Week 5 Ups and Downs
Posted on October 9th, 2007 by Bassett
A look at who’s up and who’s down from the Jets’ soulcrushing loss to the Giants. Add your thoughts on who’s up and down in the comments.
Ups
- Leon Washington – Remember 2005 when Ben Graham was the best part of this team? Do we have our 2007 candidate for escapism? Washington ran a 98 kickoff return back for a touchdown.
- Kerry Rhodes – In addition to compiling seven solo tackles, his forced fumble and recovery for a TD got the Jets on the board, and playing from ahead.
- Brad Smith – . A special-teams tackle, returned a kickoff, some snaps at quarterback and three receptions for 44 yards and his first regular season touchdown.
- David Harris – Making his way more steadily into the rotation, Harris had a nice tackle for loss and compiled four solos.
- Eric Smith – Had a good day in relief of Erik Coleman helped well in the run and the pass.
Downs
- Chad Pennington – With three picks and 14 points off his turnovers, it’s hard to see what he did well.
- Thomas Jones – 13 carries for 36 yards … not good.
- Andre Dyson – Dyson had penned Burress on the sideline but got worked for a 53 yard touchdown which put the Giants ahead for good.
- Second Half Tackling – The Jets struggled to bring the Giants runners down in the second half, this was one of the biggest reasons for the second half collapse.
- Mike Nugent – His miss came back to bite the Jets, making them play for the touchdown at the end of the game, rather than a kick.
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UP – Brick. No sacks allowed three weeks in a row vs. good rush men. Still needs to work on the run blocking, but an up nonetheless.
Honorably mention – Westoff and the return game, it is obvious almost any fast runner can succeed with this group. Even Sean Ryan got 18 yards.
DOWN – the entire coaching staff, sans Westoff.
No adjustments at half time. Just sat on their laurels.
I wrote last week they need to run the damn ball. Obviously I needed to be more specific. Run the damn ball up the middle/right, behind the BIG blockers. And find the page in the playbook that has the screen pass on it. Run a screen or draw once in a while to someone other than Leon.
Note 1: When leon comes in the game, the other team keys on the screen, draw etc!!!!!!! They saw it work a few times last year, (legally) on NFL films, ESPN etc. They are ready for it. You may want to consider running it to TJ out of another formation and personnel package. Or even to a full back.
Note 2: CBS put up a stat that the Jets run the ball 95% of the time when the RB lines up more than 8 yards behind scrimmage. That just might be the reason they are sitting there waiting for TJ after the hand off.
Note 3: Pierce said he knew every play that was coming out of a no huddle. He moved to the line, heard Chads calls, interpreted them, relayed them to the defense. Very easy to do since he always waits until a split second before the play clock runs out before snapping.
The D has plenty of time to adjust ,and they can completly anticipate the snap since it always occurs with 1 on the play clock.
PLEASE DO SOME SELF SCOUTING!!!!!!!! Smoke and mirrors only work for so long in the NFL, you are not smarter than everyone.
Note 4: You are not making the playoffs. It will take a 9-2 run, even you can not believe that is possible.
It is not quitting to change QB’s, coaches do it all over the league.
Chad is a warrior, we love him too. But you drafted Clemens. It is time to find out if that draft pick is going to be the future. NOW, not six games from now.
At least 5 starting QB’s are out for the year, a few for contending teams. Make some calls, trade Chad somewhere he can compete.
It would be unfair to him and we fans to make us suffer through six more weeks of this before making a change. The press will make this QB controversy unbearable.
Think Mangini would even consider making the offense less predictable by using Clemens & Chad they way that Wisenhunt was using Leinhart & Warner?
Chad for the hurry-up, Clemens for the deep ball, and throw defenses off by interchanging plays between them?
Wishful thinking I imagine, right?
I thought Chris Baker was an UP — not only did he make a few nice catches down field (3 for 52 yards), but he had a key block on Leon’s return.
At the risk of repeating myself, I’ll expand on my post from yesterday:
Major DOWN to Tangini. They have done a very poor job of assembling their roster, on both sides of the ball:
Offense – they have a good, solid QB if given the right system. Everyone knows Chad doesn’t have a rocket arm. When put in must-pass situations, he’s at a tremendous disadvantage, because he can’t squeeze anything into tight coverage. Chad absolutely needs a running game (most quarterbacks do), because play action is his one advantage. BTW, Thomas Jones is the same player he was a year ago. The only mistake with that trade is not supplying him with any semblance run blocking. Our OL has had sand kicked in their face for many years.
When Mangini didn’t go for it on 4th and inches at mid field in first quarter, after he got ripped for not doing it last week, it speaks volumes. He has NO confidence that his team can pick up the inches. That is an indictment of this team, its heart, and its weakness (i.e. lack of strength up front). Conversely (and see (b) below, do you every have ANY confidence that the Jets can stop someone on 3rd or 4th and short? The question isn’t whether they’ll stop them, but whether they can hold them to 10 yards or less – UGH!
Defense: Square peg, round hole. Crisis alarm bells should be going off in Hempstead because we can not: a) rush the passer; b) stop the run. Either one of these deficiencies is near impossible to overcome – to have both deficiencies is cataclysmic. We have never, ever addressed the DT/NG issue with a middle-clogger. Nearly all the successful D’s have one, but we seem to think (stubbornly) that it’s not necessary. HELLO ???
