Sunday, December 26, 2010

Jets @ Bears . . .

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Prediction: I apologize as I did not have time this week to write an in-depth preview, so I will get right to the prediction. The Jets really responded well last week against the Steelers. As you saw on Thursday, the Steelers D is no slouch, so I think the Jets offense deserves a lot of credit. The offense and Sanchez will get tested again in this game, although I think there will be chances for the offense to move the ball. Look for another conservative game from Sanchez and more of Shonn Greene. As far as the defense, I really think Cutler thinks he can beat Revis and he will lose. Look for the defense to get some big turnovers in this game. The Jets know if they win, then they are in the playoffs. They will be focused and I believe they will win.
Jets - 20   Bears - 16

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Shoulder issue??


So apparently Mark Sanchez is having some shoulder pains. An MRI revealed no rotator cuff, tendon, or bone damage. It did, however, show that his cartilage is "torn". Cartilage is the cushioning between your bones that prevents them from rubbing together. It is more like a mesh than a tendon. So it can't exactly be torn, it can be poked or pitted. A source inside the Jets organization says that the injury will not get worse if 
he continues to play. It may be wise to rest Sanchez this week since the Bears have a devastating pass rush. The Jets cannot afford to have their franchise QB take a pounding with playoffs on the line. The team may end up getting in the playoffs whether they win or lose on Sunday. There is a good chance Jacksonville or Indianapolis will lose Sunday and get the Jets in. So should they rest Sanchez this Sunday and have him completely healthy for the Bills game? Or play him this week with the risk he could be tentative or be inaccurate?


Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sanchez vs. Cover 2 D's


The Jets will be facing the Chicago Bears on Sunday and they run a Cover 2 Defense. Of course Lovie Smith comes from the Tony Dungy coaching tree who really created the Tampa 2 Defense that he then brought to the Colts. The cover 2 defense allows both safeties to split the field in half while the CB's and LB's cover everything underneath. I think the Jets style of offense really matches up well against the cover 2. Let's take a look at Sanchez's stats against other teams that run a cover 2 defense:

Week 5 - Minnesota Vikings - 21/44, 190 yds., 0 TD, 0 INT, 59.9 rating, 48 % completion percentage

Week 9 - Detroit Lions - 22/39, 336 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD, 82.9 rating, 56 % completion percent

Week 11 - Houston Texans - 22/38, 315 yds., 3 TD, 1 INT, 100.2 rating, 58 % completion percentage

As you can see Sanchez did fairly well against the cover 2. The only game where he completed less than half of his passes was the Minnesota game. The thing with the cover 2 is you can create mismatches with LB's trying to cover WR's or TE's. Also you can really attack the middle of the field by say sending Edwards deep then sending Holmes on a post through the middle of the field, which will force the safety to decide who he is going to cover. I definitely think the Jet's can and will have success against the Bears on Sunday, as long as the O-Line can give Sanchez time and the weather is decent.


Rex Ryan and FEET????

courtesy of deadspin.com


Ok not really sure what to say about this story. It seems as though this is Rex Ryan's wife in this foot fetish video and it definitely sounds like his voice. I don't care what Rex does on his on time but you have to wonder what he was thinking in posting these video's to youtube. Did he not think someone was going to put two and two together?? I am no fan of Rex Ryan and this is a reason why. He brings bad publicity to the Jets on what is, almost a weekly basis. He has a press conference scheduled for 2:15 today. I am anxious to see what he has to say and see if he can remove the foot from his mouth!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Playoff Scenarios. . .



The Jets can clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with a WIN over the Bears OR a JAX tie/loss or an IND tie/loss.The team needs to take care of business on Sunday and defeat Chicago. With the Jets playing at one, the Jaguars also playing at 1, and the Colts playing at 4, they do not have the luxury of knowing whether they will be in before the game. So with all that said JUST WIN!

Monday, December 20, 2010

They did it!

