Mark Sanchez had his best overall game as a pro... statistically. Unfortunately they don't give you a W in the NFL for putting up a QB rating of over 100 (which he has done two weeks in a row). It was nice to see #6 spreading the ball around and we got our first look at the offense with Cotchery, Edwards, Keller, and Jones all healthy. It didn't look half bad. The Offensive line is really starting to dominate. Our Defensive line also looked excellent. They played the wildcat solidly and our pass rush is finally getting to the QB. Thats a lot of good news... right? Well, in the end we lost the game and our chances at making the playoffs are looking slim to none.
The NFL is simply about winning the games you are suppose to win, and squeaking out a few of the close ones. The whole idea is to try and get to double digit wins and an invite to the tournament. When you drop a game to Buffalo, and get swept by Miami you have very little chance of making it to the post season. The rest off the season will consist of the Jets playing up to their competition and giving their fans false hope. Let me assure you... we will not make the post season, and if we somehow sneak in... we are not good enough to win a playoff game.
I was extremely disappointed by Mark Sanchez today. I already touched on his respectable stats, and he made some good decisions with the ball. There were a few erratic passes, but overall he "played well enough to win". In todays NFL, putting together 59 good minutes doesn't get it done very often. On the final two plays of the game he simply didn't show up. He had the weapons to win, but he couldn't pull the trigger.
On the second to last play he had ample time in the pocket and gave up a sack. On the final play he had Cotchery dead to rights on a simple post route and didn't deliver. He saw #89 open, cocked his arm back, and then choked up on the ball. He scrambled around and then threw the ball out of bounds. As a QB you need to be more motivated by the fear of losing then the fear of looking bad (I hate to admit it, but I got that from Favre).
On 4th down in that situation you make sure the ball is thrown into the endzone. He threw it where no one had a chance. My heart tells me he did that (consciously or unconsciously) because he didn't want the game to end on an INT. The 'blame' for this loss is now on the shoulders of the special teams. IMO it's #6's job at the end of the game to at least put the ball up and give one of our players a chance. A sack and a ball thrown way out of the back of the endzone are useless.
When you start a rookie in this league you run the risk of him becoming shell shocked. He needs to know when to play it safe and when to go all out. I am also getting really disgusted by the way Mark behaves on the sidelines. He is constantly being consoled by a teammate, he looks sad and sorry, and watching him drop his head on Edwards chest was revolting. During the final seconds of the game #17 was codling our poor QB and at one point he broke down and put his head on Braylon's chest. WTF is that all about???
This rookie needs to start carrying himself like a leader. He needs to get his ass off the bench in between drives and keep his team motivated. He is a 50 million dollar 1st round pick... if any coach or player tells him he "played well enough to win" this week they are doing him a disservice. You have played well enough to win when you have more points than the other team and the game clock reads 0:00.
There is no question, the tougher, hungrier, more focused team won todays game. As for Rex's comment about his team outplaying the Dolphins and still losing, or his sidekick Bart Scott sarcastically praising the Dolphins for being Superbowl contenders... I will only say this: Being a loser really sucks, but being a classless sore loser is just pathetic.
We have dropped 4 of the last 5 games. We are spiraling out of control, but we have shown signs of improvement in certain essential areas. So, where do we go from here? The rest of our season is simply about developing Sanchez and Greene. I hate to say it, but thats all that is left for the NY Jets in 09'. If we had scored a veteran QB like Jeff Garcia this past offseason I think we could easily be 6-2 and in a position to make a real run for the playoffs. Instead we have a massive payroll consisting of some veteran players who are not getting any younger.
We need to learn how to NOT play down to our competition, and how to win close games in the fourth quarter. Letting Miami put together two long, game winning drives in the same season is simply unacceptable. If we can achieve those two things and add some more quality players this offseason 2010 could be our year.
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