Game Recap: The Defense Wins A Game
If you said you knew the Jets’ defense would play this well this soon, you’re a liar.
The New York Jets performed brilliantly today–at least on defense– in a 26-14 shellacing of the winless, Carson Palmer-less Cincinnati Bengals. It was as dominating a performance as any in the past three years of Eric Mangini’s leadership and was effective enough to catapult the New York Jets squarely into playoff contention. At 3-2, with two winnable games coming up on the schedule, the Jets can certainly claim to be in the hunt, especially because the offense, today, was mediocre, at best, with three ugly turnovers, yet they still won.
Before we get into the details of the game, though, we should take a moment for sober reflection. We should remind ourselves (by slugging our best friend in the arm) that we need to have a little perspective. It’s not time to buy Super Bowl tickets just yet. Yes, the Bengals have been very competitive against some of the NFL’s best, forcing the Giants into overtime and nearly tying the Cowboys in the fourth quarter. Yes, the Bengals have also played decently on defense. But, it was the Bengals, after all, an 0-4 team more associated with the heights of the penitentiary system than the rarefied air of the football playoff system. And, they were starting a guy at QB who had only started four other times in his career. Still, as Brett Favre said elegantly after the game “A win is a win.”
But, even in the absence of Carson Palmer who did not play, the Jets’ defense was still impressive. Cincinnati’s offense, with two pro-bowl receivers, only completed one, count ‘em, one impact drive in the entire game (if you don’t count the garbage time drive when the game was out of reach). That’s pretty dominant. Even if you count both drives, the Cubs only produced two impact drives in four quarters of football. The NFL average is 4.7! The Jets’ D gave up 171 total net yards, only 43 on the ground (on 21 rushing plays). To tell you how badly dominated the Cincy offense was, allow me to point out that the Bengals’ quarterback was their leading ground gainer and fourth leading receiver catching one of his own passes.
The game began with a typical, post bye-week kluge. On the third play from scrimmage, Favre was blind-sided and the ball was scooped up by the avian-named Ndukwe for a Cincy td. That was about the only highlight for the Bengals who pretty much accomplished nothing else on offense for the rest of the game. Still, the Jets started out in a 7-0 hole. Undaunted, they then took the ball for twelve of the next fourteen minutes and finished the quarter even at 7-7. Still, that tying touchdown would not come easily and it would signal that the Jets’ offense was not going to be particularly crisp on this fine afternoon. There would be two touchdowns aborted by penalties on the same series before Thomas Jones finally took a little swing pass into the end zone.
From that point on, it would be all Jets. The one exception was a two-minute drive at the end of the second quarter that exposed a few of the Jets’ defense’s remaining weaknesses. One, is that they were twice unprepared for the Bengals’ offense to line up and snap the ball quickly. That cost them the touchdown as a QB sneak by Fitzgerald managed to push into the end zone just before the half ended. The other, was that there was no general on the field to call timeout when they weren’t ready. It’s fair to ask where is this team’s Ray Lewis?
The problems seemed to be corrected in the second half, though. The defense was pretty much in control throughout the second half. Special mention should go out to Kris Jenkins, who had another dominating performance, to Sean Ellis, who was disruptive particularly when lined up over center, and to the linebackers, particularly David Harris and Calvin Pace who were both exceptional. Youtube will no doubt feature Harris on a key second down play, lifting the blocker off the ground and carrying him into the Cincy quarterback for a sack.
The offense was spotty. Favre was not at his best at times underthrowing Coles badly for the first INT and throwing into double coverage for the second. Coles missed a couple of passes he should have caught but he still made some tough ones. Cotchery was sparkling as usual. Both receivers collected eight passes each.
Thomas Jones had a pretty good day although the stats didn’t show it with only 65 yards on 17 attempts. Leon Washington spoke loudly with a couple of nice third down conversion yacs and great punt returning. The Bengals had no answer for him. The tight ends were a mixed blessing with Baker and Bubba Franks catching key passes but Baker also missing the block on Ndukwe to give up seven. For you rookie watchers, Dustin Keller was nowhere to be seen. The offense as a whole was just good enough to keep the defense from spending a lot of time on the field. It’ll have to play a lot better to win the tougher games later in the schedule but every week can’t be perfect. As long as the team keeps improving, we ought to be happy.
