Game Recap: Brett, Chad & More Good Than Bad
First, before saying anything, how about a big shout out to Adam Schein who guaranteed a Dolphins victory. Nice work, there, Adam! Impressive analysis!
Second, the Jets are now guaranteed to have at least a 1-2 record in our first three games. For those of you who said you’d pay ahead of time for a 1-2 start, I accept checks and my address is available from Bassett.
Now, to the game.
Coming into the contest between the Dolphins and the Jets today, there was a lot of drama, and the game turned out to match the buildup, but it wasn’t necessarily the script either team would have written for itself. From the Jets point of view, there was excellent secondary play, Brett Favre, and a resurgent running game. From the Dolphins point of view, there was excellent Chad play, at least with the game on the line, a couple of bright spots on the d-line and enough to build on. In the end, there was too much Jets and not enough Dolphins as the Jets prevailed in a game that shouldn’t have been this close. At times, the Dolphins were totally overmatched but the Jets found ways to keep their opponent in the game with penalties, a bad fumble by Favre, a strange injury to Nugent that cost them four points, and the inexplicable failure to cover TE Anthony Fasano, who is not, by the way, Antonio Gates, with the money on the line.
Still, from a glass half full perspective, we had a totally reinvented team out there and they put up the ‘W,’ and covered for that matter. The offense looked out of sync on passing downs much of the day with Favre taking the dump off to a fault. The Dolphins coverage, while better than expected, was not so good that it forced Favre to choose the under receivers. He seemed unwilling to risk the longer play and that has got to be because of his unfamiliarity with the receivers and the routes. I saw a lot of open Jets. This will surely improve with film work and over time. For his debut, I’d give him a C-.
The running game was back, and every Jet fan must be kissing babies and handing out cigars. Thomas Jones looked like an NFL running back recording 101 yards and carrying 22 times (that’s a 4.6 average for you sticklers). Leon Washington was not a factor except for one sweet juke on a Fin corner that turned a no gain pass into a thirteen yard scamper. From what I read this week in the Miami newspapers, that may have been because of a team decision to not let LW beat them (he’s done it before).
On defense the results were also mixed although, on the whole, this unit played well. Revis was solid all day and had the play of the game in the waning seconds. With thirteen seconds to go, the Jets holding onto a tenuous six point lead and the Fins on the Jets 13 yard line, Revis boxed out Ted Ginn in the corner of the end zone and intercepted Chad’s desperation heave while Ginn did everything but shoot him to take him off the ball. Ginn was charged with PI and the play ended the game.
The other really bright spot was the play of Dwight Lowery who is, dare I say it, a superb cornerback. This kid is a sure tackler, he’s great on coverage, he has terrific technique and a nose for the ball. I haven’t yet reviewed the game tape but he had to have at least three PDs and many in crucial situations. He’s got the poise of a veteran. Did anybody say anything about another fourth round gem?
Calvin Pace proved a very effective pass rusher recording a sack and at least one hurry. Sean Ellis, for that matter, chalked a sack while BT had two. Clearly Kris Jenkins is freeing them up to be more aggressive. Harris and the other backers particularly Eric Barton were active. For the defense as a whole, I would have rated them a B+ until Miami’s second touchdown, on a perfectly thrown pass by Pennington. The last two minutes were too close for comfort, though. They’re going to need to correct some things, particularly the intermediate coverage of the backs and TEs.
The defense did stop the run, resoundingly. Chad threw for 251, but he had to, because neither Ricky Williams nor Ronnie Brown could make it to a 4 point average. For the game they had 47 yards on 16 carries, combined. Clearly, by the time the Jets scored the touchdown in the third quarter to make it 20-7, they had to play catch-up, but those numbers are promising for the hoped-for turnaround of the Jets season.
On the whole, the Jets did what they had to do. It wasn’t all that pretty or all that dominant but it was enough. While much was made of the matchup with Chad, it turned into a fortuitous pairing for us on opening day. The Dolphins were just overmatched enough to allow us to make more than a few mistakes and still win.
Oh and one other thing for Phins fans. Ted Ginn is clearly not the second coming of Jerry Rice. Just thought you might want to know that.
