Audible: Going Into the Bye Week …
Posted on September 29th, 2008 by Bassett
So, with four games in the books and the Jets headed for their bye week, how do you feel about the Jets and their chances as they enter the next quarter of their season? Do you think this team is primed to make a run? Have you not seen enough to be convinced? Sound off!
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Despite the big win yesterday, I am not convinced yet on anything except that the receivig corp and Favre have started to get into rhythym. Give me a ground game and I will be more confident. I never thought I would be saying this, but I can’t wait until Jesse Chatman is back to provide further depth. (Don’t count on Richardson doing any screens or running with the football, he looked bad on a pass that could’ve been picked).
The schedule is favorable. But I would like to see the team play better in the trenches. They struggle to get the key yard and dont even resist on defense at the goal line. Somehow, it seems that Harris is not the same force he was last year at stuffing the run. He’s making plays but not close enough to the line of scrimmage.
I’m a natural born skeptic, but I’m liking the way things are progressing. I think we have a really good shot, but there is one thing that we need more than anything: CONSISTENCY.
From game to game, I’ve noticed that one unit will play well, while the other is either mediocre or downright atrocious. More often it’s been the defense carrying the offense, but this weekend proved that we have the weapons to make plays.
With two weeks to rest and recoup, there’s no reason why everybody shouldn’t be on the same page when we play Cincy.
just heard on espn eric smith is going to be suspended for 1 game and fined 50 grand for the hit on boldin…i didnt think this was that bad of a hit?? it was more of a collision after the first hit
hopefully it is appealed
Great point Doctor K. Jesse Chatman should provide great depth. Lets be honest, Thomas Jones is not a number one running back. Thank god they are letting Leon get more invovled. Leon makes things happen….gotta love him. The offense yesterday was amazing… it is clear that, given more time (awesome timing for a bye week), they can score on anyone in this league. As good as the defense was in the first half, Mangini cannot let his team collapse like they started to do. We need to close these games out without making things exciting. Whats with all the yards we give up to TEs? Sometimes it seems like they can move the ball on us at will. If we tighten that part of are defense up, we should be set.
Let Brett be Brett and good things will happen. Id rather live and die with Brett Favre, than play another year of Chad P / Herm Edwards Ball. Its a new team, its a new gun…Hey Coles… how you liking Brett now? Thank god Brett shut him up, while still giving Cotchery 2.
EddieC I agree with you that Eric Smith got screwed.
From my prospective, Kerry Rhodes hit him from behind, which made Boldin fall forwards revealing hit helmet to Eric Smith who would have hit him in the chest if Boldin hadn’t been hit from behind, but then again, in a traffic accident, if i was hit from behind, and naturally, hit the guy in front of me, I would be liable for that, so I guess you really cant argue
The Jets did look great however, I am not ready to say that we are a playoff team just yet. One thing is for certain, Farve brings that excitement back to NY! Lets get rested up and hopefully take the time to work on getting more of the playbook down for Farve.
J-E-T-S…Jets,Jets,Jets
Oh by the way. I found a Jets Chant ringtone for free at http://freehtc.com/jetstone It sounds great, a little off tempo, but it turned heads at work today.
Lets go JETS!
As far as my outlook on the Jets, they are getting better, and getting better every week, which is really the only reasonable thing you can ask for in a football team. With that said, Mangini has a history of turning the team around during the bye week, esp the defense, and I agree with whoever said that it seems that one side of the ball is playing well, the other isnt, well.. this bye week gives us a chance to string all those things together and come out stronger than ever…
Thanks Marc-The only thing i disagree with is i’d rather not play one more minute of Chad/herm ball, much less a year.
Anybody who thinks this team is not much better because of favre is being naive.
As a note, everybody has to get over this playbook nonsense. he has played 282 games. ALL the plays are the same on all teams. He understands the plays. I believe it was the ultra cautious coaching that kept a lid on it. mangini’s oh my God we made a mistake coaching held him back. Did anyone read Coles comments that had to be a brat to get the coaches to call those passes.
This team has very capable personnel. Now the coaching has to catch up.
More aggressive “d” and more aggressive “o”.
We did not lose to the Pats only because of field position, but because we didn’t move the ball when started on the 20 and we couldn’t stop them when they started on the 40.
I’m sorry-that’s schemes and coaching.
Sutton and Shotty have shown nothing. Trick plays don’t win Super
Bowls.
I am hopeful. But the game plans in the first 3 games stunk. That’s coaching.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed. This could be fun.
I would love to be convinced and the next 5 games feel like we should win at least 4 however whenever I get too optomistic they play like the Jets again.
