Yeah you are right my bad...........The Jets got nothing to worry about super bowl here we come............why even discuss it intelligently? Edit: Not many QB's shied away from Revis, he was thrown at quite a bit. Certainly an inordinate amount for a CB that had the year he did.
wtf? nice leap there puck. Rex has specifically said he designs his defense so that QB's throw at Revis. I'd guess a large part of the number of throws his way can be credited to design. It's a lot easier to execute that design when Peyton Manning isn't the QB and Dwight Lowery isn't your 2nd corner.
Dwight Lowery was more effective than Lito Sheppard. Cromartie will probably be burned on a few plays, but for the most part I think he'll do his job.
Sorry, I had zero idea what you were trying to say, with your earlier post. Thanks for the clarification. Edit: This year the Jets have got to be ready for that design to not work as well.
I've actually heard the opposite regarding the wind and I'm not thrilled about it. I think athletically speaking Sanchez brings above average footspeed and good mobility and accuracy to the table. I think his release is fair (not good, not bad) but that his arm strength isn't the best. I think Sanchez will get in trouble in the same way Tony Romo sometimes gets in trouble on the field. I think he will have to work on his ball security and not try to force passes into tight windows because, frankly, he doesn't have the whip for it. Bill Parcells said Romo would be a good QB if "you keep him on the reservation." The same goes for Sanchez, if you just let him go out there and do what comes naturally you're going to see some great plays for both the Jets and their opposition. Reign him in, however, and you have something good. And that's not me trying to cut him down, fwiw, because I think Eli falls in the same category only more in terms of trying to make the too difficult through. Just as Eli has always been good at putting up yards and TDs, I think Sanchez will always have a high completion percentage and be money on 3rd down (his mobility helping him greatly there). The trick will be cutting down on the INTs and fumbles.
This is a great post and I believe Sanchez will take a huge leap forward this year. I watched alot of Chargers football and I believe L.T behind this run blocking offensive line will thrive plus factor in the screen pass something that has been extinct since Curtis Martin left the Jets. Cromartie also will rebound this guy had 10 interceptions his rookie year and then Ron Rivera changed the defense to zone. Cromartie once he gets the ball could take it to the house. I'm really excited to see this defense. I wished they would have targeted a pass rusher but if Rex feels Jason Taylor can get 12 to 15 sacks in this defense who are we to argue. Kyle Wilson will play a huge role call it the Wes Welker shadow because that is what he was drafted for. Greene will do fine Jones was slow to the hole and went down with pinky tackles. I am concerned about the offensive line and cutting Faneca but Callahan had to sign off on that and believe either Slauson or Ducasse can replace him. Also will be exciting to see Holmes after week 4.
It all comes down to Sanchez, really. If he continues to grow a strong rapport with Edwards, JCo, and Keller, then by mid-season has something going with Holmes, then this team will be something to fear come November and onward. We have a solid Offensive Line to protect Mark, so him having time to make his reads will not be an issue. He will be unleashed more into a passer in 2010 by Rex & Schotty, and that will be his true test. If he isn't ready, we may be screwed. I think he will be just fine. As for Cromartie, I really don't see him as a Sheppard clone. He struggled in zone coverages, yes, but when he was in man in 2007 he was one of the best in the games. He was a small risk, big reward investment and unlike Sheppard and Donald Strickland, no matter what at least Cromartie stays on the damn field.
I agree that the overall philosophy was the same, but to dismiss it as 'changed it around a little bit' is a vast understatement. The execution of the defense was far different because of how Rex tailors his defense around his personnel. In Baltimore, Rex had HOFers Reed and Lewis, and killer edge rusher in Suggs, and a pretty weak secondary filled with role players. That forced him to use LBs in coverage a lot more and keep 2 safeties deep a lot more than he needed to with the Jets in 2009. But as I said, he's got a whole new set of weapons on D now and they will be designing a new focus of attack for 2010. Regardless, we'll still be blitzing a lot to get pressure, unless the unthinkable happens and Jason Taylor reverts to younger days.
