SB Nation - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A lesson on judging play calls from Bill Belichick...sort of.

Niko Houllis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:01:07 -0000

Scott Norwood's 47 yard FG attempt in SuperBowl XXV from Tampa,FL

As anyone who has read BucEm for more than ten minutes this week knows, there has been a lot of heat on OC Greg Olsen for his play calling. Since youve read this far, your an avid Buc'em reader and you know how I feel on the subject for the most part. Since there is a moral to this story, the comment section and FanPost/shots section are too small for this.

It is true, that there is a time and place for a proper play call. Its also true and I'm sure every agrees that any play has any possible chance to succeed at any time, but they have their share of odds to succeed or fail.

If its 3rd and 22 from your own 20 yard line and there is only 30 seconds left in the game and you have no timeouts, running the ball is not only stupid, its giving up. Going into a game situation where you are at the opponents 1 inch line, its first and goal, plenty of time left, and you throw the ball 4 times, is pretty silly too.

Now you don't have to be a football expert to see these examples are extremes to say the least. But the line between extremes and an extreme game plan are a little harder to discern. Jon Grudens 48 passes in the crazy wind in Giants Stadium with a rookie Bruce Gradkowski was crazy by anyones definition. Yet two dropped passes by Michael Clayton and Joey Galloway could have seriously changed the outcome of that game. Would a win though change the outlook on the game plan as being unsound?

So when I say that for the most part, complaining about play calls is usually very inaccurate, Im more than referring to the fact that any play, even a 3rd and 22 run has a chance to succeed, and that even if it does, its still not going to be looked at as a smart call. But where is the line we draw where the outcome DOES determine if a playcall is a 'good' or 'Bad' one?

Probably no one has the right to tell us this info, but with the advent of Madden Football games, your average football fan can now 'judge' their play calling abilities against a computer. Some, like every facet in life, take it to the extreme and think they are capable of doing the real thing better than the real people! ...and some really could!

But to me, the perfect example of a good play call is a successful one and a bad play call is one that fails, is found in a story about one of today's best coaches, and his shining moment in history.

Unfortunately, you will have to jump to read on...

Our story is about Coach Bill Belichick, but not Head Coach Bill Belichick, but head defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, of the New York Football Giants. The Head Coach is Bill Parcells, and Belichick is his prized DC. The year is 1990, and the Giants win the NFC Championship game and must face the powerful Buffalo Bills in the Superbowl.

Now keep in mind, hindsight is perfect 20/20 vision. We know now the Buffalo Bills are 0 for 4 Superbowl contestants, but at this time, Buffalo was considered an almost unstoppable offense. And the Giants would have to face Buffalo without Phil Simms, their starting QB who had been knocked out for the season, giving way to back up Jeff Hostetler.

So Bill Belichik devised his defensive game plan. It had all of the Giants defensive players up in arms. The plan? Allow Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas to get 100 yards rushing. According to Bill's master plan, the Giants defense must set itself up in a way to allow Thomas to get 100 yards of rushing, something any defense prides itself on its ability to PREVENT! Having their trust of course, the G men obliged.

He explained that this would give the Bills a confidence that they could run the ball successfully against the Giants when they needed to, which they did. Everytime Buffalo was in a short yardage situation, they ran the ball, and usually picked up the first down, and fell right into the Giant's DC gameplan.

Because as you know, when you run the ball, you eat up clock time. On the other side of the ball, the Giants were running Otis Anderson. He too gained 100 yards, and between the two, running the ball, kept the powerful Buffalo passing game either on the bench, or held in check as they felt more comfortable running the ball for 5 yards and a first down than passing for it, which would have probably gotten the 1st down and more yards.

While the game plan kept Buffalo's powerful passing game from making a difference in the game, Buffalo's equally powerful running game gave the Bills one last chance to win this game. The Bills moved the ball in the final minutes getting Buffalo Kicker Scott Norwood lined up for his now infamous 47 yard field goal attempt.

It was wide right. The Bills lost.

Bill Belichick's defensive game plan now sits in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio. The defensive game plan, in the Hall of Fame, is considered pure genius. How a great defense like the NY Giants would set up a game plan designed to give up 100 yard rushing attack because he knew it would turn Buffalo's running game into a weapon against itself put not only the game plan in the Hall of Fame, but earned fame for Belichick as well.

