What some are forgetting is that Shonn's game get's stronger as the game progresses evidenced by, for example, his '09 playoff perfs against the Bengals & Chargers & '10 perf vs the Pats. Shonn's style of lo-gravity,power-running(similar to the Jags MJD), is predicated on his ability to continuously pound, punish & wearing out defenders thru-out the game inevitably leading to missed & "half-hearted" attempts at bringing him down. Granted, there are issues with the OL in executing proper traps, roll-outs & base/zone blocking (thier use of the Pin&Pull scheme - a backside DL-man is "pinned" so the guard can open a secondary "track" was at best, pedestrian). However I believe this unit in time, will eventually synch-up. The run game has been directed mostly to the strong-side bet either gd/center or tackle with minimal results. How about going weakside utilizing D'Brick's speed & Plax's blocking skills on sweeps/ends or even left tackle/guard "gut" attacks especially w. MANGOLD da' BOLD out? Overall, it is imperative we continue building the "ground & pound" w. Greene; a successful run-game WILL benefit the overall offensive game plan - which can make for a most dangerous aerial assault put forth by "Mark & the 4 Tops" (Plax, Sant, Kell & Mase)<regardless of what you may think of Sanchez' skill-set -INT's- etc. ...dude can play! A "beast" when game's on line!> Trust me...Shonn get's stronger as the game get's longer! 'Nuff said Just my H.O.!
Meh not too worried. Greene historically takes 4-5 games to get going. When the weather gets cold the opposing team will get alligator arms. If LT can be a good screen/swing/outlet option than I am not too worried about the lack of a true run game, for now. When Mangold was in there, Greene was averaging over 5 ypc. So that leads me to suspect that it is on the Oline why Greene isn't running wild. Reality says that is most likely a mix of both, Greene and the Oline. Patfanken and I (another thread) mentioned how much Jack Del Rio sucks. Baxter got a free pass this Sunday. Sanchez is going to be running for his life if Baxter isnt up to snuff. I am not too happy with the line situation at all but that is another thread I suppose...... To be clear I don't think Baxter is the answer, this year at least, I just hope Sanchez comes out of this week and next walking upright.
We drafted Powell because LT won't be around much longer. Greene hasn't gotten enough of a chance to be called a disappointment.
When Greene had a hole to run through he looked fantastic. When he didn't have a hole to run through, it warrants everyone to think he's not getting the job done. Blame the OL. Greene had big runs with Mangold in the game in the 1st quarter, then it all went to hell because Colin Baxter is not Nick Mangold. The Dallas game showcased a new front 7 under Rob Ryan that looked pretty good if you didn't play power football against them. The one thing the running game didn't continue to do against Dallas was play power football, because they were down by a large margin early on in the game. These two games are unfair to attack the running game. Its something I've realized recently. When the line gets its shit together, expect Greene to look like he did in January.
Greene wasn't a first round pick. He has done plenty to not be considered a disappointment if he never does anything else. Not the best back, but a solid power rusher who suffers when the oline isn't great, not unlike any other back.
This is the answer. The line has not been opening holes like it did last season. Hunter has to return to his ways when he took over for Woody. He's been terrible getting off the ball and not moving his fucking feet.
Handing the baton to Greene may not be the way to go. Last year Greene and LT split the carries and our running game was better than this year. I would give LT more carries next game and see if that fixes our slump on the ground.
The line has been bad. That's a big reason why I've been disappointed with the first 2 games. The end result has been good, mostly because of the defense and special teams. The offensive line is having trouble both protecting Sanchez and getting a push in the running game. Hunter has been far worse than expected so far. I expect him to improve, as well as the rest of the line, but now the best player is out. While I think Greene was anointed far too soon on this board, he hasn't had much of a chance with our line so far. But right now, we have a mediocre QB, average RBs, average TEs, a couple old receivers, and Holmes. In the past, it's been our elite offensive line that has been the saving grace of our offense. This year, we might have to scrap it together based on what we've seen so far. Unless Sanchez is ready to take a couple steps forward, I'm not sure if we can make up for our offensive line being weakened. I would think it will eventually improve, but the o-line depth is awful on this team. I don't know much about Baxter besides what we saw game one, which wasn't awful, but he's also a rookie undrafted free agent we just signed 2 weeks ago. The Turner injury, which some people on this board thought people were overreacting over, has been an issue this year. We've missed his work as a blocking tight end. And now, we're going to have an undrafted rookie who has had barely any time to work with the rest of the o-line blocking for us in our toughest stretch of the season. And God forbid anyone else get hurt up front. It would be nice to see Greene bust open a big run, but this line hasn't given him much of a chance. Even still, 2.9 yards-per-carry is pretty bad.
The good news is Sanchez and Greene are both young enough to take a step forward. And Plaxico has been a very good player in the past, so it's not impossible for him to regain his old form, just doubtful this quickly. That's why the OL needs to be very good. And no matter how you look at it, it hasn't. It helped Sanchez out a lot, and it helped the RBs run through big holes and wear defenses out. A weaker OL exposes the rest of the offense and puts a lot more pressure on Sanchez and Greene, who might not be ready to handle it. That said, I think the OL will get better, as long as Mangold gets healthy. If Sanchez gets more time, I think he'll look better, and so will Greene and LT with bigger holes to run through. I've just been disappointed in the OL play so far. I don't know how you can't be. Greene hasn't been at all impressive either, but he hasn't had much running room at all. And I do think we should have tried to run the ball a few more times in the first half against Dallas, but not sure that would have helped. As with most things, the truth lies in the middle. But so far, I think the OL shoulders more blame.
How about an option for "Shotty calls too many predictable runs" or "Shotty calls to many runs up the gut" Shonn Greene is explosive, we all know that but to constantly keep running him off Center is ridiculous. A pitch, toss or stretch play every once in a while is necessary....shit, even a screen but I guess that's too unpredictable.
Whatever the problem is,it needs to be corrected asap. Success long term comes from a strong run game and defense.
While there is certainly an opportunity for things to improve, as it stands now, and as I think you intend to convey, the several problems you have identified make an SB appearance this year somewhat less likely than many had hoped for, and even worse than that, many had thought they had reasonably hoped for. Count me in that "they", and despite being only two games in and at 2-0, I am a bit discouraged right now. Well, more than a bit with Mangold out. I have a bad feeling the Jets are going to be really hurt by his absence. Hope I am wrong.
Is it realistic to expect a quick turnaround in OL line play? With Mangold out? How is that supposed to happen? I doubt it does. The only thing is a weaker quality of opponent may show the last two D's the Jets faced to be relatively strong. That may apply to Oakland, and Dallas is a good team. But I don't think Jville will show themselves to be all that tough, and the Ravens and Pats very likely will do so. Tough sledding ahead, looks like.
I posted in another thread about offensive play calling. I re-watched the Dallas game and every single run call went between the tackles. Maybe they thought they wouldn't have success running outside against Dallas, but they never even tried. Will skim the Jags game when I get a chance.
After watching the Jets offensive plays in the Jags game there were 12 inside run plays vs. 5 runs outside the tackles. 4 of the 5 outside runs went for good yardage and first downs. They were the longest running plays we had all day. There were 0 outside runs against Dallas.
What is it with this kind of post around here? No one is saying the running game is a lost cause for the season. That's a red herring. But there are legitimate concerns about it, and where it will go as the season progresses. And it is NOT too early to talk about that.
