Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer readily admits that quarterback Brett Favre has gone more to a short passing game in recent weeks, but he insists a post pattern to wide receiver Laveranues Coles -- even with safety help over the top -- is still in the playbook. Over the past four games, the Jets have gone to a short passing game that has produced five touchdowns and just two interceptions while averaging 35.2 points. (This is against cupcake teams AND playoff/SB contenders... good stuff Favre has completed 79 of 103 passes (76.6 percent) for 816 yards in those games. Just six completions have been for 20 or more yards. "We say it all the time, it's game-plan specific," Schottenheimer said Friday. "You look at Tennessee, very good pass rush, very good football team with Kyle Vanden Bosch, (Albert) Haynesworth, (Jevon) Kearse and all those guys, it lends itself to trying to push the ball fast. "Plus, a lot of people now are having to load up the box to try to stop the run, they're putting eight and nine guys up there so you can push it a little bit faster on the outside. Again, we have the plays to go up the field." In the Jets' 34-13 victory over the Titans, Favre had only one completion of 20 or more yards in 32 attempts. Schottenheimer insists that each game his play-call sheet has everything at the ready and the flow of the game dictates which way he decides to go. "When the games get going, (you call) the plays that are working," he said. "The philosophy hasn't changed, it's just that we've been executing the short passing game very, very well and that's a credit to the players." Even so, it's hard to believe that the Jets' decision to go to a short passing game wasn't based, in part, of Favre's interceptions. He had a stretch of seven interceptions in a four-game span prior to the change in play-calling. And there has been another change in the offense. Schottenheimer has drastically reduced the different shifts and motions that were his trademark in his first two seasons. Instead, he has gone to an uptempo, more stationary offense in which the Jets are dictating the pace of the game with their balanced attack. As a result, the Jets (8-3) are on a roll, having won five straight and seven of eight entering Sunday's game against the Broncos (6-5) at Giants Stadium. And as the Jets offense has gone to another level, so too has the relationship between Favre and Schottenheimer. The pair aren't exactly finishing each other's sentences, but they no longer have to wear name tags in meetings. The Brett Favre experiment that started in August has now produced the league's second-highest scoring team (323 points) and the Jets are on pace to shatter their franchise record of 419 points, set in 1968. "I've always been very comfortable with Brett," Schottenheimer said. "There has always been that fact that as you go further and further down the road, down the season, there are things you begin to anticipate. "Where you had to talk about things in the past, now you're able to solve it between each other. You don't even have to discuss it. I don't know if you call it in the zone. We're playing pretty well. We have a very good feel for one another." NOTES Rookie CB Dwight Lowery, who has been beaten for six touchdowns and a two-point conversion and lost his starting job to veteran Ty Law, knows Broncos sharpshooting QB Jay Cutler will be looking for him on Sunday. "No question. I don't see why not," Lowery said. "They're a team that's going to attack what they feel our weaknesses are." Lowery, a fourth-round pick, says he hasn't lost his confidence and isn't trying to hide when he's on the field. "You don't play the position not to have the ball thrown your way," he said. "I'm fine. I'm a young guy and things aren't always going to go your way. It's how you respond to those situations." Coach Eric Mangini said Lowery is working hard to get better and is not sulking. Friday, Broncos third-year quarterback Jay Cutler was asked if his arm is stronger than Favre's. "Yeah, I think so," Cutler told the Denver media while laughing. "What is Brett? Is he 40 yet? Thirty-nine, soon to be 40? I think he may have given me a run back in his 20s, but I think I got him now." Veteran K Jay Feely, who has hit 10 straight field goals, will likely kick vs. the Broncos. With rain in the forecast, the Jets may turn to AFC leading rusher Thomas Jones (950 yards, nine TDs) to pound the Broncos' 26th-ranked run defense (144.5 yards per game). LB David Harris (groin surgery) and S Eric Smith (concussion) are listed as questionable. Harris isn't expected to play but Smith is a possibility. Broncos S Marlon McCree (ankle) is out and LB D.J. Williams (knee) is doubtful. Pro Bowl CB Champ Bailey (groin surgery) is questionable but may play. The Jets, in connection with Jersey Cares, are sponsoring a coat drive on Sunday. http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2008/11/new_york_jets_not_giving_up_on.html With DJ Williams and McCree out, I'd like someone to name the LB or Safety starting in their place that is going to cover Keller... DO NOT LOOK IT UP DO IT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD...... can you name that backup??? I'll help you, Hamzah Abdullah is now a Cleveland Brown, so he's not the guy - NFL.com reports.
Bailey is healthy for this game. So it might be him Or Roderick Rodgers, the SS. Who is 3rd on the chart. They don't have a chance to contain Keller 8 catches, 93 yards. TD
Yeah, the big palys are STILL in the offense, just like they were still in the packers last season. Even on some of the shorter routes I see being thrown, there was a guy going deep on the backside. The seperation isn't happening like it was with Driver and Jennings last season, so #4 is choosing to hit the quick slant if it's open. Reminds me a LOT of last season. One of these times, it will be a slant and go, and the CB will be so burned he wont know what to do, especially with the massive pump Fakes Favre gives.