So, the game was an ugly win. We’ll all take it, no doubt. We were mediocre on offense and sharp on defense. Next week: Oakland. Let’s hope the Raiders still won’t be able to get out of their own way by then.
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Good Notes
I knew it was going to be an ugly win , I mean come on you dont expect favre to throw 6 TD’s every game , but we did well against the pass , but I dont get ti last year , we were I think in the top 12 against the pass and bottom 25 in Rush D and now its flipped flop , it tells me how silly this situation , but it seems like its coming together and maybe we might finish as a
top 10 D overall , oh the guys at SNY love this site OMG ,
Leave it to the JETS and the JETS coaching staff to turn which should have been an easy win into an ugly sloppy win. The JETS have a long long way to go if they are going to win division or make the playoffs.
Why would the jets have an easy win when the Giants and Cowboys didnt make it look easy?
No team plays beautiful football week in and week out. The better teams know how to win ugly.
Hey Debbie Downer, get a grip. There was no point where we were seriously in danger of losing the game, and we saw what the defense is capable of. If you’re going to complain after every win, why even watch?
At the same time, did this guy really just tell us not to buy Super Bowl tickets? As if we were all going to start popping champagne because of a 12-point win over the Bengals?
Shaun Ellis has 4 sacks in the 3-4 in only 5 games , last yr he got 5 sks in 16 games , what a difference Jenkins makes , and Calvin Pace , 35 million dollars well spent , cant say the same for our O line in terms of our rushing , TJ is still under 4 ypc and he should be avg 80 yds per game , but it will come together
the editor,
there is no such thing in the nfl as an easy win…there is no such thing in sports as an easy win….obviously you were never an athelete….real sports arent like EA sports madden where there are such things as easy wins…
there is a reason why the games are played moron….
What’s with the screen, draw, bubble screen play-calling in the 2nd qtr? Mangini and Schott are still playing not to lose. The only time I saw Stuckey and Keller was on the tip drill interception. B. Smith on the end-around is ok – but let him throw the ball; the end-around flea-flicker.
Who said the game would be an ugly Jets win?
This guy.
When the Rams beat the red-hot Redskins all us jet fans should be happy we had an ugly win!!
vbsiena
I think everyone knew or expected it to be an ugly win , If anyone of us thought brett was gonna throw 6 TDs again were morons
Andrew,
At 3-2, I wouldn’t start talking about Playoff contention. It’s a long season. It was a good game for the Defense but, as Palmer was on the sidelines, I would not get excited.
I don’t believe in taking out Jenkins on every third down. His upfield push allows us to put pressure on the QB. If they wan’t to keep him out for a series, here an there, to keep him fresh, okay. This is doubly important down by the end zone. When Jenkins is not in, we are a different defense.
I was at the game, did LC drop his second TD in two weeks or did the D-back knock it down?
Favre is a thing of beauty. Play calling is hurting.
Coaching, in general, is questionable. Going for the first down, in the first quarter, on fourth down was stupid and desparate. Lucky for us, it worked.
Mangini goes for it on fourth. We have converted 6 of 7. Why wouldn’t we? Favre had three bad turnovers and we won. I’m happy with that.
“a win is a win” im happy
Harvlis,
It was mostly a drop by LC on the play you’re talking about, but it would have been an above average catch if he brought it in. As for Jenkins staying in on third down, Ellis seemed to be getting a great push when they shifted him over to the nose, so I have no problem with Jenkins getting a breather.
As to going for the fourth down there, they were on the 38 or 39 yard line I think? That’s too close to risk a punt since a touchback creates a net of only 18 or 19 yards on the punt, and it’s too far for a field goal, therefore you’re pretty much forced into going for it. Not gonna argue with you about questionable play calling though.
Shaun Ellis’ 4 sacks have a lot to do with replacing Jenkins over the center on third downs so there are two sides to that coin.
Going for it on 4th down at the Bengals 38 is pretty much standard offensive procedure. A missed fifty-five yard goal gives the Bengals the ball at about the 45 and the likelihood of anything but a touchback on a punt from there is very low. The chances of gaining 1 yard and a chance at scoring vs. an 18 yard differential in Bengals starting potential is exactly the right gamble.
Favre definitely had an off day but Baker whiffed abominably on the block that resulted in the fumble that went for six, and also had a drop. No wonder he was so psyched about picking up the 1st on 3rd and 4 on the final drive. Not a good day to bring up the raise he wants, though.
