Cimini Blog - Rumor: CP Ankle Fracture

Cimini states in his blog that word from the locker room is broken ankle. He does state and does so twice... "unsubstantiated"

 

Congratulations, Jets fans. You're a national embarrassment.

Those who cheered Chad Pennington's injury in yesterday's 38-14 loss to the Patriots should be ashamed of themselves. It was a total lack of class. To respond that way, considering everything Pennington has done for the organization (playing hurt, taking a pay cut, leading the team to three playoff berths, etc.), reinforced the widespread perception that Jets fans are louts.

Not all Jets fans, mind you, but there are a good number of them out there that are as shallow as Paris Hilton. Last night, NBC's Keith Olbermann ripped Jet Nation on TV - and it was well-deserved.

On to the game. I have three impressions:

• This was a remarkably well played game by the quarterbacks, as Pennington and Tom Brady completed 78% of their passes and combined for five touchdown passes and no interceptions.

• The Patriots won because they're stronger on both lines. Randy Moss got all the accolades, but the Patriots' offensive and defensive lines were far superior to those of the Jets.

• The Jets aren't really that bad. Yes, they were awful at times, but remember the competition. The Patriots might be the best team in the NFL. The Jets won't face a D-line like that every week.

Now, after exhaustive film study, the grades:

Quarterback – B+

Obviously, Pennington gets high marks for toughness, leading a TD drive on a gimpy ankle. Distancing himself from a shaky preseason, he was decisive with his reads and accurate with his passes. The pass protection was shoddy, but he hung tough in the pocket. He made two excellent touch passes to Laveranues Coles for the touchdowns.

How bad is the ankle? Hard to say. Pennington, without crutches or a walking boot, left the stadium under his own power. He was limping badly, but he was able to walk up the exit ramp to a waiting car. That was encouraging, but I also heard unsubstantiated rumors, originating from the locker room, that his ankle is fractured. I want to stress the word "unsubstantiated." Hopefully, Eric Mangini will provide an update today, but don't hold your breath.

Running Back – C

Well, I think it's fair to say the Patriots' big off-season acquisition (Randy Moss) made a bigger impact than the Jets' big off-season acquisition (Thomas Jones). Jones (14 carries for 42 yards), perhaps feeling the effects of his strained calf, didn't show a particularly good burst into the hole, but let's be honest: There wasn't much running room. Jones was able to get to the second level on a couple of runs, including a 12-yarder, which is encouraging. Did you notice the Jones-Leon Washington backfield tandem on one play in the first quarter? Interesting. FB Darian Barnes was a surprise inactive, but they used Joe Kowalewski as an H-Back in two-back sets.

Wide Receivers – B

Coles ran a great route out of the backfield on his 7-yard TD catch, a well-designed play that caught the Pats completely off-guard. Coles also showed his strength by yanking the ball away from CB Asante Samuel on his 1-yard TD catch. All told, Coles and Cotchery combined for 13 catches, but there was no vertical passing game. Pennington didn't have enough time to go downfield.

Tight Ends – B-

Chris Baker made a couple of nice catches, showing once again that he can be a factor in the passing game. Sean Ryan was a non-factor and Kowalewski, in his first NFL game, was used mostly as a 'move' blocker.

Offensive Line – F

Blech!

The Jets allowed five sacks on 36 pass plays, the kind of ratio that gets your quarterback hurt - and that was the result. Want to know the most alarming part of the bad pass protection? The Patriots didn't even have to blitz to get to the quarterback. Three sacks came on four-man rushes, one came on a three-man rush (the play in which Pennington got hurt) and one came on a five-man rush. It wasn't just one guy getting whipped, it was across the board. A breakdown of the breakdowns:

LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson: He allowed one sack (the Pennington injury), yielded at least three pressures and received a false-start penalty. A holding call was declined. Bad day.

LG Adrien Clarke: He was partially involved in the first two sacks (let's blame him for a 1/2 sack and a 1/4 sack). He also allowed at least one pressure and missed a block on a running play that resulted in a two-yard loss.

C Nick Mangold: The Jets' best lineman gave up one sack.

RG Brandon Moore: He was partially involved in the first sack. We'll give him a 1/4 sack on that one. He also yielded at least one pressure.

RT Anthony Clement: He surrendered 1 1/2 sacks, not counting the second sack. On that play, LB Mike Vrabel ran right past Clement, who was engaged with another rusher. Clearly, the line was confused. There was a lot of that going on. You have to wonder how much they missed LG Pete Kendall, who made some of the line calls. Ferguson seemed to miss him in a big way.

