Final Score: Jets 40 – Dolphins 13
After watching the game yesterday, here’s a few things that occurred to me … write your thoughts in the comments about the game.
Attack of the Backs — Thomas Jones finally got his first rushing TD of the year which was great to see. After getting set up by a pass to Leon for 18 yards, then getting stuffed on first down, Jones sliced through the lines and got his TD. You know how excited his line was for him as all of them came over to him immediately and were congratulating him and pounding him on the top of his helmet. All told, Jones ran for 75 yards on 24 carries and the one TD.
Meanwhile Leon was electric … running 10 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns and 35 reception yards on two catches. I think Leon gains extra super powers when he plays in his home state of Florida.
Kid Kellen and the Sacks – We all know it takes time, and this will be a good learning day for Kellen when he checks the tape. Statistically, he had a pretty good game, and when you look at the stat sheet, you might see 6 sacks and think the line had a terrible game … let’s face it, it wasn’t the best effort by the line, but I counted at least three sacks where Clemens should have scrambled, thrown it away or hit the hot route. The Dolphins wanted to bring the blitz and Clemens needs to work on his pocket presence, and how to react in a heavy blitz situation. Baker’s poor reaction to the blitz on the sack/fumble will be haunting him today.
What’s With the Punts? — What’s Ben Graham’s deal these days? Although he only punted twice, a nice luxury, Graham had a 25 yard and a 35 yard punt … hmm …
Linebackers’ Delight — The linebackers had a strong showing against the Dolphins, led again by David Harris. Keep in mind that the skill players look different than what the Jets saw in the last game. Nevertheless, the LBs seemed to be creating more plays in the backfield and not getting blown off blocks by trapping guards. The excellent play in front of him allowed Safety Kerry Rhodes to have a monster day, something we haven’t gotten to see much of this year.
Taylor & Porter — Taylor had a good game for the most part, and Porter’s interception was a gift, but there’s nothing quite like seeing Jason Taylor get racked in the groin by Mangold’s helmet or seeing Joey Porter get quasi-stiff-armed by Kellen Clemens. Porter has been playing better, but it’s funny how he really has no shame as you could see he was talking trash while the Jets were beating him by more than 20 …
8 Responses to Final Score: Jets 40 – Dolphins 13
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jeff i says:
bassett – can you confirm there were players open on the plays where clemens was sacked?
i think if we give this guy a little more time and some more weapons he can be pretty good. any coincidence two of the bigger plays in the game were to coles/remember this is his first real game with coles since becoming starter (coles only played one pass play against pitt).
i’m shocked more people aren’t focused on the three bigtime NFL throws clemens made (30+ yard pass to coles, bullet slant to coles on 3rd down and 55 yrd pass in the air from a standstill to mccairens) and the amount of third downs he converted. the jets bascically went into a shell offensively later in the game and i’d prefer clemens just eat the ball with a lead/not going to fault him for this.
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jeff i-
I was going to take a look at the sacks again for the “after further review post” we’re on the same wavelength. I do agree that those downfield throws were AWESOME.
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P in CO says:
Remind me again why D’Brick was rated so highly.
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Harlan Lachman says:
Normally, I would bench Graham and activate the practice fodder guy to light a fire under his a__. But Nuge has been huge lately. Graham is his holder. I think if we have any hopes of winning, we need to sort this out over the off season. Messing with Nuge after all the grief he has been getting would be cruel and unusable punishment.
harlan
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SackDance99 says:
KC gives the Jets two dimensions that Chad doesn’t have any more. First, a plus arm that allows him to make all the throws on the field. Second, great mobility, which allows things like shovel passes to be added to the mix. My nit, and his only real weakness at this point (hopefully, others won’t pop up), is his tendency to hold on to the ball too long and his “pocket presence” to step up or slide step to evade the rush. I agree, he needs a better OL and a couple of better weapons, like a pass-catching TE (I like Baker too, but the pass play where he was 1 on 1 with a linebacker and couldn’t turn the corner for a huge gain proves what I’ve been saying, he’s just not a weapon at the position…he’s a good blocker and teammate, but not a weapon) and a speedy WR, preferably over 6’2″. Through the draft and free agency, I think Tannenbaum can fill these gaps, I would not use the Jets first round pick for this purpose.
I’ve always thought that the DL bore too much of the blame and the LBs not enough for the Jets poor front 7 play. I’m all for targeting an LB for the 1st round, but I’m not sold on drafting a D-lineman. We’ll get a good look at Laurinaitis and Dorsey (who won’t be available when the Jets pick, unless he does something dumb or gets injured) in the BCS championship. I don’t know who this player is, but the Jets should consider the best OLB pass rusher, someone in the 6’4″ or 6’5″ 260 lbs range to bookend with Thomas and, assuming Vilma is traded, Laurinaitis, if he comes out.
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Jay says:
You cannot evaluate a team that beat a winless team this late in the season. We have alot of work to do. I think Ferguson will be fine, very hard to play next to a nobody, and a very predictable offense (sans Trick plays).
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Jay, I agree with you about D’Brick. I think he’s actually played the pass well this year, and improved in the running game ( he still needs work in that area, but he’s better than last year). Left tackle is a thankless position – no one notices when you execute well, but when you don’t, it’s often a game-changing play (sacks, fumbles, bruised QB’s). Compare our guy vs some of the top teams in the league. Matt Light has been getting his share of grief in the NE press over the past year. Tony Ugoh’s a rookie who Peyton has had to teach on the job. GB’s Chad Clifton is slowing down, and PIT’s Marvel Smith has been a turnstile for the past month. Even Marcus McNeill, SD’s poster boy last year, has run into a wall this year and just got punched around by Jared Allen yesterday. And, each of those guys has a better LG next to him than Brick does with Clarke.
Bottom line – Brick isn’t perfect, and I don’t know that he’ll ever get to the Pace-Ogden-W Jones level, but he’s solidified a critical position for hopefully the next decade. I’ll take it.
Any idea what all the jawing was about during the interception-TD-two penalties sequence?