But all of it hinged on Scott Norwood missing his 47 yard FG attempt. If Norwood nails his kick, Buffalo wins, and the Giants defensive game plan looks like the stupidest plan in the history of the league! Why would you give up 100 yards on purpose?!?

The moral of the story; Most times, not all, not always, not every time, A good play call is one that works, and when it doesn't work, well, it just wasn't that good of a call.

Jet Memories Countdown #3- The Payback

Niko Houllis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:00:26 -0000

Yesterday we went over Jet Memory number 4, When John McKay in his last game as a Head Coach tried to get James Wilder the ball back at the end of the game in order to get him 19 more yards to set an NFL record. He had his chance, but came up short; but he got his chance because McKay ordered his linebackers to backup and let the Jets score a TD.

Jets players took offense to this act though..although no one knew if they would because a lot of players were new to both teams, as were the new coaching staff.

So here we are the next year, 1985, and the Bucs were having a worse year than before. They were 0-9, and finally won a game 16-0 over the Cardinals. So a happy 1-9 Bucs team traveled up north to take on the Jets. Terry Bradshaw and Verne Lundquist were calling the game, and the Jets were all over the Bucs. Verne asked Bradshaw if players remembered the year before! You will love his answer before and after the first half!

The score at the end of the first half was the same score as the game the year before; 41 to 21, only reversed!..and at half time!

In the end, the Bucs gave up the most amount of points they have ever given up. They lost 62 to 28, and the best part is the Bucs scored first!

Twice! It was 14-0 Bucs before the Jets knew what happened. The Jets had us right where they wanted us!

Antonio Bryant's Sticky Fingers is one of three Cant Miss Plays of the Week on Sprint/NFL.com

Niko Houllis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:00:20 -0000

We are moving up I guess, as this is the second time now in two weeks the Bucs have a highlight in the Sprint/NFL.com "Cant Miss Plays of the Week" series. The play for the Bucs is Antonio Bryant's fingertip catch on the sideline where he tip taps his feet inbounds.

So go Vote for the Cant Miss Plays of the Week and you could win a one of 17 trips to go to the Superbowl!

The other two plays are the Raiders 75 yard TD against the Steelers, and the Saints unusual TD where the ball is stripped from a Redskin who picks the ball off!

Previewing the Enemy: Washington Redskins

Rated-R Superstar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:39:28 -0000

It's a Super Bowl XVIII rematch! [via prod.static.raiders.clubs.nfl.com]

Alright, it's not quite a rematch from Super Bowl XVIII when the Raiders smashed the Redskins en route to their third Super Bowl title in franchise history. Nonetheless, this Sunday, the Oakland Raiders (4-8) will look to put together a winning streak as the Washington Redskins (3-9) will be coming to town. Don't let that 3-9 record fool you. This Washington team is better than their record and it clearly showed after taking Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans to the wire. They don't lay down and will play hard. With the team 2-1 with Bruce Gradkowski starting, the Raiders look to come away with another hard-earned victory as they did last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers as 15-point underdogs.

Let's take a look at their schedule and see how they've fared so far.

Week 1: @ New York Giants -- L, 17-23
Week 2: St. Louis Rams -- W, 9-7
Week 3: @ Detroit Lions -- L, 14-19
Week 4: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- W, 16-13
Week 5: @ Carolina Panthers -- L, 17-20
Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs -- L, 6-14
Week 7: Philadelphia Eagles -- L, 17-27
Week 8: Bye Week
Week 9: @ Atlanta Falcons -- L, 17-31
Week 10: Denver Broncos -- W, 27-17
Week 11: @ Dallas Cowboys -- L, 6-7
Week 12: @ Philadelphia Eagles -- L, 24-27
Week 13: New Orleans Saints -- L, 30-33 (F/OT)

Well, this team is certainly interesting. Sitting at 3-9, this team could easily be 6-6 or even better. We will have to bring our "A" game, of course, if we want to secure a victory on our home field this Sunday.

Let's check out the Redskin offense first.

