New York Jets Report Card
Week 11
Houston Texans @ New York Jets
Quarterback: A
Sanchez: 22/38, 315 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Sanchez was well on his way to a low B/high C performance against a weak secondary until, with less than a minute on the clock and no timeouts, he led one of the most miraculous touchdown drives in Jets history. He finishes with 3 touchdowns and a pick, and all that despite a brutal showing by our banged up offensive line. Yet another 3 touchdown, 300+ yard performance by the sophomore.
Running Backs: D-
Tomlinson: 12/36/0
Greene: 15/42/0
A dismal showing by the running backs, who averaged less than 3 yards per carry – and Shonn Greene’s fumble completely shifted the momentum of this game, nearly losing it for the Jets. Tomlinson continues to be a factor in the passing game, racking up 70+ yards receiving… but the #1 priority for backs is running the ball and they didn’t do any of that today. When was the last time a Jets back scored a touchdown? Can you even remember
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A
Edwards: 4/86/1
Holmes: 7/126/2
Keller: 2/7/0 (Yes, 2 receptions for 7 yards…)
The only thing keeping this group from a perfect A+ is the persistent struggles of tight end Dustin Keller, but Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards both racked up huge chunks of yardage in the receiving game, and both made key catches on the game winning touchdown drive when it mattered most.
Offensive Line: F
A pitiful performance by a banged up offensive line, and let’s just hope Woody is back and healthy next week. They surrendered 3 sacks and Sanchez was under constant pressure, not to mention the less than 3 ypc average of the running backs behind this line. That’s gotta be scary for a unit that typically exemplifies Jet football.
Defensive Line: C-
One forced fumble but no sacks, not much pressure otherwise and they got bowled over by Arian Foster. To be fair, who hasn’t? But still… you expect more out of these guys.
Linebackers: D+
One sack, again: not much pressure. Foster escaped into the second level numerous times so they did do a decent job of keeping him contained but again we saw them exposed: they cannot deal with tight ends. Texans TE Dreessen (who?) put together a nice game with 4 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. That’s a secondary problem, but also a linebacker problem.
Secondary: D
Ok, they were facing the Texans high powered passing game, but there’s no excuse for blown coverages and allowing the tight end to carve up the field.
Special Teams: B
An adequate game by Nick Folk, who nailed all his field goals and XPs besides a 53 yarder – it’s becoming apparent that his range is somewhat limited. Jim Leonhard and Kyle Wilson looked good returning punts, and the coverage team is solid
Coaching: C-
Numerous questions emerge about this team’s coaching: why is the offense suddenly so much more successful in the late game, where are they otherwise? Why does the defense have so many lapses when they begin games looking tough as nails… and where is the big play? Why does Rex continue to surrender field position by allowing Folk to try 50+ yard field goals? Yet, at the end of the day, they’re coaching this team well enough to lead them to stunning comeback victories again and again…. and now again.