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.  

Vince Young Does it Again to the Giants

Vince Young did it again to the Giants on Sunday night.  He beat them for the third time in his career.  Young is now 3-0 as starting quarterback against the Giants.  Young looked very sharp as he started for the injured Michael Vick Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.  Young led a nearly nine minute drive ending in a touchdown, which would turn out to be the game winning score in the 17-10 victory.

The Giants offense was silent for most of the night.  They key to this one was the lack of any running game by the Giants.  They had 29 yards total rushing by three running backs on the night.  There is no way any team can win that absolutely no running game whatsoever.  The Eagles were running very successfully and Vince Young was throwing to all different receivers.  The Eagles had 136 total rushing yards led by LeSean McCoy with 113 yards.  Young did have three interceptions, but looked very sharp throwing the ball.  He was 23 for 36 with 258 yards and two touchdown passes.  For a guy who has been on the bench all season, Young looked like the player he once used to be with the Titans.  Young has had his troubles on and off the field, but he has been a winner in his career.  He has won games.  The Giants know that very well.  The Giants are 0-3 against Young.

Giants punter Steve Weatherford was very busy in this game.  Every Giants drive in the first half ended in the punt until their last drive when they finally scored on a field goal.  Every drive in the third quarter would also end in a Giants punt.  The Giants offense was stagnant Sunday night.  Injuries have been a problem for the Giants and without running back Ahmad Bradshaw and losing offensive lineman Chris Snee really hurt them tonight.

The dagger in this one came in the fourth quarter.  Vince Young led an unbelievably long and well-executed drive that was 8:51 long and 18 plays for 91 yards.  The Eagles started the possession with 11:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.  They slowly moved down the field eating the clock away.  The Eagles went an astounding six for six on third downs on the drive.  The Giants defense had no answer and could not get stops when they needed to most.  The Giants would get the ball back with 2:45 to go.  They had plenty of time to get down the field and send it to overtime.  They were put in nearly the same position as last week.  They had the ball, down a touchdown, with a chance to tie the game.  They would get a huge completion to Victor Cruz who would have a catch and run for 47 yards getting the Giants all the way to the Eagles 21.  For the second week in a row, the Giants looked to have life late, but Eli would scuffle late again.  Manning got sacked from behind and fumbled the football and the Eagles would recover.  Two heartbreakers in two consecutive weeks for the Giants.  It was a tough way to lose another dropping them to 6-4 on the season.

The problem for the Giants now is that they have the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL.  They have to go to New Orleans next Monday night to face the Saints.  That is followed by the defending Super Bowl champion Packers.  If that is not enough, they have to go to Dallas to face their division rival Cowboys, who have been on fire of late and tied with the Giants for first in the NFC East.  Following that, they play the Redskins, Jets, and Cowboys.  Five of those six games are against teams that are .500 or better.  It is going to be a tough road to the playoffs here on out for the Giants.  The road starts in New Orleans next week.

Jets D Dominates in 32-3 Win Over Jags

They say defense wins championships. Well, that is how it is looking to be for the New York Jets. Their offense did not look too pretty against a Jacksonville team with a lot of bumps and bruises and a starting quarterback by the name of Luke McCown. The defense, on the other hand was absolutely dominant.  Even with the futile play by the offense, the Jets obliterated the Jaguars 32-3.

The release of quarterback David Gerrard may have the seats in Jacksonville as empty as they were in the fourth quarter at Metlife Stadium Sunday afternoon.  Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert got to see some playing time Sunday in the second half and may be seeing a lot more playing time coming up. Luke McCown had 1 of the worst games ever seen by a QB.  His QB rating, an astounding 1.8. Yes, you read that correctly. Was it the Jets defense or the poor play of McCown? Well, a good combination of both.

The Jets secondary was nearly unstoppable as they hope to be all season long retaining pro bowl cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis.  Both had spectacular seasons last year and both have looked good the first two weeks.

On the other hand, the Jets offense did not look like the fired up offense in the fourth quarter the week prior against the Cowboys. Coach Rex Ryan told the team in meetings the day prior that he would like to see the offense come out firing.  That, they did....for the first possession. They quickly scored a touchdown ending with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the endzone.  After that, Sanchez struggled throwing two interceptions.  Luckily, the defense's dominant play had him very relaxed and not having too worry too much about carrying the team.  Cromartie and the rest of one of the top defenses last season took care of that.


One thing that I did notice and am starting to notice in Sanchez though is that he is starting to look very comfortable in the pocket.  He does not seem to be forcing as many throws and making too many mistakes like we have seen in the past.  The fourth year quarterback is starting to look more like a veteran out there.  He will try to take the Super Bowl hungry Jets to their first Super Bowl win since prior to when the first man walked on the moon.

The Jets are off to quite the start with two wins to start the season.  One coming in comeback fashion and the other in blowout fashion.  Gang Green will be tested these next couple of weeks as they play at Oakland, at Baltimore, and at New England.  Sanchez and the rest of the Jets are going to need to play a more complete game on both sides of the ball if they hope to keep their early successes going.