Pass Offense Rank: 220.2 yards/game; 18th in NFL
Rush Offense Rank: 101.0 yards/game; 22nd in NFL
Total Offense Rank: 321.2 yards/game; 21st in NFL
Scoring Offense Rank: 16.7 points/game; 26th in NFL

With stars Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis out, others must step up for the Redskins. [via cache.daylife.com]

If you recall, the Redskins offense was the subject of some controversy or what not concerning head coach Jim Zorn. Well, he gave up his play-calling duties to assistant Sherman Lewis. Since then, the offense has performed better. Who is the leader of this Redskins offense? I really don't know to be honest with you. Let's look a little bit into their personnel.

Jason Campbell, QB: Many people questioned Campbell's status as the quarterback this season. He was even benched in favor of veteran Todd Collins earlier. To me, Campbell is actually a pretty solid quarterback. He isn't going to set the world on fire or anything, but he can still hurt you. Campbell is completing 66 percent of his passes this season even if they are "dinks and dunks" most of the time. With 15 turnovers and 15 touchdown passes, Campbell's ratio isn't all that great. He has been sacked three or more times in five games. Obviously, getting some pressure on him would be nice.

Rock Cartwright, HB: Rock is solid, just like a rock. (Ha, get it?) If you want him to be the running back, he can. If you want him to be the fullback, he can. He'll even run back kicks and run down there on punt returns. He is a threat out of the backfield to catch passes. A somewhat physical runner, Cartwright doesn't really stand out in terms of either his speed or his strength. Cartwright has stepped up for the injured Clinton Portis (concussion), who just put on injured reserve. Also on injured reserve is Portis' backup Ladell Betts, so the Redskins are thin at running back.

Quinton Ganther, HB: Ganther, just in his second year out of Utah, is someone I just don't know too much about. Essentially moving up from fourth on the depth chart to splitting time with Cartwright, Ganther was mildly successful against the Saints last Sunday with 46 yards on just 8 carries. The week before that against the Eagles, Ganther had 32 yards on just 5 carries. We may see more of him against the Raiders with him averaging 5.8 yards per carry over the past few weeks.

Santana Moss, WR: The pint-sized and speedy Moss is Washington's leader in receptions (49), yards (642) and touchdowns (3). He is what you would call the team's go-to-guy, but really the Redskins have a lot of guys they go to. Still, Moss provides that veteran presence and can't be overlooked. Maybe this would be one of the few times where I wouldn't mind Nnamdi Asomugha moving around from receiver to receiver, which he will at least a little bit.

Wide receiver Devin Thomas had two touchdowns last week against the Saints. [via a.espncdn.com]

Devin Thomas, WR: The second-year receiver out of Michigan State, Thomas is a young man seemingly improving with each game of late. He has even been prominent in the kick return game of the past two weeks. Still, he has shined brightly in the passing game over the course of those two same weeks. After a decent game against the Eagles, he broke out for 7 receptions, 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week against the Saints.

Antwaan Randle El, WR: The ex-Steeler is still in Washington. Randle El, who is very durable having missed only one game in his eight-year career, he is a dependable target for Campbell despite only averaging 3.3 receptions per game. I believe this is more in part to the number of targets the Redskins like to use. The team isn't confined to both Moss and Rande El as you will see here in a minute in this preview.

Fred Davis, TE: After Campbell's favorite target Chris Cooley went down for the year, someone had to step up. Unknown at the time to Washington, it'd be his replacement. Fred Davis. Since October 26, Davis is averaging 7.5 catches and 45.7 yards with finding the end zone three times, including two times in his last three games. As most tight ends are, he is a threat in the red zone and Campbell has no problem looking his way.

Let's shift gears to the Redskin defense now.

Pass Defense Rank: 190.2 yards/game; 5th in NFL
Rush Defense Rank: 121.8 yards/game; 24th in NFL
Total Defense Rank: 312.0 yards/game; 9th in NFL
Scoring Defense Rank: 19.8 points/game; 14th in NFL

Linebacker London Fletcher leads Washington's better-than-you-think defense. [via cdn.bleacherreport.com]

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache and his Washington Redskins actually have a pretty solid group defensively operating out of the 4-3. You may not think so because of their 3-9 record, but I'm sure people don't think highly of our defense since we're just 4-8. Anyway, the Redskins are particularly strong against the pass. Safety Reed Doughty has quietly had a good year and young LaRon Landry is solid at his spot as well. A pretty solid group of cornerbacks are headed by veteran Fred Smoot, who is in his ninth year out of Mississippi State. The leader of the defense is the man in the middle, London Fletcher, who leads the team with 109 tackles. Brian Orakpo, the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft, plays on the outside along with veteran Rocky McIntosh. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has been in and out of the lineup with injuries this season. He signed a monster contract in the offseason, but the Redskins' defense is only ranked 24th against the rush. His presence is desperately needed for Washington. Haynesworth is listed as questionable as of right now. At right defensive end, Andre Carter has nine sacks and deserves some Pro Bowl recognition for his great play. Again, this is a very solid defense and will do everything it can to keep their offense in this game late on the road.

