly, for all you South Park fans out there, here are a couple of videos featuring two division rivals who are going head to head today.

I could only find the commentary for this one, but you've probably already seen it anyway.

And for the second one, please keep in mind, I don't advocate running onto the field and attacking the players.

Okay, folks. Enjoy your Sunday.

Oh yeah, and check out "Jets Flight Plan" today at 11:30am on WCBS-TV.

Jets 19 Bills 13: O Darrelle Revis We Stand on Guard for Thee

John B — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:44:29 -0000

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The Jets are back at .500. It wasn't pretty, but Gang Green defeated Buffalo tonight in Toronto to even the 2009 record at 6-6. Things are starting to shape up, and this team is starting to round into form for the stretch run. I'm not sure it will be enough to end in the Playoffs. If Mark Sanchez's injury isn't serious, though, this is going to be a tough out for the season's final month.

More after the jump.

The Good:

Darrelle Revis: Defensive. Player. Of. The. Year. Once again, Revis shut down a top flight receiver, a guy who had exploded over the past two weeks. Terrell Owens had 3 catches for 31 yards. Revis was in his pocket all night long. T.O. had no room to breathe. Ryan Fitzpatrick told the NFL Network crew he would put it up to Owens even if he wasn't open. When a guy plays Revis these days, that's about the only chance he'll have to get a throw. Catching it? Probably too much to ask. Revis was breaking up passes all night and iced the contest with an interception. It's just incredible how consistently he has dominated this year.

David Harris: Another guy who should go to the Pro Bowl this year. Harris had 11 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. He's been in the middle of almost every play all year long.

Shaun Ellis: Ellis had a pair of sacks. The first was really made by Mike Devito pressuring Ryan Fitzpatrick right into Ellis. The second was all Shaun, a key one on the first play of the final drive that put Buffalo's back against the wall.

Lito Sheppard: He got burned deep by Lee Evans on the first drive. Evans did not have another catch.

Jay Feely: 4 for 4 on field goals, including a bomb from 49. The Jets needed 3 of them to win.

Mark Sanchez: I was surprised to see in the final stats that he only hit 7 of his 15 passes. He made nothing but good decisions. There were no forces. Beyond that, I haven't seen him look so assertive since early in the year. He made decisions quickly and fit some balls into incredibly tight windows. If Braylon Edwards holds onto that bomb, the stat line looks much better. You have to hope he's ok. It would stink if he has to sit right when it looks like he's starting to turn the corner.

Braylon Edwards: I know he dropped the easy touchdown, but I liked the way he responded, making the really difficult catch to extend a drive and fighting for a touchdown. He also did good work run blocking on the perimeter. I can't tell you how many times receivers get lazy when they think nobody is watching.

Offensive Line: 249 rushing yards doesn't happen by accident. The men up front dominated. They blew open huge holes all night for the backs.

Thomas Jones, Shonn Greene, and Tony Richardson: They may have had room to run, but all three looked explosive in the open field. Jones and Greene fought for hidden yardage all night and were able to get through Buffalo arm tackles.

Thursday Night Football: This and the thriller in Foxborough last year. Let's see more Thursday Night NFL Network games in the future.

Toronto: The NFL replaced one of the most hostile venues the Jets play in all year with a stadium that looked pretty empty and sounded like a library. Can we do it again next year?

The Bad:

Kellen Clemens: If you're a reader here, you know I've been willing to excuse Mark Sanchez looking overwhelmed at times. He's a rookie. Clemens gets no such pass. He's started 8 games. He's had 4 years in the system. He took 3 sacks. It was really troubling to see. Frankly based on what I saw, I'm not convinced Kellen knows how to read an NFL defense. Nothing we saw in 2007 suggests he does. Even though the Bills had good coverage on two of those sacks, something in his head should have gone off saying, "Throw it away!" Depending on Sanchez's status, the Jets may have to think of opening the quarterback competition to Erik Ainge and Kevin O'Connell.