Keith Srakocic - AP

Jets-22, Steelers-17: The Jets did the impossible last night, they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. While everyone had counted them out(including myself) they showed great resiliency and really took the fight to the Steelers. Mark Sanchez rebounded going 19-29 with 170 yds. and a crucial rushing TD. His bootleg fake on the Steelers seven yard line in the 3rd quarter was a thing of a beauty and a great play call by Brian Schottenheimer. The offensive line allowed one sack the whole game, James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley were non factors. The defense played average, except for Jason Taylor's safety in the 4th quarter, they had no answers for the Steelers reeling offense. I don't want to be debbie downer but the 3rd and 24 on the Steelers final drive should have never been converted. The unit stopped Big Ben when it mattered most and the Jets leave Pittsburgh with a win. At 10-4 the Jets need to win one of the last two games to clinch a playoff spot. The team will travel to Chicago next to take on the Bears.  

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Safety position. . .


I forgot to mention this in my previous post. This will be the third week the defense will be without Jim Leonard. His replacement, Eric Smith, suffered a concussion last week and has been ruled out for this game. So who does that leave at safety? James Ihedigbo suffered a high ankle sprain in the NE game but should be able to play this week. Brodney Pool will take over the play calling responsibilites. This will also be Dwight Lowery's(pictured above) first game in the NFL as a saftey. He played safety in Junior College at Cabrillo College were he had 13 INT's in 15 games. He then went to San Jose State where he played CB. He was a two time All American and had 13 INT's.  He has the skills to be an excellent coverage safety but he is still a little small to be an every down safety. He feels that safety is the position best suited for him. He has one interception, this year,that was returned for a TD against the famous Brett Favre. Lowery is in his third year as he was drafted in the 3rd round out of San Jose State. Let's hope he does well and is not a liability.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers. . .


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After last week's poor perfomance the team needs a win big time. After sitting pretty at 9-2, the team is facing the reality that it may not make the playoffs after losing the last two games. With the Chargers winning on Thursday night, the Jets must go 2-1 over the last three games of the season. If they do not there is a very good chance they will not make the playoffs.

Jets on Offense:

Obviously the offense has been killing the team lately. Dating back to the Bengals game the offense has scored only one TD. There have been four games this year where the offense has failed to score a TD. It has been no coicendence that Mark Sanchez has been horrible during those four games. This team is going to go as far as their QB takes them. He must improve his play. Rex Ryan said his "mechanics" and "footwork" were poor in the Miami game. You can also see he has lost all confidence in himself. So what can the Jets do on offense to give them a chance to win this game? Looking at the Steelers D, shows they are very good at stopping the run. They will also be without their leader, Troy Polamalu. That is a huge blow for the Steelers and a positive for the Jets. The Steelers have been exposed by spread formations. Their CB's(Ike Taylor, Bryan McFadden) are average at best. Schotty should go with 4 or 5 reciever sets and run slants, hitches, and quick outs to move the chains. These routes are all timing routes and are of the shorter variety. If Sanchez can complete passes with these routes then he will get into a rythem and he will build confidence. They should dink and dunk early, roll Sanchez out of the pocket, and do play action to neutralize their blitzing LB's. Doing these short routes early on will set up the deeper routes later in the game. Slant and go's and out and up's will be there later in the game if they can be successful with the dinking and dunking. When the Jets decide to run the ball they should not run up the middle. The Steelers will stuff anything they got up the middle. They should try to run to the outside on this D. Offense's have been successful running to the outside on the Steelers.

Steeler D Rankings: Total - 2nd
                                   vs.Pass - 23rd
                                   vs.Run - 1st

Jets O Rankings:     Total - 18th
                                  Pass - 20th
                                  Run - 6th

Jets on Defense: The defense played well last week,even though Chad Henne is horrible. The unit recorded 6 sacks and recovered three fumbles. Pittsburgh's defense has struggled over the last few games. They did not score a TD in the last game. Like always, the Steelers offense revolves around their rushing attack. Rashard Mendenhall is a very good back. He is going to have hard time finding room to run against the Jets. New York is 3rd in the league against the run. Their ILB's are very formidable against the run. Where David Harris and Bart Scott lack, is in the passing game. They will have a problem covering Mewelde Moore and Mendenhall coming out of the backfield. They will also have a hard time if they have to line up against Hines Ward, Heath Miller, or (hopefully not)Mike Wallace. Big Ben is at his best when he is forced out of the pocket. The Jets should time their blitz's wisely. There was a stat that showed how Ben Roethlisberger has not thrown an INT agaisnt a DB blitz all season. This is how the Jets mostly blitz. So they should stay away from that and force Roethlisberger to stay in the pocket. Darrelle Revis was having trouble with his right hamstring all week but he says he is fine and will play. Is this gamemanship? Or is he really injured. Look for the Steelers to test him early.