The 3-4: Sean Ellis, Dewayne Robertson, Jonathan Vilma …… our best defensive players have become spectators, with zero impact. This defense is so boring to watch, it’s like watching paint dry. Even Kerry Rhodes has been pretty silent before Sunday. The job of a coordinator is to put the players in a position to make plays. The plays are not being made. Either we have the strong system/strategy, the wrong players, or some combination. Either way, that’s a Tangini issue.
down – coaching and game planning. mangini is learning on the job but he better pick up the curve or he will lose the team. if the jets failings on offense can be (accurately) attributed to poor offensive line play then the first order of business should be finding ways to increase the line’s confidence and get them on a roll. against a great pass rushing team like the giants the way to do that is to let the guards and tackles open the game by teeing off in the d-linemen’s faces. o-linemen want to be moving forward. that’s what turns them on and builds their confidence. it makes me crazy to see the jets open the game with three straight passes. the linemen are immediately on their heels, in their heads, worrying about technique and getting beaten rather than moving forward and trying to maul the guy in front of them. there’s no reason these guys can’t play smashmouth with anyone. they are not a dainty little group (d’brick 6-6 312, clarke 6-5 330, mangold 6-4 300, moore 6-3 295, clement, 6-8 320) and if you hurl any one of the 260 lb tight ends and darian barnes (6-2 240) at the line of scrimmage along with them you will eventually see some progress. so what if you have a few three and outs? if you don’t get the line playing with some attitude and confidence the running game will never work and if the running game doesn’t work this team is going nowhere no matter who’s playing qb. i think that’s where kendall is missed most. he was smaller than every guy they have now and his skills were certainly declining but he played with instinctive attitude and agression that was contagious. (unfortunately it also spread to his dealings with management) without him this line needs to be given a chance to develop that attitude on its own. put away the calculator and slide rule and start just beating on people and the rest will fall into place. though i don’t like that the team has let go of so many good o-lineman, this group should be able to compete if given the chance.
the same cannot be said for the defense where d-rob and vilma are ill suited for their positions in this scheme. still, if used more effectively, this unit should be able to do better than it has. it’s disheartening to read all the post-loss quotes from the coaches about “technique” and “consistency.” the cerebral approach is essential in the modern nfl but the jets staff may stress it to the exclusion of instinctive, aggressive football. it’s interesting to me that the only guy who ever seems to be moving forward looking to hurt somebody is the rookie, david harris. could it be it’s because he hasn’t been around long enough to have his head stuffed to the brim with philosophy and technique and angles and gaps?
DOWN – Penalties & Focus. How can we go from being one of the least penalized teams to one of the most in a single year. Between Vilma’s key offsides and the David Harris “Horse Collar”, it’s a joke how undisciplined this team has been in 2007. Another prime example of the lack of focus is the contrast from one quarter to the next, it looks like we’re watching two different teams play. This entire team has been such a dissapointment, from the coaching staff down to the players, everyone looks lost.
Sub, I posted it last week, these guys appear more worried about being blasted for getting out of position than making a tackle.
Third and 5 the CB’s and safeties drop back 7 yards because thats where they should be on the black board.
Instint is discouraged.
On offense, IF the O line has a strength it should be run blocking.
Go back to pounding the ball between the tackles on first and second down early in the game.
I hated the establish the run mentality of kotite and coslet, but right now that is the best cure.
Especially with a lead in the second half, to run the ball only 5 times is just poor coaching.
Rhodes made a nice play, stripping the ball from Jacobs and scoring a TD. But to me its more indicative of the faults this team has, ie they dont hit anybody on defense and they dont tackle well. This is my biggest disappointment with the team and with Mangini. If nothing else I expected the Jets to be a very focussed and technically sound defensive unit and so far I only see two players who hit the ballcarrier and then wrap and tackle him: the rookies Revis and Harris. Vilma and Rhodes seem to prefer arm tackling and stripping, which is bad technique and has led to to many preventable extra yards. The Jets rarely knock anyone backwards.
In a nutshell, we are 1-4 because we cannot run for 2 yards when we need it and the other team knows it is coming. we are 1-4 because we cannot prevent a team from getting 2 yards when we know they are going to run. We are 1-4 because the QB has made mental mistakes in crucial spots. We are 1-4 because our play calling has been too predictable – we are not fooling people like we did last year. we are not good enough to overcome bad breaks – Clemens 1st INT in Balt when Coles got decked; NE 108 KO return, ridiculous no call on roughing on Chad’s pick when we were up 24-21 – guys have served hard time for doing that to Brady.
I am really disappointed that Mangini is going to allow Chad to get booed this Sunday – he does not deserve it; he is a warrior; but he can no longer use his mental skills to overcome his physical liabilities.
Toon, well written.
It is unfair to Chad to make him play through this anymore. With no chance to make the playoffs there simply is no point. Time to turn the page.
Sure Tangini think they owe him one more try, but it would be best for everyone involved if they recognized the situation and pulled the plug.
They can use the ankle as an excuse. Even better they can trade him somewhere he can compete, someplace like Chicago with a decent defense and offensive line, in a weak conferance where he perhaps can be a hero.
The balance of his career in green and white is going to be a littany of boos. He deserves better.