NYJets Team Report

EcKo151 · Sep 20, 2006

Of all the team stats in New England's win over New York on Sunday, this one by the Jets jumped out the most.

First Downs By Rushing: 0. Nada, zip, zilch, nil.

Remember the 2.7 yards per carry the Jets rushed for against Tennessee in Week 1? Well, that seems like a bountiful harvest compared to the 2.1 the Jets managed on the ground against New England. Now they hope to get healthy against a Buffalo defense that has allowed its first two opponents 4.5 yards per carry.

More and more, the decision not to draft a running back until scatback Leon Washington was taken in the fourth round seems like a mistake by the Jets, especially with the continuation of Curtis Martin's brilliant career still in limbo. But coach Eric Mangini doesn't put all the blame on the running backs themselves.

"I know I've said this a ton of times," he said Monday of the Jets' moribund running game, "but it's really a group effort."

First, he noted, there's the "mesh point between the quarterback and back (during the handoff), which doesn't seem like that significant of a thing but could slow down the procedure."

He also said that a running play could break down if when "the ball gets to the perimeter, a wide receiver can't maintain his block. It's not a function purely of the back, purely of the line. It's all of us together, the coaching staff as well."

"A lot of times, a team's running game doesn't start clicking until the middle of the season," said quarterback Chad Pennington, who has somehow managed consecutive 300-yard passing games despite the lack of a running threat. "And the passing has to carry it along. It will take some time. I believe in these guys. They work extremely hard."

Kevan Barlow had 14 carries for only 42 yards Sunday. Surprisingly, tough downhill runner Cedric Houston was inactive for the second consecutive week. Of all the Jets' backs, Houston seems to be the most adept at making yardage after contact.

Mangini implied that Houston would have to prove his value on special teams to be on the game-day roster.

"It comes down to that quite often," he said. "It's carving out a niche where if you're not getting the bulk of the runs and the runs are split up, you really have to have a role to help the team win."

Although coach Eric Mangini very rarely is critical, he sounded Monday as if he is becoming a bit impatient with the progress of the rebuilding offensive line.

"Well, there were plays from those guys (Sunday) that were really positive and there were plays that just weren't," he said. "Part of progress is consistency, and part of progress is as you see these new looks, being able to adjust to it and developing a level of communication. This is six games into it now, so each week it's got to get a little bit better, and that's what we're looking for."

However, he also said he is "pleased" with rookie center Nick Mangold. "I think that a great way to evaluate young guys is when you don't have to say the name," Mangini noted, "and I haven't had to say Nick's name very often in the last month or so."

As for rookie LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson, he said, "Yeah, I think D'Brickashaw has done some good things."

--Although it isn't mandated by NFL rules, former coach Herm Edwards used to give a very detailed injury report on Mondays. Mangini, feeling that it's to his competitive advantage not to, believes in waiting until Wednesday, when it's required.

When asked about injuries from Sunday's game, he said, "I have to get together here with (trainer) John (Mellody) and the doctors. We do that later today. We'll have a report for Wednesday."

--Mangini was talking about Ferguson's adjustment to the NFL, and said, "The speed that you see or the change-up of looks or the blitzes that come, there's a lot of information to process there. And there really are no warmup schools on the schedule. ... Wesleyan is not on our schedule this year, although they have an excellent football program."

Mangini was making a tongue-in-cheek reference to his and Bill Belichick's old college. He spoke jokingly about his old program leading up to the New England game, trying to make the point that it wasn't a big-time football team as compared to an NFL or major-college squad. But some people misinterpreted it and thought he was slamming his old school, which wasn't the case.

PLAYER PERSONNEL NOTES

--LG Pete Kendall (left hamstring) was inactive Sunday. Coach Eric Mangini said Monday that Kendall, who practiced all week, "worked as hard as he possibly could to play, (but) it just wasn't going to happen."

--RB Cedric Houston again was inactive, and Mangini suggested Monday that he needs to become a special-teams contributor to guarantee him being active on gamedays.

--P Ben Graham placed his first four kicks inside the New England 20, but then a made a 10-yard shank to his left that set up a 50-yard touchdown drive late in the first half. He finished with a 30.6-yard net average on five punts.

