Jets On The Mark in Rout of Bills

Sunday at the Meadowlands was proof that the preseason just does not matter.

The Jets' offense exploded for four touchdowns in the season opener this afternoon against the Bills.  Gang Green crushed Buffalo, 48-28 in a wild game at MetLife Stadium.  Mark Sanchez had a sparkling debut throwing for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Rookie Stephen Hill caught 5 passes for 89 yards to go with 2 touchdowns.  Jeremy Kerley had a breakout performance with a 12 yard touchdown catch and a 68 yard punt return for a touchdown.  Tim Tebow came in for the wildcat and carried the ball 5 times for 11 yards.

The Jets' offense was in cruise control and their defense was absolutely dominant for the first 40 minutes of the game.  After Sanchez made a poor throw that was intercepted on the Jets' opening drive, it seemed like the "Te-Bow" chants were on the way.  That would be the only mistake Sanchez would make all day.  Darrelle Revis would intercept Ryan Fitzpatrick and it was all Jets from there.  

Sanchez was spot-on with his passes all afternoon.  It was something that Jets fans hope to get used to.  Hill, Kerley, and Santonio Holmes were his main targets on the day catching a combined 13 passes for 202 yards.  Tight end Dustin Keller was not very effective, but is expected to have a major role in the offense this season.

The ground and pound was successful as Shonn Greene carried the ball 27 times for 94 yards and a touchdown.  Tebow came in as a tight end on the first offensive play of the game.  He carried the ball for 11 yards.  The run game complemented the pass game very well Sunday afternoon.  Tebow should see more carries and more options in the wildcat as the season goes on.

Most importantly, the Jets' secondary was very impressive for the most part.  They started to fall apart in the fourth quarter, but for the most part they held Fitzpatrick in check.  They forced him into three interceptions with one of them turning into a pick six from Antonio Cromartie.  Revis left the game with an injury, but will be fine to play Sunday.

It was an electric atmosphere at the Meadowlands Sunday.  The crowd was ready for a fresh start.  The beginning of the season always brings new hope.  Not one person out of the 79,088 people expected a 48-point performance from the Jets, which happens to be the most in franchise history in the season opener.  It was a good showing in a season where the Jets are looking to redeem themselves and get back to the playoffs.

It was definitely a good performance by the offense, defense, and special teams, but there are definitely a lot of things the Jets need to work on.  Their defense had trouble stopping C.J. Spiller and the running game allowing him to run for 169 yards and a touchdown.  Also, the pass rush was awful for Gang Green.  Fitzpatrick had all day to throw allowing him to get some of those late touchdowns.  Pass rushing was the Jets' weakness last season and could be this year.  Look for Rex Ryan's team to put some more pressure on the quarterback throughout the season if they want to be successful.

The Jets head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers Sunday.  Ben Roethlisberger should play, unless the birth of his child ends up happening that day.  While the Jets still have a lot to work on, their performance against Buffalo was a good sign.  The offense can put up points and move the ball.  The defense can force turnovers with their impressive secondary.  Let's see if Sanchez can go on the road to Pittsburgh and have a repeat performance of his brilliance in the 2012 season opener.  

2012 Jets Season Preview

There's more to the New York Jets in 2012 than Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez.  There actually is 51 other players on this team.

The talk of Jets' training camp thus far has been the lack of offense that they had in the preseason.  The starting offense with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow under center were scoreless throughout the preseason.  Gang Green did not see a fully healthy squad though.  The wildcat formation was also not broken out.  This offense will be good enough to win them some games.

The Jets will be running the ball a lot this season.  Shonn Greene will be getting most of the carries with Joe McKnight backing him up.  Tebow will be a big playmaker with the wildcat under new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano.  Sparano will provide the Jets a more aggressive playbook that they did not have under Brian Schottenheimer.  Sanchez does not have many targets, but he still has Santonio Holmes and Dustin Keller.  Expect Holmes and Keller to have career years this season.  Both will be Sanchez's favorite target.  Gang Green hopes for Jeremy Kerley, Stephen Hill, and Chaz Schilens to be solid contributors after Holmes.

The Jets are heavily relying on their defense to lead them in the 2012 season.  Bart Scott said that his could be the best Jets' defense ever.  Their secondary is improved with new safeties LaRon Landry and Yeremiah Bell.  Their pass rush is improved with rookie Quinton Coples at defensive end.  Their linebackers, Bryan Thomas, Bart Scott, David Harris, and Calvin Pace are back and ready to lead this 3-4 defense.  Most importantly, they have the best cornerback in the NFL in Darrelle Revis.  This defense is one of the best in recent memory.  Expect them to carry the Jets throughout the season.

Prediction
10-6
6th seed in AFC
Beat Ravens in Wild Card Round
Divisional Round loss to Patriots

Jets' O Will Flow

After the third straight preseason game without the offense scoring a touchdown, Jets fans are ready to pull their hair out.  It's about time everyone calms down and understands the situation.

Here's 5 reasons why there is no need for concern:

1) It's preseason.  These games are completely irrelevant.  The results do not count.  How many points this team scores in preseason will have absolutely zero effect on the season.

2) Santonio Holmes just played his first game on Sunday.  The offense has been playing with some injuries at receiver so far in preseason.  Holmes has not played as well as Jeremy Kerley.  Those are the Jets top two wide receivers.  Sunday was their first chance to get out there and get acclimated to the offense in an actual game scenario.

3) Tim Tebow is playing a role in preseason that is nowhere near what he will be actually doing in the regular season.  Tebow is not on the Jets to throw 10+ passes every game.  He is here to come in for the wildcat and help out on special teams as well.  What we have seen in preseason will not be seen come September 9th when the Jets kick off the season at MetLife Stadium against the Bills.  Mark Sanchez will be the guy under center throwing the ball.

