JETS FALL TO SAINTS 24-10

JETS FALL TO SAINTS 24-10
by TJ Rosenthal contributing writer Football Reporters Online

The Jets left the Superdome with their first loss Sunday 24-10 to the high powered Saints. Two key rookie mistakes by Mark Sanchez (14-27, 138 yds 3 int) essentially did them in. The Jets suffered their first loss under rookie cooach Rex Ryan and fell to 3-1. They proved to themselves two things however. That they could be down a ton early in a hostile environment, settle down and be in the game late. Secondly, that their defense is undoubtedly for real. Slowing down the Saints is tought to do. The defense kept the Jets in the game. 

The Jets were down 3-0 after one, and driving. They got out of the first quarter, despite struggling on the ground again while holding Drew Brees  with a solid pass rush and tight secondary coverage.

Then Sanchez made his biggest mistake of the year. Staring down TE Dustin Keller in the end zone one the 1st play of the second quarter, Sanchez failed to look off FS Darren Sharper. Sharper read the eyes of Sanchez, stepped in front and went 99 yards for the TD, 10-0 Saints. A huge emotional game changer. On the brink of going in for the lead now down two scores, the mountain to climb suddenly felt long and steep.

The Saints went for the knockout on the ensuing drive but a Jet goal line stand that saw two incompletions by Brees left the Jets still down 10, but backed up  on their own 2. Then the mountain grew even steeper and longer.. The Jets came out throwing but Sanchez failed to find any open receivers and took too long in escaping. DE Will Smith (no, not the actor) caught him and stripped the ball. It was recovered by Remi Ayoldele for the TD, 17-0 Saints.

The Jets tacked on 3 and got out of dodge with a 17-3 deficit. Needing to take better care of the ball, but not out of the game.

While Sanchez and the ground game struggled, thanks to a Saints defense that smothered the Jets all day (sacks, int) the defense continued to thwart the most high powered passing team in the NFL. Then the Jets finally broke through. After having a fire lit under him by rookie Shonn Greene (yds, left with an injury or he would've gotten more), Thomas Jones rambled through the middle of the Saints line to cut the lead to 17-10. Thats how the third ended. The Jets, with guts and 
a fighting attitude, had a chance.

The offense had two possessions with the ball but failed to pick up the first. One was a thrid and one slant thrown too hard by Sanchez to WR Jerricho Cotchery. A play that Alan Faneca was quoted Sunday as saying he wished were kept on the ground. That because that is the O line's time to take on the responsibility. 

Finally, in the middle of the fourth, the Saints broke it open. Pierre Thomas (86 yards ), who got going in the second half, while the defense fatigued and continued to keep their focus on Brees, rushed in for a () touchdown and a 24-10 lead. A fourth and less than a yard offside's by NG Kris Jenkins, on the Jet 43 kept the drive alive. The gamble to time the play perfectly backfired for Jenkins but he and the Jets have nothing to be ashamed of. A second Sanchez int to Sharper on a roll out under pressure around midfield on the next drive sealed the win for New Orleans.

The most telling moment of the game was not the result from a play on the field. It was when Jenkins put his arm around the rookie Sanchez to console him and remind him that the team has faith in him. That's because for the first time in years, the Jets ARE a team. Gang Green has a pulse, a soul. Their ability to trail big early on the road against a great offense, settle down and have the ball in the 4th with a chance to tie are the kinds of situations a team growing into winners will value as October becomes November and playoff December. Tough loss but spirits are high. "THe mistakes killed us. you turn the ball over like that in this league and you can't win." Sanchez said, taking responsibility for his role in the loss like a field leader the Jets need.

The 1-3 Miami Dolphins are next. Monday night Football. Another divisional battle. Another classic Jets Miami game on the way.  Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and the Wildcat await along with QB Chad Henne, who now runs the offense thanks to the season ending injury to Chad Pennington. He was was solid in his first NFL start, a 38-10 blowout win against the often times pathetic Buffalo Bills Sunday. Henne will be getting a dose of Rex Ryan's crew though next week at Landshark stadium. That will be  a different experience for Henne than the lost Bills. Quarterback play on both sides will be the key next Monday night as the 3-1 Jets look to keep pace with the streaking 3-1 New England Patriots in the AFC East .

A look back at the FRO three keys to beat the Saints:

Brees vs Jet blitz. I asked for sacks, not pressure: The Jets didn't get any. Hence, no major drive killers that included turnovers, over a loss of inherited field position.

Jet ground game vs Saints front seven: A fast start running the ball  was essential against the high scoring Saints. The Jet's didn't get one. This prevented the Jets from controlling tempo and clock in the first half. They trailed 17-3 at halftime.

