SB Nation - David Harris

Falcons 10 Jets 7: Kicked Away

John B — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:19 -0000

by Kathy Willens - AP

The Jets fell back to .500 after suffering a crushing 10-7 loss to the Falcons today at the Meadowlands. Once again this team loses in the final minute. Once again this team wastes a great defensive effort. Once again we have to ask how the heck the Jets lost a game they seemed to control. It's the story of the season.

More after the jump.

The Bad:

Jay Feely: Jay, I'd like to introduce you to Doug Brien, John Hall, and Cary Blanchard. Feely helped kick the Jets out of the Playoffs by not connection on a pair of makable field goal tries. If he does his job, the Jets are comfortably ahead in the fourth quarter. No, he doesn't get a pass because the wind was bad. This is Feely's second season in the Meadowlands, and he spent time with the Giants before. He has plenty of experience in the Meadowlands. Does he get blame for kicking it too low on the blocked try? You bet. Last week's hero is this week's goat.

Kellen Clemens: Fine, we've established you can't play quarterback. Now you can't even get a hold down? The whole reason the Jets made him the holder was because of the botched field goal try in overtime against the Bills. The Jets wanted a guy capable of throwing it on a broken play. Using the backup quarterback presents a different problem. He's not on the field and doesn't handle the ball. Maybe Brad Smith would be a better choice. He sees action and can make something happen with his legs and arm if things break down.

James Dearth: His long snaps were terrible. They didn't help matters.

Sending Three on Fourth Down: The Jets are an aggressive team. That's how they became the top statistical defense in the league. It's how they shut the Falcons down all game. Why go away from what works and only rush three on the play that decided the game?

Offensive Line: The rare performance where the other team was successful loading up the box because the offensive line wasn't getting enough of a push. I'm not going to get on Thomas Jones (19 carries, 52 yards) because I didn't really see anywhere for him to run most of the time.

Missed Opportunities: Five trips in Falcons territory ended in no points. That's a recipe for heartbreak.

Danny Woodhead: Very unimpressive game. Didn't come up with a pair of catches he should have had early. Later he showed no ability to break tackles. He was slow to break after the catch on a third down, and his run back on the kickoff following the winning touchdown put the Jets' back to the wall.

Alan Faneca: Idiotic personal foul killed the last drive before it really started.

Donald Stickland: Terrible penalty on the last drive. Even worse coverage.

The Good:

Darrelle Revis: Roddy White had 4 catches for 33 yards. He almost had as many times begging the officials for a flag as he had receptions. Revis shut him down.

David Harris: 10 tackles and was effective as a blitzer. The Jets surely won't be going to Miami for the Super Bowl, but Harris should go there for the Pro Bowl.

Kerry Rhodes: The missed tackle was bad, but Kerry played a great game aside from that. He registered 6 tackles and was excellent in coverage. This was the player we were expecting at the start of the year.

Brad Smith: A great kickoff return to start the second half and made good reads out of the Tiger formation.

Mark Sanchez: Yes, Sanchez goes here. He did some bad things, namely holding it too long, not throwing it away in some spots, and once again not sliding. I think you need to find a new scapegoat for the last drive. Can you blame him for the last interception? The Jets needed to get it downfield. He had to try and force something. The first pick was bad, but I was impressed with the way he responded. The rest of the game, he was making good throws and making good decisions with the ball. Even on the second pick, there was a window open. We were worried whether the cold was in his head. The throw seemed to give him confidence he can play in the cold. That's huge for the future. When you look at the numbers, it won't look great. In the grand scheme of things, I view today as a net positive. He proved he can make plays in the element. Mark will have to play better next week to get a win, though.

Braylon Edwards: 5 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. He also drew doubles which in theory should have opened thing up for others and did good work as a blocker. Admit it. You were nervous he'd drop the touchdown pass.

I hate to let the defense off the hook. I mean another game winning drive late is upsetting, but the fact of the matter is the game should never come down to the last drive when you only give up 10 points. This game was lost by the field goal unit and the offense not finishing drives. I have nothing left to say. You'd think I'd be used to it by now. Just like last year, we see a season essentially die in a snowstorm the Sunday before Christmas.

Closing the Book on Week 14: Bucs Dominated In Every Phase of the Game, Swept by the Big Apple

Craig T — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:35 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

When your offense can't stay on the field and spell the defense, this sight was inevitable. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

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If you've got a weak heart, don't read this article.

They say "Home is Where the Heart Is." Maybe somebody needs to put that sign over the door to the Buccaneer locker room, because they sure haven't shown much heart at home this season. There's no other way to sugar-coat Sunday's debacle. No gameplan. No inspiration. No nothing. The result: another home blowout loss to a decent, but not great opponent from the Big Apple. Back in Week 3, I thought that the Buccaneers hit rock bottom in all phases against the New York Giants. One red zone trip in the final minutes. No first downs until end of 3rd quarter. Blown coverages. Missed tackles. Leftwich couldn't complete a pass to an open receiver to save his life. Just dominated on both sides of the ball.

Sunday's game at the Jets just reeked of many the same old problems.... plus a new one that's reared its ugly head recently. Our Face of the Franchise Josh Freeman carried over his myopic tunnel vision from last week on the game's first play, trying to force the ball into a blanketed Antonio Bryant. AB ran a skinny post with a cornerback slightly trailing, where a safety was ready to step in front of the already covered Bryant if the flat-footed ILB David Harris had not had the ball gift-wrapped for him. Again, like last week, Freeman locked onto his #1 wide receiver from the snap, enabling the safety to slide over and get what would have been a pick or break up if the underneath LB zone coverage had whiffed. Freeman has to show better awareness, as there was no way Bryant could have caught that ball.

