Screw it, I'm just going to wind up starting a thread every week because I just can't bring myself to open most of the craptacularly titled ones in this forum. I cringe to think what's written in them, given those titles. If you wish to discuss things rationally, have a seat and join us. If you want to rant, rave, piss and moan all completely irrationally, there are plenty of threads outside to do so. Anyway... We got outplayed and outcoached. That's the basic story of the game. However, I see threads blaming Schottenheimer. Really? I mean, seriously? The one thing I blame Schottenheimer for is his overuse of Thomas Jones. Enough is enough with Jones. I've been a TJ band wagoner all along, but I'm tired of it. He's a compiler. He gets loads of yards, but on far too many carries. The guy just doesn't play tough. He hits the middle, and when there's contact, he falls. Though he'll pull one out like that TD once in a while and fool me back into complacence. No more. Leon should be the feature back. TJ can be the change of pace, though where was Greene? I want to see more of that kid. The OLine played well. I don't know what people are complaining about. Sanchez had time to throw last night. WTF do you want, 10 seconds in the pocket? It's not like Miami is completely untalented on D. Sanchez is the real deal. If you didn't already believe that, last night should have convinced you. Every week he gets better and shows he learned from the previous week. He looked off receivers. He was holding onto the ball. The one mental error he made was the grounding, but that looked more like he was thinking "I have to avoid the sack like I was taught this week!" Another fixable rookie mistake, and one that showed he at least remembered a lesson from practice. Braylon is the truth. I love to say "I told you so" when it's a good thing, and I'm going to now: I told you so. What's up with dropsies BS now? Yeah, he probably should have caught the one that got the PI flag for the TD, but that looked completely different in slow-mo than it did in real-time. And the only other one he didn't catch was way behind him and he only got a few fingers on the nose. That's what a true #1 looks like people. I would have liked to have seen more Cotchery. That would have helped a bit. However, Clowney got involved and I think he showed he can play at the pro level. He's never going to be a superstar, but he'll be a nice additional weapon in the offense. Where was Keller? Did this guy even suit up? (Yes, I know he was in the game, but talk about an invisible man.) Overall, the offense played well enough to win the game. Period. You can't point the finger at an offense that scores 27. Speaking of the score, does anyone else appreciate Jay Feely? The guy does not get enough love around here. He now holds a tie for most consecutive FGs made by a Jets placekicker. And he silenced the doubters that were falling back on the "he doesn't do it from far enough to miss" last night. Speaking of special teams, Mike Westhoff is an absolute genius. The ST unit is always well-prepared for a game. The play of our punting unit gave us two first downs that were huge in keeping us in the game. That's starts with fantastic coaching. Now on to the other side of the ball. The problem for the Jets last night was getting completely torn apart by Miami's offense. That starts with coaching. The defense looked completely unprepared for the Wildcat. No excuses that it's a gimmick offense, it's their offense. And it's effective. With Brown and Williams, I'd pull that offense all day too. The defense looked completely clueless most of the game. Guys were looking around, even when Henne was in his snap count, like they had no idea what their assignments were. That's coaching. We blitzed far too much. They protected Henne well. Those blitzes allowed Henne to find open receivers, and let the RBs run wild once they hit a hole. Speaking of Henne, I see people saying "It's Chad Henne fercryingoutloud!" Yeah? So? We have a QB who had started all of 4 pro games, and had one season of college starting experience. Henne's resume is slightly more voluminous. He's got talent people. Welcome to the AFC East. There's only one team here that doesn't have a franchise QB. The personnel on the field was questionable at points as well. Coleman late in the game? Really Rex?! Oh, and thanks a bunch Lito. Any time you feel like getting healthy, just let us know. Otherwise I think the secondary played pretty well. There was the TD where Revis and Rhodes got beat, but overall, they played well. We lost a lot more in 5 yard chunks than we did down field. Our front-7 minus Jenkins just did not play well. Harris worked hard, but otherwise, they were silent. The D just looked completely outclassed by Miami's offense. That's both a credit to Miami's talent/coaching and a discredit to our coaching/preparation. Feel free to disagree with me, but that's my take.
great post Alio....I'm on board with everything you listed there. Glad to see Braylon do well...I was one of the bigger supporters of the trade....and I was one of the posters that wanted to trade for him back in April actually...while everyone was pining for Boldin.
i pretty much agree with everything you said. now i don't want to sound like an arrogant fan, but i really think that was the perfect game for the fins. everything worked out for them with the offense. they didn't have any mental errors and hardly any negative plays. meanwhile that was an awful game for most of our defense. somehow the jets are still in a position to win right until the last few seconds. i really think the game in 3 weeks will be a different story.
Keller was only targeted once, so not his fault. I agree about Braylon, he was the real deal last night. That catch at the one was spectacular. That is what he brings to the team. Sanchez was pretty good. Keep in mind, he is working with a new WR and Cotchery was playing hurt last night, thus the Clown getting some work. Nice job Clowney by the way, finally showed that speed on the deep throw. Sanchez can really throw a nice deep ball. I agree the Jones era is about over. They appear to be slowly working Greene into the mix. Putting him in on the Jets 5 yard line was a vote of confidence to me. The D was outcoached and outplayed last night. Note the Dolphins usually only had a one WR set most plays. Hard to blitz when you have 8 guys staying in to block. Heavy sets by the phins overpowered the D. The Ginn TD was blown coverage. Revis thought he had help, and he did, three guys running behind Ginn to the endzone. Just a bad play there. Live and learn, and still in first place.