Now if Brady stays down…
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good report ,very interesting
OK im so glad the rams took justin king or whatever his name is , if they hadn’t we would have taken him ( who btw is injured )
instead of LOWERY he played like a veteran out there
Revis did not have a solid game , he had a superb game , he made ted ginn invisible out there
Rhodes ofcourse is playing like a star out there, hes our version of bob sanders
and our rush D , they are playing pretty well and its all thanx to big jenks
and TJ played like we wanted him to in 2007
cotchery is our # 1 WR and he proved it today
Stuckey is taking full advantage of Clowney’s injury
Very excited for this team’s potential.
At times during the game, did anyone else think “how the heck is Ted Ginn better than Brady Quinn?” Not physical, not very aware, average hands…gee whiz.
Lets hope for a healthy Brady, so FAVRE CAN BEAT EM FAIR AND SQUARE!
DC
typical Chad game: valiant in defeat……….
i agree with Dan C- bring on brady! i want that goat lover to look up and see the number 97 driving him straight into the ground!
I was thrilled with the run-D. Only 49 yards on the ground for the fins, nice job. That 3rd & 7 run call in the 4th though, what was up with that. When it was 3rd & 2, you run after the penalty you have to throw it. We have Brett Favre behind center, don’t be scared now.
Mangini sat on the lead the entire second half — He took the ball out of Brett Favre’s hands and kept the Dolphins in the game — If Mangini keeps this up we are not going to make the playoffs — Inexcusable –
Where the Hell was Farve in the 4th Qtr.?
Perfectly said by TimNY!
It’s obvious the Jets still need time to gel, but bottom they got the win on the road. Well done!
where do i start with todays game…FIRST of all we got the “W” and primarily,thats ALL that matters……with that being said,WE GOT LUCKY!! dont get me wrong,i felt that we DOMINATED all game! PACE,REVIS,COTCH,LOWERY(looked like a veteran)RHODES,FAVRE,TJ,and the rest of our DEFENSE were SOLID! now to the “LUCK” part….FAVRES “hail mary”pass that was caught by STUCKY was lucky,and WITHOUT that catch/TD,we WOULD HAVE LOST!! im not taking anything away from todays WIN but thats just a FACT! i know we are only gonna GET BETTER,but lets not start sucking each other off JUST YET! there were MANY BRIGHT SPOTS in todays game,but there are quite a few areas in need of IMPROVEMENT…its a LONG season,but i am DEFINITELY happy with the WIN today!! J-E-T-S JETS! JETS!! JETS!!! P.S. i NEVER wish injury on ANYONE,but BRADY going down will only improve our chances.
Teams will not run all over us ever again, or use the run to control the clock and keep our offense off the field. We looked like a different team then in previous years..a bigger, stronger and faster team. Our pass defense looked solid, and coverage was tight. I think the extreme heat wore on them toward the end of the game. Heck, the heat wore out those Miami fans as many seemed to bail out way early.
The OL can run block, and pass protect. Thomas Jones showed flashes of his former Bears self.
Brett will be more effective as the season progresses, and he learns his receivers better. The TD pass to JC was the sort of pass that Chad just was physically not able to throw.
We are a much improved team and easier to watch and enjoy, and despite our mistakes today ..well we’re just starting out. Wait till Keller and Coles get involved.
I am filled with hope and anticipation….YES WE CAN!!!
P.S.S. mike nugent is horrible! how do you get a bruised thigh when you werent even TOUCHED!!??
brady has a torn acl and will be out for the season.
hey HOZ,is that a FACT or WISHFUL THINKING!!???
is on the patriots blog.
Congrats to the D, they looked good and effective, the secondary was sharp and the pass defense was great, as was the run stopping ability of the Jets. Now for the negative, the Offensive line was terrible, if the Jets want to see Farve finish the season, they had better give him better pass protection than what was afforded him today against a young defense in Miami, a team without J.Taylor or Zack Thomas. New England, Buffalo, or any team with a decent D will chew him up. But the up side to this game is that they will become a little more familiar with each other as the season progresses as opposed to the preseason and two a days.
Every aspect of the team improved today with the exception of nugent. Cut him and get a back up kicker as well. We don’t need 4 QB’s but we do need a kicker. I agree Mangini was conservative in the 2nd half but the team played awesome, and I am very excited about this team this year.
Not missing Brady at all here anyone else? Maybe he can sell more cologne or underwear or whatever.
yahoo sports also confirmed that brady is out for the season.
Hey, I think Brett deserves more than a C-. I would give him a B-! He’s been a Jet for a month, after all.