The playcalling was suspect. 40 passing plays against 16 rushes... with all 3 running backs and all 5 offensive linemen active and available? With a struggling rookie quarterback who's locking onto wide receivers, having problems recognizing simple NFL zone coverages? With Darrelle Revis consistently locked in between the "8" and "9" on Bryant's jersey? Yes, I understand the Bucs were trailing, but they came out throwing and never made a serious attempt to match the physicality of the Jets defense and establish a consistent, serious ground attack, especially into the second quarter, when the Bucs were trailing by 6 and 9 points. (When your offensive line is getting whipped on each play, I can undestand you've got to try something else. Then again, when your rookie QB is taking sacks and tossing picks, trying to establish the run can at least limit some negative plays that set up Jet scores.)

From there, things just got worse. Zero first half yards. No, that is not a mistype. Zero yards. Even with the immovable Kris Jenkins on IR, Jeff Faine and the guards got NO push against the interior of that Jet defensive line, leading to a porous 1.4 YPC for Caddy, Ward, and Graham.

The aggressive Jet defense got in Freeman's face early and often, bringing him down and/or forcing some ill-fated throws. As I noted in my game preview, the Jets love to blitz multiple guys from the same side, and they did just that. Their blitz of choice was to overload the right side of the Buccaneer offensive line and go after Freeman, mainly on 2nd and 3rd down. One drive-killing sack put the Bucs back deep at their own 6 yard line, which eventually led to a Jay Feely field goal. A 4th quarter blitz off the left side collapsed the pocket, contributing to Freeman's off-target mid-range throw and Revis' game-clinching pick. Unfortunately, as I also discussed in my preview, the Buccaneers failed to make the aggressive Jet defense pay... to wit, by failing to run some running back screens, wide receiver bubble screens, and delayed swing/flat passes to the running backs and tight ends. Granted I didn't see everything in between trips to the beer stand, but I don't recall seeing them run a screen or designed play to get behind the blitz once.

Really, with very, very few (if any) positives coming out of this game, where does the onus of the blame lie for this debacle? There are plenty of culprits...

Offensive line: It's just so baffling that an experienced group of veteran lineman on this roster could be so ineffective as a unit this year. In keeping with the season-long trend of the Bucs inability to establish a ground game, the Buccaneer running backs managed a meager 22 yards on 16 carries... less than a yard and a half per tote. It's tough for a back to run through a wall, and the holes just weren't there at all. As Davin Joseph said on his radio show last week, the Buc line has gone from a primary zone-blocking scheme to a mixture of zone and assignment-blocking schemes. I've got to go back and watch a little bit more, but the two-gap system clearly gave them fits and I've got to wonder if playing against the Jets' defense, which switched between base 3-4 and 4-2 nickel fronts, confused our guys and led to an increased number of missed assignments. Regardless, to put things into perspective about this line, when's the last time this offense executed an interior run, where a large hole opened up and our back got to the second level and ripped off a 20-40+ yard run??? This unit just isn't getting the push needed to hit some big plays on the ground and consistently move the chains.

Coaching: It's the same coach-speak, week in week out, and this week was no different. The coaches were going to make a conscious effort to be physical... to run the football consistently and establish a running game. That plan might have been nipped in the bud by the halftime score, but I don't think they had created enough plays to overcome the Jets' blitzes. Same spread formation, same mid-to-deep range passing plays. No screens or swing passes to negate the blitzes. Raheem Morris admitted today at his presser that he didn't have the team ready to go Sunday. I think that's true with both the milquetoast offensive game plan and lack of urgency, hustle, and toughness that was noticeably absent on Sunday. Even though the offensive line is underperforming, it's incumbent on Morris to find a way to get some balance into this offense and some success on the ground. It's just not getting done. To be fair, the defense has played better with Raheem running the defense and their gap penetration has limited the gaping holes to the linebackers and secondary for opposing backs (even a little better than the Bucs did in the last four games of the 2008 season), but at the end of the day, the numbers continue to demonstrate this being a defense that yields alot of yards.

Josh Freeman: For the third straight week, he looked like the rookie he is. It's starting to look like defenses are figuring out that Freeman locks onto receivers and that if you keep an underneath 3-LB basic zone coverage (not even a zone blitz where they drop an end or 3-4 OLB, but a simple drop zone coverage), you can break up the mid-range pass or turn him over. First pass of the game was an unmitigated disaster to a completely blanketed AB. Whenever AB, Brian Clark, or Kellen Winslow managed to get a slight bit of separation, Freeman continually missed them. His pass behind AB in the first half killed one drive and his pass behind Brian Clark in the 4th quarter led to the final Jet score that salted the game away. He looked every bit as green as he is and appears to be regressing since exploding onto the scene. Time will only tell if his dropoff can be attributed to the dual role of Olson as coordinator/QB coach (check out BucWild's article from today... fantastic read), or if his NFL production can be expected to be as inconsistent as his college numbers turned out at Kansas State.

Defense: Well, what can you really say when you're on the field the entire game? Our overworked D held Thomas Jones to just under 100 yards rushing on 24 carries. Not terrible, considering the Jet front pounded our front 7 with 39 designed runs to the Jet running backs and wide receivers... but still... 175 rushing yards and 4.4 YPC is not particularly great. Missed tackles in the middle and a bad angle from Tanard Jackson led to a 33-yard TD run from Thomas Jones, putting the Bucs in a huge hole early. The Bucs also were beat in coverage in one-on-one situations and were lucky that Kellen Clemens missed some open receivers. By contrast, the Jets' defense was a pillar of consistency on each play and showed what great defenses do... execute on every single play. The longest Buccaneer run of the game was 6 measly yards, and the Bucs failed to hit any big play in the passing game that could turn the tide of the game or, heck, even flip the field a time or two.

What were your impressions from Sunday's game?

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

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

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

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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.

Jets Flight Connections 120909

dvdvil — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:52:00 -0000

Rich Cimini wants QB Mark Sanchez to sit out on Sunday. He also turns an innocent compliment by FB Tony Richardson on the running game into a negative assessment of WR Braylon Edwards.

