First, Clemens is a Chad clone with only 6.0 yards per completion, not pass attempt but completion. He is a dink and dunk guy. He was also sacked and lost a fumble. For a guy with three more years in the same offense he played piss pour. The media may have a hardon for Sanchez, but the fact is the FO, CS and fans do too. Clown is not a flash in the pan, he was hurt last year. If he stays healthy he will be a very solid receiver. Greene averaged 5 yards a carry, what more do you want from the guy. He played behind a horrible make shift line. Writing is on the wall for Jones. Scott wasn't in the game much and we all know what he brings to the table. Lowery will be the 3rd CB and play dime which he will be good at. You never heard Lito's name, because the all focus and passes went to Lowry side. I never want to see him on returns again. Gholston is impressing me less ever time he opens his mouth. Shut up and play the game. Just some areas above we might not see eye to eye.
My impressions were... 1. Sanchez is every bit as technically sound as advertised. His pump fake was beautiful on his first pass and his footwork was good. He also seemed to be pretty decisive. This may be an offense that is structured similar to the Ravens in 2000 in that it's predicated upon a running game, elite TE, and then (outside of Cotchery) be WR by committee. I think Sanchez could run this if he shows the decisiveness from last night. 2. Dustin Keller looks even quicker than last year and is poised to put up some big numbers. After Sanchez' first completion to Keller I yelled out "Mark, this is Dustin. He's your new best friend" and I firmly believe my semi-intoxicated shouting is prophetic and this season will bear witness to this. Keller is a mismatch for most defenders in coverage and is dangerous after the catch, I expect he and Sanchez to go to each other frequently. 3. The defense overall is nasty. Ryan already showed some of that creative and aggressive blitzing he is famous for. The fist sack involved a DB and LB blitz, a tiered blitz as they came from different positions on the field, and both were off the strong side. Steve Spagnuolo once said he attacked McNabb in the pocket not based upon where he should be, but based upon where he would be once he saw the blitz and reacted. It looked to me as though Ryan's attack had this impact on Bulger. I really expect players across the board on defense to have sacks and pressures; this is going to be an exciting unit to watch. It wasn't all good though... 1. Clemens should know better. How does one not see a free rusher coming from the strong side? Clemens looked more like the rookie on that play, and the fumble only strengthens that assertion while pouring some salt on the wound. His deep pass to Clowney (I think it was to Clowney) seemed to flutter a bit too. I may be overly critical of him, but at this point in his career one would expect better from him. 2. Dwight Lowery. There really isn't any more that needs to be said. He had a rough game both on special teams and defense. I think the Jets should put him low on the depth chart and hope that he doesn't end up in the starting rotation for any period of time. Another poster said it appears as though he had regressed, this might be the case. 3. Offensive line depth. I know there were a number of starters out and the OL was patchwork, but none of the backups appeared to be especially qualified to play in the NFL. Tanny needs to bring in some depth (waiver wire seems a good way to do this) or pray that they stay healthy. If this unit suffers any lose for more than 2 games, it won't be pretty.
I think my problem with Greene is when we drafted him I looked at some of his highlight films. A huge percentage of his runs came from gaping holes in the line, or the O line literally just blew the D off the LOS. That's pretty obvious, but when you get a guy that's touted as a brick shithouse that is supposed to be plowing guys down, he shouldn't need gaping holes. What's going to happen when he goes up against the GL D? He's no bus. I'm not saying he won't be a good player, I'm just not seeing what everyone is so stoked about.
I agree with most of what you said with two exceptions. First you said QB's played mistake free football . I guess you missed the Jets first offensive possession when Clemens failed to feel the pocket pressure and was strip sacked for a fumble. He played better after that but his pocket presence is still worrisome. I also diasgree about Strickland, I thought he played relatively well overall. He had a few pass defenses and I only recall one missed tackle.
The thing I take away from Greene's performance yesterday is that even though he didn't have many big runs ( other than the 1 long run) he did seem to always move the pile forward for at least a yard or two. To me that is the key , even behind a scrub Oline he still got some push. Until you see him with the first unit and against a first unit you really can't evaluate anything else.
i really don't get the praise for clemens at all. i'm not gonna say he flat out sucked but......didn't the OP see the play where he showed absoluteyl no pocket awareness as he got sacked and lost the fumble? looked like a bonehead turnover to me. i mean it's not even like the blitz came from his blindside....how did he not see the guy AT ALL? that and the fact that he completed 4 passes for a paltry 20-something yards. pretty noodle like. imo, clemens is a mediocre back-up qb at best. he's brooks bollinger with a better arm.
i liked the look of sanchez, and harris. hopefully he can stay healthy this year, his presence would be huge.
