Monthly Archives: October 2004
Now meeting for the second time this season, the matchup to watch for will be between Miami's cornerbacks and New York's receivers. When last they met, Wayne Chrebet, Santana Moss, and Justin McCareins had five catches, combined.
One of the best tandems in the league, Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain shut down the receivers, forcing the Jets to consider Chris Baker and Anthony Becht as more viable options in tomorrow's game. Even so, Herman Edwards wants the receivers to rise to the occasion.
During the game, pay attention to how the receivers fare, and if Pennington feels comfortable trying to get the ball to them.
Worthwhile Plug:
Check out the preview for tomorrow's game on profootballcentral.com
Scariest Player:
In honor of Halloween, ESPN Insider noted Jonathan Abraham as one of the NFL's “scariest players.” Abraham made the list at number fourteen.
Here is some news regarding the Jets from my scourings.
- According to ESPN Insider, there are rumors that Cowart won't necessarily retain the starting job when he returns from his injury.
- Says Pennington about Justin McCareins: “He is gaining more and more confidence and I'm gaining more and more confidence in him. We still have a long way to go. We still are trying to get used to each other, and reading each other's body language, but we're making progress .” [Ed: registration required]
- Growing up Jordan: “I needed to mature. I know that the Jets wanted to see that and I wanted to see it, too. I had some personal things that changed too, a relationship off the field. All the things that happened in the offseason, a lot of people ask me if I wish I could do that all over and I wouldn't. It was part of the learning processes.”
- November is traditionally one of Herm Edwards' best months of the season as a coach. Personally, I hope this isn't a zero sum game.
- Not suprisingly, Herman Edwards is happy with his defensive line. F.E.A.R. (Jason Ferguson, Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, and DeWayne Robertson) has combined for 14 sacks already this season, with John Abraham leading the AFC with 7.5 and only allowed one 100 yard rusher so far this season.
It appears that the West Side stadium debate is getting more and more heated as CableVision CEO James Dolan charged Friday that the financing plan is based on “voodoo economics.” Dolan stated that the stadium would cost taxpayers dearly, with a price tag of well over the current $1.4-billion estimate and that the stadium would be vacant so often that it would be “a mausoleum.”
Newsday reports that Donnie Henderson gives the Jets Defense some latitude in their play calling. This is one of the best articles I have read in a while. I am glad to see that Herm and Hendy think highly enough of this defense to allow them this freedom.
I am sure that it will pay great dividends for this unit and the players, but in the meantime, you like me have been wondering some on why the Jets have been giving up some big plays, and blowing some coverage (think of that TD versus the Niners). If so, this is a great article to read.”
We stop the run, but we give up explosion plays,” said coordinator Donnie Henderson, who came up with idea of the players-only meetings on Thursdays. “That's our issue. If we didn't give up explosion plays, we'd be sitting up there in the upper echelon of defenses in this league.”
Ken Berger reports that Herm Edwards explained himself and his motivation for his reaction to the questions of Wednesday's press conference yesterday.
“It wasn't staged,” he said. “It wasn't a plot to get my team fired up. Some people might take it that way. What I was really doing was, I was defending my players, period. That's my job. I'm going to defend my players.”
I love how the media covering the Jets just eats up Herm and (more notably) his outbursts… this will be the topic of the next two days… have we even talked about the Dolphins yet?
Hello?!?!? He plays you like he plays the game!
He does this to take attention away from what he wants to protect, his team, and put it on himself… obviously though, not in a Bobby Valentine way. Find the link to Newsday's article here.
[Editor's note: Re-reading this post, I did not make clear Edwards intentions. Read the comments below to better understand the what I meant - Bassett.]
From everything that I ever read about Dave Wannstedt, I can only guess that he enjoys looking like an ass to the media and his team. In his press conference on Monday, Wannstedt told reporters that he was giving no guarantees to Jay Fiedler about his place as the Quarterback of the Dolphins. From the Miami Herald:
Feeley will continue to get approximately 35-40 percent of the practice snaps this week, and Fiedler must string together consecutive solid outings to solidify his status as Miami's quarterback.