Peter King is impressed with the Jets rushing offense, and especially with OL Coach Bill Callahan.

RB Thomas Jones is performing very well and is up for another FedEx Ground Player award. He won this before in Week 6. Vote for him here. Vote early and often.

And I also want to remind everyone that so far, only G Alan Faneca is leading the Jets in the ProBowl voting. Vote for Revis, C Nick Mangold, LB David Harris and other deserving Jets here.

Jets practice squad FB Jason Davis also likes the run game and prepares like a starter. Another young guy on the squad is LB Jamaal Westerman, and I found this article on him.

Dave Hutchinson takes a quick look at the next game and reiterates that CB Darrelle Revis could be considered the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Mark Cannizzaro lauds HC Rex Ryan's in-game defensive adjustments. Larry to the Izzo compares Rex to Bill Belichick.

But Newsday's Roderick Boone says don't believe the Jets defense hype. (You can't actually read the full article without paying. Seriously, what the hell, Newsday?)

Maybe he's got a point, because despite the stats, the Jets are just a .500 team.

Hopefully, that will change on Sunday. Obviously, we are expected to beat Tampa Bay.

More connections after the jump.

Nick Mangold, Giants TE Kevin Boss and CB Corey Webster, the teams's owners and some fans stepped onto the field yesterday. Mangold talks about the stadium in this video.

The New Meadowlands Stadium will have removable endzone and midfield turfs. We will actually be seeing the Jets logo at the 50 yard line next year.

Find out more about the field turf here.

Some NFL kickers will not miss the current stadium and the swirling winds within it.

Sports Illustrated rates the Dewayne Robertson draft pick as the worst trade of the decade. Meanwhile, the Patriots are pretty much the best everything. Oh, and they also talk about this thing called SpyGate.

The branches of the Belichick coaching tree are not getting along.

In the loss to the Dolphins, are the Patriots players to blame and not the coaches?

Examiner.com blames last year's Jets meltdown not on QB Brett Favre, but on Jones and Coles. Vikings TE Vishanthe Shiancoe is confident the same thing won't happen in Minnesota.

WR Laveranues Coles is still adjusting to the Bengals system. His teammate Chad Ochocinco is having fun in Cincinnati - and paying for it.

Are we rooting for the Browns on Thursday? Steelers WR Hines Ward might miss that game.

Lastly, Kerry Locklin, we hardly knew ya.

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

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

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

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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).

Jets 17 Panthers 6: Finally Back on Track

John B — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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The Jets scored a win today, 17-6 over Carolina at the Meadowlands. New York is now 5-6. You had to like the fight this team showed after absorbing a butt kicking at New England last week. Is it too late to save the season? Perhaps, but the Jets at the very least can build some momentum and feel good about themselves heading into the offseason with a strong finish. This was a great start.

More after the jump.

The Good:

Darrelle Revis: I'm not really sure you can say much more about this guy. Steve Smith has incredible talent. He had 2 catches for 2 yards because Revis was covering him most of the day. It's just a given at this point that the Jets can take your top receiver completely away from you. Revis showed good awareness when the ball took a lucky hop to him on the first interception and found the endzone on the return. The second interception showed his elite catch up speed an ball skills. It all depends on whether the voters are paying attention, but I could see a Defensive Player of the Year Award for Mr. Revis in the not too distant future.

Kerry Rhodes: Let's give the coaching staff some credit on this one. Rhodes had been disappointing this year before this game. He looked like a new man out there as if a fire had been lit under him. He had a pair of interceptions. He drew an offensive interference call. He did well as a blitzer. We all expected to see him make a major jump this year. It didn't happen until now. Maybe this will be a turning point in a disappointing year like Dustin Keller's game against the Dolphins before the bye.

Eric Smith: You'd have to imagine he goes back to a reserve role next week after the game Rhodes played, but Smith was good in coverage and registered 8 tackles to lead the team with Jim Leonhard.

Jim Leonhard: Once again, 8 tackles. The safeties played big role in holding Carolina's dynamic running duo, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to a combined 75 yards on 25 carries.

David Harris: He was good against the run. He was good in coverage. He was good as a blitzer. What more can you ask from a starting linebacker? He had 7 tackles and a sack.

Mark Sanchez: Bad throw on the interception, but otherwise you had to like what you saw out of Mark. He made smart decisions, protecting the ball. He didn't try to do too much. It seems like he realized he's got a great defense and doesn't need to try and force impossible plays to win games. I know a lot of you wanted to see more progress out of Sanchez. I think we got that today. He was very efficient, and I can't think of a play he left on the field.

Defensive Line: Nobody really stood out, but these guys held their own in their matchups against a really good run blocking team. It's impressive the way this defense stepped up.

Dustin Keller Minus the Fumble: 4 catches for 68 yards. He was getting open over the middle a lot. It really feels like he's turning the corner.

The Bad:

Lack of Correcting Offensive Mistakes: The only thing I'm really going to complain about today seems to have occurred in preparation. There seems to be a lack of fundamentals from the offensive skill players. Against the Jaguars, Braylon Edwards had a killer fumble. That's the kind of thing the staff needs to catch on film and correct. Today when he ran in open field, he palmed the ball, leaving it exposed. Mark Sanchez has been leading head first into defenders since training camp. He did it against the Titans on a touchdown. Today he did it again (and this doesn't even touch on the play he didn't slide when he got hurt). Shonn Greene fumbled for the second time in four games after not fumbling at all in college. Dustin Keller cost the Jets an easy touchdown by not protecting the ball. I know it's speculative. I know the blame ultimately falls on the players. Maybe the staff has tried to correct these things. I'm still perturbed by the lack of fundamentals.

The Jets should celebrate. For the first time in a while, they have something to feel good about. They just can't celebrate too long. A short week, a trip to a foreign country, and an opponent coming off a big win today await.

