Similarly, your OL won't be 100% the same and our DL will also be much different. Just like the Jets did to NE in the playoffs, the Pats physically beat the shit out of the Jets @NE last year. Expect things to go back and forth like that for while. I disagree with the bolded statement. I dunno about NE, but the Jets strayed away from their bread n' butter on offense in 2011. Expect an offense more similar to 2009 and 2010, with maybe more deep shots. I also doubt the Pats ever run all over the Jets under RR like they did @NE last year.
And now they will go back to ground-n-pound and everything will be hunky dory, right? Am I the only one who remembers hearing the same thing after the Jets' weak start to the season last year? And, to make my point even more relevent, they got to play the Patriots the following week. This is what ensued: First Quarter through Third Quarter: 16 pass plays/20 run plays - Score NE 24 NYJ 14 Fourth Quarter: 10 pass plays/5 run plays - Score NE 30 NYJ 24 The Jets did start off with a fairly run-heavy offense (55.5% run plays compared to 44.0% NFL average). But by the third quarter, they had to abandon the ground-n-pound because it wasn't working. It didn't wear us down the way it needs to in order to be successful. In fact, in the third quarter, we opened up a two score lead while still holding you guys to 14 points. It didn't slow down our offense by keeping us off the field -- we still scored 30 points. And ultimately, despite your coach loudly proclaiming that his team was going to go back to its "identity", it never happened. You can blame Schotty for that, but I'm inclined to believe that at least part of it was due to the starting unit's inability to actually pull off a run-oriented system. Now, your offensive roster is largely the same, but this time it is supposedly going to work? Jets fans are so quick to argue that a return to ground-n-pound is going to push you guys back to the success that you had in 2009 & 2010. But the Jets don't have the OL that they did those years, and they don't have the RBs that they had those years. It's going to take a little bit more to convince me that I should be scared for that reason. Also, you mentioned that Sparano has success leading an offense against the Patriots. If you take a look at those games, his teams' success usually came by abandoning their typical run-heavy offense, and exploiting our weak secondary. In Week 1 last year, he had Chad Henne throwing 49 times against us. I'm not saying the Jets should follow that blueprint, but it further reinforces my skepticism that Sparano is going to beat the Patriots by doing what Schotty supposedly failed to do -- ground-n-pound.
Excellent post, I agree 100%. People who doubt that the Patriots will continue to have success on the ground against the Jets are missing the point on what happened in that game in Foxboro. The reason they were successful was because the Jets were playing dime defense against their 12 (1 back 2 TEs) personnel. Why didn't Ryan take off one of those DBs and put a LB in the game? Because he didn't have another LB who wouldn't have been a complete liability in coverage. What's going to be different this year? I know most of this board has already anointed Demario Davis an NFL-caliber coverage LB (because after all, he's fast!) but personally I'm guessing Brady would be thrilled to see a rookie out there, and would instantly attack him with some of the best middle-of-the-field weapons in the NFL. Handling all that is asking an awful lot of a rookie. Until Ryan figures out how to matchup with those weapons (perhaps Landry can help with that) the Jets will be facing tough odds of not getting swept.
Not sure what the excerpt from the game is supposed to prove since it's well known that when teams fall behind they can't run the rock the way they want to. The Jets fell behind and started throwing more. The offense isn't the goat for that game imo as the defense let us down huge that day, I didn't make that clear enough I guess. I would call the offense the goat for the second loss, with honorable mention to special teams as that fumble was the turning point in the game. Your point about Sparano's offenses getting it done via air is only encouraging to me. Am I to expect his gameplans to not be balanced when his history and philosophy, overall, in this league has proved otherwise? Your point shows that he can make successful in-game adjustments against Belistink's D. You talk about the Jets OL like it's complete trash. This is probably why we don't see eye to eye. I think 2011 was the aberration. Do you have a theory as to why an OL that was top 5 in NFL in 2008-2010 suddenly becomes incompetent? I can't really explain it other than the problem at RT. In 09 Faneca was awful in pass protect/expensive and was replaced by Matt Slauson who did a good job in 2010, and the Jets run game didn't skip a beat. Turns out Slauson played all of 2011 with a torn right rotator cuff and bicep. Brick Ferguson had a down year, no explanation for that. He either starts a decline or returns to the form he's shown for years prior. It's reasonable to expect the latter. Not worried about Nick Mangold. The right side of the line is the wildcard. According to stats B Moore was very good overall in both phases in 2011. Of course, nobody had a clue because Wayne fuckin Hunter was so bad. I think Moore will be good for another year, this time not coming off major hip surgery. Wayne Hunter is the issue. Curiously he started the playoff game against NE. We will find out if a switch to man-blocking and simpler terminology help him get off the ball quicker. Jeff Otah will now provide competition. Basically you see 2011 as the start of the end for this OL, and I see it as the anomaly. Only time will tell us.
