My players of the game were... On offense: Mark Sanchez. He never looked rattled. Even after the pick, he came in and led the team to a TD. He was truly awesome! On defense: Bart Scott. At the start of the game, he set the tempo for the team by playing all out. He was all over the place. You know that it is he that got this team fired up. And they all played like him the entire game. Thumbs up to the defense! This was nothing like pre-season!!!!
Offense could go so many ways. Cotchery was GREAT. Stuckey and Keller too. Offensive Line was also great and Leon and TJ got it done. Sanchez get the nod though, great first start. Defense: DAVID HARRIS and BART SCOTT.
I gotta go Kris Jenkins on defense. Did you see him swatting blockers to the turf like they were flies?
It's nearly impossible to pick any one guy. Jenkins did a hell of a job, Harris and Scott were superb, Revis absolutely shut Johnson down, thought Leonhard did pretty well. On defence I would give the pick to the unit. Superb
Offense: Has to be Mark Sanchez. I don't think that any of us expected him to throw the ball 31 times in his debut, and for a rookie in his first start (on the road no less) to have so much success throwing on 3rd down is unprecedented. Also, a hat tip to Thomas Jones, who kept his head in the game despite getting totally shut down in the first 3 quarters and then buried the Texans once he finally got some blocking. Defense: It's hard to pick one guy out on the defense because they played so beautifully as a unit, but Kris Jenkins was at the center of everything the Jets did today. He was just tossing guys around up front all day, freeing up space for the linebackers to terrorize Houston and minimizing the amount of time that Revis had to stay glued to Andre Johnson. David Harris gets an honorable mention, because he'll be haunting Matt Schaub's nightmares for years.
Offense: We all know about the guys with the numbers, but someone who had a great game that pretty much nobody is talking about is Tony Richardson. He was key on a few blocks that helped keep Sanchez upright. On both of TJ's long runs he completely obliterated his man and opened up the entire sideline. So while his performance is one nobody is going to be talking about tomorrow, he had a hell of a game. Defense: sticking with the little guy that nobody is talking about, I am going to give props to Sione Pouha and Mike Devito. Those guys were hugely instramental today in helping shut down the run, which pretty much made the Texans one dimensional and terrible at that. So props to the two guys filling in for Ellis.
I'm going to give props to Eric Smith and Lito, two DBs that fans here (myself occasionally included) love to hate. Maybe not the MOST impactful players of the game but based on their playing history, both stepped up big today and made plays that changed the game. I almost fell out of my chair when Eric Smith prevented the 3rd and 3 pass over the middle. He usually falls right before the pass or something and allows a huge gainer. Lito was stacking up the screens like a LB and also had the INT
im going to step outside of the box for a moment and give it to shotty and ryan for calling great games. not to mention they both showed a lot of emotion on the sidelines keeping our guys pumped up.
I know it's too early to be saying this, but we could have the best ILB's in the game. Harris and Scott are studs extraordinaire, and they both set the tempo all game long. The entire defense was flying to the ball all game. This is exactly what my gripe was last year. The defense was a read and react defense. The players were always playing on their heels. No longer, though. The players fly to the ball, and they provide devastating hits. Man, it's so cool to watch. This defense will be feared across the NFL before too long.
Offense - D' Brick He did a hell of a job guarding Williams and keeping Sanchez safe. Defense - Big Jenk Anybody else see him clothes line their center?
i agree. just the pressure alone. plus we didnt even have pace or ellis. i cant believe how many times we got through the line untouched today. Rex Ryans schemes are far better then we had last year.
Side-note: Did anyone see Leon Washington pick up blitz? Hehe, good for him. Washington almost got Kellen Clemens killed when he was a rookie. There's just so many positives all over the map for today's game. I love how excited Sanchez gets. He just breathes 'leader'. And Sheppard wasn't a mf dumbass today.
Offense - D'Brick stone walled their best defensive player, Mario Williams. Defense - Darrelle Revis shut down their best offensive player, Andre Johnson. Honorable mention Dirty Sanchez and Kris Jenkins.