This game certainly showed the Receivers and Favre are getting closer, the line seemed to be better on protection but sucked on the run, again.
Defense was all over it after the 1st drive but then went to sleep for the 2nd half.
STOP PLAYING PREVENT DEFENSE, they might as well call it Let them back in the game defense.
All that said, I am glued to every game and betting them every game.
J! E! T! S! JETS! JETS! JETS!
The goal should still be atleast 11 wins, we have a soft schedule and I think this team will be ready to go out of the bye week. lets go jets
I’m convinced that the Jets are on the right path to victory however I’m going to pull a Mangini and not allow myself to playoffs just yet but I must say the future does look very bright for the Jets. But we do need some more from the running game and the defense needs to step it up during the second half.
Even so I’m very happy with where the Jets are at this point and with a “soft” schedule coming up after the BYE week, I believe New York can increase their win total hopefully enough to get into the 8 letter word I’m not allowing myself to say.
As I wrote in another post, if jenkins is hurt, our D suffers dramatically. No mystery that Jenkins sat out most of the second half and the D looked just as bad as they did against the bolts.
Interesting that Mangini said that the cards running the no huddle caused such problems for the D in the 2nd half. The no huddle is not a new concept. It was when the bills first ran it about 20 years ago, but at this point, the no huddle should fool you for a drive at most, not for a half. It all points back to Jenkins: no beast in the middle=crap D.
Before the season, I felt that if the Jets came out of the first quarter 2-2 (losses expected against Pats and Chargers), they could take next quarter to get their real identity established. I, too, am looking for Chatman’s return, as I think the O-line and the ground game will be the next to work into the program, as well as make the adjustments necessary against the inside, slot and TE coverage weakness that has been exposed. I expect them to go at least 3-1. If they do, then they will be in a good position for the stretch run they will have against the Pats, Titans and Denver.
So far, the team is right where I had hoped and realistically thought they’d be. Very up and down, but 2-2 at the bye. Normally, I don’t like the bye week, but under the current circumstances, I think it comes at a good time for the Jets. They have two weeks now to build off what they learned about themselves this Sunday. If the connection between LC and Favre wasn’t just a one time deal, then I really think the Jets will have a much more wide open offense from here on out. A favorable schedule, and a healthy Kris Jenkins give the Jets a legit shot at making a run. Two things I think are critical for long term success this season for the Jets are improvement/consistency in the running game, and figuring out a way to pressure opposing QB’s.
So my answer to the question in this post is: if Jenkins stays healthy (some other starters are important, but Jenkins is the Key) our D should be good enough to get us 10-11 wins. If the Offense plays even half as good as yesterday in most games, we’ll be fine there, too.
A couple of comments:
1) The offense, starting in the second half of the SD game, is really clicking. You can say that was garbage time in SD, but I think it was helpful to get Brett in a rhythm with the receiving corp and it definitely carried over to the ‘Zona game. The only issue is run blocking which takes time to gel. I especially liked the increased usage of Leon this past week and hopefully that continues.
2) It was great to see stepped up pressure by the defense but I am still anti-Sutton. What worries me is the secondary play in the second half. Need to see more consistency there.
3) I disagree with the Harris comment from above, I dvr’d the game and he was making plays all over the field with some great hits as well. I’ll take 8 tackles (6 solo) any day of the week.
4) Too early in the season to make a prediction, but with three very winable games (trap alert) and then buffalo, I like our chances especially if the team keeps progressing and Brett gets even more comfortable with the offense.
Smith should appeal. I could see a fine, but a suspension for a hit that even Whisenhunt said was clean is a little harsh. It seems to me like Goodell is making an example of him because it’s early in the season.
And entering the bye, I agree with George. I am looking for consistent play on both sides of the ball. I am encouraged by what I see from the DLine when Jenkins is in there, but scared a bit when he isn’t there. I like scoring, but it shouldn’t be feast or famine. The good news is that the next three games should be like this past one. Not necessarily as high scoring, but easier to score on. November’s schedule has me a little worried. Buffalo, St Louis, Pats, Tennessee and Denver. We could easily be 1-4 or 2-3 in that stretch. From what I’ve seen so far, the Pats, Broncos, Titans and both Bills games will be our true test. At worst, I could see 9-7, but we have a good chance of also being 11-5 if we play consistently and intelligently.
Oh and I was including St Louis as the 1 win in that stretch just so we are all clear.