Leaving Plays on the Field: The Jets had chances to blow the game open in the first half. Braylon Edwards dropped a pass with nothing but green in front of him. Mark Sanchez missed a wide open guy in the end zone, and the Jets squandered a forced turnover in Buffalo territory.

Breakdowns: On the same note, the Bills didn't sustain a drive on the Jets in the first half. Their points were set up by A) Lito Sheppard getting burned by Lee Evans, who he otherwise handled. B) Buffalo's blockers sealing all Jets up front during a brief sequence while the Jets dominated the trenches the rest of the night before and after.

The most important thing is the Jets got a win tonight and are now 6-6. Now we must all root for Miami like crazy this weekend (I can't believe I just said that).

McGee, Byrd questionable for Thursday night Toronto tussle

Brian Galliford — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:38:46 -0000

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While Terrell Owens puts on his best giddy face for the cameras and scores of reporters covering the Buffalo Bills' latest excursion to Toronto, there's actual news to discuss about tomorrow night's divisional battle with the New York Jets.

The injury reports are out, and two of Buffalo's main defensive cogs are questionable: starting cornerback Terrence McGee and starting free safety Jairus Byrd. McGee, who has missed the Bills' last three games recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery he had during the team's Week 9 bye week, is considered a game-time decision. Byrd is as well, as he deals with a groin injury that has bothered him off and on since before training camp.

Demetrius Bell, John McCargo and Ashton Youboty have all been ruled out. Just like in last week's victory over Miami, Jonathan Scott is expected to start at left tackle.

For the Jets, they'll be without two cornerbacks - Dwight Lowery and Donald Strickland - as well as guard Robert Turner. Mark Sanchez, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Shaun Ellis, Calvin Pace, Jim Leonhard and Eric Smith are all listed as probable, and all will play.

Patriots 31 Jets 14: Bitter Revenge

John B — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:58:22 -0000

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The slide continues. The Jets are 4-6 and now a Playoff longshot. The Patriots dominated them today, winning 31-14 in Foxborough. This is the kind of Jets-Pats game we've come to know and hate. If New England wanted to get revenge for Week 2 and make a statement, they sure did that. This one was ugly and uncompetitive from the start.

More after the jump.

The Bad:

Mark Sanchez: Another ugly day for the rookie. He looked confused and rattled by New England's pass rush all day on his way to an 8 of 21, 5 turnover affair. There were a lot of bad mistakes. He made bad reads, had some horribly inaccurate throws, and threw one interception off his wrong foot, against his body, and into coverage in the face of a heavy pass rush instead of just throwing it away. He just looked lost out there for most of this one. Unfortunately, days like this are part of having a rookie quarterback. The only way to learn is to make mistakes. With the season pretty much lost, I think all calls for his benching should end. At least the last 6 games can be used to get more time under his belt.

Braylon Edwards: Only a catch for 10 yards. He was silent and had a drop that ended a drive early. Who knows how that could have changed the complexion of the contest?

Defensive Approach: I haven't been very critical of the coaching staff, but the first half left a lot to be desired. The Jets played a base 4-3 and send the linemen. In such a scheme, there are three guys whose job is to generate a pass rush. The nose tackle, Sione Pouha, was there to draw a double team. The three responsible for the rush were ends Bryan Thomas and Calvin Pace. These guys were both considered first round busts because of their respective inabilities to rush the passer as 4-3 ends. Shaun Ellis played the under tackle. Remember how Herm Edwards tried to move him there early in his career and how ineffective he was? This scheme put guys in positions they are proven to not be adept at, although Ellis did have a good game. The only way to stop Tom Brady is to get pressure on him. I'm not sure I get why the Jets didn't come out with the apporach that worked so well in the first meeting, sending pressure from all angles.

There was also the time the Jets disguised a blitz, moved everybody to the line, sent 3, and left nobody deep. I tend to believe there's never a good time to rush 3, but the idea of doing that is to minimize the possibility of a big play. Moving everybody to the line and sending nobody is the worst of all worlds. There's little chance to generate a pass rush, and guys are out of position. Wes Welker had a long grab to set up a score.

