New York Jets Report Card Week 12

New York Jets Report Card
Week 12: Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets

Quarterback: C

Sanchez: 17/35, 180, 4 TD, 1 INT

I’ll get a bit of flak for having this rating as high as it is. Stop it; I don’t care. You can’t ignore the 4 touchdown passes, or the execution on the game winning drive.

That said, it was likely the worst 4 touchdown/game-winning performance in the history of football. Sanchez looks to have abandoned his hopes to become an accurate quarterback and adopted an attitude of, “I’ll find someone tall, then throw it up real high!”

His vision is still woeful. I’m sure he gets his eyes checked out, that’s probably a mandatory club policy. But we’re gonna need a few camera angles to figure out what he thinks he’s seeing when he throws the ball to Patrick Turner in double coverage.

Needless to say, the team will need tremendous improvement at the quarterback position if they want to make a deep run into the playoffs.

Running Backs: B+

Greene: 13/78, 3 receptions, 12 yards

McKnight: 4/21, 3 receptions, 19 yards

Conner: 2/6

It’s nice to see Greene averaging 6 yards a carry, especially while banged up. McKnight has a bit of burst when called upon in the appropriate situation.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: A

Burress: 4/54/1

Holmes: 2/22/1, 2 carries, 28 yards

Keller: 4/61/2

The “big three” produced 4 touchdowns through the air. Each displayed wonderful athelticism at times: whether it was Burress’ amazing one-handed catch on a 3rd down during the game winning drive or Keller’s leaping grabs. Holmes ran twice for 28 yards on the ground. That was nice to see, but it’s less satisfying when you realize that we have been running the fake reverse several times every game just to set that up.

Offensive Line: B+

The improvement was there for the backbone of the Jets in week 12. Pass protection is improving, but still vulnerable. Run blocking was excellent.

Defensive Line: C+

The penetration was there on running plays, but you would like to think the front seven could pressure the quarterback more, given that his offensive line was so banged up.

Linebackers: B

Aaron Maybin came to play against his old team, producing 2 sacks to compliment David Harris, who had one of his own. Bills RB C.J. Spiller was a non-factor in the running game.

Secondary: C-

A poor day for the secondary in many respects. Cromartie still looks lost at times. Revis allowed quite a bit of yardage to Stevie Johnson, and the Bills moved the ball far too easy through the air throughout the game.

That said, if you go back and review the film, I think you will find that Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had a near-flawless game. When asked to throw into extremely tight windows, he did so time and time again. Sometimes, good coverage simply isn’t enough.

Special Teams: D

Joe McKnight had a couple nice kickoff returns (the long being 39 yards), but a muffed punt by Cromartie turned into 7 points the other way. At this point in the season, and, after having endured that hardship on more than one occassion, these special teams turnovers are no longer acceptable. Jim Leonhard (or anyone with sure hands) should be back there every time.

Coaching: C

The coaching staff – Westhoff and Schottenheimer especially, need to cut down on the mental errors. At least they kept our playoff hopes alive—for one more week.

Matt Keach

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