He’s obviously still learning and his two TDs today were things of beauty. The Jets are so lucky to have him. I hope they realize this.
just found out Brady’s done for the year fantastic
its not on patspulpit.com what blog are you talking about
The pass blocking was ok. Farve 15/22 194yrds 2td 0 ints ~120 rating and he gets a C-? or is that for the whole offence?
Re: Brady — I was at the game when Mo Lewis knocked out Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady came off the bench — The Patriots won the Super Bowl that year — Bottom line: Be careful what you wish for –’
My concern after today is that if Brady is out and we do take a lead against the Patriots next week that Mangini will once again sit on our lead — After all, there is only one Chad Pennington — Therefore, Matt Cassell is not Chad Pennington and we can’t count on him to not pull out a victory for the Patriots — We have to let Favre throw the entire game and put teams away –
I can’t believe this, but Brady is gone for the year. Not that I want to take much joy in another person’s agony, but I can’t say I’m sad to hear the news. Well, this is our chance to take the division. Buffalo was pretty impressive in their win, so we’ll have to see. At least, it’s now a three-team race and not a given the Pats get the division.
Thanks for the most entertaining game since the Superbowl (XLII, of course)!! Now, NFL is really on!! I loved the excitement. and I love Brett Favre! And with the untimely injury of Brady, the AFC East is officially open for speculation. Me likey! Go Jets
I said it earlier — loved the way that Pace and Lowery played, and the defense in general. If you told me that they were going to hold Pretty Ricky and Ronnie Brown to under 50 yards COMBINED, I’d have said you were crazy. If this defense is for real, they are going to win more than they are going to lose.
Nice to see Jones running well. And you know Favre will get better as he continues to work with the receivers. Just need to improve the special teams … but Westhoff is back.
It was nerve-racking, but ultimately a win is a win — and on the road vs. a division rival is even more important, especially if Brady’s injury is serious.
yahoo sports is reporting brady’s tore some knee ligaments ..and TOM BRADY IS DONE FOR THE SEASON!!
not that it matters i always said its not brady its the system cassell should keep it chugging ..damn him
Most encouraging thing about the game: they stopped the run and ran the ball well. The offense was certainly a little sloppy and I agree the D will have to work on the midrange passes to TE’s, but here’s something else to be grateful for: Favre got two touchdowns Chad would never have gotten, the bomb to Cotchery (which looked like and audible to me) and the schoolyard improvisation on the 4th and 13 to Stuckey. Chad played well and got all the points you’d expect him to on smart passes within his comfort zone but the difference was the points Favre manufactured out of thin air with his wiles and big arm.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AlFqz.5tgR7WmOYI9Q7QPkhDubYF?slug=ms-bradyoutforyear090708&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Can’t confirm from anywhere besides on Yahoo.
R in CT
I agree on your point about Westhoff. There were a couple of times during the game where I said to my sons, “The Cane will work that out.”
Running game looked fantastic, really impressed with Pace, Stuckey, and Lowery (although he did get beat for a TD, it was a good throw). For those saying the Jets sat on the lead, albeit somewhat true, the 2 drives in which the Jets didnt do anything in the 4th quarter they had terrible field position so I cant blame them fully for being conservative.
The game should have been over in the first half, anyone else notice the Jet receivers getting creamed before the ball arrived in the first half. Coles dropped a sure TD pass, leading to the miss field goal and Nugent getting hurt. Eric Smith looked friggin awful out there, he looked lost on the TD pass in the first half, and a handful of other plays as well. I wouldnt be surprised to see Elam out there shortly. But, a win is a win, always room for improvement.
The Nugent injury didn’t cost them any points. If he’s not hurt, he makes the FG, and they kick a FG on 13-7. Instead, he missed the FG, they got the TD, didn’t get the conversion, missed the 2. 13-7 at that point.
A win is a win and this is the kind of game we would have lost last year. What’s more, historically, Favre usually starts the season sub-par and Chad usually has his best games early in the year. That being said, Chad played great and I am happy for him. Speaking of Chad, JStyne, you are a real tool. Give credit where credit is due and put your personal feelings aside. The way you write, one would think you are a NY sportswriter or something. Perhaps you and Nikolas should meet somewhere in the “Extreme Poster TJB Deathmatch”. I don’t know who I’d root for but either way I’d be glad that there would be less pathetic posts to skip over on this great blog.