I'll actually disagree on blitzing too much (otherwise, agree with all else). If we did, then our D is more pitiful than I feel, because I saw rare pressure on Henne, and no blitzes until the 4th. ESPN just noted we have 4 sacks on the year, tied for last place in the NFL with the Jags. Yes, I thought there was a shitload of holding by the Miami O-line, but seriously? Jenks was the only one out there trying, and when we took him off the field (1) it was so noticable and (2) you knew exactly what Miami was going to run, and we couldn't stop it. I also thought we respected Pat White way too much. And I liked the kid, but I don't get why we didn't have everyone near the line when he was in. I thought I felt bad last week, but today I honestly feel miserable. Oh, and I also don't buy Henne. I've said for years that Trent Edwards made a name for himself with a good game against the Jets, but he is overrated, and not very good, and I think this year is proving that. Same with Henne. Didn't like him at Michigan and don't think he'll be more than a mediocre QB in the NFL.
Good post, agree with everything but calling Henne a franchise QB (he could be, but who knows at this point) And about Keller- I don't know what it is about him, but him and Sanchez never seem to be on the same page. I remember several plays this year, many of them on a key 3rd down, that the ball was thrown to Keller and something was wrong with the timing or the route. I think he's afraid to get hit or something cause he seems to let a lot of balls go over his head without giving much of an effort for them. I'm not a Keller hater or anything and I think hes a good receiving TE, but something is wrong with the Sanchez to Keller connection, and I really hope they can get on the same page and Keller can be an important part of our offense
I think you are right on Alio. The defense has to totally man-up this week and work hard and come out next week and want to punish the crap out of the Bills; that is allthey have to think about.
Lito and Strickland's absences are killing us. We thrive off that blitz, but we need to have every receiver locked down, and without our #2 and #3 backs, we can't do that. Good post Alio.
I was pining for Boldin, but I've been on the Braylon bandwagon since the moment he became a Jet. I don't recall how I felt about him before the season though. Yes. Miami executed near flawlessly, and they had a great gameplan. I agree that the next game should be completely different. If it's not, Rex Ryan will suddenly find himself no longer feeling the love. Sanchez spread the ball around last night, so it's on Keller that he didn't catch balls. He just isn't getting open, which is sort of inexecusable for his talent and size combined with being matched up with linebackers. I'm not going to harp on it too much though. Keller's not the reason we didn't win. I just want to see him get open more. Yeah, the overloaded line was hard to break, but when you have 8 guys up, even without the blitzes working you have to be able to prevent 6+ yard rushing plays. Yeah, Revis should have had help on that play. But it was one play and overall, Coleman excepted, the secondary played well enough last night. There definitely wasn't pressure, but not for lack of blitzing attempts. Except for Jenkins our front 7 just wasn't able to do anything. I think Henne is more than enough for Miami's system. The Wildcat opens the passing game. He's definitely has a strong enough arm and enough accuracy to hit an open man downfield. That running game is all he needs.
For future games yes. But last night the Phins were running only one or two WR sets most of the game.
The biggest postives from yesterday was the chemistry brewing between Sanchez and Edwards. David "Mr. August" Clowney got in on the action too.
Edwards was making plays all over the field yesterday.......snagging balls out of the air like a spider monkey. he's exactly what Sanchez needs at this point in his career. Kinda like what Eli needed with Burress.
Say what you will, but games like this can be a nice wake up call, or a humbling whack on the back of the head to a team when they need it. The defense was getting an awful lot of hype. Maybe now they can refocus and get grounded and get back to doing what they do. Of course Miami's offensive line was doing a great job of picking up the blitz packages, so credit where credit is due. One thing I think everyone can enjoy and feel good about in this game, well two things actually, BRAYLON EDWARDS... hello??? He had some tremendous catches and to step in and play like that after just a couple of days practice... it is clearly what the doctor ordered for our offense. Also, Sanchez seems to have bounced back solidly after the Saints meltdown... very good to see him back on the horse and making some improvement to his game. It would have been nice to go up a game on the Pats for the division, but we do have a pretty soft schedule in front of us. The team just needs to get on board and play well on both sides of the ball consistently. Still way to early to panic.
I've actually considered that. He does seem to play a bit scared of pain. Not a very good trait for a tight end. Yup. And thanks. Yes he does. Well, except that last one that he threw to straight up, but it was a Hail Mary, so forgivable. :wink: But Drew Coleman's look of "We're playing football?" on the Phins' last drive allowed them to get there at the end. If Lito's out there, we probably win last night. I think Clowney is going to turn into a weapon. I'm curious to see how he'd do in the slot, though I've also flirted with putting Cotchery in the slot, with Edwards and Clowney on the outside. Imagine trying to defend that. Absolutely. It's going to be fun to watch these two play together. Just wait until Cotchery is healthy!
I agree with most of what you said Alio, good post. Here's the thing though... They were frequently putting in a 6th OL. Against a 3-4 that inevitably gets OL to the second level. On a rushing play, OL vs. LB = offense wins. I'm not sure WTF is up with Keller. I guess he needs to get his ass over to Rhodes' place to play some Mario Kart with Sanchez too. It certainly worked for Edwards.
I'm not seeing any love for Brad Smith in the slot. He played well when he was out there, and Clowney cannot touch Smith's moves avoiding and breaking tackles. Smith's hands looked soft last night too, which was remarkable in and of itself.
That's another point I meant to make. This was a wake up call. The defense dominated the first three weeks. Then they played respectably against an incredible Saints offense. They then followed that up with a poor showing against a team that they should have beaten. That was not only a message to the defense that they are beatable, but also a message to the coaching staff. Both were riding a little too high coming into this game. Now both have been knocked down a peg. Now it's time to respond. I expect the Bills to have a very bad early evening this Sunday.