--LG Norm Katnik, filling in for injured Pete Kendall on Sunday, was relieved by Adrian Jones in both halves. Jones, a third-year OT, hadn't played guard since he was a freshman in high school. Katnik was beaten so badly by Richard Seymour on one play that he literally tackled him, yet somehow didn't draw a flag. Chad Pennington completed a 20-yard pass to Laveranues Coles on the play.

--WR Justin McCareins was effective as the third wide receiver, notching four catches for 51 yards. Three converted third downs into first downs.

REPORT CARD VS. TITANS

PASS OFFENSE: A -- Chad Pennington again turned back the clock to 2002, at least in the second half, when he threw for 202 of his 306 yards and two TDs. Both Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles had at least 100 yards receiving and a spectacular catch-and-run score. But Pennington was sacked four times and was on the run much of the game.

RUSH OFFENSE: F -- The running game looked worse than last week, if that's possible, with no first downs and only 2.1 yards per carry. The Jets are ranked 31st in rushing offense after the first two weeks, and improvement doesn't seem imminent, without a big-time featured back (unless Kevan Barlow rediscovers his 2003 form) or a cohesive offensive line.

PASS DEFENSE: C -- S Kerry Rhodes' fourth-quarter sack was the only one by the Jets, and he also caused a fumble that Bryan Thomas recovered. A pick by CB David Barrett on the previous series was the other highlight for the Jets, as otherwise, Tom Brady had time to make plays when he needed to make them. Particularly on New England's final drive, when he went 3-for-3 on third-down conversions through the air.

RUSH DEFENSE: C-minus -- The Pats' two-headed monster of Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney averaged 4 yards per carry. The Jets managed only one tackle for loss against the run, when run-blitzing S Erik Coleman dropped Maroney for a 3-yard loss on the Pats' second series.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C -- P Ben Graham seemed to be on his way to a huge day when he placed his first four punts inside the Patriots' 20, but then a 10-yard shank to the 50 jump-started a second-quarter TD drive by New England. K Mike Nugent got back on track by connecting on his only FG attempt, a 42-yarder, and Bryan Thomas contributed a blocked FG. The return teams were nothing special.

COACHING: C -- Again, it seems as if coach Eric Mangini's rigorous training camp help the Jets find their second wind in the second half. But taking a timeout on defense late in the game with New England facing a third-and-8 at the Jets' 35 was a questionable move. Not only did the Jets not get the defensive stop they needed, they cost themselves valuable time because the timeout followed an incompletion. Going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Jets' 46 while trailing 17-0 also was a debatable call, considering the Jets' struggles with their running game. New England stuffed Barlow and then its offense drove the short field for a TD.
Click to expand...

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/teamReport?categoryId=67057&type=StrategyAndPersonnel

1028 · Sep 20, 2006

Oh man, I forgot all about these things :lol:

wa2k99 · Sep 20, 2006

Uh, coach, there are a lot more running plays than special teams plays during the games. We're not going to see Houston because he's not good enough on special teams? That's a bad excuse. Shouldn't this decision be made on how he runs the football?

EcKo151 · Sep 20, 2006

wa2k99 said:

Uh, coach, there are a lot more running plays than special teams plays during the games. We're not going to see Houston because he's not good enough on special teams? That's a bad excuse. Shouldn't this decision be made on how he runs the football?
Click to expand...

I think it's more of the point that no team carries 4 RB's on a game-day roster. Yes it's a very rough situation since their is no run game to speak of, although I think Barlow can give the Jets solid gains consistently...

So if he doesn't get a carry, it'd be a little plus of he could contribute in another phaze of the game, in this case, special teams.

GreenHornet · Sep 20, 2006

I just don't think Mangini is ever going to say anything that would compromise his competitive advantage.

Translated, we really won't know what we are going to get until Sunday.

steviep · Sep 20, 2006

NYJ EcKo151 said:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/teamReport?categoryId=67057&type=StrategyAndPersonnel

[T]aking a timeout on defense late in the game with New England facing a third-and-8 at the Jets' 35 was a questionable move. Not only did the Jets not get the defensive stop they needed, they cost themselves valuable time because the timeout followed an incompletion.
Click to expand...

Is that right? They took a time out when the clock was stopped? I dont remember that.

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