The Oline looked terrible in pass protection (though good running the ball) and to everyone who’s been badmouthing TJ, now you can shut up and start respecting what he did last year with NO Oline. They better get the Oline to protect Favre better quick, or it could be a long year. If they fix that and with Brady out for the year (Karma can be a beautiful thing), things could get real interesting in the AFC East.
THE PASS FROM BRETT WAS NOT A HAIL MARY. IT WAS THE CHAD SPECIAL.
Did anyone else notice the continuation of Wallace Wright’s elite special teams play? He seemed to make a lot of big time tackles.
The only thing that stopped us from crushing Miami was the coaching. I thought that we could have run the ball down their throats but, we went away from the run, many times, when we had the opportunity to punish their defense. Our defense did a great job but, the fact that we couldn’t cover Fasano scares me. Eric Smith didn’t have a good game. Favre to Cotchery was a beautiful thing. As many of you know, I am a Chad fan. You could see from his play that, we could have won this year with Chad, as we will with Brett. It is ironic that Brett couldn’t beat Chad, until he did it with Chad’s team. All in all, a typical Jet game. As a Jet fan, it is never easy for us. Hopefully, as the year goes on and the players get familiar with each other, we can get a few blowouts. I am looking for the Defense to bring it from all angles, next week. Go Jets.
What did Brett do bad today that caused a C-? Thought he looked great and would give him a B+ (2 TD’s & 120 something QB rating). Mistakes on his part - that fumble, and a poor pass to coles in the end zone that led to that missed FG; besides that, cant blame him!
Have to agree with Johnny Styne- Mangini cant be playing so conservative- just running the ball in the 4th quarter and playing the CB soft on Defense! Just allowing CP to pick us apart for those 10 yd passes underneath, that what he excels at!
We dominated that came til the 4th quarter, but u ask anyone who is not a Jets fan and they will say that was a close game, the Jets still suck, havent showned anything! I blame it on the Play Calling on offense and defense in the 4th quarter!
O line looking bad, was in part to Favre holding on to the ball to long. That was not a poor pass to Coles, grant it, it was a little low, but if a receiver gets both hands on the ball it should be caught, no excuses. The Nugent injury did cost them points, Jets decided to go for 2 on the TD pass to Stuckey, instead of kicking the extra point, and they did not get a TD on the drive he injured himself, Nugent missed the FG and the Fins got the ball back. Going to be interesting if they bring someone in if his injury is serious, cause Graham cant kickoff or kick FG’s.
swizzle,
I saw what you saw. Should have been 2-3 pass interference calls on the ‘Phins in the first half.
i haven’t been able to see comments for a week or so. what goes on?
Lowery was unbelievable, he gave up the 2nd TD but it was a heck of a throw by Chad. He played so big for most of the game and is as much of a force on the run support. There was one run, wide left in which he diagnosed it immediately, penetrated deep in the backfield where he took on the blocker strong and took such a textbook path to the ballcarrier that he forced the rb inside into the defense for a short gain. Its scary what they guy is going to be like with experience.
Now for the bad, Eric Smith, blows, I blame him for CP’s first touchdown pass as he joined two LBs covering the short over the middle option leaving the CB to cover two WRs on the right side of the end zone. I also blame him for a couple of the Fassano catches. He needs to step up or he will be splitting time before he knows it. His strength is supposed to be the pass defense. They would have been better off with Barret in there (I just threw up in my mouth after I typed that).
Overall though the defense is so much more sound with all the additions both against the run and pass. Love Jenkins, love Pace and I loved how Bryan Thomas looked. Think Ellis is happy to be playing next to Jenkins, great start for him too.
They look so much bigger on both sides of the ball, the difference is noticeable.
This game played out much like the Giant game, as it should have been a blowout. Special team issues, then Mangini went into a shell, which i somewhat understand with Favre still not 100% there.
Mike Nugent has to toughen up and get out there for that extra point attempt when we went for 2, come on now.
What’s the standard for having an emergency placekicker, I never imagined Tangini would get caught so seemingly unprepared for anything. Would any other team have been in the same mess? How could Graham not know how to make an extra point?
Coles was clearly not himself. Brad Smith was more a decoy than an option and Mangold had a horrible penalty on the last drive that cost them a good chance to ice the game on 3 and 2. You just can’t make that mistake in that spot, totally inexcusable.
Im looking at the home Arizona game as a realistic target for the true Favre coming out party. He should feel very comfortable in the offense by then after going against two top defenses.
Maybe we can win one of the next two on the back of the defense, running game and a little bit more Favre.
