New York Jets Report Card: Week 2

Week 2 – 9/18/11

Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets

JetLife Stadium

Quarterbacks: C+

Mark Sanchez: 17/24, 182 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

The TD/INT ratio is low yet again. Two interceptions to the Jaguars secondary has to worry you. Still, Sanchez: 1) posted a high completion percentage, 2) survived the struggles of the offensive line, 3) moved well inside and outside of the pocket (when it existed) and 4) finally put up a 1st quarter touchdown.

Running Backs: D

Shonn Greene: 16 carries, 49 yards, 1 touchdown

LaDainian Tomlinson: 6 carries, 8 yards

Joe McKnight: 6 carries, 14 yards

This is still not the type of performance one should expect from the Jets running backs. Greene posted a 3.0+ yards per carry average. Adequate, but should improve as the season moves on. Tomlinson and McKnight struggled to move the ball on the ground and for once, Tomlinson wasn’t used much in the passing game.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B+

Santonio Holmes: 3 catches, 42 yards, 1 TD

Dustin Keller: 6 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD

Derrick Mason was again silent, and Plaxico Burress was hardly targeted at all. Dustin Keller had another excellent performance, going over the century mark and putting up another touchdown. Santonio Holmes broke a long-standing 1st quarter touchdown drought for the Jets with a wonderful leaping grab in the back of the endzone.

Offensive Line: C-

A pretty rough performance yet again. Wayne Hunter is struggling to hang on to a starting spot. Given the circumstances, rookie center Colin Baxter did an admirable job filling in for injured all-pro Nick Mangold. To right the ship, the Jets must pray Mangold can return sooner rather than later.

Defensive Line: A-

A dominating performance by the defensive line. If they were a bit stiffer against the run, they might have earned a perfect grade… nothing to complain about here, they pressured the Jags all day. Muhammad Wilkerson registered a safety.

Linebackers: A-

Bart Scott added a sack, Josh Mauga had an interception and Jamaal Westerman nearly got a sack of his own.

Secondary: A+

A mere 111 passing yards for the Jags, as the Jets secondary had a tremendous bounce back performance. Antonio Cromartie had two interceptions, and though Eric Smith saw a few passes bounce off his hands, he ultimately grabbed one of his own.

Special Teams: B

The special teams didn’t do anything spectacular, but they didn’t have to. Nick Folk was perfect on field goals from 38, 45 and 23.

Coaching: A

There are things to be desired here, but the bottom line is the “W”. The Jets soundly beat an inferior team, coming out prepared, and avoided the letdown.

Up next: Week 3: New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders.

Matt Keach

See Full Bio