New York Jets Run Defense vs. Carolina Panthers Run Offense

John B — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:15:40 -0000

by Patrick Semansky - AP

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Like the Jets, the Panthers own one of the best rushing attacks in the league. Unlike the Jets, they lean on two different backs instead of one. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart might be the best tailback tandem in football. Williams has 982 yards, 7 touchdowns, and a 5.1 average. Had the Panthers not snatched him up in the 2006 Draft right before the Jets went on the clock, there's a chance the Jets may have grabbed him instead of Nick Mangold. Stewart has 509 yards, 6 touchdowns, and a 4.6 average. Williams is the complete package as a runner. Stewart only really lacks breakaway speed. Stewart has been battling an Achilles injury but participated in practice fully on Friday and should be ready to go.

The Panthers are a great run blocking team. Ryan Kalil fights with Nick Mangold and Miami's Jake Grove for the title of best run blocking center. Sione Pouha and Howard Green will have their hands full. David Harris and Bart Scott had better be comfortable working in traffic. The Jets have shown more four man fronts since the Kris Jenkins injury. I wouldn't be surprised to see that trend continue. Carolina will miss Jordan Gross on the left side. Travelle Wharton represents a major downgrade at left tackle. The rest of the Panthers line is full of solid blockers from Jeff Otah to Keydrick Vincent to MacKenzy Bernadeau.

Carolina also has an excellent lead blocking fullback, Brad Hoover, although they do like to run a lot of three receiver and double tight sets so Hoover, who is battling an ankle injury may not see much time. It's going to be really important for the secondary to assist in run support. Muhsin Muhammad in particular is an excellent blocking receiver. Lito Sheppard might be called on to get off a block and make a key tackle when the Panthers send Williams outside.

Patriots 31 Jets 14: Bitter Revenge

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

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

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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.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:18 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

about 1 month ago: Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall is stopped by Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall during the third quarter of the NFL football game, Nov. 15, 2009 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Here we are again, with another loss to contend with. This one is worse than the last two, because this one looked like a sure victory when we were marking off W's and L's on the schedule. Of course, if Kyle Orton didn't get hurt, it probably is a W, and the Broncos are still sitting on a 1-game lead over the Chargers. Since that's not the way it played out, we have to do the other thing.

We'll get into the details, from soup to chocolate cake, and make some sense of all this, because that's what we do here. We'll explore what happened, we'll find some things to feel positive about, and we'll have some fun. Out of the echo chamber, and into the fire, y'all. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. There's a certain interconnectedness to a football game, and its outcome, among all phases of the game, and all 45 active players. I've talked about this many times before, and John Bena called the loss a team effort in his postgame writeup. I would call this a team effort whose final score is mostly attributable to the poor second half play of the offense, and mostly, of Chris Simms.

What I mean by that is this. Over the first 6 games of the season, the Broncos led the league in scoring defense. They were especially strong defensively in the second half of games. That trend has been turned on its head the last 3 weeks. The last two weeks, especially, I believe that the main reason why the defense struggled in the second half was that they were on the field for too many plays, due to the struggles of the offense. Each side of the ball needs to help the other. The Broncos have been getting shut down on offense, and worn down on defense, and it's been difficult to watch.

Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were going on and on Sunday night about how the Colts led the NFL in scoring defense heading into this week. If you've watched the Colts, they don't even have a particularly good defense, if there is any chance you can run the ball against them. They have allowed so few points because they deliberately shorten the game when they're on offense, and because once they get a lead, the strength of their defense comes to the fore. They rush the passer well with four men, and drop 7 men into cover-2. If you stay out of situations that are favorable to Indianapolis, you can gash their defense.

This is what has been happening to the Broncos as well. Remember - in the first 6 games, the offense did its best work in the second half of games. They possessed the ball, they took their time, and they methodically controlled the games. When the defense was on the field, they were fresh, they substituted frequently, and they made plays to get off the field quickly.

Kyle Orton played great in the first half Sunday, just as he'd played very well in the first half of the Pittsburgh game, (outside the one interception). For all the hollering that went on about his lack of deep throwing, he threw a couple very nice deep balls for TDs to Brandon Marshall, and he just barely missed another to Eddie Royal. That opened the field vertically. He also did a very nice job on a few bootleg throws to Tony Scheffler, and a crossing pattern to Marshall. Those plays stretched the field horizontally.

The Broncos had Washington where they wanted them. Remember, they moved the ball on the possession where Correll Buckhalter fumbled, and they had the 17-play drive at the end of the first half, to take the 3-point lead. The Orton injury changed the entire complexion of the game. Simms simply couldn't complete a pass, and didn't seem to know where to go with the ball, and a lot of good work by Knowshon Moreno was wasted.

Most teams will struggle when they lose their starting QB. That's a function of the fact that there aren't 32 good QBs in the NFL, let alone 64 of them. I came into this game thinking that the Broncos are in good shape with Simms, if they needed to use him. I hope that he shows better if he has to play against San Diego, after a week of first-team reps. I still do tend to think that Simms can play.

You hate to have a game get away from you because your backup QB couldn't cut it. The only thing worse would be if two games got away for that reason. I expect that Josh McDaniels will have Simms ready to go next week, and that the gameplan will play to his strengths, if they need to use him.

You have to be careful not to let one game unduly affect an evaluation of a team. All the time, teams lay eggs in games, and lose (or nearly lose) to teams they should blow out. Look no further than New Orleans on Sunday, who seemingly tried to lose to St. Louis. Not to say that Dallas should have blown out Green Bay, but they shouldn't have gotten dominated like they did, either.

There's a lot of Chicken Little stuff going on here, and the one thing that will stop it is a victory against San Diego next week. Yes, I know that the Chargers are on a winning streak and the Broncos are on a losing streak. Remember when the Broncos had won 6 in a row, and the Ravens had lost 3 in a row? The Broncos can beat San Diego, which we know, because they already have this season. If they win that game, they'll re-take command of the division, with a one-game lead, and a sweeping of the head-to-head matchup.

