New York Jets Report Card
Week 9: Jets @ Lions
The Jets are back in first place after a sloppy win at Detroit and a loss by New England at Cleveland. Sometimes, a win is just a win.
Quarterback: B-
Mark Sanchez: 22/39, 336, 1/1
Not quite the bounce back performance you might have hoped for from Sanchez. One interception, 2 botched snaps and messed up timing with receivers. Yet the sophmore had his first 300+ yard game, and led the team down the field for 3 times in the late goings for a touchdown and 2 field goals. Forgetting the miscues, he’s showing you the moxy right now.
Running backs: D+
Tomlinson: 15/55/0
Greene: 10/46/0
Not an inspiring game on the ground by any means. A decent YPC average, but the backs need to get more carries. Of course, it would be nice if they could get the ground game going early on but those 2 yard jaunts by Tomlinson aren’t helping. He’s slowing down. His timing is also way off in the receiving game, but he showed you he’s a smart player with a nose for getting out of bounds when necessary in the 4th quarter. Enter Greene.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B
Holmes: 5/114/0
Edwards: 3/78/1
Keller: 4/59/0
Cotchery: 2/29/0
The receivers came up big late in the game. Holmes had his first 100 yard game, including a huge catch in overtime that set up the game winning field goal. Braylon went downfield for a tremendous touchdown in regulation as well, but added a costly fumble. Keller contributed a solid game but wasn’t quite the force that he can be. Cotchery’s dropsies continue much to the surprise of anyone who has watched this guy play for several years. There were certainly timing and drop issues, but it didn’t prevent the receivers from helping out Sanchez when he really needed it.
Offensive Line: B
The offensive line needs to create a better push on the ground, but they kept Sanchez on his feet through most of the game, despite the often dirty play of the Lions defense. These guys have got to be dying to run the football a little more.
Defensive Line: A-
A great job by the defensive line to hold down the weak Lions running game. Detroit’s two primary backs carried for less than 60 yards.
Linebackers: B
The linebackers got burnt a few times in coverage, but Bart Scott and David Harris are just beastly as a combination in the middle.
Secondary: D
The Lions passing game is actually pretty potent, but Stafford carved up the Jets secondary over the middle – passing for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns. The secondary did not force a turnover.
Special Teams: B
There were a few lapses on kick coverage, and returns were solid but not impressive. What can you say about Folk, though? In the 30’s or not, he’s been hitting field goals under pressure.
Coaching: D
Schotty’s offense looked inept for 45 minutes. Not to mention the turnovers, stupid penalties (though Ellis certainly didn’t deserve that roughing the passer), drops and timing issues. Then there’s the two timeouts taken almost consecutively early in the 4th quarter, when the defense had 12 men on the field. Those timeouts could have cost the team the game. Somehow, someway Rex is still living up to his promise of getting this team to, “lead the league in wins”.