......I hate the Jets sucks thread, or at least the title. Its just seems so "jet fan-like", with people spouting baseless hatred for no apparent reason. OTOH, it IS interesting to comment on the team which currently provokes the most interest....and who is our main division rival, and the reason why so many of us hated the end of last season. So if we are going to discuss the current state of the Jets,I think it deserves its own thread. But if the mods want to merge it, so be it.
Disclaimer: Prior to the preseason, I am on record as predicting a step back by the Jets this season. While I think the Pats have made some significant upgrades to the team, I think the Jets were relegated to keeping as much of last year's team together as they could, and actually suffered some downgrades at the WR, DL, and OL.
Oh Ken, always verbose and pedantic, with a biased eye, but I'll give you props for trying.
Not sure why anybody would think the Jets take a step back, bringing back the core of their team, which they've done, especially the young core when you consider Harris, Holmes, Cromartie, Eric Smith, and bringing back less heralded players like Hunter, Pool, and Donald Strickland.
It's the same team Ken. Cotchery wanted out, wants to be a starter, team was concerned about his long term health, his back surgery, etc. He was a very solid player, a possession WR, a better person than player, they are a dime-a-dozen, as you mention below, Kerley is a nice prospect for the present and future as a slot WR. But how can you suggest the Jets downgraded by replacing Cotchery for this year in Derrick Mason? He's a faster Cotchery, even at his age, he can still move.
Braylon has been well documented, sure, he bounced back nicely, I thought he was a huge pick-up, a very good WR, but the guy just can't stay out of trouble off the field, and the fact that his locker room wanted no part of him raised the red flags. They all wanted Holmes back, he was the key.
Burress has already shown that the guy hasn't seemed to miss a beat, looks to be in great shape, have a great attitude, and wants to prove to the world he's back, he's playing with a chip on his shoulder, and that is not good news for fans of the opposing team. I still think it will take a couple of games for him to get his legs under him and wear the rust off, that's a given, but the guy in his first game already looks to be the same beast of a player he was.
Losing Brad Smith, their only other notable loss is hardly a key loss. He was a great ST's player, a complimentary WR, and was effective running the wildcat, not much else. Shawn Ellis is a solid player still, but the Jets have completely revamped their DL and upgrade the talent. They were also not happy with Ellis' practice habbits. I actually thought it was a good sign for NE, but at the same time, the move didn't make sense considering who else they have playing on the DL. He's not the same player, but can still be a good veteran. The Jets have very promising talent in their 1st round pick, Wilkerson, Kenrick Ellis, their 3rd round pick, and they have a couple of additional players they like in Pitoitua and Dennis Dixon.
I thought the key for the Jets, if they are to succeed is having Sanchez make a quantum leap in his third year to overcome those issues. So given that here is what I saw after watching the game on line (Bengal local feed) into the middle of the 3rd quarter.
1. the Jets will live and die with Mark Sanchez this season. His play in this game, at least, tells me that HE did NOT make a quantum leap in his most glaring issue, his accuracy. Now lets get this straight. I don't think Sanchez sucks. I think he is a good QB....not ELITE. He is good enough to take a great team to the superbowl, his is NOT good enough to "carry" a lesser team there.
In the game he was 12 for 20, a respectable 60%. However just like last season he was consistently bailed out by some very good catches by his WR. His first pass of the game was a perfect example. He completed a nice in cut to Burress, but the ball was behind him forcing Burress to make a Price-like maneuver to make the grab and effectively eliminated any chance for YAC. Later he converted a 3rd down with a quick simple 4 yd out to Holmes, but the pass was inaccurate forcing Holmes to have completely turn his body to make the catch. Even the TD to Plex was more about the catch than the throw.
BTW- he made some very nice throws as well, especially a long sideline pass to Holmes, the TD to Holmes, and a couple of nice passes to Keller. Again he is NOT a bad QB....as much as we'd like him to be. That said he also had 2 picks dropped.
Live and die by Sanchez? Uh no, the Jets will still be a very good running team, their weapons in the passing game only figures to improve. Sanchez is going into his 3rd year, he will only get better, it's not a reach to suggest as much, he's performed at an elite level in the playoffs the last two years, despite inconsistency in the regular season, but when it matters, he raises his play, that is the mark of a franchise QB on the rise. The leadership he showed during the lockout was well regarded by the organization and his teammates, this is his team now, his potential is unlimited.
Keller will be that much better, and more integrated, and as you eluded to rather impressively, Cumberland is the player to watch out for at TE, this kid has serious talent, runs under 4.5 at 6'4 260 lbs, he's emerged in the pre-season. What Pats fans should be worried about is the Jets hiring former Colt OC, Tom Moore as an assistant. He will help Schotty Jr, he will help Sanchez, he himself has already said the sky is the limit with Sanchez,, and he loves the TE, that is where Cumberland will come in, Moore likes double TE sets, I think that will be a wrinkle the Jets explore this year.
BOTTOM LINE - To date...and that is an important consideration...Sanchez hasn't shown a marked improvement in his accuracy
2. I was predicting that Plexico wouldn't be effective and a significant downgrade over Braylon Edwards. Er....I might have to rethink that a bit.
Plex was very good, no other way to say it. However I STILL think, even at his most effective, Plex isn't an upgrade. He isn't the "field stretcher" threat Edwards was, and while an excellent redzone threat, not better than Edwards who was also an excellent redzone threat.
3. There were a number of guys here who liked McElroy late in this draft. Based on what I've seen in 2 games, there were right. Very poised, very calm under pressure, seems like a good decision maker. In due time he could be THEIR version of Brian Hoyer,
4. Some of the other good things I saw..if you are a Jets fan. That ikid Kerley is a very nice slot WR prospect. Lots of quickness and goes for the ball aggressively. I think he's going to be a good pro...just not this year.
b. they have a 2nd TE named Cumberland who in the 2 Jets games I've seen has flashed well. Very much a Keller clone. Good speed, good receiver, blocking.....not so much. I think they are going to try to get both on the field this season at the same time.
Not bad, all fair, except for the comment on Sanchez. He's having his best pre-season since becoming a pro, not sure what more you want in a QB last night, playing in a monsoon... He had a 121 QB rating, almost 200 yds passing and 2 TD's with 60% comp... C',mon...
Plax was never a burner, never a field stretcher, but he gets separation, you saw it last night. He's a jumbo Jet who can run, but he won't need to blow by a DB, his game is his physicality, he's a matchup nightmare because of his size, and we saw in his first game back, he still has it, despite some obvious rust. Plax is a good route runner, he knows how to use his body to create seperation, not just with his legs. The Jets don't need him to stretch the field, they have Holmes and Mason to do that, and Kerley to play the underneath along with their TE's, we know about Keller, but if Cumberland emerges, that is a very potent passing offense that has some good potential. It should be noted that Sanchez performance last night was in a rain storm, I would think this makes the passing performance he orchestrated that much more impressive.
c. No one flashed on their DL last night, but no one ran against them either. Much like last season, the DL was VERY good against the run, but didn't generate any pass rush by itself. That's better than I thought, since they are playing a lot of young inexperienced guys. So far, not as big a weakness as I hoped
The DL will be much improved this year, they have enough experience in players like Pouha and Devito, and to some extent Dixon and Pitoitua, and the young kids have been impressive early, they looked great against the Texans last week. Sure, their will be growing pains, as with any young player, but they will be much more talented, and much deeper. The problem with the DL last year is that they wore out, Jenkins being out eventually hurt them because the Jets were only rotating 6 players, this year, they'll probably be rotating 8.
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