Basically, I agree with the ruling against Eric Smith. It was an vicious and dangerous hit with the intentions of trying to hurt his opponent. Immediately after the hit, I began cursing Smith because earlier in the game he made an obvious bone head play and I feel he was trying to make up for his average play by making a big hit which was totally unneccessary. He almost broke his own neck trying to truck the guy. I played D1 in the 90’s and feel that he definitely could have pulled up and simply made a play for the ball.
hm, well first i think emphasis needs to be placed on the fact that the OL is too, fairly new. although faneca and woody are both performing rather well, they AND the other young lineman AND running backs need to become more comfortable before our running games flourishes. just as favre and the receivers need to become familiar, backs and lineman will become familiar with each other over time. (esp. timing and direction of the push). i think t.jones will def. get significantly better in the second half of the season, and l.washington has great vision and natural talent so he’ll be fine. brick has been kinda slow on the pickup, and as far as i can tell, we run better with jones and washington up the middle then when they go to the outside.
LMAO, it’s amazing what one game will do for knee-jerk football fans. Last week, there was almost nothing but irrational, doom and gloom, sky is falling whining, and a few Favre TD passes later, all of the posts I see are overwhelmingly positive. So either the Chicken Littles are now in hiding, or everyone has changed stances in a matter of a few hours.
This is a good football team, playoff potential, but there’s a lot of work left to do. Consistency needs to be top priority. I’m tired of seeing two different teams almost every game. I’m hopeful that coming out of the bye, we’ll see a tighter team, and I’m excited to see how we do against the ’soft’ part of the schedule.
Yesterday was encouraging, but I refused to overreact negatively to the Patriot or Charger games, and I’m not going to go overboard positively because of this game.
Cautious optimism remains the feeling here.
people in general need to make up there mind they want to run then when he does its why isnt he passing schottenheimer is calling an ultra conservitive game blah blah blah i might not be the first to say it but i think schotty called a very good game. the favre pick was actually an offsides on the d but it wasnt called i am glad they threw theball i was a little surprised that on defene when they got up big for the brief half why i didnt see murrell or even gholston i mean lets get them burn in a situation like that
Joe B:
Spoken like a true wise man. Football, like every sport, is predicated on your opponent. Absolutely the offense is starting to work better, but take a look at how much time Farve had to throw compared to the Bolts and Pats. Can not lose sight that Buffalo, Pats, Bolts, Colts are all in our way if we want to do something real this year. Lets see at the end how we all ( CS included) perform with formidable opponents.
The Jets need to stay healthy and play all 4 quarters. The true test will be how this team performs against the Bills and the Patriots down the stretch. If they can’t win those 3 games, at best they are looking at an 11-5 season, which is probably going to be good enough for a wildcard, but then they will still have to face the Bills or Pats in the post-season.
Wtching the post-game interviews wit LC brought a smile to my face. First time I’ve seen him talk so positively about Brett.
Btw, I think it’s good that we have a bye this week. Hopefully Favre’s ankle and Jenkins back will be healed, Jesse Chatman will get some more practice for his return, Justin Miller will hopefully be back, David Clowney could possibly be back ( I really dont know too much information about that so if anyone could tell me some it would be gretafully appreciated.)
Joe B hit the nail on the head with the “cautious optimism” feeling.
As stated above, I am looking forward to Chatman’s return. He is a step faster and hits the hole harder.
The bye week should allow the O to work on more consistancy, and be more efficient. Again the running game needs work.
An injury to Jenkins would be distarious, barring that the defense is head and shoulders better then last year, IMO the problems with the D is not the palyers but the schemes. Playing soft at any point in the game, save for the last few minutes with a big lead, is a recipe for disaster. We must be agressive all game. Our front seven has the potential to be dominant as long as they take off the reigns. We should be 5-3 at the half way point of the season.
Other than Favre should have proven to all JETS fans that he is the real deal, I am still concerned that this coaching staff is not up to the challenge of making this very good JETS team into a great team. Hopefully Schott learned something by looking at the tape of the 2nd and 4th quarters vs the 1st and 3rd quarters. Favre can complete passes that Chad could only complete in his dreams.
The Defense, which I thought was much much stronger is the real achilles heal of this team. Fire Sutton and let Mangini coach the Defense. Or hire Buddy Ryan (is he still alive) to coach the D. Anything would be better than Sutton.
what a great fake by brett and then the bomb to LC. now that takes practice. we still need to run the ball with jones. leon washington is unbelievable.
i’ll be more convinced if when we bet the bills. what a game that is going to be. we could be 6-2 when we beat them.
Zenlaw -
Looking right now as if the Titans will be just as tough, if not tougher than the Bills or Pats. The Pats don’t scare me, and the Bills look good, but really have only one good win (at Jacksonville), and spotted big leads to Oakland and St. Louis.