I agree about how he'll probably flourish in man schemes, no doubt. He's a very physical corner, maybe too physical sometimes, but I think he will get the job done - especially when the QB has 5 rusher coming after him. But Rex did run zone to try to close games out and I'm sure he will again. Rex uses zone coverage like other teams use the Prevent. In 2009 it blew up in his face a number of times because smart QBs recognized it quickly and took advantage of bad matchups (see Atlanta). I think one of the main reasons we went heavy CB this offseason, aside from Peyton Manning, was that teams like Atlanta and Miami and Jacksonville and New England were able to exploit that late-game zone that Rex has the tendency to run, and Rex doesn't like weak spots in his defense. He knows that he can't run a full-on man coverage for an entire game, because his corners will be burned out in the 4th quarter. So... we stack up on corners and now a weak spot has a chance to become a strength... we hope. And all of that really comes down to how Cro performs in the zone coverages that Rex calls.
Cromartie is a tough puzzle to figure out. It seems like he was just not willing to put his body on the line when it came to tackling. But he's physical when it comes to contact on the line and hand fighting through blocks and diverting a receiver's route, almost to a fault. I am more concerned (like I said in my response to Hurricane) in his ability in zone coverage than in his tackling ability. While we would all love to have an all-around corner like Revis at every cornerback spot, it's just not a realistic notion. Corners are not tacklers. Most of them would rather throw a shoulder at the legs or try to strip the ball and really wrap up the ball carrier - especially when that ball carrier is a hammer like Shonn Greene. But I don't think he needs to be tough to help the defense become elite. I just think he needs to be opportunistic enough to make that lack of physicality less of a detriment. What this defense is lacking to become elite is a 4 man rush that can stand on it's own. Maybe Rex figures a way around that this year, but I think he's going to end up sending a lot of rushers all day long until we find a real answer at edge rusher.
I didn't really have a problem with them reining Sanchez in during a difficult rookie campaign. Not at all. I was calling for it for much of the season, actually. What I have a problem with is Rex having to do it, while his OC threw the rookie to the dogs. If Schotty is such an offensive wunderkind, he should have been able to recognize when the time was to pull those reins back.
I agree with the general premise of your post, concerning 1000 yard receivers, but I think you're focusing on the receivers when you should actually be focused on the quarterbacks we'll be facing. Plus, I don't really agree about the stud QBs being forced to throw at Revis. The less experienced QBs, or the more experienced ones prone to panic under pressure, are the ones that ended up trying to force the ball to their #1's most of the time in 2009. Early in the season I think Rex had even the more experienced QBs like Brady, Shaub and Collins trying to quick outlet to their primary wideouts, but as the season went on, those overloads got gameplanned a bit better. But the QBs that forced it, like Delhomme, Russell, Edwards, Freeman - they sucked against us. At least in comparison to the tougher QB competition we faced, who were able to avoid Revis. And I think that's one of the main reasons why Rex moved Revis around to different receivers against the Chargers in the postseason. He knew that the smarter QBs could take Revis out of the game. Upgrading the talent level at corner makes it harder for them to do that, so I agree with that part of your post.
Absolutely. The offense, until Sanchez takes some big steps, is going to be the main concern. And I have no doubt that they will get the defense working. My problem is that I am not happy with 'working'. I am a selfish bastard. I want ELITE.
I think the offense is going to start the season hot. It's once Holmes is factored in that things are going to get interesting. I think that Holmes might stunt the offense a little bit when he comes back in week 5, but it's up to Schotty to figure out how to use Holmes in the offense during the week 7 BYE.
Sanchez actually has a pretty good arm, although he will never be mentioned in the same conversation as guys like Eli and Cutler and some others in that department. And his mechanics get the ball there where his arm strength cannot. What he really needs work on is decision-making and touch. But I've been wondering about how the engineering of the new stadium would affect the wind, that is going to be pretty important to both of our teams. I'd rather not have a worse swirl that we had in the old stadium.
