I don't know if this was posted yet, but it's a pretty decent article down to the last line.. http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2009/09/ny_jets_rewind_the_good_bad_ug.html By now, Jets diehards can probably recite Joe Namath's pre-game pep talk to Mark Sanchez verbatim. So let's look a little deeper at the Jets' eye-opening 24-7 win over the Houston Texans. THE GOOD We begin the "Swaggerlicious" edition of The Rewind with a warning: Please have over-the-counter painkillers handy. Advil. Motrin. Whatever. Because Rex Ryan's exotic blitz packages will surely make your head throb. Just how nasty were these pressure packages? Well, I think I saw Texans' young offensive playcaller Kyle Shanahan giving his father Mike a call on the sidelines in the first quarter for tips to try to figure out the Jets complicated schemes. Here's a look at a few designed blitzes that crippled the Texans. (The Jets defense -- which held the Texans' to 183 total yards -- was virtually unstoppable on third-and-long situations.) The Jets' "simulated pressure" worked from the first snap. Translation: Ryan and Mike Pettine's group gave the Texans offense the appearance that five, six or even seven guys were going to rush, but dropped several of them into coverage and only brought four or five. Case in point: On the Texans' second play from scrimmage, the Jets gave the illusion of a blitz before just bringing four. The result: Bart Scott got a free run and clean hit on Houston QB Matt Schaub. Then, things really got wacky. On 3rd and 12, 6-4, 360-pound Kris Jenkins lined up on the left side before getting out of his stance and assuming a linebacker spot three yards off the line of scrimmage. Inside linebackers David Harris and Bart Scott crept up to the line and blitzed through the "A" Gap (between the center and guard). Jenkins rushed behind the two inside linebackers as part of a five-man blitz scheme. (Bryan Thomas, who lined up on the right edge, and Vernon Gholston, who lined up on the left side, both dropped into coverage). Harris hit Schaub as he threw an incompletion to kill the drive. (The Jets tried a similar package in the second quarter, but the Texans made the right call on a quick screen pass to RB Steve Slaton that resulted in a 14-yard gain). On the Texans' second offensive series, the Jets used a five-man rush that included Harris and Scott rushing the passer from opposite edges. Scott hit Schaub as he threw an incompletion for a quick 3-and-out. In the second quarter, on a 3rd and 6, the Jets showed seven men at the line of scrimmage, but only rushed four. Harris and Scott showed blitz, but both dropped into coverage. So did CB Donald Strickland. Now, my favorite blitz of the day: On the 3rd and 11 on the Texans' first drive of the second half, the Jets' overloaded their left side/Schaub's right side and blitzed two cornerbacks, two linebackers and a safety. Vernon Gholston, Kerry Rhodes, Donald Strickland and Dwight Lowery came from Schaub's right, while Thomas rushed the middle. Nobody came from Schaub's left. Lowery came off the edge and nearly got to a hurried Schaub, who threw an incompletion. David Harris' most impressive play on his 11-tackle day? No, it's wasn't his high-flying, one-armed sack of Schaub. How about his second-quarter tackle on Slaton's screen pass. On the surface, it looked like a routine play. But consider Harris blitzed Schaub up the middle, stopped in mid-rush after the ball was thrown and chased down Slaton to make the tackle 15 yards down field. If he can remain healthy, Harris will have a special season. The Play Formerly Known as The Wildcat (we're going with "The Seminole" from now on lest we be scolded by Florida State alum Leon Washington) worked to perfection twice. Washington had gains of eight and nine yards out of the trendy formation. Speaking of Washington, did you notice that his blitz pickup up the middle gave Sanchez plenty of time on his 30-yard TD pass to Chansi Stuckey in the second quarter? The diminutive Washington stood up the free rusher to pave the way for Sanchez's first career TD strike. Thomas Jones should thank Tony Richardson, Ben Hartsock and Alan Faneca for three excellent blocks on his 38-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. Richardson took care of safety Nick Ferguson off the right edge. Hartsock