To your point, if we can’t beat the Bills or Pats in three more tries, I find it hard to imagine how we’d be good enough to go 9-0 in the other games.. An 11-5 season is a pretty laughable proposition if we go 0-3 against those two.
Let’s beat someone good first before we get too excited. I want to win against all the crap teams but I also want at least one win against Buffalo; I want to beat the Patriots and I want a win against either the Titans or the Broncos. Then we know we’re for real.
i am sick and tired of jet fans saying, “when we play the bills we should be 5-2.” its stupid. cinci almost beat the giants at home, and my point is, we are not that good that we can chalk up three games in a row in the nfl. is it dallas, phili, and NE. no. and yes, i said NE bc we just got our asses handed to them at home. so lets enjoy this week. lets get psyched up for the cincinnati game, and hope we can be 3-2 going into the oakland game, which will be a very tough game (whoever is coaching that team).
Justin Miller should be cut, he’s a waste of a roster spot. lowery has done more good in his rookie season so far then miller has his whole career. The only thing he’s done good, is kick off returns.. and we got a few different guys who can do just as well as him.
I dunno why people are saying things will be better when he’s healthy.
i liked to point out that without all that shifting BF looked like his oldself…if shotty continues to allow BF to read the defenses like he did against the cards we can put up alot of points…
but our defense needs to tighten up big time…yea they made alot of plays but after half time it seemed like they thought they won the game…we cant give up that many points anymore… play agressive throughout and can some1 please make a play on 3rd down…for gods sake…our defense is 1 of the worst when it comes to stopping the 3rd down conversions…just my thoughts…
forgot to say im not convinced…until our offense continues to play like they did against the cards and our defense finds a way to stop the 3rd down conversions and allows alot less scoring then i would be convinced…but until then…they haven’t proved to me they are legit…just my thoughts…
Can we stop blaming the coaches when things don’t work and lauding the players when they do. I like the consistency of the approach, but it really doesn’t work like that.
The other thing I noticed so far is that Barrett needs to go. He gets burned way too often and he gives too much cushion on the shorter routes. In the next draft or in the Free Agency market, we need more secondary help.
I believe Brett Favre was sacked – 0 times this week. That kind of went unnoticed. I think the O line did a good job protecting Brett and we are shutting the run game down for other teams.
It has become almost impossible at times for other teams to run the ball on us but we still cannt get off the field on 3 rd down. That leads to the D wearing out and eventually letting giving up chunks of yards in the running game in the 4th quarter of close games.
The D needs to get off the field on 3rd down in order to keep the legs fresh for the 4th quarter.
sjfalcon I agree with you that we do need another safety opposite Kerry Rhodes. If we were to draft a guy who could make an immediate impact like Reggie Nelson did for Jacksonville last year or even Laron Landry for Washington, Our defense would jump to one of the best in the league.
Najy, I think our problem on 3rd down is being too conservative. I was at the game, and all the fans including myself thought it was ridiculous that we weren’t blittzing as much as we were in the first half, leaving us with basically no sacks in the second half. Hopefully this bye week Mangini will take over the defense from Sutton and call the shots.
Fred,
That was even more evident if you go back to the Pats game and Chargers game. The D shut down the run for 3 quarters against both teams but obviously tired out in the 4 quarter due to being on the field for so long.
Need to work on 3rd down, making the big stops and getting off the field when we need to.
Excellent points, Najy. I noticed too that in every game so far, the defense has looked absolutely gassed going into the 4th qtr. It is to be expected in the early part of the season in 110 degree Miami weather, but I’d be concerned if we ever had to go into OT . Where is the conditioning? Something tells me, Parcells wouldn’t let that happen if he were still coaching this team.
Also, everyone is bashing Thomas Jones for his lack of running stats and hussle, and lauding Jenkins for the blocked FG. But it was Thomas Jones who saved the TD on that interception play when he could’ve just jogged after the runner…that showed me something.
He gave the players a softer training camp due to complaints. They seemed to look the same at the beginning of last year. They did get better physically down the stretch. We didn’t win but they weren’t too exhausted to run off the field. Ha Parcells left a loooooooonnnnnnnnnnggggggg time ago.
Things are looking up….You give Favre the ball and he is going to make it happen!! Our O line was awesome, not once was Favre on his back and look what he did!! Looking forward to the Oakland game, one that I can attend. Does anyone know where the JETS stay when they come to Oakland? I’ve got my tickets, just looking for where I should stay. Would love to meet up with the team in the lobby.
Thanks in advance!!
Cali Jet Fan
JETS!!!!