I agree the D played very well in general, though it was against a very green backup. There were times when the pressure didn’t get there and he made plays. Doesn’t surprise me they went back to some 3 and 4 man rushes after that. The Jets were leading the league in yards given up on blitzes early on. Not sure if they still are but it’s an area of concern.
Defense was completely dominant. They only gave up a 2-minute drill at the end of the 1st half (which by the way, they have to work on their 2-minute defense). Offense was clicking nicely until they got a lead. Then they went soft. This was not the competitive team to measure ourselves against. Winning like this only means we don’t suck. We still don’t know much more than that.
I was there too, and as happy as everyone else as a win is a win – ask MN about beating the Lions ugly or Dallas losing to the Cards after a pretty amazing comeback and a win of the toss…in any event, I’m not overly convinced about how wonderful this D is given the amount of time given the QB, and feel it would most likley have been a very different result had Palmer played. Maybe going against a rookie QB gave us a boost of confidence allowing our D to excel, maybe not, but either way, we have to as someone wrote last week, be able “to put the boot on the throat of weaker teams” before we can have the confidence to go out and beat the league’s elite.
jetsfanforlife
fitzpatrick wasnt a rookie , i was like in his 3rd or 4th yr, silly rabbit , and yea atleast we didnt allow a 3rd winless team to get there 1st win , but i hope Lions g owinless its nothing against them its just that the phins where so close last year and it would be so great for the league if it did happen , lol , im so weird
It was ugly nut at least we won the D is coming together and by the way the only reason we were ranked high last year in PASS DEFENSE was because we were so bad at stopping the RUN teams knew it was a waste of time to PASS if you can RUN on us all day.I def like the way we are playing compared to last year because even tho OUR D has been inconsistent we are applying wayyyyyyyy more pressure and getting more turnovers. Thank GOD for Kris Jenkins This MAN IS PRO BOWL BOUND !!
i dont get you people, when the jets lose, you all complain, even when we win, some of you still complain, just be glad that we won, a win is a win
if you have myspace, then come Jet fans and join Jets Nation, the link is below
http://groups.myspace.com/NFLNewYorkJets
too many pessimists here. The D is awesome, our run D is best in the league.
YOU NEED TO GIVE JENKIS A BREAK. 3 AND LONG IS THE BEST TIME. GOING FOR IT ON 4TH DOWN PUTS ALOT OF PRESSURE ON THE DEFENSE AND FUTURE DEFENSES. THE JETS ARE STILL IN LEARNING MODE. THEY ARE A GOOD TEAM. HOW GOOD NOBODY WILL KNOW TIL BUFFALO? BUT FIRST WE NEED TO BEAT ON OAKLAND. GETTING THERE THE NEXT TWO GAMES W/O ANY INJURIES WILL BE A TASK.
-IT WAS GOOD TO SE THE JETS BLITZING AND SENDING THREE AND STILL GETTING A SACK. EVEN A CORNER BACK BLITZ!!!
The Bengals TD at the end of the first half shold not have been, due to Utecht’s dropped passed, but the call was not reviewed and the call stood as a reception.
Calvin Pace has to be one of the better FA signings in recent memory and is worth every penny. The run D is sensational. Elam looked good out there today and hopefully continues to start over Smith.
Still don’t understand some of the play calling by Schott, TJ should have had more than 20 carries.
A good win against a hungry team, who almost beat the Cowboys and Giants.
Humourous moment of game from section 108
Bunch of drunk Aussies chanting throughout game, “Give the ball to Ben”
I’m getting a sick degree of pleasure watching Belichick suffer.
i think elam should have started over smith from the start….i really dont think smith is that good and i think elam is a better tackler
Not particularly impressed with this post, especially the dustin keller was no where to be seen because he should of had a TD but it was called back, no reason to take a shot at him he has been great for us
and catapulting us into playoff contention?? hold your horses buddy, this was not an impressive win the bengals are in dissaray to begin with and w/o palmer they are just a deer in headlights
Jets win, Pats and Phins both lose in crushing fashion. Good day. :)
Joe B
your right it was a good day , but you know what would make it better , the bills losing huge also , that would just make my day
special teams looked much better. has there been a game when wallace wright hasn’t made a downfield tackle? that guy is a special teams beast!
also what was up with utecht’s non catch? is that a coaching error or was it as someone suggested a referee error as a team is not allowed to challenged a call with less than two minutes left?