Conclusion: The thing that sticks out defensively about the Redskins is their 24th-ranked rush defense. With Haynesworth questionable, he probably won't be playing on every down. Justin Fargas, Michael Bush and Darren McFadden should have success as long as head coach Tom Cable keeps giving them the rock. I believe of the first 28 plays against the Steelers, 18 of them were rushes. That is a similar ratio that I hope to see this week considering how strong Washington's pass defense is. Speaking of the pass, the breakout of Louis Murphy was something else, especially with Darrius Heyward-Bey out. It's nice to see someone step up at the receiver spot. Chaz Schilens even found the end zone for the first time in 2009 and Todd Watkins caught a key pass in the final drive. Johnnie Lee Higgins came through for us as well. Wide receivers against Pittsburgh caught 12 balls for 248 yards, both of which I'm sure were season-highs for our club. We're definitely going to need that against the Redskins' formidable pass defense against the previously mentioned Smoot and also Carlos Rogers and ex-Raider DeAngelo Hall. This may be a good test for Bruce Gradkowski as well, even though he did perform well against two really good defenses already in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I think we're ready for this.

Feel free to leave your predictions or even your own thoughts and ideas about the Pittsburgh Steelers and how we can earn a win our fourth win of the season on Sunday.

*-All stats are through Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

Poll

Do you feel more confident in a win, less confident in a win or about the same in a win after reading this preview?

Jet Memories countdown; Number 4- Take a touchdown, no really, have one. Merry Christmas.

Niko Houllis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:10:21 -0000

If you think Jon Gruden embarrassed Bucs fans nationwide when he went for a FG against the Steelers in 2006 to avoid a shutout, you havn't seen anything yet. The rematch for that game is not until next year, but back in the 80s, a rematch could happen at any time, and it did.

Head Coach John McKay had already announced his retirement. He would never coach again.

James Wilder was about 19 yards from an NFL record, and he needed the ball back. Problem was, the Jets had the ball with little time left. If only they could score.

Light Bulb.

McKay gave the order, Bucs linebackers, do what your name says, back up..and that they did, giving the Jets a touchdown. Video of this game does not exist, its one of those Bucs holy grail games that maybe one day we will find one day, but for now, this footage is all that survives and it shows the play in all of its brilliance!

For those of you familiar with this event, you know all too well what tomorrow's Jet Memory is.

Revenge is a dish best served cold!

By the way, James Wilder never did get the record. Jet defenders blanketed him. This 41-21 win, is the last time Tampa Bay has EVER beaten the NY Jets.

Tomorrow....The Jets get Payback.

Chargers Week 14 Playoff Scenarios

John (obviousman) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:57:32 -0000

The San Diego Chargers will clinch a playoff spot this week if one of the following scenarios happens:

SD win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie + MIA loss or tie
>SD win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie + NE loss or tie
SD win + BAL loss or tie + PIT loss or tie + JAC tie + NE loss
SD tie + BAL loss + PIT loss + NYJ loss + MIA loss

Don't get your hopes up though. Here's a list of the game to watch this week with the teams that Chargers fans should be rooting for ~~in bold~~ not crossed out:

~~Steelers~~ at Browns
Lions at ~~Ravens~~
~~Jets~~ at Buccaneers
~~Dolphins~~ at Jaguars
Panthers at ~~Patriots~~

Yikes. I wouldn't bet on any of those games going the way we need them to, but it's still a good sign that there is a remote possibility of clinching the playoffs this week.

Even at 1-15, no guarantee the Bucs can get 1st pick.

Niko Houllis — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:25:01 -0000

He is a favorite to go in the top 5 if not #1 overall. Which team wouldn't take him, and which teams would?