I hear the complaints about conservative play calling with the lead but it was a good opportunity to develop the running game. The run game will be key to the Jets success this year and if you’re not going to try to get TJ and the line in gear when you have a lead, when are you going to do it.? I think it’s a huge confidence builder for Jones and the O-line for him to open with a 100 yard game.
nugent DID cost us points…if he would have hit that ONE EXTRA POINT, then they could have only TIED US if they happened to score that last second touchdown(granted they could have went for two,but they WOULDNT have…..plus,NOONE mentioned how VERNON GHOLSTON DIDNT HAVE ONE…..NOT ONE TACKLE!! he also missed a QUATERBACK SACK that he SHOULD have made!
I am more concerned with the playcalling in the 4th quarter esp on Defense.
It was too conservative that is why the Dolphins marched down the field so easily. Not enough blitzers that was why Chad was getting the job down.
Typical Bob Sutton conservatism he’s a douche and needs to go. I trust Mangini calling the defensive not Sutton.
http://www.GreenRewind.com
New coverage on Jets via audio podcasts. Good coverage!
Gholston didn’t play a ton. I wouldn’t be too concerned. He did miss a sack but it was a tough one as he was getting pushed back while Pennington stepped up in the pocket.
vb
i agree…i just got done saying something about our D giving chad a chance to come back…
Here’s where the Jets started their drives in the 4th quarter: 14, 2 and 18. That’s when you play conservatively with a lead and run the ball to eat clock. The Fins won the field position battle all game, but especially in the 2nd half. The game was close because of Nugent’s missed FG and injury which prevented the PAT. Hand it to Chad for making it close at the end, but it was the right call to rely on your defense, especially when you know the opposing QB has to eat clock to march down the field.
Also, if Woody doesn’t get that false start after the 2 minute warning making a 3rd and 2 a 3rd and 7, the Jets would’ve run out the game.
why wouldn’t you go for 2, after the 3rd TD? What do you have to lose, if the score a TD you still lose the game, but if you make the 2 then you have protected yourself.
What is the early consensus of CP and BT as our olb’s for this season? CP is a great pursuer from the back side while BT maintains containment on the strong side to force the runner in in K.J or CP. I”m seeing a more mature BT than in the past, even when he had his contract year. He’s doing the small things to make our D strong. About time he stepped to the plate.
Plenty of reasons to be optimistic. For being the first game of the season and having a new QB, I thought we palyed as well as could be expected. The game should not have ben that close, we were the much better team. We have some wrinkles to work out, but that will come with playing time.
However, Eric Smith’s play was inexcusable, he totally blew it on the first TD by making the wrong coverage read, he should followed Fasano, instead Coleman had to try the impossible. Hopefully they can work that out with him.
Are you guys sure that the error was not David Barrett’s? It seemed to me after watching the play several times that he was the guy who did not switch over.
Harlan
Harlan,
I was definetly Eric Smith, Smith either didn’t know his responsibility or got fooled into covering the slot receiver. Either way it was Smith who was supposed to cover the TE.
I want to take a min and reflect on Adam Schein. This guy is the worst ever. Honestly, name one person that is worse then him ? From his voice down to his rediculous predictions nobody even comes close…….(maybe Chris Carter) Here is some of Adam’s most recent work ( Jet Nation) ….”Jets will lose to the Dolphins on the deep ball to Tedd Ginn Jr” or my favorite “Chad knows the tendencies of the Jets CB’s.” This guy is amazing…….
very good article, 1 mistake. ‘very strange injury to nugent that cost the jets 4 points’ is not true…the jets elected to go for it on 4th and 13 instead of kicking a field goal. the result was a touchdown. if nugent is healthy and we kick the field goal, that means at that point we would have been 4 points ahead, or if he missed we would have been 7 points ahead. u see…
other than that great article, and yes, brady is down for the season so this means the division is ours for the taking.
The 12th man will be there this Sunday, I will be the crazy @sshole screaming ‘D#’ on first down, so i better not see any of you sitting in your seats!
Where are you today Nikolas?
Don’t you have some inane rant about the FO screwing us or how we are lost without CP?
I’ll give you until this afternoon to lick your wonds and get back to it. This blog just isn’t the same without it.
I agree with the guy who hates schein. He is the worst, although gary stein is a close second. I can’t understand why schein - who clearly doesn’t like the jets- is on Jets Nation. Kind of ruins that show for me.