Dustin Keller vs Saints linebackers: I envisioned a big dose of Keller, all over the place a la Jason Witten. In the flat, over the middle, behind New Orleans  MLB Jonathan Vilma. It didn't happen. Saints pressure and the Jets inability to run effectively were part of the cause but Keller was targeted but too many times in the flat. None of the attempts were deep post patterns that could've provided the big play threat the Jets lack right now in their passing game. The Jets tried to offset the pressure with slants but none went to Keller. A key third and one try went to WR Chansi Stuckey and was not converted. Keller finished with just  33 yards.




Seven & Out By Michael – Louis Ingram Associate Editor/Director of scouting services-Football Reporters Online

 
Seven & Out
By Michael – Louis Ingram Associate Editor/Director of scouting services-Football Reporters Online
FRO/BASN
 
PHILADELPHIA (BASN): Each week the National Football League puts their significant moments on display. “Seven from Sunday” may focus on highlights, but there are some other considerations that may put a damper on the big picture…
 
Here, according to the NFL’s league office, are the highlights from Week 3 – along with our responses:
 
 
• New York Jets rookie quarterback MARK SANCHEZ became the first rookie quarterback to start and win his team’s first three games of a season after leading the Jets to a 24-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
 
 
(Although the Jets are 3-0, Sanchez, who’s been called “Sanchize” by some members of the New York press, will be called a “spic” just as quick should the Jets hit a prolonged losing streak. Stay focused, Matt – we want you to do well, but keep that shit in perspective…)
 
 
• The New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 26-10, have won 16 consecutive regular-season games against the NFC, the longest winning streak any team has posted against the opposite conference since the 1970 merger.
 
(It’s a lot easier to win games when you have a league protecting your ass in case you get a hangnail in the pocket, but I digress. I respect Tom Brady, but I wish the league would respect the greatness of Fred Taylor as well. The ex-Jacksonville Jaguar was a steal as a free-agent pickup and his 21 carry, 105 yards rushing was the real difference for the Patriots. It’s called balance; and Taylor, like Brady, belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.)
 
 
 
• Philadelphia quarterback KEVIN KOLB passed for 327 yards in the Eagles’ 34-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, his second consecutive 300-yard game.  Kolb became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 300 yards in each of his first two career starts. 
 
(This statistic belongs in the “big fucking deal” category. Kolb, who choked in prime time last season when Eagle management wanted to hand him the starting spot at quarterback, threw for almost 400 yards in his first start because he threw 3 interceptions; and was playing catch-up for the entire second half in their Week 2 loss to the New Orleans Saints! And he beat the Chiefs – a team that frankly they were supposed to beat! Let’s see some bona fide wins – as in when the Iggles have to play someone they need to beat instead of an inferior opponent. Knowing Kolb was hand-picked by Andy Reid, and Vick is continuing his ghettoization on the Wildcat plantation, Eagles’ fans need to pray for a speedy recovery for Donovan McNabb.)
 
• Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver-punt returner DE SEAN JACKSON had a 64-yard touchdown reception in the Eagles’ 34-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.  Jackson has now scored a touchdown of at least 60 yards in all three games and is the first player in NFL history with a 60+ yard TD in each of his team’s first three games of a season.
 
 
(While I am happy for young Mr. Jackson, I just want him to get across the goal line first before celebrating! And, now that you have had your moment, my brother, stay on the j-o-b and keep it crack-a-lackin’ – we’re gonna need you!)
 
 
• Minnesota rookie wide receiver-kick returner PERCY HARVIN had a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown in the Vikings’ 27-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers.  Harvin has now scored a touchdown in all three games and joins Dallas’ FELIX JONES (2008) as the only rookies in the past five years to score a touchdown in each of the first three games of a season.  
 
 
(A good start for the young man touted by many to be Offensive Rookie of the Year; but God only knows how many fantasy assholes are creaming in their pants because of Harvin!)
 
• Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver HINES WARD (10,022) recorded 82 receiving yards and joined the exclusive 10,000 receiving yards club.  Ward became only the fifth player in NFL history with 10,000 career receiving yards all with one team (Colts, MARVIN HARRISON; Seahawks, STEVE LARGENT; Cowboys, MICHAEL IRVIN; Broncos, ROD SMITH).  Ward, who has 818 career receptions, also became just the 21st player in NFL history to record 800 receptions and 10,000 receiving yards in a career. 
 
 
(The good news is Hines Ward is being further recognized as one of the most complete receivers in football; the bad news is Ward will continue the Steelers’ backlog of potential Hall of Famers. We already know L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Donnie Shell should already be in – now Ward will have to wait along with Greg Lloyd, Joey Porter, Dermontti Dawson, Jerome Bettis - and the band played on…)
 
• The 30-year age difference between head coaches TOM COUGHLIN (63) of the New York Giants and RAHEEM MORRIS (33) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers marks just the second time in the past 10 seasons that two head coaches have faced one another with a gap of at least 30 years.  The last time it happened was November 4, 2007 when JOE GIBBS (66) of the Washington Redskins faced ERIC MANGINI (36) of the New York Jets. 
 