View full size photo »

Even if the Bucs commit themselves to having the most losses in franchise history, the Bucs will likely still lose out on the chance to draft with the first pick in the NFL draft. After his performance in the Big 12 championship game, Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh is first on the list for Bucs fans this offseason, to join the Pewter Pirates in April. But even if the Bucs lose out the rest of the year, and end up with a 1-15 record, worst in club history for total losses, (They went 0-14 in 1976) that still does not guarantee them the first crack at picking Suh. Thats because by NFL rules one of the first tiebreakers for the draft is strength of schedule, and the Bucs has been a doozy. Meaning, they are supposed to lose all these games, but the Rams and Browns with their easier schedule should have won more games, and thus they will pick ahead of the Bucs if they both or either finish tied with Tampa Bay at the end of the season.

We have to root for the Browns and Rams.

In as much as we hope for a win this year, that means we need the Brownies and Rams to win twice then! What are the chances of these teams winning one more game and giving us first place in the Suh-weepstakes?

Cleveland Browns- Probably the best chance to win a game here. They play on a short week this Thursday home against the Steelers who have lost 4 straight. After a full 10 days of rest, they play at Kansas City, and return home to finish off the season playing the Raiders in the Bruce Gradkowski Bowl.

St. Louis Rams- This is a little tougher, but its possible. They play Sunday at Tennessee, which is probably going in the Titans favor, but remember the Rams are playing bad teams close. Then they Host the Houston Texans which is winnable. The final game of the year is at Arizona, and you have to hope that the Cards are resting all starters after the regular season playoff spot and division title should be won by that point.

So there you have it.

US? We host the Jets, play at New Orleans who now has a two game lead for the NFC home field, and that game would be the clincher, and then host the Falcons last game of the year...who may still be in it at that point.

Jets are our best chance at a win wouldn't you say?

In 2006 the Bucs beat the Browns and then required a coin toss to determine draft order. Cleveland won the toss, and took Joe Thomas left Tackle. We took Gaines Adams. Lets get Cleveland this time guys.

2nd look at Freeman & Bucs big day on offense

Niko Houllis — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:32:25 -0000

Coach Fox is not the only one to point out Freeman is something special so far.

View full size photo »

There was an interesting list in the St. Pete Times of Bucs Quarterbacks with the most interceptions. Believe it or not, 5 isnt the record! Steve DeBerg has the most with 7 against the 49ers in 1986. Lets take a look at the list again...

Steve DeBerg 7 Sept. 7, 1986 49ers 31-7 L

Vinny Testaverde 6 Oct. 23, 1988 Vikings 49-20 L

Josh Freeman 5 Sunday Panthers 16-6 L

Vinny Testaverde 5 Nov. 4, 1990 Bears 26-6 L

Vinny Testaverde 5 Dec. 3, 1989 Packers 17-16 L

Vinny Testaverde 5 Sept. 4, 1988 Eagles 41-14 L

Doug Williams 5 Dec. 9, 1979 49ers 23-7 L

Not a big deal, each name here is someone special in Bucs History. Doug Williams was a winning QB for years, taking us to the playoffs 3 of 4 years here, and the team went 2-14 after he left. Steve DeBerg was QB for the Bucs best offensive year 1984 (Tied at 10th in offense with the 2003 team). Vinny did not take the Bucs to the playoffs, but he had an arm, and once he left, he had great years with the NY Jets. He had no one around him here.

Then I saw another list, that had something funny in it.

1. 573 yards at Minnesota (11/16/80)
2. 483 yards at Indianapolis (10/16/88)
3. 476 yards at Miami (10/20/85)
4. 475 yards at Cincinnati (10/29/89)
5. 469 yards at Carolina (12/6/09)

This list is the most offensive yards in a game in Bucs history, and its from the Pewter Report. What stands out to me are the Quarterbacks that I remember to have started each game.

Top one was Doug Williams, who had a 467 yard game on 11/16/1980 in Minnesota (Outdoors mind you, before the HHH Metrodome).

Numbers 2 and 4 are both under Vinny Testeverde. Number 3 was Steve DeBerg, who threw 4 TDs to Jimmy Giles, still a Bucs record for most TD Catches in one game.

Notice the similarities between the two lists? Same names. There have been dozens and dozens of Tampa Bay Quarterbacks, but these guys managed to come out on top on two offensive record setting lists.