2. In the big-time matchup of the week, the Colts got a win against the Patriots, and on Monday, Bill Belichick is being blamed by everybody who doesn't like him personally (AKA just about everyone). The fact is, Belichick has never curried favor with the media, and reporters tend to be critical of you every chance they get, if you don't pay them their due deference.

Joe Biden could tell you all about how that works. He never trusted the media after their treatment of the death of his first wife and daughter in 1972, and it always hurt him later, particularly in his two Presidential bids. John McCain and Barack Obama both have very deft touches with the media, and longstanding strategies of providing them a lot of access, and it was no accident that both were the nominees of their parties in 2008. If you're going to be a public figure, there's a clear benefit to cultivating relationships with reporters. The thing is, not everybody has the stomach for it, and Belichick is one of those guys who doesn't. Brett Favre benefits immensely from his relationship-building efforts, to the point of it being sickening most of the time. I heard somewhere recently that Favre spends hours with the TV guys on Saturday afternoons, as long as they want to hang out, and they really can't help but love on him.

Back to the lecture at hand, I would have done exactly the same thing as Belichick in that game situation, in going for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28. Why did he do it? Because he was pretty close to certain that he would lose the game if he punted, that's why.

Let's say you go by the book, and punt. Over all 2,293 punts in the NFL in 2008, the average net change in field position was 39.53 yards. The right call, if you ask Peter King, or others, was to punt, and give Manning the ball at his own 32, with about 2 minutes, and all 3 timeouts left. I say that that is choosing to lose the game in a way that will leave the coach blameless, as far as the idiot media is concerned. Well, he trusted his defense, and he played the percentages; it's not the coach's fault. Except he didn't play the percentages.

First of all, let's get this nonsense about trusting your defense dispensed with. You should always trust your defense. Former defensive players like Tedy Bruschi, Matt Bowen, and old friend Tom Jackson love this line of thinking, but it's utter horse (manure). You should only trust your defense if you think they are likely to make the stop, and win you the game. If you think they aren't, then it's a fool's errand to trust them. You say to them, hey, realistically, you guys probably weren't going to stop Peyton Manning, which really doesn't make you much different from any other team's defense. There is no room for blind machismo, or making a statement, or worrying about hurt feelings; this is about winning football games, nothing more.

I didn't spend a great deal of time on it, but I took a look at every game recap for the Colts since 2005. (I think 4 ½ seasons is a reasonable sample size.) Since then, including the postseason, Manning has had the ball late in the game, trailing, on 19 occasions which I counted. He came through to either tie or take the lead 15 times, which is a 79% success rate. (In 2007, he was 1-for-4, which was pretty aberrant for this sample. Two of those misses were against the strong 2007 Chargers, whom the Colts struggled to pass-protect against.)

Here's the deal. Statistically, you have a 60% chance of picking up 4th and 2, but that probability is almost certainly greater, due to the fact that you have an outstanding offense, and the Colts have an average-at-best defense. If I were Belichick, I would have put my conversion probability at 70% for that play. That same source says that an average team returning a punt, given those field position- and time parameters, scores 53% of the time. We already know Manning succeeds 79% of the time, because he's one of the greatest QBs ever.

You can choose to probably win, or you can choose to probably lose, in one moment. What do you choose?

Belichick chose to probably win, and came up on the side where the probable outcome wasn't the actual outcome. Serious poker players know exactly what I am talking about here. Sometimes, you play the hand correctly, and you go all-in with the best cards, but you lose anyway. It's a fact of life. You accept it, and you don't complain about it, because you know you made the right call, regardless of the outcome. The next time you're faced with the same situation, you do the same thing, again, because it was the right call.

When I got home Monday night, all I saw and heard was TV talking heads second-guessing the decision. Stuart Scott pretty much butchered the stats, but he actually cited our friends at AdvancedNFLStats.com. The shockingly anti-intellectual Steve Young promptly claimed that the stats aren't legitimate (except they are). We got to hear from Tedy Bruschi how he'd feel as a defensive player on the Patriots, as if that's germane to anything at all. Trent Dilfer's blood boils when he hears the "other side" of the argument, AKA the correct side. Blah, blah, blah. (Sorry, brief possession by an ex-wife-like-entity again.)

Just imagine the reaction if Kevin Faulk had made the 2 yards. The stories today would have been about the stones on Belichick, and how he is such a great coach to make a risky call. It would be like Mike Shanahan going for 2 in the Hochuli Game last season. (Shanahan correctly thought that was his best chance to win. He felt he had a better-than-50 percent chance of scoring the conversion, and he knew that he had a 50% chance of winning a coin toss, and about a 98% chance that the Chargers would score in overtime, if he lost the toss.)

I'm no great defender of Belichick, the man, but when he's right, he's right. If it's an average QB, and an average offense, you might punt in that situation, but against Manning, that's always going to be the wrong call on 4th and 2. Once again, Belichick is smarter than the average bear, and smarter than every member of the football MSM.

3. Information From My Eyes - Broncos at Redskins

a. All four deep throws Orton made were good throws. Eddie Royal misjudged the one incompletion, and Brandon Marshall got out-fought by DeAngelo Hall on the second, but both were definitely well-thrown balls.

b. That fake field goal was a debacle, but I don't personally blame Mike Priefer. My goat on that play is Darrell Reid, who was telling Marcus Thomas to cover Mike Sellers, while he decided to contain the left edge of the offense, as the play flowed right. Alphonso Smith caught some initial blame, but I disagree there. He was in deep center field, and flowed with the play, like anybody would coach him to. Who knew Hunter Smith could throw back across the field?

c. Ryan Clady got beat badly once on Sunday. That doesn't happen often at all, obviously. That's the first sack he allowed that I would say was fully on him.

d. From the department of good news, Matt Prater doesn't seem to be having a second-half slump this season.

e. I was very impressed with Knowshon Moreno's vision and quickness on Sunday.

f. I've already made my evaluation of Mitch Berger, so everybody knows where I am at on that one. I saw somewhere where Frank Schwab, some beat reporter, speculated that Mitch Berger's 65-yard punt might save his job. If a kick that went about 42 yards in the air, and rolled 23 on the ground can do that, something absurd is going on.

g. I had a busy workday Monday, which set my schedule back, and is unfortunately going to preclude me from taking the time to do Between The Lines this week.

