New York Jets Week 5 Report Card
October 11th, 2010
Vikings @ Jets
Quarterback: C
Sanchez: 21/44, 191, 0/0
Mark was not the boy wonder this time around. That’s a significant step backwards, but despite some close calls he has yet to cause a turnover and you have to give him credit for that. On the other hand, he’s yet to score a touchdown on Monday Night Football also. He looked sharp at times, confused at times, and he wasn’t in sync with Santonio Holmes. To a certain extent, that is to be expected. We’ll see how things progress from here.
Running Backs: A
Tomlinson: 20/94/0
Greene: 10/57/1
It would have been nice to see the backs score more than once, considering the opportunities they had. With that said, they did manage to put together a tremendous performance. Tomlinson continues to break off chunks of yardage. Greene showed why he is considered a bruiser. They did it against a tough Minnesota defensive line.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: D
Edwards: 5/70
Cotchery: 5/46
Holmes: 3/41
Keller: 2/14
Sanchez was not on the “Mark”, but there were certainly a bunch of catchable balls that the receivers failed to make plays on. Cotchery looks somewhat M.I.A. out there, but he’s got a good track record and you have to bet that he will turn it around. Holmes will continue to improve his chemistry with Sanchez and that will help the receiver group as well
Offensive Line: B+
This offensive line looked similar to last year’s: excellent on the ground, but shaky in pass protection. Admittedly they were up against a formidable foe. The line surrendered a handful of sacks.
Defensive Line: A-
With the exception of a couple of runs here and there, the defensive line took away Adrian Peterson which is no small task. They need to work on eating up more blockers to help the linebackers make plays on the quarterback, though.
Linebackers: B+
Stellar against the run, but shaky at times in coverage. Decent pressure on the quarterback but decent is not good enough for Rex Ryan’s defense.
Secondary: C-
A few things that prevented a lower grade: Revis’ fumble recovery, the fact that Revis is not 100%, an excellent first half, Antonio Cromartie’s (mostly) gutsy single coverage of Randy Moss and Dwight Lowery’s game sealing pick 6. For much of the second half, however, they were playing on their heels.
Special Teams: B
Folk: 5/5 FG, 2/2 XP
Solid job all around. We’re lucky Folk didn’t shank anything in this game, since we needed it all. Weatherford’s punting was great. Brad Smith launched an impressive kick return all the way to the Vikings 20. Leonhard does not cough up the football. Some lapses here and there on the kick coverage teams.
Coaching: D+
The Vikings made good halftime adjustments that sent the defense reeling; the Jets never adjusted in the second half. A pass play call late in the game failed to bring the clock down to the 2 minute warning as it should have. Schottenheimer’s bizarre play calling returns: why empty out the backfield on 3rd and short? Why give away the threat of the run altogether? Why are we calling 3 pass plays on 1st and goal at the end of the 1st half in a torrential downpour, when any number of terrible things can happen? JUST POUND IT IN!