Not that Jay Fiedler is Jonnhy Unitas reincarnated, but despite Feeley's poor play, Wannstedt continues to give reps to Feeley, obviously taking away time from Fiedler. I don't think this will help the Dolphins be more productive and win more, though it will enable him to have two ill-prepared Quarterbacks when he needs one who can manage the game for his defense.
Apparently, Chad Pennington would like to see more production from LaMont Jordan. I think I am breaking some unwritten rules by taking fantasy news and making it appear to be real news. Regardless, here is the information that I nicked from FanBall.com
THE NEWS
Chad Pennington is lobbying for more game action for backup running back LaMont Jordan, according to reports in the Star-Ledger. “Some people might think I'm crazy, but LaMont is a key to our success not only on the ground but as an offense,” Pennington said on ESPN Radio on Tuesday. “I think you will [see more of Jordan] as the season goes onÂ…We'll definitely need him.”OUR VIEW
Jordan has just six carries for 48 yards and a touchdown this year. Coach Herm Edwards has been reluctant to use him, perhaps because the two haven't seen eye-to-eye in recent years, or perhaps just because Curtis Martin is running so well. Jordan provides a different look for defenses, however, with his more punishing and straight forward running style. Jordan rushed three times for 21 yards against the Patriots a week ago, and Pennington wants to see more of it. The Jets would be wise to use Jordan to take some of the load off of Martin, who is on pace for a career-high (by far) 405 rushing attempts at the ripe old age of 31. LaMont is not worth a fantasy roster spot.
The times they are a-changin.. Although Santana didn't get that many looks this past weekend, it is clear that Chad is looking to McCareins more and the the Running Backs less.
WEEK 7 TARGETS:
————–
…………….Targ..Rec…YD..TD
Baker, C………..3….3….26…0
Becht, A………..3….2…..8…0
Carter, J……….2….0…..0…0
Chrebet, W………3….1….18…0
Jordan, L……….1….1…..2…0
Martin, C……….3….2…..0…0
McCareins, J…….9….6….85…0
Moss, S…………3….2….12…0
Sowell, J……….2….2….13…0
2004 TOTAL TARGETS:
————–
…………….Targ..Rec…YD..TD
Baker, C……….18…12…106…2
Becht, A……….13….9….75…0
Carter, J……….6….4…124…1
Chrebet, W……..24…15…202…0
Cotchery, J……..1….1…..7…0
Jordan, L……….4….4….18…0
Martin, C………29…24…106…1
McCareins, J……31…19…262…0
Moss, S………..22…13…243…0
Sowell, J………31…25…169…1
Last night I listened to Herm Edwards' press conference from Monday on the Jets' website. I jotted down some of his statements or responses to questions that got my attention. To check it out for yourself, click here and look in the middle of the page for multimedia content.
- Jets players are frustrated, because they knew that they were so close to winning that game. Turnovers, and red zone execution were big factors. Herm trusts the players, they have made plays in the past, it just didn't go their way versus the Pats.
- McCareins had a “great day.” His physical presence was necessary in this game. Reminds Herm of Coles' toughness & tenacity. Herm want to get McCareins the ball more, hopes this game was a spark for him. Law was moved to McCareins for some plays.
- It was a defensive game, and Herm is proud of the team. The Pats had averaged over 25 points past two games, this was a good show for the Jets defense.
- 3rd week this season (Pats, Niners, Dolphins) that the team has shutout the opponent in the second half. Defense has been making good adjustments at the half, but wants to see better play in first half.
- Jets had a chance to win, but didn't cash in, that is “all you can ask for.”
- Secondary: Linebackers and secondary needs better coverage. Didn't think that they play too soft on the TD drive, but there were shortcoming by the linebackers, allowing for soft spots.