I didn't mean to say that Sheppard and Cromartie were similar in playing style, because they really aren't, mostly due to the difference in their physical ability. But the situation is extremely similar, even if Cro didn't get benched by his previous team. Cromartie is also a low-risk, high reward type of player, although while the risk is higher than the one we took with Shep, his ceiling for reward is MUCH higher if Thurman can get him firing on all cylinders. And let's not tempt fate by assuming that Cromartie is going to be a paragon of health for his tenure with the Green and White. This is still the Jets we're talking about.
That is definitely a concern I share, although not as much as it concerned me when they were integrating Braylon Edwards into the O in 2009. Sanchez will at least have some of the offseason to get to know Holmes on the practice field, and he won't be staring him down as much as he was staring down Edwards, because he is now aware of how clutch Cotchery is, and he knows what an excellent outlet that Keller is. The Jets are definitely putting Mark Sanchez is position to succeed.
I guess we need to find numbers on targets if we want to get this one right. The QB's you mentioned with the exception of Jake Delhomme did not have a premiere #1 WR to throw too so I'd be really surprised if they were the ones who over-targetted at Revis. The only QB who had a #1 WR who didn't over-target at Revis was probably Tom Brady and that was because he had a slot WR in both games that the game plan dictated he throw too as a primary option not a checkdown. The upgrades at CB are basically going to punish the QB's more for thowing at their #2 WR than for throwing at Revis. This is because the Jets will have a #1 talent CB stacked up against a #2 WR which is going to produce some picks in those matchups if the QB goes that way too often. I really think Revis actual workload is going up next year unless he picks off a bunch of passes early on, because Cromartie is going to pick off some passes when QB's under pressure put the ball in his vicinity against lesser WR's.
Defensive Sophomore Slump - I don't think it is going to happen to any significant degree. I think Sanchez learned his lessons last season and is done trying too hard to make a play. I also think that he has enough weapons around him now to negate the need for that. Sure, he's still gonna make some dumb moves, he's a kid after all, but nothing like last season. Not worried about the knee at all. My son, who was a guard, suffered from the exact same condition - what is called a "loose" knee cap. It is a fairly common condition that the surgery which MS had corrects permanently. Sanchez should be done with the knee subluxations barring him doing anything really, really stupid. Is Cromartie the real deal? - Cromartie is much better suited to Ryan's man style defense than he was to the zone system used in SD. He has good speed and is far more athletic than Shepard was. He is more of a ball hawk then Shepard was. I think he is an upgrade and he will shine here. Depending on who we keep on the roster post camp, we also have solid backup depth for him if this turns out to be wrong. Balance On Offense - I honestly don't see how teams are going to defend the Jets this season. I really don't. We have speed, strength, and a superior oline on the offensive side of the ball to support the rushing attack. We also have 3 solid WR's (2 of which also have speed), a TE who is likely the next Dallas Clark, and at least 2 RBs who have good hands and speed out of the backfield. How do you defend all that? Balance?....yea, to say the least.... The Old and The New - Lots of new, but not as much as last year, and mostly experienced new in key positions. Young guys are very talented and have upside much like Greene and Keller did. Yea, I know....but I'm trying to forget that other guy from that mid american school. Does Mark Sanchez Live Up To The Hype? Ab-so-fucking-lutely. I'm an old fucker. I've seen a lot of QBs come and go. Some good, some great, some not-so-great. The great ones all have a certain "look" about them. It is really hard to articulate what it is, but I have seen it before and I see it in Sanchez. I truely believe that Sanchez will be one of the "special" ones, and I think that started to show already at the end of last season. Oh yea....pass rush. 1)Jenkins is back, 2) Jenkins is back, 3) That Taylor guy is a Jet now.......pass rush is whole different animal. This is shaping up to be a hell of an exciting year to be a Jets fan.......:beer:
I agree, also if some chemistry is developed with Sanchez this offseason, Holmes coming in week 5 might be a blessing in disguise. It would revitalize the offense and teams will have no real tape of Holmes on the Jets. This should keep our offense looking fresh and hopefully we will be in no midseason slump like last year.