Jets D Rankings:        Total - 6th
                                     vs.Run-3rd
                                     vs.Pass - 9th

Steelers O Rankings: Total - 16th
                                    Run - 10th
                                    Pass - 17th

Prediction: The Jets have been distracted all week and are acting like a desperate team. Brian Schottenheimer has been called out by the fans and his coach and he needs to have a great game. No one respects Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense. The defense is fed up with the offense and their head coach. What does all that lead to? Look for the Jets to NOT respond and get pummeled in Pittsburgh.
 New York - 10
 Pittsburgh - 27

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

No Big Deal. . .

Brad Mangini/SI.com

As a Met fan I was delighted to hear that Cliff Lee decided to pass on the Yankees 7 year 161 million dollar offer. It was finally nice to see a player pass on "Yankee money." It was thought he would return to the Texas Rangers, a team he had taken to the World Series. Instead, he signs with the Philadelphia Phillies. If I didn't live in Southern New Jersey, I really wouldn't care, but all the Phillie fans and the local news shows have to make a big deal out of it. I admit, it is shocking that the Phillies signed him(out of nowhere), but lets look at the larger picture. Roy Halladay, is a year older(in his early 30's), and the team traded top prospects for him. Roy Oswalt(who is also an aging picture) was acquired for JA Happ and more top prospects. They have Cole Hamels who battled through some injuries and seems can be rattled at times. Add Lee, who will turn 33 next year, and you have a very good but old rotation. Let's add in the fact that Rollins and Utley are over 30 and are beginning to decline(both had significant injuries last year). Jayson Werth is now gone,Raul Ibanez was already old and struggled last year, Shane Victorino will be 31 next year, and Ryan Howard is 30. So if the Phillies do not win this year(which is no guarantee)then they will continue to age and progressively get worse. By the way they have no top young talent to fall back on in the minors because they traded them all. So it's NO BIG DEAL, really!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Dolphins-10 Jets-6

Micheal Perlman/The Star Ledger




Oh boy where do I begin? What a horrible loss and what an utter disgrace! That was some way to respond to a 42 point defeat. Mark Sanchez looked like a deer in the headlights getting sacked six times, throwing an interception, and losing a fumble. Receivers were dropping balls , the offensive line was getting no push, it was an embarrassment! With the score 10-0 Sanchez actually threw a good pass to Holmes(who was wide open) in the end zone and he dropped it! Catch it with your hands Santonio! Not your chest!

As for the defense except for a miscommunication on the Brandon Marshall TD, they played awesome. They consistently got pressure on Henne and held him to only 55 yards passing for the whole game. They only yielded 131 yards to the Dolphins. They recovered three Miami fumbles and the offense could not capitalize. In theory this game should have been a blowout. 

Moving forward I think most Jets fan are growing disgusted with OC Brian Schottenheimer. There has to be something said for his play calling when you do not attack an opponents weakness. In my preview I stated the Jets should not try to force throws down the field based on the weather. Well that's exactly what they did. Sanchez looked great earlier in the year but as the season wore on he is clearly regressing AGAIN! I'm not sure a change at OC would do anything now but maybe Ryan needs to take more control of the offense. He did it last year and saved the season. He should attend the meetings and tell Schotty what he thinks will and will not work against the upcoming defense. If the Jets somehow miss the playoffs and the offense continues to struggle, then they should no doubt fire Schotty and either promote Bill Callahan or bring in Josh McDaniels. As there remaining 3 games not one of them will be easy.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Jets approach on both sides of the ball. . .

When the Jets have the ball:  The Dolphins are ranked 4th in Total Defense.  They are also ranked 4th against the pass giving up 201 yds. per game and 6.9 yds. per attempt. As far as their defense against the run, they are ranked 9th giving up 99.6 yds./game and allowing 3.7 yds. per rush. So what does this mean?  LB Karlos Dansby, LB Channing Crowder, DE Kendall Langford, and CB Sean Smith were all limited and all are listed as questionable. With Dansby and Crowder not at full strength and with the weather forecast calling for rain, the Jets should run right at the Dolphins.  By doing this they can get back to what they want to be "ground and pound". The team should also reverse Tomlinson's and Shonn Greene's roles. Greene should not be the primary back as he can pound the Dolphins line and their injured line backers. Tomlinson should be used on passing downs and 3rd downs and that's all. They should try to establish the run early and not abandon it. By pounding the run early it will open up the play action pass and allow Sanchez to get into a rythem.  They should also take a page out of the Patriots book and allow Holmes and company do slants and short routes than run after the catch. With the weather being nasty they should not try to force anything down the field.

