by Stop Mike Lupica on August 26 at 6:37PM
Quick update on the Jets: The won yesterday's preseason game against the Giants, 20-12. That's it for the good news, though. The first team offense played more than half the game and looked awful. There was one quick 79-yard touchdown pass from Chad Pennington to Leon Washington to start the game. From that point on, the Jets' first team failed to get a first down on any of their next six possessions. The total offensive output of the Jets in that span was a staggering -7 yards.
The reason for the negative yardage? Pressure, and quarterback sacks. Think Pete Kendell isn't missed? Rich Cimini, Jets' beat writer for the Daily News, thinks so. And I'm inclined to agree with him. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the offensive line is the key to any offense in football - if you don't have the time to set up your offense, if your quarterback is constantly under pressure, you aren't going to be effective. It's that simple.
Is Pete Kendell's absence to blame for the entire line's stinker? Actually, yes. He was the veteran on the line; he was the one would call out assignments, and audibles when he saw something brewing in the defense. You can't imagine how much knowledge a 12-year vet like Kendell has in his brain. The Jets' line now? It has two very talented second-year players - Nick Mangold and Brick Fergurson. Jacob Bender is a rookie. Anthony Clement is the only seriously experienced veteran on the line, and even with his 10 years of knowledge, he isn't considered as much a leader as Kendell was. Is it any surprise to see the entire Jets' line underperform yesterday? Get used to it.
Chances are that the Jets will pick up a veteran to help out; they may just be waiting for the final roster cuts of the preseason to occur. In the end, though, is it really worth saving $1 million to see a performance like this?
Thomas Jones' absence didn't help... Leon Washington was only able to get 6 yards on 7 carries with the first team. Passing? Chad only complete 4 out of 10 passes for a total of 10 yards after the long touchdown to Leon Washington.
Kelly Clemens looked good again, going 6-8 with 122 yards against the Giants' backups. He showed off both his smarts (he really is comparable to Chad) and his arm strength. He completed a nice 45 yard pass to Justin McClarein, and a 34-yard to Brad Smith. But before you call it a quarterback controversy, remember that Clemens hasn't faced any first team defenses, or pressure, yet. Better to leave Pennington has the starting quarterback, but if anything happens to him (a very real possibility if the line doesn't get better quickly), then at least the Clemens era might be something worth seeing.
Ben Graham continues to do some nice punting, averaging 44.8 on his 6 punts yesterday. Special teams are also very much an indicator of a team's chances for success - they will win (or lose) at least one to two games a year; Graham and Nugent have had really good preseasons so far. Both have been burying the opposing team deep in their own zone to start drives, helping the defense. As long as the offense can keep the turnovers down, it bodes well for the Jets ability to control field position. Especially since the Jets have some talent on the return teams - rookie Darelle Revis and Brad Smith both have some blazing speed on the returns.
And speaking of Darelle Revis... S&F Football has a solid post about Revis' contract (found via I Want To Be A Sports Agent, found via Deadspin) and how it plays out for the Jets and Revis in terms of money. Revis' contract is apparently going to pay him more than the 12th pick this year, and seems to indicate that the Jets insistence on getting a six-year deal (which is voidable, however) ended up costing them more money than they should have paid. On the other hand, you know the Jets are big on Revis - they traded up to get him for a reason, right? They really want this kid, and they think highly of him. So if he is, in fact, a feature All-Pro corner, the contract, even stretched over six years, isn't so bad a deal.
The linked posts in that last paragraph presented a ethical dilemna for me as a blogger. I think I will address that in my next brief post....
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The reason for the negative yardage? Pressure, and quarterback sacks. Think Pete Kendell isn't missed? Rich Cimini, Jets' beat writer for the Daily News, thinks so. And I'm inclined to agree with him. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the offensive line is the key to any offense in football - if you don't have the time to set up your offense, if your quarterback is constantly under pressure, you aren't going to be effective. It's that simple.
Is Pete Kendell's absence to blame for the entire line's stinker? Actually, yes. He was the veteran on the line; he was the one would call out assignments, and audibles when he saw something brewing in the defense. You can't imagine how much knowledge a 12-year vet like Kendell has in his brain. The Jets' line now? It has two very talented second-year players - Nick Mangold and Brick Fergurson. Jacob Bender is a rookie. Anthony Clement is the only seriously experienced veteran on the line, and even with his 10 years of knowledge, he isn't considered as much a leader as Kendell was. Is it any surprise to see the entire Jets' line underperform yesterday? Get used to it.
Chances are that the Jets will pick up a veteran to help out; they may just be waiting for the final roster cuts of the preseason to occur. In the end, though, is it really worth saving $1 million to see a performance like this?
Thomas Jones' absence didn't help... Leon Washington was only able to get 6 yards on 7 carries with the first team. Passing? Chad only complete 4 out of 10 passes for a total of 10 yards after the long touchdown to Leon Washington.
Kelly Clemens looked good again, going 6-8 with 122 yards against the Giants' backups. He showed off both his smarts (he really is comparable to Chad) and his arm strength. He completed a nice 45 yard pass to Justin McClarein, and a 34-yard to Brad Smith. But before you call it a quarterback controversy, remember that Clemens hasn't faced any first team defenses, or pressure, yet. Better to leave Pennington has the starting quarterback, but if anything happens to him (a very real possibility if the line doesn't get better quickly), then at least the Clemens era might be something worth seeing.
Ben Graham continues to do some nice punting, averaging 44.8 on his 6 punts yesterday. Special teams are also very much an indicator of a team's chances for success - they will win (or lose) at least one to two games a year; Graham and Nugent have had really good preseasons so far. Both have been burying the opposing team deep in their own zone to start drives, helping the defense. As long as the offense can keep the turnovers down, it bodes well for the Jets ability to control field position. Especially since the Jets have some talent on the return teams - rookie Darelle Revis and Brad Smith both have some blazing speed on the returns.
And speaking of Darelle Revis... S&F Football has a solid post about Revis' contract (found via I Want To Be A Sports Agent, found via Deadspin) and how it plays out for the Jets and Revis in terms of money. Revis' contract is apparently going to pay him more than the 12th pick this year, and seems to indicate that the Jets insistence on getting a six-year deal (which is voidable, however) ended up costing them more money than they should have paid. On the other hand, you know the Jets are big on Revis - they traded up to get him for a reason, right? They really want this kid, and they think highly of him. So if he is, in fact, a feature All-Pro corner, the contract, even stretched over six years, isn't so bad a deal.
The linked posts in that last paragraph presented a ethical dilemna for me as a blogger. I think I will address that in my next brief post....
Leave a comment
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