I honestly can't remember the last time I saw the team as a whole look as pathetic as they did today. And, when you read this, keep in mind that I have a long history on this forum and those that know me don't generally know me to be a "Chicken Little". There just didn't seem to be any heart from top to bottom. Here are my thoughts:
1. Brady: If he keeps playing scared like he did today and last week, it's going to be a long season for us. I had actually made a thread in the preseason detailing my concerns about how he wasn't stepping into his throws all the way and looked skiddish in the pocket and had it dismissed by others who quickly reminded me that, "it's the preseason". Too true. It's just too bad those concerns translated into the regular season. Tommy came out last week and immediately pulled the same stunt. His mechanics bordered on horrible. Sure, he was pressured at times. But even at times which he wasn't pressured, he seemed to be hurring his throws and not stepping fully into a pass. For some reason, that stopped in the 4th quarter. Jaws was kind enough to point out to us that Brady began stepping into his throws and, when that happened, we were able to drive effortlessly down the field which Brady comfortably making throws within and outside of 15 yards. Today, he just didn't seem to carry that 4th quarter confidence over with him and again looked rusty. From beginning to the end he never seemed comfortable and, even during times when the pressure wasn't there, didn't fully step into throws and/or hurried them. It's very obvious that the mental hurdle for Brady is still a very tall one and our offensive line doesn't seem to be helping him out that much. Hopefully he can get his act together because the season doesn't appear to get any easier with match-ups against Atlanta and Baltimore coming up.
Coaching: I was absolutely bewildered today at our near complete abandonment of the run... again. When we first brought in Freddy Taylor to run with Maroney, Faulk, and Morris, my original thoughts were that we were going to lean heavily on the running game in the beginning of the year until Tommy gets his bearings again. Well, again today, it turned out I was wrong. Simply put, Brady cannot attempt 47 passes in a game against a Rex Ryan defense with the way he was playing today and still expect to win. During the times when we DID go with the running game, I thought Taylor and LoMo looked great... especially coming out of draw plays. However, there were just too many series where the ball was put into Brady's hands, and he just simply wasn't ready to lead us for the whole game. At the end of the first half, we were beginning to break off good chunks of yardage for every running play we called. Why we didn't go with that formula in the second half is beyond me. Just bad coaching there.
Offensive Line: The OL did a good job of not allowing Brady to get sacked, but you can probably contribute that to Brady getting rid of the ball quickly when it looked like the sack was coming instead of the O-Line. In all, Brady was pressured pretty much all day despite under 20 blitzes being called by the Jets defense. He was hit time and time again and was hit hard. If he continues taking that kind of abuse, he will be injured by season's end. Those of us that called for the team to draft Ryan Clady in the wake of the 2007 season and Oher in the wake of the 2008 season are wondering why not. The pass protection has GOT to improve because this Jets team isn't going to be the only team we see this season that is going to bring the heat on Brady. The one thing the OL did good today was run block. However, like I said, the running game just wasn't used effectively enough to take advantage of that.
WRs: This unit was clearly hurting by the loss of Welker. I know I'm not alone, but I wish him a speedy recovery. Lord knows that we're going to need his services in the next two weeks. Edelman did look great today and, despite the *****ing and moaning of those on the Galloway hate train, Joey caught 5 balls for 53 yards. Not all that bad. However, neither of them can do what Wes does. Because of Wes, the defense is forced to commit to coverage underneath which takes the heat off of Moss. With Welker out, the Jets' defense keyed in on Moss and all but completely took him out of the game. By the way, Galloway shouldn't take flak for that would-be touchdown. He was open but Brady threw the ball too late. Edelman also would have had a touchdown as well had the ball not been thrown away from him. All in all, I wasn't terribly impressed by the play of the WRs today, but they are getting way too much flak thrown their way for the loss. When Welker gets back, I think we'll see the passing game that we're all accustomed to. I would also love to see Edelman become the other slot receiver on the other side of Welker. That would be one very dangerous passing game with those two operating underneath along with Watson and Baker.
Defense: Clearly we are missing the presence that Seymour brought to this team. The push that used to come off of his side of the line has been non-existant in the first two games so far. With that said, I thought that the defense did a good enough job with what they were asked to do today. They contained the Jesters running game and kept Washington and Jones within check. However, the coaching staff needs to realize that more pressure has to come from the linebackers at times. We cannot simply rely on that four man rush coming from the line against a good OL like the one the Jets have. Today, that four man rush simply wasn't getting to Sanchez and he ate us for lunch. When BB finally decided to mess around with some blitzes, we got pressure and hit Sanchez (the one by TBC stands out). I know that if you live by the blitz, you die by the blitz. I understand that. However, if we don't blitz against a good OL, we don't get to the QB. It's as simple as that.
Special Teams: Do I even have to say anything here. Just wow. I know Leon Washington is dangerous but wow...
Penalties: We shot outselves in the foot time and time again with needless penalties. Since BB has been coaching this team, I cannot remember the last time we got two delay of game penalties... IN A ROW. The holding and false start penalties were costly. We just didn't play smart, Bill Belichick football today and we payed for it.
Final thoughts: I know it's against the law around here to go against Tommy and agree with Jets fans, but those of you whining and complaining about the Jet fans chanting "Brady sucks" need to take a step back. They were right. Brady did suck today. However, he will get better. All athletes have a mental hurdle they need to climb after a serious injury and Brady's is going to be bigger because he was considered Iron Man before his injury and the injury didn't occur until later in his career. But, rest assured, he will start stepping into this throws down the line. When he gets back to his old self, Welker gets back, and Mayo gets back, this team will be very VERY dangerous. Hopefully Tommy and Wes can take steps into those directions quickly because we have a tough test coming up in Atlanta.