The Jets on Defense: The Jets are ranked 8th in total defense. They are ranked 14th against the pass giving up 218 yards/game and allowing 6.7 yds./attempt. The Jets are ranked 3rd against the rush giving up 87.5 yds./game and allowing 3.4 yds./attempt. So obviously the Jets strong point is there rushing defense. The Dolphins rushing attack has actually underachieved this year ammassing 107 yds./game. The Dolphins passing attack gains 229 yds./game. I would normally say put 8 men in the box and shut down the run but for some reason Chad Henne kills the Jets through the air. Jets DC Mike Pettine is clearly aware of this stating that "he clearly struggles against everyone, except us." Henne has a 101.7 QB rating with five touchdowns and one interception, post a 63.8% completion percentage(courtesy of Ian Begley,espn.com/new-york). That being said the Jets should not blitz and play zones, let Henne try to squeeze the ball into tight spaces. This would be the opposite of what the Jets have done against him previously. Miami's running attack does not worry me in the fact that OT Jake Long is battling a shoulder injury, T Vernon Carey is out, and Brown and Williams are not finding space to run. The Jets should also blitz very carefully, eventhough Henne will be without WR Brian Hartline, he still will have Davone Bess who is an excellent slot receiver. Brandon Marshall was listed as questionable and it is unclear whether he will play or not. Even if he does Revis is 100% healthy and will not doubt be able to shut him down. I am just worried about Cromartie covering Bess. His skills are better against straight ahead runners(such as Randy Moss) and not against speedy,shifty recievers. With all that said look for the Jets D to cure their communication issues and come out to play in this game.


Prediction: The Jets need to respond in this game in a big way. They need to play a complete game with no mental breakdowns and no turnovers. They need to dominate and restore not only the fans confidence but their own confidence. History shows this will not be a blow out either way, but the Jets will come out on top. They are a more talented team. Jets - 20, Dolphins - 13

Mets Thoughts. . .

While new Mets GM Sandy Aldersen said he was not going to spend money, you would have to think he would have made more of a splash at the GM Winter Meetings. Boof Bonser, DJ Carrasco, and Ronnie Paulino don't scream World Series to me. They are all bottom tier players. The fan base needs a lift, hiring Wally Backman as the manager would have helped. Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez are still on the team. New coach Terry Collins says Castillo will compete for 2B in Spring Training. WHAT!?!?! Please tell me your joking. This team can not take his negative attitude anymore. The same with Perez, who continues to get rocked in the Mexican League. How can you keep a guy on your team who refused to go to the minors to work on his craft? He basically just sat on the bench the whole year. Aldersen needs to find a way to get rid of both of these guys and try to trade Carlos Beltran.

Week 14: Jets vs. Dolphins

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Obviously this is a huge game for the Jets and it is also a big game for the Dolphins. The Jets are coming off an embarrassing 45-3 defeat to the Patriots. They have been called frauds all week, a team that does not deserve to be mentioned among the other "elite" teams in the NFL. They need to prove in this game, that last week's loss was just a hiccup. They need to show the league that they should be considered a good team and can go far in the playoffs.

The Dolphins are 6-6 and have gone through some injury issues all season. They benched their starting QB Chad Henne earlier in the year for Chad Pennington. Pennington then got injured two plays into the first game he started this year. Their WR Brandon Marshall and OT Jake Long are also battling an injury. On defense they have a patchwork secondary and their LB's(Crowder and Dansby) are fighting injuries. Make no mistake, the Dolphins are a resilient team and they still believe they can make the playoffs. They would like nothing more than to kick the Jets while they are down and really hurt their playoff chances.

First post. . .

I decided to make a blog to describe how I feel as a New York Mets and Jets fan living in Southern New Jersey. I will post my recaps on the games and previews on upcoming games. I will also give my thoughts on significant happenings with both teams.