Speaking of Welker, the Jets hung Drew Coleman out to dry. Coleman is the fifth best corner on the roster and hardly has any cover skills. He has no business playing man on Welker. Coleman was burned as often as any corner I've ever seen play in a single game. Welker had 15 receptions for 192 yards. Couldn't anybody else cover him? Was something wrong with Lito Sheppard?

Drew Coleman: I know he had no business playing on Welker, but I reiterate that was one of the worst performances of all time.

Kerry Rhodes: About the only time we heard his name, he was either missing a tackle or arriving late in coverage.

The Good:

Special Teams: A few weeks ago, we had people calling for Mike Westhoff to be fired. I don't think we'll see that today. There was a blocked punt that gave the Jets life in the second and David Clowney and Dwight Lowery both had returns in excess of 35 yards.

Darrelle Revis: Maybe Randy Moss will give him a little credit now. Revis quieted Moss again to the tune of 5 catches for 35 yards and several passes defensed. Even in the passes Moss caught, Revis was in perfect coverage, and he didn't do much after his receptions.

Thomas Jones: Quietly compiled another 100 yard game.

David Harris: Led the team with 14 tackles and was the one guy to make Welker pay for going over the middle.

Shaun Ellis: Had a pair of sacks.

Effort: I will give the Jets credit for not quitting in the second half like the Titans did in Foxborough a few weeks back. It was clear these guys battled until the end, and they even turned a 24-0 game into a competitive contest for a bit.

There's not really much else to say. The Pats were so dominant today it wasn't even funny. They made a statement about who the best team in the East really is. The Jets are probably playing out the string at this point.

Braylon Edwards Pleads Not Guilty to Assault

John B — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:15:12 -0000

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Braylon Edwards has pleaded not guilty to the assault charge he faces.

Edwards was arraigned in Cleveland Municipal Court on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was traded to the New York Jets two days after he was accused of punching a friend of NBA star LeBron James on Oct. 5.

James called Edwards' actions "childish."

Edwards waived his right to a speedy trial and was scheduled for a Dec. 12 court hearing. His attorney hasn't returned a request for comment.

I'd be surprised if there was any fallout from the league this year, but like the Shaun Ellis situation of 2008, stay tuned over the offseason depending on how this plays out.

Dolphins 30 Jets 25: Sick to My Stomach

John B — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:36:03 -0000

I don't think the Jets could have gone into the bye on a worse note. Today's 30-25 loss to Miami at the Meadowlands stings. It drops the Jets to 4-4, one and a half games in back of the Patriots in the division, two in the loss column. The Dolphins are just half a game back, even in the loss column, and holding the head to head tiebreaker in addition to a 3-0 division record. The Jets are 1-3 in division.

Beyond the frustration of losing is the way the Jets lost. It's very difficult to win in the NFL when you're spotting the opponent 21 nonoffensive points. All of these points had more to do with what the Jets didn't do than what the Dolphins did right.

More after the jump.

The Bad:

Kickoff Coverage: I guess it goes without saying that kickoff coverage belongs here when the opponent runs a pair of kicks back for touchdowns. The Jets looked like they were Purdue against Ted Ginn. There were so many errors on the kicks, it wasn't even funny. There was Jay Feely drilling it too low on the first one. Danny Woodhead didn't contain to the outside. Wallace Wright took a bad angle to Ginn. Larry Izzo whiffed on a tackle on the second one. Guys didn't stay in their lanes. Against a speedster like Ginn, that's asking for trouble. I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one guy on kickoff coverage released between now and the next game.

Larry Izzo: Wasn't he supposed to be on the roster for his special teams play? There was his missed tackle on Ginn, but there was also the inexplicable running into the punter penalty. He had no shot at blocking a punt and still dove into the punter. Izzo is a candidate to be that guy released.

