That was a really fun game to watch, back and forth all game, a little bit of everything involved. I think we've proven that we're for real hanging with the Colts like that and though there are some out there questioning our talent and such, no one's going to say we're a 4-12 team anymore. The Jets will always have a puncher's chance in ANY game. There isn't a single team in the league that'll blow us out by 21. In my book, that's what good coaching is all about. Giving your team a chance to win. Things I liked: 1. The play-calling. Though this is only a small part of coaching, you really have to love the guts these guys have. Two Brad Smith plays (one on fourth down), the onside kick, even the lateral-laden last play. I saw plays that previous regimes would never have called (except possibly Groh). They're innovative and willing to try lots of different things. From what I've been reading, a lot of it has input from the players. Definitely a good thing. The fourth down decision near the goal line is something I definitely support. Had that worked, everyone would be saying how brilliant Mangini is, but it ended in an interception so everyone's questioning it. You need to gamble sometimes and I like that Mangini was willing to. 2. Our former first-rounders on defense. Dewayne had a nice game, Vilma had a nice game, Ellis had a nice game. All those guys didn't really show up last game but they made some significant plays on defense. Ellis's two sacks were pretty significant and DeWayne had a solid day (even if he got blown off the line on a few of those runs). Vilma was his usual self after a bad week. 3. O-line. They're starting to gel and you can see it in the running game. Granted, the Indy run D isn't exactly the Chicago Bears, it's still nice to finally get some yardage. Leon Washington can be our feature back but he needs to do a little more downfield running. Things I didn't like: 1. Run defense. Wow, that was really horrid how often they broke off runs of 10 yards or more. We're getting killed at the point of attack very often. 2. That strip-sack. D'Brick, welcome to the league. I actually think the play in the first quarter cost us the game. Had we kept the ball, I think we drive down the field and take a lot of time off the clock, but the rookie mistake cost us 7 points and it's a whole different game (not a shootout) if we keep it there. Thankfully, we protected Chad much better the rest of the game. 3. Pass Rush. We really didn't blitz very much this game. Especially towards the end. I saw 3 rushing for most of the fourth quarter. I suppose you do that when the opposing team has no time outs, but still, it seemed a little too conservative. All said, I love this team and I love cheering for them. We've got a solid group. We can't play these shootouts and we need to work on our run defense. Jags should be a much different game. That Jones-Drew guy looks like the real deal and we'll have to play a very different game against them.
