New York Jets Week 16 Report Card

Week 16: Giants @ Jets

Quarterback: D+

Mark Sanchez: 30/59, 258 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 TD (rushing).

It was a very poor game for Sanchez, though he didn’t have much to work with here. The receivers and offensive line weren’t very friendly to him, and even the running backs at times (Greene dropped a pass while wide open that could have gone for a huge gain.) Still, Sanchez’ decision making leaves much to be desired. It’s one thing to nitpick, but when you see three blue jerseys in the vicinity of Dustin Keller and Mark goes to him anyway, it really makes you wonder.

Running Backs: B

Greene: 14/58/0, 3/20 (receptions)
Tomlinson: 5/29/0, 6/36 (receptions)

A good outing for this duo. It’s unfortunate that the offense was forced into passing situations by committing bad penalties, otherwise Greene would have surely reached the century mark on the ground.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: D

Holmes: 4/50/0
Burress: 3/34/0
Keller: 8/77/0
Kerley: 5/36/0
Baker: 1/5/1

Santonio Holmes’ contract is looking worse by the day. Plaxico was largely absent. No one can get seperation. Kerley and Keller were minor bright spots on the day.

Offensive Line: C-

The Giants got to Sanchez on a few occasions, but that was to be expected. The line really paved the way in the ground game, as well. Nevertheless, the offensive line played a major part in this loss. The Jets were running the ball effectively most of the day, but were forced into passing situations by numerous penalties on the line.

Defensive Line: B

Great job getting to Eli Manning. Wilkerson’s improvement throughout the year has been noticeable. I doubt he’ll ever be a force to be reckoned with all on his own, but we may very well have found a guy that will match Shaun Ellis’ contributions. And at age 21, it’s all upside from here.

Linebackers: B

Great day against both the run and the pass until late in the 2nd half, when Giants running back Brandon Jacobs finally found his legs.

Secondary: A-

With the exception of a devestating 99 yard catch-and-run by Victor Cruz, on which not 1 but 3 members of the secondary failed to make the tackle, the secondary had one of it’s best games on the season. Eli Manning was a measley 9/27 (33%) passing on the day, He hasn’t played that poorly all season.

Special Teams: C-

Kerley finally looked like the punt returner of the future, with several great returns. Nick Folk missed a field goal on a bad snap/hold. Plenty of special teams penalties hurt the Jets field position (including back-to-back holding calls on punts). After failing to return the ball to the 20 on 2 seperate kickoffs, the Jets replaced Cromartie with McKnight on kickoffs.

Coaching: C

So many of the Jets mistakes were not coaching errors, but mental mistakes by players on the field. Sadly, you can’t control that. Schottenheimer looked like he had the offense off to a good start, calling a very clever play action pass to Josh Baker for a touchdown in the early goings, but they looked downright awful otherwise. On the defensive side of the ball, the gameplan worked brilliantly, and if the players executed on the Victor Cruz touchdown pass (and if Sanchez doesn’t throw a pick on the Jets side of the field), the Giants wouldn’t have scored nearly as many points. Rex succeeded on all of his challenges.

Matt Keach

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