On watching the game a second time, though, it occurred to me that the bulk of Washington's success in running the ball was on zone-blocked plays. As I think about it, the Broncos haven't faced much of that this season at all; really just Oakland, who does it crappily. That's really something to work on, because the lateral movement seemed to unsettle the Broncos defensive line.

h. D.J. Williams got blocked a lot, and took a lot of bad angles. Again. This is getting to be an annoying habit.

i. Andra Davis continued to be a bright spot. He is a terrific blitzer and has a great sense of timing for delaying his rush. His missed tackle on that Devin Thomas catch and run in the 4th quarter was bad, but he otherwise graded out very well.

j. On a painful second pass watching the game, Chris Simms lacked timing with the receivers, as much as anything. Every throw was a little late. It seems like Orton may be able to play next Sunday, but if it's Simms, I hope a week's worth of reps will help him build some timing.

4. Information From My Eyes - Other Games:

a. I was really curious to see the Buffalo-Tennessee game, and I recorded the Short Cut overnight, and watched the game Monday evening. Why would I care about this game? Well, the two teams played in the Hall of Fame Game, way back when it was still warm in Cleveland, and my girlfriend at the time called at halftime to break up with me.

In that game, the Bills couldn't block Tennessee, and the Titans looked like a Super Bowl team. So, I wanted to watch Sunday's game, because I wanted a good sense of where these two teams are. Tennessee probably isn't going to make the playoffs, after starting 0-6, but they've righted their ship, and they'd be trouble if they did make it. Their defensive line is still nasty, and I continue to be impressed with the job William Hayes is doing in replacing Jevon Kearse.

b. On the other side, the Bills still are below average on their offensive line. Their two highly-drafted rookies, Eric Wood, and Andy Levitre, particularly struggled, as they both had in the preseason game. Levitre even ended up playing some LT, due to an injury, and he really struggled outside. Wood got pushed backwards consistently in the passing game, and he's been generally pretty good as a rookie. The Bills need to shore up their offensive line in the offseason, and I am sure their new head coach will make that a priority, if they hire a competent one.

c. I am ready to make a pronouncement. If Vince Young couldn't run, he'd be the second coming of Trent Dilfer. He really isn't much of a thrower of the ball, and he leaves too much air under his throws. You can get by with him in a run-heavy offense, which is what the Titans really are.

Because he can run, he adds a useful element, and the team is really dangerous on option plays, and QB runs. His running ability can dictate that teams play man-to-man defense, and keep a guy out of coverage to spy him. Really, the Titans are back to being the 10-6ish team they were in 2007. I think they'll ultimately decide to stick with Young for next season, and look to build up the interior of their offensive line, and their back 7 on defense.

d. It seems like forever ago, but I did watch the Chicago-San Francisco game intently last Thursday. I think my first thought that I'd like to share is that the Bears defense played like they had some pride. I think Tommie Harris playing well made a huge difference. He is really the key to their whole scheme. I ripped him, and them, last week, and I told the guy from WCG who took exception that I'd say when they played well on defense. They did.

e. I don't really feel like I should say anything about Jay Cutler, because this column aims to stay away from saying obvious things. I'll just say it must be nice to have so many apologists when you mess up. He's like the second coming of Ronald Reagan with how teflon he is.

(Tangential ST&NO story - Reagan is a member of my fraternity. When he died in June of 2004, I was a senior at CSU, and President of my chapter, and I was asked to go on local television, to talk about Reagan as a fraternity man. Our guys did a fundraiser, and jumped on a trampoline for 54 straight days in the 80s, to break a Guinness record, while Frater Ronnie was POTUS. He sent us a congratulatory letter, so I focused on that with the news chick, Angie Lau. I had nothing but nice things to say, as Ronnie was definitely a good fraternity man.)

f. Peter King is really proud of himself for naming San Francisco's Aubrayo Franklin a midseason All-Pro as a NT. When Franklin got that scoring-area INT early on last Thursday, I kind of groaned, because I knew there was going to be some crowing about it.

I never have felt like Franklin jumped out, so I watched him closely, and my review is mixed. He didn't play a lot of snaps, so I wonder about his conditioning. He did play pretty stout against the run at times, and I felt like he was a good player overall when he was on the field. I could easily name 10-12 interior defensive players who are better, though. I guess it's fun to have a guy who is your guy, though.

g. Is Marc Bulger a veteran QB? I have always thought he was, but his command of clock management seemed really bad on Sunday. The Rams had a pretty good shot to beat the Saints, and Bulger and his receivers blew it. Man, I can't tell you how much I would hate to be associated with that team, in any capacity. It's got to be so disheartening to have no talent, be almost completely uncompetitive, then have a chance to beat an undefeated team, and blow it. Can you imagine what it's like to be a fan of such a team?

h. Reggie Bush had a really big game for the Saints on Sunday, stepping up from his usual "highly-paid-decoy" role. It's interesting to speculate on how the Saints value him. Obviously, they don't think he's a full-time RB, but he's paid like he's Adrian Peterson. I'd be happy to have him as a swing player, between RB and WR, but he's a backup at both positions, and I'd only pay him backup money. We'll soon see what the Saints think, because if I recall correctly, his contract is pretty well back-loaded.

i. Josh Freeman continues to look like he's the real deal for the Buccaneers, and Raheem Morris continues to look like he's gotten his bearings as a Head Coach. Both did a nice job in Sunday's game, despite Miami's comeback victory.

j. Speaking of Miami, I want to address the "Wildcat." The Dolphins are the only team which has had a lot of success with it, and every time they have a game with limited success, somebody speculates that the "trend" has run its course.