- Chad played well in the first half: turnover was tough on early drive (Sowell). Herm doesn't question the QB on the 3rd and 5, he knows Chad is a worse critic on himself. He didn't play QB and never second guesses his QB. Chad made the call, and he will live with it.
- Whether Chad has had a “big game” this year or not is irrelevant. For his first year as a starter to go 5-0 is impressive. No one else in franchise history has done that.
- The only way to beat a team like the Pats, is to take chances. When it gets tough, Herm needs the team make plays… he asked them this week, and they told him they wanted to take the chances, not play scared & conservative.
- Jets have been playing good defenses, which is why the score has been low and will continue (MIA, BUF, BAL). In turn, the Jets need to play good defense, stay in the game and take their chancess to win.
- Barton will likely replace Glenn in the nickel and “spy” role.
Ken Berger writes an interesting article today in the New York Newsday about some of the gaffes that eventually caused the Jets loss this past weekend to the Patriots. Here are the questions he poses:
- What happened on the Patriots' lone touchdown, a 7- yard pass from Tom Brady to David Patten with five seconds left in the first half?
- Why did the Jets opt to drop into soft coverage rather than blitz Brady?
- Who was the culprit on the punt-return team when the Jets were called for 12 men on the field?Didn't the Patriots make mistakes, too?
I am not sure if there is such a thing as a good loss, but if there is, this might qualify. In the first time in 30+ years, two 5-0 teams met to play each other. Ultimately, the Pats prevailed, but Jets fans are left to wonder why. The Jets won the battle of possesion, Pennington threw no picks, and Jets held the Patriots to 13 points, all in the first half. Even so, the Jets made costly penalties, allowed Dillon to rush for 115 yards, never scored in the second half and Pennington didn't break the 200 yard passing mark.
From watching the game, the announcers stated that all Herm Edwards wanted from the game was no mental errors. With Reggie Tongue's miscue on 4 and 1 and the costly DeWayne Robertson roughing call, there were more than a few mental breakdowns.
I saw this quote on a Jets message board credited to Ty Law, though I am not sure what the source is. If he in fact did say this, I don't know if Law is being gracious or truthful.
“I think they are the best team we've played,” cornerback Ty Law said. “We just took advantage of the plays that we were given. One play could have swung it. We have to see these guys again, and I know they probably feel in that locker room that they let one slip away.”
Personally, I think that this is a dead-on statement. The Jets players have to know that they could have won against this team. The Pats again were shown to be beatable, but still remain unbeaten.
Ultimately, we the fans look to a play that lost the game. It is easy to look to the McCareins dropped touchdown or the bad throw to Chrebet to turn the ball over. The most curious play was the 3rd and 5 where Martin ran the draw, and the Pats stuffed him for a loss on the play in question from ESPN:
It was third and 5 with 2 minutes 48 seconds to go, and the Jets were on the Patriots' 27-yard line, driving toward a possible go-ahead touchdown. New England's defense crowded the line of scrimmage. Jets quarterback Chad Pennington surveyed this and, given the flexibility to call a “check with me” and expecting the Patriots, as they had all game, to back out of their blitz look, audibled to a draw. It was designed to go the left side. There was but one problem with the decision: the Patriots weren't bluffing this time. They fooled Pennington. That isn't easy to do.
I was glad to see Hackett try to stretch the field, albeit unsuccessfully. To see Chad throw those long passes deep was great, I wish he had connected on more of them, it could have changed the complexion of the game.
Regardless, I am proud of the Jets, even in defeat, I think that the critics have to take the Jets seriously. Yes it is true they haven't beaten anyone of note, but they hung tough with possibly the greatest NFL team in 10 years, looking more legitimate than the Colts did against the Patriots in the season opener.
As I wrote last week, the one game that I care about against the Pats would be in the playoffs. I hope that the Jets learn enough when they see them during the regular season to