4) Sunday was their first game without Wayne Hunter at starting right tackle.  Hunter was a big reason for the Jets struggles in the prior two games.  Austin Howard saw his first action with the starters Sunday and did quite well.  The guy was just inserted as a starter.  Howard will fill in very nicely to a Jets offensive line that will be extremely important to the Jets offensive success in 2012.

5) This team is adjusting to a new playbook.  Brian Schottenheimer and his conservative offensive playbook is no longer in town.  Tony Sparano has brought in a completely different playbook that the players are still learning.  It is "training" camp for a reason.  The team is still training to get ready for the season, which is still 13 days away for Gang Green.  These last two weeks leading to the season are vital for Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow to get some repetition in.

So until the buzzer sounds on September 9th following the Jets-Bills matchup at the Meadowlands, let the regular season play do the talking.  Not training camp.  Not the preseason.

Quarterback Isn't Jets Concern

Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow. Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.

Those two names have been stealing the headlines every single day thus far in training camp.  The New York media has fallen in love with Broadway Tebow and the so-called "controversy" at quarterback for the Jets.  The problem is that Gang Green's issue does not come at that position.  The real concern right now should be who these two quarterbacks will be throwing to this season.

After Santonio Holmes, the Jets depth chart is fairly depleted in terms of proven, experienced wide receivers.  Antonio Cromartie's controversial statement claiming himself to be the second best wide receiver on the team may actually be 100% correct.  The receivers behind Holmes consist of Jeremy Kerley, Chaz Schilens, Patrick Turner, and rookie Stephen Hill.  Kerley is entering just his second season where he caught just 29 passes for 314 yards last season.  Schilens had 23 receptions for 272 yards with the Raiders last season.  Turner also did not do much in limited playing time last year catching 8 passes for 96 yards.  Hill, a rookie out of Georgia Tech, has a lot of upside and could play a major role in the Jets offense, but is still unproven.  Cromartie is definitely going to see some playing time on offense.  Having the stamina to play cornerback and come back out and play receiver is not easy though.  Gang Green also has Dustin Keller at tight end who will have a chance to have his best year becoming a huge part of the offense now.

There is not much to write home for Sanchez and Tebow there.  Everyone seems to be worried about who the quarterback will for this team and whether Tebow will take Sanchez's job.  The Jets starting quarterback is Mark Sanchez.  That is not changing barring an awful start to the season.  Tebow will come in for the wildcat and certain package plays as well as help out on special teams.  This is Sanchez's job to lose after signing an extension this offseason that brought his contract to a hefty 5 years and $58.25 million.

The Jets need to go out and get a wide receiver before they open the season September 9th at home against the Bills.  Chad Johnson is completely out of the question.  This team has enough distractions already with local and national media in Cortland every day.  A guy they could use is someone like Percy Harvin.  The Jets have been rumored to be interested in acquiring Harvin, but nothing appears imminent as of now.  The Vikings star wide out had an impressive year last season in Minnesota catching 87 passes for 976 yards to go with six touchdowns.  Harvin would completely change the Jets offense giving them a second deep threat to keep the defense from double covering Santonio Holmes.

This team needs another veteran wide out to complement Holmes and teach the younger receivers.  With an improved defense, but a suspect pass rush, the Jets are going to need some help from an offense that was not very explosive last year finishing 25th in the NFL in total yards a game.  The ground and pound will be in full effect this season, but Shonn Greene, Joe McKnight, and Tim Tebow cannot carry an offense themselves.  Sanchez needs guys he can trust to get the ball to if he wants to improve on his 2011 season where he missed the playoffs for the first time in his three years in the NFL.

Right now, Rex Ryan's squad has the talent on defense in their secondary, and an offense that is going to run the football a lot this season.  That is enough for them to possibly see a 9-7 season.  If GM Mike Tannenbaum can go out and get a proven receiver, it turns the Jets into a playoff contender that can be a threat in the playoffs.  The Jets are going to need to win some games if they want fans filling their seats at MetLife Stadium. They have already dropped some season tickets to just $50 a game.

Jets Get Raided in Oakland 34-24

Once again....defense wins championships.  Darren McFadden must have not got the memo. McFadden's 171 yards and two touchdowns helped the Raiders get by the Jets Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum in Oakland.

The Jets were sloppy with the ball and their two turnovers truly cost them the game on Sunday.  Sanchez had a bad interception thrown in the endzone that ruined a great punt return by Jeremy Kerley.  In the second half, Antonio Cromartie bobbled a kick return and fumbled it and the Raiders ended up with the ball and scored a touchdown.  Those two turnovers were monumental in the loss.

They came out of the tunnel in the second half with nothing.  They did not score in the second half until there were 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.  The offense did not play with the fire that we see from this offense when playing from behind.  Mark Sanchez's stats were not bad as he threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw 43 passes and completed 27 of them and also had the interception thrown in the endzone. Center Nick Mangold missed the game due to injury.  Clearly, this was a huge hole for the Jets that was seen throughout the game.

The story of the game was the unbelievable performance by Raiders running back Darren McFadden.  He carried the ball 19 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns.  That is an astounding 9 yards per carry.  Michael Bush also ran for 22 yards and a touchdown.  Jason Campbell played a fairly mistake free game and let the run game do the bulk of the work in the victory. Campbell was 18 for 27 with 156 yards and no touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Jets have to go on the road to Baltimore and on the road to New England next.  This was a game they really needed to pull out.  Now they will hit the road to face two of the best teams in football.  They are going to have to step it up defensively and not make any more careless turnovers if they want to head back home with a winning record.