Jets might be on the run against Bears By DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer November 16, 2006 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- Kevan Barlow watched game film all week of running backs zipping through the Chicago Bears' defense, and couldn't help but get excited. "As a running back, I see that and I get anxious," the New York Jets' second-leading rusher said Thursday. "But you have to stick with the game plan and what works best for us, whether that's throwing the ball or running the ball. I'm sure that they are working on it over there to try and eliminate the 100-yard rusher." Chicago's usually dominant defense has allowed 100-yard rushers in three straight games. The Giants' Tiki Barber ran for 141 yards last Sunday, Miami's Ronnie Brown had 157 the previous week, and San Francisco's Frank Gore gained 111 in Week 8. "We realize that, but at the same time, we're not focused on that," said rookie Leon Washington, who has the Jets' only two 100-yard games this season. "We're focused on the things that we need to do to win the game. As an offense and as a team, we do realize the type of opponent we have ahead of us this weekend." Chicago has the NFL's top-rated defense, is No. 1 against the pass and second in points allowed with 13.3 per game. If there's a slight chink in the armor, it's the run defense. The Bears have allowed 98.3 yards rushing per game, tied for 10th best in the league, and the Jets need to take advantage of any edge they can get. "They have the best team in the NFC," tight end Chris Baker said. "They're 8-1, they just stopped the Giants here last week and a big part of that is their defense. They force turnovers all over the place, so it's a big challenge for us, trying to see where we are as an offense." The Jets' running game was slow out of the gate as coach Eric Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer tried to find the right fit to replace the injured Curtis Martin. Derrick Blaylock got the first shot, but was ineffective. Barlow was next and Washington's workload increased. Cedric Houston also got a chance, but got injured. Washington then had a breakout game against Jacksonville in Week 5, rushing for 101 yards on 23 carries. He had 129 yards and two touchdowns two weeks later against Detroit, seemingly grabbing hold of the starting job. But the shifty Washington has carried the ball only 24 times for 86 yards in the last two games, while the bulldozing Barlow has had 91 yards and a TD on 22 carries -- including a 75-yard game in the rain and mud in New England on Sunday. Meet the Jets' newest version of their two-headed running game. "They run plays we don't like to see on our defense, the misdirection plays, our keys take us different places," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "So we've got to be slow until we know what is going on exactly and just go and figure it out and go to our gaps. They have good backs, you know Barlow and Washington are good players, they have a good offensive line and they do a pretty good job of blocking for them." And a lot of that starts with rookie center Nick Mangold, who has drawn praise around the league for his veteranlike approach and ability to consistently make correct line calls. "He constantly has to make good decisions and do some things in the front in terms of communication, getting everybody lined up," Mangini said. "I really am happy with the progress he continues to make." Every week has been a learning experience for the first-round pick out of Ohio State, and this Sunday will be no different. Instead of New England's three-man line, the Jets will be facing the Bears' stout four-man rush with big tackles Tommie Harris and Tank Johnson and ends Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown. "Every week in the NFL is another big challenge, but this week especially," Mangold said. "You watch those guys on film, they go after guys and they move around." In order to make the running game effective against Chicago, New York will need to get the passing game going again. After two 300-yard games to start the season, Chad Pennington has thrown for over 200 in just one game since -- six games ago against Indianapolis on Oct. 1. "It's all about executing the game plan," receiver Laveranues Coles said. "It doesn't have anything to do with what they're doing, it's what we're doing. If we go out and we're executing correctly and every guy does his job, we'll be fine." AP Sports Writer Rick Gano in Chicago contributed to this report. Updated on Thursday, Nov 16, 2006 6:03 pm EST >>Gratuitous Link <<
good read. as long as barlow and washington can grind out some positive yardage, coles can pick up some of those big plays that he missed last week, and penny stays mistake free we should have a good shot.
Was wondering that Myself... IMO we need to get some reverses this week. Nothing like a flea flicker or reverse to stop an over agressive defense. I have been dying to see Smith on an end around reverse where he throws it downfield...
i agree, ive been anxiously waiting to see smith actually throw the ball. hes a phenomenal athlete, but teams are expecting him to run. lets see some of that qb talent he has.
omg I formation twins right (wr left) smith reverses gets the pitch and throws a deep post across the field to coles. Id die a happy man
He's our 3rd best back probably. Barlow's getting acclimated to the offense, and he looked a lot better last week.
I still want to see Houston get a chance. He has power AND shiftiness. He's like Washington and Barlow combined basically. I'd like to see more of him.
Uh, no. If that was the case then pretty much it's a Top back in this league...To have the power of Barlow and speed if Leon would be phenomenal. Houston is solid, hits the hole and uses his size well, but he doesn't have nearly the speed Leon does.
Having just power and speed does not make you a top back in the league. There are many other intangibles a RB must possess to be an elite player in the NFL such as good vision, agility, good hands, elusiveness, balance, stamina, good blocking, and reading defenses. Houston doesn't have all of those, but he has good power and good enough speed. He must work on some of the other traits I listed.
Lets see some Brad Smith this week. Run some reverses, run some trick plays. This Jets looks like its starting to have some fun. Lets keep up the fun!
The bit about Chad's numbers is true and worries me. How do his game-by-game passing totals compare to Bollinger's last year?
I'll tell you... In order of yards passing: @ TEN 24/33 for 319, 2TD vs NE 22/37 for 306, 2TD + INT vs IND 17/23 for 207, TD + INT vs DET 16/22 for 189, TD + INT @BUF 19/29 for 183, TD vs MIA 17/29 for 175, 2TD @NE 22/33 for 168, TD + INT @CLE 11/28 for 108, 2INT @JAC 10/17 for 71, 3INT Now Bollinger '05: @MIA 28/42 for 327, 2TD vs NO 19/28 for 251, TD vs BUF 11/20 for 153 @BAL 14/28 for 149 @NE 15/37 for 135, INT vs OAK 14/26 for 119, TD vs SD 11/20 for 106, 2TD NE 11/19 for 100, TD + INT @CAR 11/21 for 98, 4INT @ATL 12/20 for 94 he also completed 4 of 5 for 26 yards at Denver, no TDs or picks. Yeah, Pennington is a significant bit better, I thought it might be more comparable.
Even if the numbers were comparable, the bottom line is how does Pennington's win total compare to Bollingers?
191.8 ypg for Chad, just 153.2 for Brooks, who had 6TD and 6INT (4 agaisnt Carolina) as opposed to Chad's 10TD and 9INT (3 against Jacksonville). Remember as well that Brooks was handcuffed and in a different offense. I think it's clear that Pennington is the stronger performer, but I still root for Bollywood. Looks like he may be starting against us this year, too.
Yeah, I'm stunned that we're comparing Chad to Brooks at this point in time. Stunned. What is not being taken into account is the efficiency and leadership Chad has shown in running this offense. Do you think for a second Bollinger would even come remotely close to running this no-huddle offense with the same type of smoothness and confidence?
Erm, I did conclude that Pennington was way better. The only similarity I saw initially was the multitude of 100-199 yard passing games.