I agree with most of the original post except bart Scott and Green should not be in the bad column. VG - same as last year (Cummings passed him up on his sack - that's one more play than VG has ever made!) Britt Davis - had two nice catches and looks big and physical backup o-line - shaky Ainge - thought he showed some promise Woodhead - didn't do much backup TEs - nothing Ty Steinkuhler - was on skates on the long run (Ihedigbo missed a tackle on that too) Overall my excitement for Sanchez is overshadowed by the lack of progress from Vernon the ghost.
You hit the nail on the head with Gholston. He looks tentative on the field and for a guy with his speed he looks slower than someone like Bart Scott, who I'm sure has a slower 40 speed (I know, that's the difference between football speed and track speed). Watch the little run play the Rams ran with 1.06 left in the first quarter. VG looks like he is jogging to the ball carrier. I just don't get it. The lack of fire also disturbs me. Wouldn't you attack the guy across from you like you were fighting for your life if you were in VG's shoes?
Prior to Sanchez getting here, Clemens talked a lot about being the starting QB, totally disrespecting Brett Ratliff. I can't wait to see the dick's face, when Sanchez is named the starter. The NFL is way over Clemens' head. Eric Mangini knew that. That's why he asked for Ratty, instead, in the Sanchez draft trade.
Gholston is playing better, but I read that Rutgers' Jamaal Westerman is outdoing him in practice. It would be good to see some local guys get Jets jobs.
dick? really? Clemens may be the nicest guy we've ever had on the team including Penny. If he was referring to the established pecking order, then that's only normal and you're just reaching for reasons to hate on him.
The good QBs - Iam not in the trash KC mode. I thought all 3 starters played well WRs/TEs - We have enought to make us competitive with Keller as our biggest threat Rhodes, Harris, Pace - and most of the first team defense Rex Ryan and the teams attitude. Most fun I had on a pre-season game The bad OL - We are thin in depth and it showed at the start. Gholston and Lowery - It will be a huge drop from Pace to Vernor. Lowery was not at all convincing as a CB or punt returner and seemed out of position and nervous. Against a TO, Moss or any of the top recievers he will be crucified. The ugly Punt returns and kick off returns. Is Leon the only answer?
It feels good to see a kicker actually know what he is doing in the preseason regarding both Field Goals and kick offs. Granted its a different element come November-December but there are no botched FGs or inconsistent kickoffs like the stiff we had last year in Mike Nugent.
I still maintain that wasnt clemens fault. You don't expect your offensive lineman to completely whiff on a DE, he read the play right, no blitz came, he felt he would have a solid 3-4 seconds to throw instead he had 1.5 because the guy playing RT whiffed on Leonard Little, I am willing to bet that Damien Woody manages to at least slow him down and gives clemens at least another half second to toss the ball. Sometimes, it actually is the OL fault.... The second time a guy came through untouched Clemens made a crazy move, honestly I'm thinking maybe a handfull of QB's in the NFL get out of that, and not only did he avoid the guy, he managed to turn what should have been an instant negative into a 2-3 yard gain. You guys are really unbelieveable. You knock KC for playing aggressive in practice and throwing INT's because of it, then you knock him for not forcing a pass in a game situation. Clemens passes last night were designed to not be long balls, he threw a screen pass, which resulted in a negative gain because moore tackled Leon, he also threw a WR screen away from the blitz to Stuckey, he threw a quick hit route over the middle, and the one pass that wasnt designed to be short, he hit Keller on a beauty to the right sideline. Sanchez first pass was designed to be a 48 yard pass, Clemens wasn't given the oppurtunity to throw a deep ball last night. and then his other 2 completed passes were to Keller who didnt just catch it and fall down, he had to add 20+ yards in YAC. Now I want Sanchez to be the next Joe Montana as much as the next guy, but you guys need to take a step back and realize that Clemens is no where near as awful as you think. Take a look at the pure statistics, the list of QB's who have succeeded as first round guys in NFL history with less than 25 starts is amazingly short. guys with 16 starts or less that go on to be NFL elite's is even shorter, and if i may guesstimate non-existent. Lets also examine the list of NFL's greatest rookie QB's, also an extremely exclusive list. Plenty of you are looking at Flacco/Ryan and saying Sanchez can't fail. While I was impressed with the young gun last night, I still think that if they are close at all, that Clemens should get the nod. Let the future sit and learn, let him become more accustomed to the speed of the game, so that when the time is right, he is not only prepared to play, but ready to take us the distance. By all accounts we will have a good team this year, but if we make the proper improvements next offseason we will be a great team ready to contend for a title. Do you really want to throw Sanchez to the wolves before he is ready and risk destroying his confidence? While I trust our starting OL significantly, should anybody get hurt.... well we saw what happened to Wayne Hunter last night against an end of prime Leonard Little. And Nobody, and I mean Nobody wants to see Sanchez develop David Carr Syndrome...