sealed LB Zac Diles and a pulling Faneca crushed LB Demeco Ryans and got enough of CB Brice McCain too. Jones slipped between Hartsock's and Faneca's blocks before finding daylight. Faneca is still one of the best pulling guards in the business. He opened up another hole for Jones on a 38-yard scamper later. (Richardson also had a nice block that prompted Jones to bounce it outside for the long gain). Give LB Vernon Gholston (three tackles) credit for being solid against the run and the pass. In hindsight, Strickland's forced fumble on Steve Slaton's reception may have been the play of the game. The Texans showed some signs of life on that drive before the turnover. The Jets, of course, capitalized with a TD on the ensuing drive. THE BAD Let's be honest about Thomas Jones' 107-yard, two-TD performance. Outside of two fourth-quarter runs totaling 77 yards, the veteran had a forgettable game. Jones had 18 carries for 30 yards excluding those two runs. A couple minutes into the fourth quarter, he had carried the ball 14 times for 15 yards. (Jones had five carries for a grand total of one yard in the first half). He also fumbled once (and had botched handoff too). Sanchez gets an 'A' for his NFL debut. But the rookie caught a break on his worst thrown ball of the game. In the second quarter, Sanchez badly underthrew a pass to a wide-open Hartsock that should have been intercepted by Mario Williams, who let the ball slip off his finger tips. Of course, as will be the case all year, Sanchez followed that terrible play with a brilliant one by deftly side-stepping DE Antonio Smith, resetting his feet and firing a bullet to Jerricho Cotchery for a 20-yard gain on third down. THE UGLY The Jets will have to clean up their 10 penalties for 80 yards. They won't be able get away with those types of miscues against the Patriots next week. I suppose the celebratory Gatorade shower was a must to commemorate Ryan's first career coaching win. But do we really need to see the coach in a wet t-shirt?
Big kudos to M.A. Mehta for avoiding the easy story and actually making an effort to educate the casual fan.
Sanchez is going to make bad throws on occasionally, but didn't Cothery drop a TD pass, why wasn't that part of the bad.
No kidding. I get tired of hearing the same fuckin quotes over and over. I can't watch movies about the Mafia anymore because the term "kiss the ring" throws me into homicidal fits.
Nice summary. I'd like to see us work on the ugly and clean up those 10 penalties for 80 yards. True, a lot of them were Sanchez' rookie start and disrupted timing in the huddle. And the 12 men was like, WTF? But the worst is a seeming willingness to participate in on-field fighting. I like Ryan's bravado, don't get me wrong. His in-your-face, "We'll kick your ass" stuff is amusing and carries over into swagger on the field. But let's not get to the point where we give away yards needlessly. When Keller was clearly being taunted, he needs to know that you have to blow it off and not participate. Let the other stupid son-of-a-bitch lose yards for HIS team. And the punching and altercations are losers too. Get rid of it. You win with discipline and good plays not with emotional, penalty-inducing bravado.
I don't know if you've seen the video of him "running" out onto the field, but it's hysterical. He must have required oxygen after doing that "wind sprint" for 20 yards.
Nice review. and a great game to open the season hope you have as positive review after the Pats game
This is a great article. Hopefully, the other crappy beat writers can take a page from this and actually write something interesting. Edit: I was watching the game with a bunch of Jet fans(women included), I almost vomited in front of all of them with Ryan's wet t-shirt contest.
They hired the same caterer that used to work the Netherlands at Hofstra. DeWayne Robertson's favorite was the fried chicken with mashed potatoes smothered in gravy. Herm thought it was a good idea at the time and Eric Mangini didn't have the heart to take it away from him. After Herm, Mangini left too, and so did Robertson, but that same chef stayed on and went wild up in Cortland, NY this summer. Life is good and Rex is lovin' it, so we'll keep him on.
Uhh that's not possible, he's a bust. Rex even said so in the presser. He hates Gholston, I saw it in his eyes.