Josh Freeman appears to be in good company.

The Good, the bad, and the ugly - Week 13 edition

Buc Wild — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:29:44 -0000

It's been awhile since we've featured this column, but after a tough loss to the Panthers, I thought this might be a good time to bring it out. Any loss is not one that is welcomed, but even in losing conditions there can be positives. I've been saying all along that as long as progress is being made, I feel we can get somewhere. Believe it or not, we are making progress in some areas, while in other areas, we are a stagnant heap of failure. Lets take a look at all three categories and see what fits where.

The Good

Overall offense minus the quarterback- There are several things to pick up on here. The 469 net yards of offense. A 100 yard receiver. A near 100 yard running back. Antonio Bryant has finally become involved in the offense and is looking like a #1 WR when the ball is thrown his way. He made two sick catches and ended up with 5 catches for 116 yards. Cadillac almost made his return to 100 yard land by posting a 92 yard rushing day on 17 carries and added another 14 yards on 2 catches. The Bucs also won the time of possession battle, a near miracle in itself

Running game - The ground game in general produced on the higher end of the spectrum, churning out 5.9 yards per run play. That's phenomenal. Both Ward and Caddy hit some huge gainers and Freeman chipped in with some yardage on the ground also. Additional bonus, Caddy played against Carolina and made it off the field safely.

No big plays- Outside of the 66 yard bomb to Smith, the defense really didn't give up many big plays. There were a few 20+ yard runs, but we didn't see any wide receivers running unchecked through our secondary. I don't know if that is a function of who we played (Redman and Moore) or if the switch back to the Cover 2 has solved those woes. Probably a combination of both.

The Bad

Freeman's five picks- I choose to put this in the bad as opposed to the ugly mainly because we knew there would be days like this for a rookie QB. I don't like the 5 interceptions and hope it never happens again, but it had to happen at some point. We probably won't know for another 10 starts if this was an aberration or if this is what we should expect. Count me in the camp that says it will get better, but we can't ignore that it happened.

Connor Barth going 2 for 4 in field goals - Just disappointing, particularly after what we've been through this year with kickers. Any other year, it still sucks, but we chalk it up as a bad week. This year, it seems we may have angered the football gods and invoked the Curse of Bryant.

157 rushing yards against - As Buc 'Em user RuudAwakening said, its something to be optimistic about, given the last two times we faced Carolina they put up over 250 yards on the ground each game. But don't think for a minute that I'm happy about it. We seem to let anyone run over us. Maybe at the NFL Combine, they should let college RB's face off against our defense.

The Ugly

A big, fat 0 for 4 in the red zone - There aren't many ways to discuss this. It was a combination of bad play calling, bad execution and some great plays by Carolina. If we get anything in any one of those 4 red zone trips, the game probably plays out much differently. Beason spoiled two of the trips on great plays but the other two were just missed opportunities by everyone involved.

28% on 3rd down conversions - We led in time of possession, but that was more due to Carolina's offensive futility than our prowess. This number needs to be about 10 percentage points higher. This would allow us to extend drives and wear down a defense.

Tackling - How many times are we going to talk about this? Sabby showed up with an arm ful of air a few times, but it seemed that on multiple occasions, Stewart was hit within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage and somehow would shake free for a longer gain. The point of contact should generally be where the tackle is made. I'd love to see how many yards after contact we gave up. I would venture a guess and say that 90% of the rushing yards happened after first hit. We have to tackle better. This has been an issue for at least two years now.

# of passing attempts/play calling - I won't beat you to death with my play calling agenda, because by now you know where I stand. But 46 passing attempts for a rookie quarterback in a game that we were in until the end, this can't happen. Particularly after said young quarterback has shown he is having an off day. It seemed there was little or no help or adjustment in the game plan. I am astonished at our lack of game planning overall, and we all have talked about the lack of halftime adjustments (thus we get killed in the 3rd quarter every game), but against Carolina, it was obvious to a blind man (no offense to anyone, particularly the refs) that Freeman was struggling. And Olson kept calling pass plays. Adapt man. Play calls, game plans, personnel, these aren't things set in stone, they can and should be fluid.

These lists don't encompass everything, nor are they intended to give a complete overview of the game. They are just a few things that stuck out to me. What do you think about the lists? Anything you would add? Be sure to sound off in the comments section below.

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.