www.jetsdaily.com Yesterday, the Jets lost 23-20 to the St. Louis Rams in the first preseason game of the Rex Ryan era. Ryan was not happy after the game, sending an early message to the team that losing is not acceptable. He might have to get used to it a little bit more, considering the difficult schedule and relative lack of talent offensively. But despite the loss, there were plenty of good things that came out of Friday's game, as well, as some bad and one ugly thing. The good The Quarterbacks - Kellen Clemens started the game, fumbling the first time he got hit by a defender. Still, he ended up 4-4 for 24 yards, modest yardage numbers, but effective accuracy on short passes. However, it was the rookie Mark Sanchez who stole the show. On his four passes, he completed three for 88 yards. On his very first play, he hit David Clowney down the right sideline for 48 yards on a perfectly thrown deep ball. He then led the offense down for an 8 play, 93 yard drive, culminating in a Thomas Jones 1-yard touchdown. That performance almost assures that Sanchez will start next Monday against Baltimore on Monday Night (preseason) Football. Clemens played well in what seemed like more of a conservative playbook, but he didn't make any big plays, and given how Sanchez performed, it doesn't look as good in comparison. Of course, it was only eight passes. Both quarterbacks will play more next game, assuming the offensive line has more than two starters playing. Sanchez only had one possession as Ryan took him out on perhaps the highest note possible. Hell, sitting in the crowd, I thought of leaving after the first quarter (after the Clowney pass), figuring Sanchez's career and the Jets' season could only go downhill from there. Needless to say I stayed (as one of the few who stayed the whole game, I was able to get myself on TV at the two minute warning). And staying the whole game meant I got to see two and a half quarters of Erik Ainge. While I've been hard on Ainge in the past, including during my live tweeting last night, his numbers ended up looking very good. His throws can be ugly at times, but 10-17 for 148 yards and a touchdown is solid nonetheless. The Receivers - Mr. August David Clowney came up with 3 grabs for 102 yards and a touchdown, flashing his impressive speed on two deep balls, one by Sanchez and one by Ainge. The likely starters, Jerricho Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey, didn't get much action, but if Clowney can play like he has in the last two preseasons during the regular season, the Jets might have bigger weapons than previously thought. Cotchery may not be a #1 receiver, but he's a tough player with very good hands. Stuckey is quick and sure hands. He's also now two years clear of the broken foot that destroyed his rookie year. But if Clowney can be a deep threat, that's a very intriguing trio with players with three separate skill-sets. Not to mention, the #1 weapon might actually be someone else. Dustin Keller came up with 3 receptions for 52 yards, showing his impressive YAC abilities. Entering his second season, Keller is poised for a breakout year. It's clear he's going to get the ball a lot, and after drafting him in the first round last year as a receiving tight end, they better throw to him. He has a ton of talent and should catch at least 60-70 balls this season. The first-team defense - The first team defense did exactly what it needed to do out there, even without its two best players. The first two Rams possessions featured 9 plays for just 24 yards. They allowed a field goal on the first drive, but that was only because a Clemens fumble gave the Rams great field position. Unfortunately, the flashiest player on the defense is missing the first four games of the season. Calvin Pace was in on four tackles and had a sack on Marc Bulger. David Harris was also strong from the middle linebacking position. Other noteworthy players Kenwyn Cummings - Showed good motor, five tackles and a sack Donald Strickland - Three tackles and a sack on a corner blitz Reggie Hodges - 2 punts for a 49 yard average, including one inside the 20 The bad Third-team defense - Rex Ryan said that the third-team defense made embarrassing mistakes out there, as the defense had trouble stopping the run, especially during Samkon Gado's (remember him, fantasy football fans?) 77 yard touchdown scamper. Most of the guys won't be on the team come week one. We all saw why. Run-blocking - Maybe this is a harsh criticism, considering the way all three quarterbacks had time to throw, but none of the runningbacks really ever had running lanes. Shonn Greene found one and busted it open for a 34 yard run down the left sideline, but that was about it. Three starters were missing, so it's hard to get too on the unit's case, but you would like to see some more push at the line of scrimmage against a bad defense like St. Louis. Vernon Gholston - Again, this may be a little harsh singling Gholston out as not having a good game, but when you're the 6th pick in the draft and your rookie season is a complete wash-out, you need to start showing something. Once again, he looked tentative like the same lost rookie we barely saw last year. I'm not even asking for much, Vernon, how about just making contact with the quarterback? I don't even care if it's late, I just want to know you can do it! The ugly Punt/Kick Returns - Jay Feely tweeted about a week ago that the Jets would have the best special teams in the NFL. Judging by one preseason game, the unit might be the worst, but it certainly isn't the best. The Jets muffed three punts and one kick. Dwight Lowery and Paul Raymond won't be returning punts this year, so the Jets don't have to worry about them, even if it's still embarrassing. Leon Washington also dropped the opening kickoff of the season. Dropping kicks was the en vogue thing against St. Louis, and it needs to (and should) stop. You bet Mike Westhoff is raising hell in practice.