I think this big play offense talk is really overrated. I think the results speak for themselves. The Jets are one of the top scoring offenses in the entire NFL, and they haven't used many long bombs to get there. Really, this is about getting results, right? I think it's safe to say that the majority of deep balls Favre has thrown this year have ended up INT's. When you have a big play option like Washington who can make something out of a five yard screen or a draw and you have a seam option like Keller, the best strategy is to minimize risk. The defense will always be on the watch for the downfield passing game as long as Brett Favre is on the field, so you don't have to worry about becoming predictable or seeing 8 men in the box, period. The fact of the matter is the Jets have one of the best ball control offenses in the league, and when you couple that with their superb run defense, it's a formula for success. Just ask the Giants. -X-
Well, here's the way I look at it. I don't know if it's overrated because the thing that is finally enabling us to get all these 3rd down conversions is The Big Play Threat. Pennington could have executed all (or most of) those under 20-yard passes Favre executed the other day against Tennessee. But the big difference was, he never had the big play, deep threat. So is the "Big Play Offense" overrated? Maybe not, if you consider that just the threat of it makes everything underneath so much easier. But yeah, we're also a better ball-control team today too. Much better balance.
Please rewatch and look at some of the little things Favre is doing on those short passes. A couple of times I swear he wasn't even looking at the receiver before he zipped it to them. He has an uncanny way of manipulating defenders. Also, the speed at which the ball got to the receivers helped make the plays more effective than they would have been had the ball been thrown w/a touch pass. I agree that the big play threat does keep the D more honest.
true, and the Coles TD does not get their either. Favre broke the 3 cardinal rules of QBs on that play. Penny is a good QB, but he can't break all 3 rules and throw a TD. Its the rare QB who can.
I'll concede that Pennington's touch is not quite as valuable as Favre's short bullet. Penny had uncanny accuracy and a play-fake that fooled even the camera people sometimes, but the overall result is that Favre still has the edge. Take away Favre's deep threat (let's say he had a serious arm injury) and was limited as Chad was limited. Do I think Favre would still outplay Chad now? Yeah, he probably still would, because Penny had the "Chinese Firedrill" Syndrome thing going on in addition to the lack of the deep ball, which always bothered me immensely and over which I used to rag on here constantly. But I agree with you about Favre manipulating defenders. In fact, I have to admit that I never watched Favre closely enough to see what an unbelievably all-around talented guy he truly is. Keller is emerging as one of his favorite targets because this is where he absolutely kills defenses... with this type of guy. There's no wonder why they have a great chemsitry going and Favre says, "I wish I had you when I was younger."
Penny is still one of the best PA passers in the game and there's no denying that. That said, Favre is probably a better PA passer. In fact, a lot of those short passes last week were PA passes but they weren't the long, drawn out type you normally think of when you think of PA passes. He was starting the motion of handing the ball off, then turning and throwing the ball very quickly before he got (relatively) close to the RB. No defender that respected the run for a nano-second had a chance if Favre threw an accurate pass off of that - and he threw some real accurate darts. Take away Favre's deep threat and I guess you'd also have to take zip off his passes. I don't know how valuable he'd be worth at that point. Considering his mentality as a QB, I think he would fail miserably without his arm strength. Penny has always been able to throw the deep ball, it is his ability to fit the ball into tight windows and outside the numbers where he struggles. I'll admit that Penny has played far better than I expected he would this season, but I honestly believe that the Titans defense would be one of those games where Chad went into his scared puppy dog mode. He would not be making the types of quick throws that Favre was. His PA would take longer, the d-line would be closer, the windows in the defense would be smaller for his velocity and things wouldn't be pretty. I don't see Penny having nearly as much success against the Titans D.
Coles, Cotchery, and the other WRs can not create the consistent seperation needed to be a big play offense. There is no Greg Jennings on this team. Coles and Cotchery will almost always be blanketed well on the big pass attempts. The threat of Favre going deep does keep the defenses on their toes and helps our running game out, though. I wish we'd give Clowney an opportunity to show his stuff. As Phil Simms said, Favre is one of the best short passers of all time as well as having a cannon arm. His ability to fake out defenders constantly is amazing.
I think Cotchery gets enough separation but Coles really struggles for it nowadays. That one TD pass to Coles last Sunday was amazing though... afterward Favre said "it was a little tight."... What an understatement! But that catch is a typical Coles-type catch that you're going to see from here on out, I'm afraid. Guys draped all over him or within pick range. But the thing is, Keller is giving these guys some help too now. If you cover Keller well enough to shut him down (requires two DBs or combinations of DB/LB), then Coles and Cotch get one on one, so that is making them effective enough, IMO, to get the job done. No, they won't get the kind of separation a Mosss or TO will get, but it's working becuase of all the other things on offense that the D has to respect.
Why try and fix something if it's not broke? I'd like to see deep passes in the future but until teams start figuring out all the short stuff we are doing why change? I doubt the Broncos will be able to stop us.
exactly. favre's 10 yard bullets are throws that only a few QB's in the history of the nfl could do with that combination of arm strength, accuracy, and technique
I think the real reasons for switching to shorter passes are that this OLine is not all that great at pass blocking and Favre gets goofy on deep sideline passes.
Don't really care about the big plays right now. Why should we? The offense is rolling as it is. I say keep them in the bag until the postseason so that nobody will expect them. The postseason is always a great time to throw a big play at a team from a formation they're not prepared for.
No he couldn't. Not even close. Pennington throws a bubble on the 10 yard slant. Favre puts the ball on line, in much smaller windows.
