New York Jets Report Card: Week 12

New York Jets Report Card

Week 12: New York Jets @ Baltimore Ravens

Quarterback: F

Smith: 9/22, 127 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 3 rushes for 6 yards, 1 reception for 13 yards

Smith is so bad right now that he actually makes me miss Sanchez, who was so bad that he actually made me miss Pennington, who was so bad that he actually made me miss Testaverde. It seems like the Jets are on a never-ending quest to find the worst possible NFL quarterback. While it’s not surprising for a rookie QB to struggle in Baltimore on a windy day, this showing by Geno was beyond disappointing. In the first half, the Jets tried to hide him but they couldn’t move the ball enough without any semblance of a passing game. In the 2nd half, they unleashed him and it reminded us all why they were trying to hide him in the first place. Geno Smith has now gone 4 straight games without throwing for a touchdown. Ouch.

Backs: B-

Ivory: 9 rushes for 35 yards,

Powell: 11 rushes for 41 yards, 3 receptions for 24 yards

It was a solid effort by a group of backs that never had the luxury of a passing game to open things up for them.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: F

Salas: 2 receptions for 48 yards

Winslow: 2 receptions for 34 yards

Holmes: 1 reception for 12 yards

Cumberland: 1 reception for 9 yards

Cribbs: 5 rushes for 20 yards, 1/2 passing for 13 yards

As bad as Geno Smith was, the Jets receivers and tight ends had some opportunities to help him out… and they whiffed. There were several drops on the day, and Cumberland got beat for a sack. It’s been months since Stephen Hill made a play for this unit. That said, Cribbs is a fun player to watch.

Offensive Line: D-

The Jets were manhandled up front and struggled to keep Geno upright. Other than some decent blocking in the run game, this unit was a disaster. There was also a mistimed snap in this game that led to a turnover deep in Jets territory.

Defensive Line: A

Wilkerson had 2 sacks, Richardson added 0.5 of another. They struggled to close on Flacco at times, but the pressure was pretty consistent throughout the game. There’s not much to say here that hasn’t been said before: the defensive line is rarely, if ever the problem in these losses.

Linebackers: B+

There were some missed tackles here, but all-around it was a great effort against the run. Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce were shut down. Combined, the Ravens backs put up 60 yards on the ground in 27 attempts.

Secondary: D+

It was one of their better games in quite a while, though still not particularly good. They allowed 2 60+ yard passes on the day. Cromartie had a pick, but was also beaten or fooled too many times.

Special Teams: D-

Nick Folk nailed a field goal in the heavy winds, but the Jets gave up an average of 21 yards on punt returns and that’s just not gonna fly. This was one of the special teams poorest showings on the season.

Coaching: F

The defensive effort was solid, but the offense was so conservative that it bordered on the absurd, and none of their adjustments seemed to work. Granted, they pulled some creative plays out of the playbook, but more often than not, they looked dazed and confused out there. The Jets committed 6 penalties in the game. They burned through their 3 second-half timeouts far too early, and that could have cost them big time later on, if they had made a comeback. Coming off the Bills game, I expected better.

Matt Keach

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