The Jets and Eagles are struggling and the Lions, 49ers and Bills are surging. The first 4 to 5 weeks of this season are very unique because there was essentially no off-season. Why do some team look like well oiled machines and others look like they have never been on a football field before?
I guess we can look to a number of different factors, but I see one glaring issue. Teams like the Lions,49ers and Bills have a lot of young players who are trying to make a name for themselves and who are trying to get their respective teams on the map. Teams like the Jets and Eagles have a bunch of high priced pre-madonna's who spend little time practicing hard and watching film, and more time living the good life.
Derrick Mason was brought here to replace a blur collar player who gave 100% every week Jericho Cotchery. In Mason's contract he was allowed to go home on Sunday nights to Baltimore and wasn't required to return until Tuesday night. He was not only struggling learning the offense and finding a way to contribute, he also started complaining immediately. Instead of staying in town for the first few weeks and doing his job, he thought he could just collect a nice paycheck and had no concern about his productivity. There's a lot of that going around the NFL these days. To their credit, the Jets Brass gave him his walking papers.
The Jets have struggled in 2 of the three phases of the game. Like usual Mike Westhoff and his squad excel and continue to pull their weight. As for the defense, they are simply overrated and sloppy. We have a bunch of slow frankenstein monsters at LB, a bunch of safety's who are always getting beat in coverage, and my all time favorite player Cromartie... who is a waste of space. Our young rookie Wilkerson looks pretty good so far, and for some reason Ellis has been a healthy scratch for the first 5 weeks of the season. We took this guy in the 3rd round and he looked pretty darn good in the pre-season. This Monday night will be his first time on the active roster.
Watching Sanchez and Shotty run our offense is like getting hit in the face with a spiked bat for 3 hours each week. They ALWAYS start slow, they ALWAYS go 3 and out on at least 75% of their first half series, they ALWAYS put him in 5 to 7 step drops which puts ridiculous pressure on the O-line... yet the pass ALWAYS travels 8 to 10 yards in the air. They ALWAYS turn it on in the second half, and Mark ALWAYS plays well in the no-huddle down the stretch. Maybe that has something to do with the rhythm that comes from that style of play compared to the discombobulated mess that is Shotty-ball.
This is what I would do if I were the OC... First of all I have known that Greene is a complimentary back at best. Why he is being used as a bell cow is beyond me. #23 has absolutely no vision as a runner. I can't decide if he misses more holes or if Sanchez misses more open receivers. The first thing we need is a more steady rotation at RB. Tomlinson shouldn't be a 20 touch a game guy anymore, but he should be in the backfield at the beginning of games.
We should open up win a no huddle with #10 and #17 out wide, #81 in the slot... Connor should be in the backfield for extra pass blocking and LT at RB. I would put Mark in the shotgun and flank out Conner and LT to the left and right. This formation would lend itself to draws, screens, 3 step drops, quick rhythm plays and would give opposing defenses something to worry about. I would begin to rotate in Greene and McNight as well as Kerley and Turner as the game progressed.
As for the solution with the defense. I think it's time to dump these useless, expensive FA's that Rex brought in like Scott and Leonhard. I am sure #57 will be history in 2012, and all I can say about that is CAN'T WAIT! the D-line is starting to form with young players, and Wilson is showing some signs of life at corner. We need some safety's and LB's in next years draft. it's time for some serious re-tooling.
As for this season, I am not worried. I think the Bills will start to fade down the stretch and we are the most experienced team when it comes to playing pressure games over the past 2 seasons. We will creep in as a wildcard, and if we get a ticket to the dance... watch out NFL, because thats when our lazy sloppy pre-madonna's start to play.