The thing is, Miami doesn't treat it like a trend. They treat it as a key part of the way they play offense, which puts their best players on the field together. They are committed to it, and they will continue to run it. They trade the disadvantage of being formationally unlikely to throw for the advantage of having 2-3 players who are good ball-carriers, who might get the ball in the running game. Other teams are finding that the direct-snap game maybe doesn't work for them. For Miami, it will continue to be an important part of their gameplan.

k. Joey Porter has had a pretty sub-par year, and he was a healthy scratch on Sunday. That raised some eyebrows, and Tony Sparano wouldn't comment on it. It actually parallels Adalius Thomas basically being shut down by the Patriots. Both teams are showing that having a big name and a big salary doesn't guarantee playing time, if you aren't producing on the field. Expect both players to be released after the season.

l. Another game I decided to watch on Monday was Jacksonville at the Jets. The Jets miss Kris Jenkins terribly, and their defense is nowhere near as good as it was when he was healthy. They are having to scheme to stop the inside run, and to keep Bart Scott and David Harris clean, and these things used to just happen. I expect New England to blow them out this coming week.

m. I can see why people like Mark Sanchez, but I continue not to be a fan. He's well-coached, and he has excellent fundamentals. I just think he's very limited as a natural thrower of the ball. I consider him to be a poor man's Matt Ryan, which is another way of calling him a middle class man's Chad Pennington.

Sanchez plays in a windy place, which I have noted before, and that's going to always be an issue. Another issue is that the offensive scheme he is playing in is very vertical, and Sanchez is a poster boy for the West Coast Offense. Rex Ryan inherited Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator, but I don't think Schottenheimer and Sanchez are a very good match. I have to wonder if the Jets don't make a change in the offseason, to bring in somebody to make the passing game's design more horizontal. Mike Shanahan could do wonders with Sanchez, although he won't be going to New York.

Really, as I think about it, if Sanchez and Jason Campbell could trade offensive coaching staffs, they'd probably both be much better off. Two owners traded teams once; why couldn't this happen?

n. There was a crazy sequence in the third quarter, where Sanchez threw an interception to Quentin Groves, then Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled at the goal line, and then Braylon Edwards fumbled at the end of a 41-yard catch. It was a whole lot of ugly going on at once, like the perennially sloppy tendencies of the Jaguars were rubbing off on the Jets.

o. Torry Holt was a great player for many years, despite playing for some obscure St. Louis teams. Really, you could make a case that he was a better player than a few Hall of Famers. (How about Art Monk, Steve Largent, and Lynn Swann to name a few?) I would go so far as to say that he was better than any WR the Broncos have had in my lifetime, a little ahead of Rod Smith.

My point in giving Holt credit, is that I have to say that I think he is getting pretty close to the end of the line. He has really struggled to get any separation, in the times I have watched him this season. He had two strong games, against St. Louis (bad defense) and Seattle (garbage time in a 41-0 game), but I haven't been impressed with his recent work.

p. I loved the call by the Jaguars to have Jones-Drew take a knee and run the clock out. His apology to his fantasy owners made me cringe, though. I may be 7-3 in the official MHR league, but fantasy football is at odds with my beliefs about football, and I have a hard time reconciling the two things.

q. I couldn't talk myself into watching the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game. Sorry, I know it was a key game, but a game with zero offensive touchdowns offends my sensibilities. (Just in case you were wondering why I had nothing on this game.) I'm sure it was ugly, and I feel fine, personally, having seen the highlights. When I walk into a smelly restroom, I get out as quick as possible. No need to hang around for half an hour, to have a good idea what happened there.

r. Jake Delhomme had a dangerously solid game on Sunday. It was the type of fool's gold performance that makes the regime think they are okay with him as their QB, and really, Jake has been having those games his whole career. The Panthers are suddenly 4-5, and back in the picture for a Wild Card spot, but I really believe that they need a better QB if they ever want to really compete for a championship.

s. Matt Ryan struggled mightily again on Sunday, and his two interceptions were a lot of the reason the Falcons lost the game. His first INT, in the second quarter, led to a TD which set the Falcons behind 21-10. The one he threw in the 4th quarter was converted 3 plays later into the TD which put the game away for Carolina.

Don't get me wrong; Ryan is mostly a good QB, but he has definite limitations, which I have highlighted in the past. He really struggles to beat tight coverage, and he's seen a lot of it lately.

t. Speaking of Hall of Fame-caliber guys who look washed up, old friend Jason Elam seems to have really lost his fastball. He's now 9 for 14, and he's only 3 for 6 between 30 and 39 yards. I would be surprised if he kicks after this season.

u. I always thought Beanie Wells was soft when he was at Ohio State, and he didn't do a lot early this season to change my mind. Lately, though, he's shown a lot better, and he's a big reason why the Cardinals are 6-3, and squarely in control of the NFC West. I've also been more impressed with the play of RT Levi Brown than ever before. He's been blowing some people off the ball in the running game.

v. The Chargers have been really tough in the scoring area lately. Of course, the Eagles helped them out by not even trying to run the ball down there. You have to make the defense think that they have to defend everything, or else they are at a distinct advantage. Only getting field goals of 18, 25, and 25 yards on visits deep into San Diego territory was the difference in that game. A defense can get shredded, as the Chargers did, and if they toughen up in the scoring area, they make up for it. A lot of Donovan McNabb's 450 yards were low-quality.