Shonn Greene: Even when Mark Sanchez has been bad, I've gone easy on him. It's rough adjusting to the NFL for a quarterback. So much is different from college. A rookie running back doesn't get the same kind of slack. Sure, there are some things that are different. One is the extra blocking duties. The defenders are also bigger and stronger. Still, you have to hold onto the football. His unforced fumble was a total gift to Jason Taylor.

Justin Miller: Is he in game shape? He looked pretty ordinary on returns (5 for 115). It seemed like he had trouble getting quickly to his lanes and breaking tackles.

Alan Faneca: Lost a ton of one on one battles, including a decisive Randy Starks sack.

The Good:

The Defense: The defense deserved better. It only allowed 9 points, and 3 were the result of a short field. The blitzes got to Chad Henne this time, even though the 'Fins did many of the same things they did in the first game like max protecting and rolling him out. 6 sacks on Chad Henne and only 112 passing yards. Henne got rattled and made some terribly inaccurate throws when he heard footsteps. Ronnie Brown had under 3 yards per carry. Ricky Williams was just over 3. Just a dominant performance by the defense. It avenged its only poor performance of the year. This unit has played much better than its 4-4.

Mark Sanchez: No question the rookie was the best quarterback on the field. The disastrous third quarter put the Jets behind two scores. Although the coaching staff was very conservative early, they had no choice but to let Sanchez cut it loose. Mark put 22 up in the second half (with an assist from Davone Bess) and had the Jets on the verge of a winning touchdown. The Dolphins covered New York's receivers on the goal line, and the offensive line had a breakdown. Not Mark's fault. He did make an incredible throw to Dustin Keller on fourth and long to prolong the drive. Great touch on the ball.

Dustin Keller: Where has this guy been all year? 8 catches for 76 yards and a great grab on the receiving end of that fourth down play. I'll give the coaching staff some credit too. Miami's struggled covering the tight end, and it seems like the calls made Keller Sanchez's primary read. Is this the start of big things? Will he become Mark's safety blanket? Stay tuned.

Braylon Edwards: 4 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Certified Dolphin killer. And if you ever question his heart, watch the way he fought his way into the end zone on the touchdown grab.

Thomas Jones: Another 100 yard day. The average wasn't too great, but put it in context. The Dolphins were loading up the box all day. There were a lot of times nothing was there. He made a lot of guys miss.

Sione Pouha: Miami's vaunted rushing attack gained 2.3 per carry. Pouha was a force inside clogging lanes. He had 5 tackles and opened things up for others.

Shaun Ellis: Nice of him to finally show up this year. He had 1.5 sacks and generally won his matchups on the line. The way Miami was leaving extra blockers in, guys were going to have to win their matchups to get to him.

David Harris: 5 tackles and a sack. He was all over the place.

Bart Scott: 8 tackles and the sack that got the Jets the ball back for their last drive with a chance to win. So was he.

Defensive Approach: Give the staff credit. They adjusted well from the first game. The Wildcat was held in check. The Jets did a much better job of staying in their lanes. They also sent extra men from the secondary. It worked. It may have left them vulnerable to the pass, but they closed on Brown well and forced him to eat it for a big loss and got a ball deflected both times he was looking to throw it. The fact is the formation is usually a running formation. Passes are going to be few and far between. When they do try to throw it, Brown isn't putting it up unless he has a guy wide open and isn't under pressure. He's not trained to throw. It's always best to attack him with extra men even if it leaves a guy open. Force the running back to make a throw.

I also liked the Pace-Gholston-Ellis-Westerman line on passing downs.

We saw plenty of the Ellis-Green-Pouha-Douglas line and Pace-Harris-Scott linebacking look I predicted to stop the run. It worked.

Again, Henne was on the run all day and got hit so much he felt heat and rushed his throws even when there was none.

I don't expect this to be a fun bye. This team should not have lost this game. The Jets lost the first game to Miami because the Dolphins outexecuted them. They lost this game because they self-destructed. Give the Dolphins credit for not self-destructing I guess, but there's no way this team should be 4-4 at the halfway point. That's where we're at, though. At this point, we have a mediocre football team on our hands.