By Rich Cimini WHAT IT MEANS: So the Jets captured the Snoopy trophy as the winner of the first annual MetLife Bowl. Yawn. Based on the way his team played, Rex Ryan should punt the trophy. Forget about the final score, 17-3; the Jets’ starters were badly outplayed in the first half, outgained 224 to 73. The offense was a disaster and the Jets made dumb penalties. Basically, they played like they didn’t give a hoot about the preseason. WOE IS O: Mark Sanchez & Co. was brutal. Can you say “regression”? In seven possessions, the Jets’ starting offense punted five times, lost a fumble (Sanchez) and, somehow, saved face with a touchdown -- a 17-yard pass to Santonio Holmes. They probably wouldn’t have scored the touchdown if it weren’t for Antonio Cromartie, who set up the offense at the Giants’ 35 with a 70-yard kickoff return. Sanchez (8-for-16, 64 yards) was off his game from the outset, appearing indecisive as he made his reads. But this mess wasn’t all his fault. The pass protection was shoddy and his receivers, namely Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason, couldn’t gain separation against the Giants’ cornerbacks. That could be something to watch, as Burress and Mason – 34 and 37, respectively – aren’t the fastest guys around. The starters won’t play in Thursday night’s finale against the Eagles, which means the No. 1 offense scored only three touchdowns in 5 ½ quarters for the preseason. Blech! DUMB & DUMBER: The Jets were undisciplined, committing five major penalties. The biggest blunder came from rookie DE Muhammad Wilkerson, who was ejected in the third quarter after taking a swing at RB Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs swung back, so he, too, was tossed. Wilkerson, whom the Jets are counting on to be a starter, deserves an earful from Ryan. That is unacceptable behavior. But Wilkerson wasn’t the only guilty Jet. RT Wayne Hunter (unsportsmanlike conduct), S Brodney Pool (chop block on a punt), S Emanuel Cook (facemask) and CB Donald Strickland (unnecessary roughness) all committed 15-yard penalties. Shame on them. All told, the Jets had seven penalties for 79 yards, including a holding call on WR Courtney Smith that nullified a TD run by backup QB Greg McElroy. THE PLAX EFFECT: Burress doesn’t need to touch the ball to have an impact on the game. You saw that on Holmes’ touchdown reception. Burress lined up in the right slot, with Holmes on the outside, against the Giants’ three-by-two coverage. S Kenny Phillips rolled toward Burress, leaving Holmes in man-to-man against CB Corey Webster. Phillips tried to get back, but it was too late. Holmes ran a post route and got open in the back of the end zone. Aside from that contribution, Burress’ anticipated matchup against his old team turned out to be a big zero -- as in zero catches. Burress, coming off his sensation debut against the Bengals, was targeted four times. In fact, Sanchez completed only four passes to his wideouts. OPPORTUNISTIC D: For a team with a very good defense, the Jets made an alarmingly low number of interceptions last season (12). So far, they seem to be reversing the trend. S Jim Leonhard and LB David Harris intercepted Manning passes, giving the Jets six picks in three games (two by Leonhard). Leonhard’s interception was set up by Harris, who came on an inside blitz and slammed Manning. BEND BUT DON’T BREAK: Aside from the interceptions, the Jets’ No. 1 defense did some nice things in one half of play, holding the Giants to 2-for-8 on third down and 0-for-1 in the red zone. But -- and this is a big ‘but’ -- they were pushed around between the 20s. The Jets allowed 224 total yards in the first half, uncharacteristic for a Rex Ryan-coached defense. Their conventional pass rush was nowhere to be found and there were a couple of missed tackles in the open field, including a big one by LB Bart Scott. THE NEW BRAD: The Jets finally unveiled their 2011 version of the Wildcat, with rookie WR Jeremy Kerley -- no surprise -- taking the direct snap and playing the role of Brad Smith. The Jets ran it four times, resulting in 39 yards. Kerley ran twice for 13 yards, handed off to Joe McKnight for eight and threw a pass -- yes, a pass! -- to Matt Mulligan for 18. That’ll give the Cowboys a little extra to think about as they prepare for the season opener. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/6768/rapid-reaction-jets-17-giants-3 Cimini, fuck him.
I read this earlier, and wanted to punch the wall. Sanchez is regressing? It's the fucking preseason.....go stick your head in the oven, Cimini.
Pass protection was shoddy? Sorry...what I saw was some pretty solid pass protection against a very good front 4. The game plan was extremely vanilla as Sanchez alluded to, and in order to have success Sanchez needed to get into a rythym early. Unfortunately acouple drops early stopped that from happening. Additionally, the 1st team O never really had great field position excluding the TD drive and the fumble. Not making excuses...there is work to be done..but I thought the Oline bounced back nicely,Greene had some good carries, the Holmes TD was a thing of beauty and the O responded when they had to.
I'm starting to not like Cimini also. Its the points that count not the yards. The Jets know how to win - they are opportunistic. Ive seen too many games over the years where the Jets outgain the other team by 100 yards and lose the game. The Jets purposely did'nt show much on offense because maybe they have some real games that count coming up.
Did he totally blow recalling the Wilkerson/Jacobs incident because from what I saw it looked like Jacobs swung first. Maybe the Wilkerson swing was off camera, but I wouldn't be shocked if he rewrote history a little bit to make the Jets sound worse. He's the Frank Isola of the Jets for any of you Knick fans. Every compliment is backhanded and any time he can point out a negative, he'll embellish. Edit: I just looked it up, Jacobs was indeed the first one to swing.
I really don't get all the bitching from you guys. Someone please point out the part that wasn't accurate. Everything he said was spot on and if we plan on going to the SB this year, this offense needs to pick it up. Do I think they can/will? ... Yes. But you can't blame the guy for saying that the offense sucked in the first half tonight. if you don't think so, then you must have pretty low standards or expectations.
uhhh...obviously Sanchez didn't play his best, but using the term "regressed"? That's a tad over-the-top, considering this was only a preseason game. fuck that noise. Cimini is a misinformed tard.
I hate this shithead just as much as the rest of you, but this attention whore really needs to stop getting exactly what he (and espn) craves.
Not to mention the Giants' own broadcasters (Papa and Carl Banks) were killing Jacobs after the play.