Defensive Line – C+

These guys are getting killed because of the non-existent pass rush, but that criticism is somewhat unfair. It's tough to pressure the quarterback when you're rushing only three guys, which happened a lot. Unofficially, here's the breakdown on Brady's 28 pass plays:

3-man rushes: 8

4-man rushes: 6

5-man rushes: 5

6- and 7-man rushes: 9

This, of course, was a radical departure from their strategy in last season's last two contests against the Patriots. In those games, the Jets blitzed on almost every down. Why change? Well, in case you haven't noticed, Brady's receiving corps is a lot more dangerous than last season, which makes blitzing a more dangerous tactic.

Anyway, DE Kenyon Coleman, in his Jets debut, played well, recording a career-high 12 tackles - which seemed like more than Kimo von Oelhoffen made all of last season. NT Dewayne Robertson (five tackles) got the only QB hit on Brady. Robertson's backup, Sione Pouha, was fairly stout against the run. Overall, the line got creased too many times in the running game.

Linebackers – C

There were some flashes from Jonathan Vilma (six tackles), who seemed to be more comfortable attacking downhill in the 3-4. If you noticed, the Jets altered their fronts a lot, changing up from the standard 3-4. That could've been designed to provide more protection for Vilma. On the downside, neither Vilma nor Victor Hobson (six tackles) made much of an impact on blitzes. If they call a blitz, you have to get there. Vilma also got beat on Benjamin Watson's 4-yard TD catch. Bryan Thomas (three tackles) was no factor in the pass rush. Surprisingly, impressive rookie David Harris didn't get in until late in the game.

Secondary – D

The coverage wasn't as bad as it seemed. Moss (nine catches for 183 yards) was a man among boys, but on some of his receptions, he simply beat good coverage. It was a bad day for CB David Barrett, who missed Wes Welker on his 11-yard TD. Barrett also was part of the three-man posse that was trailing Moss on his 51-yard TD. (FS Erik Coleman and Vilma were the others.) Justin Miller also had a bad day, getting victimized by Moss on 18- and 33-yard receptions. On both plays, Miller did a poor job of jamming and/or re-directing Moss. He was yanked by Mangini, although he may have re-injured his hamstring.

Brady did a masterful job of picking out the right matchups. It seemed like every time the Jets blitzes, he looked for Moss. In fact, seven of Moss' receptions came on blitzes. It's almost impossible to handle him in single coverage, so if it's a blitz and the blitz doesn't get there, it's trouble. On the 51-yard TD, the Jets used a four-man rush. Still didn't work.

On the positive side, rookie CB Darrelle Revis made some nice plays in his debut. He tackled well, upholding his reputation as a physical corner. Surprisingly, he wasn't tested all that often. Brady preferred to pick on Barrett, but that could've been because Moss was on that side.

Special Teams – F

Well, the Jets made history, allowing a 108-yard kickoff return by Ellis Hobbs at the start of the second half. That was the biggest play of the game, draining the energy out of the stadium and the Jets. Justin McCareins and Brad Smith took bad angles and missed a chance to bring him down inside the 20, then David Bowens missed a tackle at the 20. That was the killer. Rashad Washington was taken out by Watson, who made a nice block. Special teams coach Mike Westhoff was in the coaches' booth, not on the field, because he underwent off-season leg surgery and needs two crutches. For his safety, he stayed upstairs during the game. One would think it wasn't a factor on that particular play. Miller fumbled on a kickoff return (Chris Baker recovered) and that was the end of Miller's day as a returner.

Coaching – D

Five months of preparation looks pretty bad when your team plays that poorly. Mangini had a chance to set an early tone, but he decided to punt on a fourth-and-1 from the New England 46. That had no bearing on the outcome, but the usually aggressive Mangini stepped out of character on that one. That would've been a perfect spot for Brad Smith.

Other criticisms: The offensive line did a poor job of recognizing the Patriots' pressure packages. When a pass rusher comes free on a five-man rush, something is wrong. At times, there seemed to be confusion among the linemen. Defensively, the Jets had the right mix of pressure and coverage, but they didn't do a very good job of disguising their blitzes. Some players even admitted that after the game. Except for the TD throw to Coles out of the backfield, the Patriots seemed to know everything that was coming.

Oh, one more thing: Why did Mangini allow Pennington to return to the game for a series? Mangini said the doctors gave the okay, but you didn't need to be a doctor to see his quarterback was a sitting duck. They're lucky he didn't suffer another injury. The coach imperiled his season. Not a smart move.

 

Tried to bold the part, but check in the QB grades...