 
(I would prefer to remember that the real difference between Raheem Morris and Tom Coughlin is that in spite of the age difference, Morris knows a little bit about football, unlike the mistake near the Lake and Cleveland’s long–term woes in selecting NFL Super Genius Eric Mangini. The league’s answer to Wile E. Coyote will have the Dawg Pound denizens gnawing on their own bones before mid-season. The Browns would’ve been better getting a head coach from the Acme Company!)
 
Always remember, once the first point is confirmed on the dice table, if you throw a seven…you crap out!
 
 
mike@footballreportersonline.com
 
 
 

Under A New Direction, Are The Jets About To Soar? By Jon Wagner-Sr. Writer at Large-Football Reporters Online

Under A New Direction, Are The Jets About To Soar? By Jon Wagner-Sr. Writer at Large-Football Reporters Online
(Photo-Jets Superfan Captain Jet HAs Plenty to be happy about these days-Photo by A.F. Chachkes for F.R.O.

New York Jets fans have waited patiently for a long time –- through the past 40 seasons to be exact –- for a chance at another Super Bowl title, ever since Broadway Joe and his Jets fulfilled Joe Namath’s guaranteed upset of the powerhouse Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Since then, the Jets at times, after failing to produce a single winning season throughout the 1970’s, have had some flashes of success: four playoff appearances in the 1980’s, a couple more in the 1990’s, and four more in a span of six years, between 2001 and 2006. There were also the division championships in 1998 and 2002, and the Jets’ last appearance in a conference championship game in 1998.

Over that time, the Jets, a few times, thought they had the leadership they needed to eventually produce more championships. There was the attempt of pairing Bruce Coslet with Boomer Esiason after the two shared success together in Cincinnati. The Bill Parcells and Vinny Testeverde era then gave some hope, as did the Chad Pennington seasons which followed. And finally, there was the Eric Mangini and Brett Favre union, which through eleven games last season, had Jet fans talking realistically about an NFL championship –- that is, until it all fell apart over the Jets’ final five games of the 2008 season, leading to the Jets going in yet another direction with both their head coach and quarterback.

And still, no other Super Bowls for the Jets since that famed game in 1969.

So, it’s with trepidation that only two games into the Jets’ latest head coach/quarterback era, that Jet fans are ready to say that the leadership of current head coach Rex Ryan and Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez will become the magic combination that ultimately produces what Jets fans have been seeking for the past four decades.

After all, when things looked good for a short while under Mangini, both Jet fans and the media alike tagged the Bill Belichick disciple with the “Man-genius” moniker. It wasn’t long before that label gave way to much less flattering names.

However, just one preseason and two regular season wins into 2009, there already appears to be a real future for the Jets. It may not be this year, or even next, but it seems as though the Jets are finally in good hands.

The NFL is a quarterback’s league and a head coach’s league, particularly when that head coach understands how to win with defense first.

Sure, there have been previous Super Bowl winners that had good, but not dominant defenses, and yes, there have been others that have won with only a mediocre quarterback. And, of course, it takes many different facets of a roster working together to be a champion in the NFL.

But, for the most part, championship-grade success in the NFL has been predicated on solid leadership at perhaps the two most key areas: the head coach and his quarterback.

Just ask the combination which has stood in the Jets’ way for years in the AFC East, the aforementioned Belichick and his field leader, Tom Brady –- which is why their loss on Sunday to the Jets’ with Ryan and Sanchez now at the helm, the first time New England lost to the Jets at the Meadowlands since 2000, could be symbolic of the future of the AFC East.

Sanchez hasn’t been spectacular by any stretch in his extremely young career thus far, but he’s already proven to be an adequate NFL starter with a lot of poise, a great work ethic, and perhaps a lot of talent and upside as well.
Ryan meanwhile, seems to really get it. In his short time in New York and as an NFL head coach, he’s already changed the culture of Jetville and ingratiated himself to the New York media and to long suffering Jet fans. That’s no easy task in your first full season, let alone just two weeks into that season. Most of all, Ryan has brought what wins, to New York –- tough, aggressive, hard-nosed, yet smart and efficient play, from his coordinator days with the Ravens in… ironically, Baltimore (given the city of the team the Jets beat for their only other Super Bowl title).

No one has a crystal ball. For the sake of Jets’ fans and the Jets’ franchise, it won’t take another 40 years before Jets capture that second championship, though we never know.

One thing though, already seems apparent. With the new Ryan-Sanchez era underway, Jet fans may be envisioning as bright a future for their team as they have since the last time the Jets won what their fans have been waiting for ever since.