w. The Chargers sure are paying Darren Sproles a lot of money not to participate very much on offense. He's a lot like Reggie Bush, in being a highly-paid decoy who is never going to be much more than what he is.

x. Hey, Adam Schefter. From a money guy, "large" means thousand. When you say "two hundred fifty thousand large," that means $250 Million. He said that on Monday Night Countdown (Served by Applebee's... really). People misspeak all the time; I just wanted to make sure he knows what "large" means. This is coming from a helpful place.

y. I have to hand it to the Browns. They played really well on defense Monday night. Their offense is just so terrible, that it's no use. Those defensive players are playing for jobs next year, whether it be in Cleveland under a new regime, or elsewhere. Guys who show some pride and effort on bad teams will have some good film for their agents to shop them with. Guys who pack it in will be out of the league, like so many guys who played defense in Denver last season.

z. I actually like to listen to MNF nowadays, as I finish ST&NO every week. The main reason is that I actually think that both Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden are value-adding to listen to. The guys at Mickey Mouse-land spent so many years looking for a good third man, with such horrible results, and they've finally found a good 3-man booth. I actually don't like Mike Tirico, who is good at basketball, but bad at football play-by-play (much like Joe Buck is great with baseball, and abysmal with football).

5. I know the Bengals have always been willing to take on troubled players, but it's hard to imagine what they are thinking in reportedly bringing in Larry Johnson. As LJ was to be the key RB on the Shallow Thoughts team in the official MHR Fantasy League, I can tell you that his performance has been garbage this season. Some of his bad performance can certainly be attributed to bad offensive line play in Kansas City, but Johnson is clearly lacking quickness to the hole, and the leg drive he had in his prime. I just don't see what value the Bengals are going to get out of him.

I've reached midnight, and unfortunately, I need to call it a night. My company is in the process of being acquired, which has caused me to be much busier than normal at this time of the month, and I have an early morning meeting Tuesday. I hope you enjoy this edition of ST&NO, and have a great week. I'll see you all again next Tuesday, hopefully with time to give you my normal output.

First Half of the Season Shows Jets Have a Solid Foundation

John B — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:52:21 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

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There's a lot of pessimism in Jets land right now. That's easy to understand. After a 3-0 start, 4-4 seems like a disappointment, especially considering how it has happened. There's only one loss where the Jets were simply outexecuted, the Monday night game at Miami. In the other three, New York registered a ton of self-inflicted wounds. The thing people need to remember, though, is the Jets aren't looking just for this year. They want to build something special over the long haul. They are well on their way.

It's really tough to win with a rookie quarterback in the NFL. Starting 4-4 is a great start for Mark Sanchez. He's played two bombs of games. He had a game against the Raiders where he was asked to do very little. The other five games have been somewhere between good and excellent. He's looked composed beyond his years for the most part. He was developed in a pro system at USC, which is a novelty in today's college game with everybody going to a spread offense. He played against pro caliber competition at practice every day. It shows. He looked special in a second half comeback against the Patriots after struggling in the first half and when he twice shredded Miami's secondary trailing in second halves. I think everybody would agree Sanchez has looked like he has belonged, which is pretty incredible for a rookie quarterback. The number don't look that great, but they don't tell the whole story. The two bad games killed the stat sheet. In those games, he did things with the ball that experience and coaching correct (locking onto receivers, leaving the ball exposed for pass rushers, forcing throws).

Quarterback is one of the two most important people on a football team. A team with a good young quarterback is in good shape over the long term. A team with a good quarterback and a good head coach is in great shape, and it looks like the Jets have found a good head coach. You have to be thrilled with the job Rex Ryan has done to this point. He's instilled a lot of confidence in the locker room. It would be one thing if he was just popping off to the press. He's not. When players make big comments to the press, it's an indication they believe in their head coach and want to help him back up the talk. These guys went into a Week 2 game against the Pats expecting to win and broke New England's long domination of the Jets at the Meadowlands. Winning over a locker room is only part of the job, though. The hard part is coaching a team to reach its potential. Ryan has improved the Jets to the second ranked defense in the league. Their pass rush is one of the fiercest in football. They hit Tom Brady around half the time he dropped back in Week 2. They totally confused Matt Schaub, who has played great football the rest of the season. When the Dolphins ran all over them in Week 5, Ryan adjusted his scheme to get bigger and run blitzed his secondary more to shut down their rushing attack. He's shown great acumen for X's and O's. When a coach wins a locker room and shows he knows how to game plan and adjust, he's a good one.

Let's not forget about Mike Tannenbaum. He's shown himself to have a bright football mind since he took over running the team. Look at all of the successful moves he's made through the Draft. He's hit on D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold, Leon Washington, Darrelle Revis, and David Harris, all of whom look like Pro Bowl caliber players in the Draft in his four years. He's also added Dwight Lowery, who appears on the verge of developing into a quality starter. Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene look like hits also. He's made bold moves for Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, and Bart Scott, all guys who fit a need in the system. There's a big difference between doing what the Redskins do, accumulating names without regard for age or how they fit, with what the Jets do, wisely shop for guys in their prime to fill needs in the system. He signed Tony Richardson. Even the ill-fated Brett Favre trade showed something good about Tannenbaum. He's not afraid to make a bold move if he sees a weakness and isn't afraid of having something blow up in his face. He's shown himself to have a firm grasp of the salary cap from the job he did getting the Jets out of cap hell in '05 while fielding a Playoff team in '06 to making moves like giving Kerry Rhodes and Calvin Pace roster bonuses in their contracts to make the cap situation better in '08 which could be converted into signing bonuses a year later for cap flexibility then. He knows how to work the cap.

What does this mean? The Jets have a good young quarterback, a good head coach, a good nucleus, and a general manager making good moves to suppliment the talent. I wouldn't write off this year. There's a decent chance the defense just lifts this team on its back and carries it to the Playoffs. Even if that doesn't happen, don't get too upset. This club is building a foundation for long term success.