Jets Fall Short Against Pats

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the Patriots’ death have been greatly exaggerated.

Backup Matt Cassel channeled the spirit of late Jet Chad Pennington, dinking and dunking his way down the field with efficiency and precision.  The Jets’ defense didn’t seem to have an answer for the tactic and, by the time they did, New England was in possession of the game.  Former Jet Lamont Jordan got his licks in, subbing in for an injured Laurence Maroney and running for 62, clock-killing yards in the second half.

Jets Analysis:

Quarterback:  Favre started the game well (along with the rest of the offense), but the learning curve is still in effect…He threw one interception and several passes that were nearly picked off as his wide receivers are still adjusting to his improvisations…He never really seemed to get comfortable in the rhythm of the game, a tip of the cap to the Patriot’s defensive schemes.

Running Back:  Thomas Jones ran with authority for the most part, but was stuffed three times on the goal line.  New York needs to think about using a “bowling ball” type runner down there (perhaps Jesse Chatman when he returns from suspension) as Jones never has been a dominant goal line back…Leon Washington continues to carve a niche for himself and I can see the Jets utilizing him more like New England does Kevin Faulk (getting him the ball on short passes in the flat and letting him use his shiftiness to create plays.)

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:  Jerricho Cotchery is Favre’s new Donald Driver, Chansi Stuckey is his Greg Jennings.  It remains to be seen where Laveranues Coles fits into the mix…Coles had a nice catch and run in the second quarter…The tight ends were largely invisible.  Chris Baker was overthrown by Favre, leading to the interception.  Dustin Keller must be gotten into the mix more.

Offensive Line:  Not their best game…A holding penalty by the line killed a nice run by Jones in the third quarter…Favre was sacked twice… Not a bad performance against an excellent defensive line, but they allowed significant pressure which caused Favre to flee the pocket several times.

Defensive Line:  They held their own until they tired in the second half…NT Kris Jenkins was effective with six tackles and one sack, but the lack of a comparable player to substitute for him is going to become more of an issue as the season wears on…Shaun Ellis was keyed on most of the day and wasn’t a factor.  That must change if the Jets are going to win.

Linebackers:  Eric Barton and David Harris were very involved, recording 16 tackles between the two of them…Bryan Thomas continues to be a late bloomer, notching his third sack of the year thus far…The Jets need more from expensive free agent acquisition Calvin Pace…As a whole, they yielded too much space for Kevin Faulk to operate in after he caught short passes.  The Jets will face several teams with faster RB’s this season who do the same thing, so they need to rectify their schemes now.

Defensive backs/Safeties:  Darrelle Revis blanketed Randy Moss, allowing him only two catches for 22 yards…The crew allowed the Patriots too much leeway in operating underneath.  Wes Welker in particular took advantage of this…This is still a young group, but the coaching staff needs to work with them to hone their play-making instincts.

Special Teams:  Jay Feely missed his first field goal as a Jet, costing the team valuable momentum in the first quarter.  Don’t be surprised to see Gang Green pick up another fill in while regular kicker Mike Nugent recovers from injury…The Jets need better coverage on kickoff and punt returns.  Ceding 106 yards to New England does not bode well for when they face Darren Sproles of San Diego next week.

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