I generally agree with all of this. I think Sanchez is improving (again) but the O-line is regressing bigtime and that's not all on the Mangold injury. We were having trouble at LG and RT before Mangold went down. Yeah, losing Shaun Ellis and Damien Woody really hurt the trenches. We were kind of stuck on both of them for different reasons, Ellis only playing at top level when he wanted too and Woody being hurt, however we're definitely not as good at the point of attack as we were last year. I agree that a Super Bowl looks unlikely at this point without a major fix in the trenches before game 6. That fix could be Wilkerson and Kenrick Ellis coming through or it could be a move to bring in somebody else. On the offensive side things are a bit grimmer because the Jets potentially have to cover three slots at this point and that's going to be really hard to do given the players available. I like what I've seen out of Baxter so far although t may just be adrenaline that he's floating on. If Mangold comes back maybe Baxter figures somewhere else and takes some of the pressure off.
I think sanchez has regressed despite better #s. A yeara go he was making a ton of big plays to win games, so far this year he has struggled in big spots and he is throwing too many INTs. They have had him so focused on comp % I believe it has affected his game and he has been less effective.
He's had no time to make big plays this year. Braylon Edwards drew a lot of single coverage last year and gave him more looks whereas Plaxico has been doubled a lot of the time. Santonio Holmes wasn't nursing a hammy (or whatever he's got this year that the Jets won't admit too.) Finally, Jericho Cotchery is a better receiver than a 37 year old Derrick Mason. The entire offense has degraded around Sanchez at this point. It's fixable with some luck but he's going to be in much worse situations this year than he was last year. If you see a flat performance out of him this year it probably means he's actually improved.
I watched every play of the game and Wilkerson was not a factor. Unlike against Jville. I sat there thinking the Jets didn't let teams run on them quite like that with Ellis in the lineup. The other side of the trenches issue concerns the OL. With Ducasse sitting on the bench, Turner hurt in pre-season, you have to wonder why the FO did not spend more attention on bench strength. Slauson is marginal, Moore looks a bit slower than last year, and Hunter is a huge disappointment. Baxter did okay considering, but without Mangold in there, the whole OL is mediocre at best. But if anything the front seven was worse. Harris made errors in coverage, Scott was not a factor, Pace took himself out of plays on a couple of Raider running plays. Thomas made a TD saving tackle, but that was about it. The lineman didn't do much of anything. I mean, who were those guys? They were getting pushed around.
A year ago through 4 weeks he didn't have Santonio Holmes to throw to. mason and Cotch cancel each other out, I think mason is better(even at his advanced age) but his familiarity w/ Cotch makes it even. Where we have downgraded is on the Ol missing our C and w/ our RT struggling.
we need an edge rusher so bad. Qb's are having all day to throw on key plays and extend drives that would otherwise be snuffed. and our OL is garbage
Its not overreaction to most of us. Its weaknesses that many of us saw but the FO and CS either ignored or refused to address. Its reality.
You are spot on. In spite of Mark winning a good % of games, he doesnt seem any better year 3 than in many year 1 games
What it means is the Same Old Jets will never go away. The Jets will never be an elite team and its always a struggle.
Is it me or does Sanchez get more balls tipped at the line than most other QB's?. There were 4 or 5 today and I am unsure if they are his fault, the O-Lines fault, or both.
Mark looked like the Mark we all hoped was left behind now in year 3. Cromartie can go fuck himself. O-line looked like me and a couple of my buddies out there blocking. Our play calling was so predictable. The dink and dunk offence of 09 (with out a running game) and the Raiders were ready for it. Run DMC looked like he's ready to be in that top RB's in the league conversation.
I dont think its possible to read anything into the running game or sanchez's performance until the OL issues are sorted as the one thing everyone can agree on is that they played like total garbage last night.
They ran that play about a half dozen times yesterday. One of my big gripes with Schotty. He gets really predictable and doesn't adjust his game plan.
Oh give me a damn break. You find me one QB that has not made a mistake and thrown a bad pick. It happens. Get over it. Just because he plays for the Jets doesn't mean the guy has to be perfect all the time. Really, the only think Cro did wrong, because those penalties were complete BS, was the fumble. Granted that one was a HUGE mistake. I agree with the play calling. Schotty has to learn not to keep running the same play over and over again.