Electric Ham –
If you’re referring to my post, I’m not taking shots at Stuckey or Keller. But correct me if I’m wrong – 0 catches between them.
Im a little surprised the offense looked the way it did. I tend to blame it more on the lateral passes that were constantly called, stalling drives.
Most annoying moment at the game was hearing “5 yard reception to Ocho Cinco” Thanks God he only caught a handful of passes!
Flight Crew uniforms are getting better, don’t look like their carrying loads anymore!
Defense played great other than one drive at the end of the first half. Special teams had their best game. Offense made the drive to eat up the clock and score when they had to. I’ll take it.
Electric Ham
No shots on Keller. I love the kid. Still, when Favre was interviewed he mentioned his receivers and got to six names without saying DK. I know he was trying to hit everybody and DK just didn’t pop into his head. Add that to the few sightings yesterday and you’d have to say the kid’s gotten a little lost. It could be something minor like the kid hasn’t got a memorable nickname (Stuckey is called “Stuck”) but it’s worth mentioning.
Unless I missed something, Carson Palmer played against the cowboys and giants. We played against a 7th round draft pick from the QB factory called Harvard. Again an ugly win.
Can we please trade baker and a 5th round pick to KC for Gonzalez??
thanks for the great recap….getting text messages while tailgating at cards cowboys did the job…but you painted a better picture!!
sick win by the cards….great to shut up all the cowboy fans at the game.
lets head west and beat the raiders!!
and if baker and a 5th can get gonzalez i am all for it!!!
I know something must be obvious when even the NY Sports Media writes about it.
All game long on third down the Jets pulled Barton, put in Drew Coleman and played a gimme zone in which we give up easy long first downs if the Bungles WR doesn’t drop the ball or the QB misfire. Drew Coleman can’t find his own manhood in his pants much less a defender on a football field. He is consistently the worse player on the field — he makes Elam and Poteat look proficient. Yikes!
And, the soft approach did not work with Ryan F. I didn’t think we needed to be blitz crazy but I failed to see the benefit of this particular D. Because the Harvard guy did not have it and the Bungles WR and OL did not step up, it did not cost us, but this no-stop D has to go.
I know I am losing it when I pray out loud for an injury to player because I am tired of seeing them on the field and the coaching staff refuse to not play them. I lost it many times yesterday.
Sit or cut Drew Coleman. Restore my patience. Please.
harlan
Well the thing I noticed with DK yesterday was they were lining him up as the wideout, not a position he has had much experience with since he is usually playing on the inside, but i dont remember him dropping any balls and favre was able to hit open recievers all day
I predicted the D would be this good, and no, I am not lying. I added them to my fantasy team last week and plan to start them most of the rest of the year. And my other D is Baltimore’s.
lol jets junkie…
i’ve HAD the jets D and bmores on mai franchise since the beginning of the season.
good choices
In regards to our pass D look at who we have faced: Welker/Moss,Bouldin/Fitzgerald,Johnson/Houchmanzada. Plus our Rush D has been sick! We been up on teams the last two weeks and they had to pass to catch up. Even with them passing to catch up they fell behind due to our rush D! Jenkins HOF!
I just want to point out that for Jenkins to take 1 play off he has to run about an avg of 20yrds to the sideline and 20 yards back with one play inbetween. Imagine you’re 350lbs+ having to run ~40 yards just to take a break = BAD IDEA!
Zach, Good comments. I still would try to pin them close to the end zone with a pooch punt, rather than possibly giving them good field position with them up
7-0 at the time. When the opposition gets close to the end zone and we don’t have Jenks in the middle, we are asking for trouble. Luckily, Cincy didn’t try the middle, in that situation.
Mike, Jet Nation, you mean that website that has the Jets news two weeks after it happens. Jet fans on the Blog let you know what happens, before you hear about it on NFL or ESPN.com. Wake up.
Mike G, Our run defense is not bad but, don’t get too excited about stopping Cincy’s running game. Most football fans can’t name any of their backs.
Ed L, I’m with you Elam looked much better than Smith. Smith has looked lost.
Gang16Green, Flight crew uniforms still need some work. Did you watch the San Diego Cheerleaders. Hot!!!