5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Limiting Turnovers This Week is a Must for The Sanchize

Well Jets fans we get to week 9 in the NFL season and  I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t have pinpointed this game as a MUST WIN division game before the year started. Who would’ve thought that the Bills would be in 1st place a 5-2 and the Jets would be in 3rd place in the division at this point. Anyone? As I just mentioned this game is must win but here’s the problem. I don’t see the Jets actually winning. I’ve gone back and forth all week on it and I’ve come to the conclusion that the Jets weakness’ play right into the hands of the Bills strengths. Not a good combination.

The Bills force a lot of turnovers! Mark Sanchez is a turnover machine at times. So put 2 and 2 together and you tell me what you get. I’ve been trying to convince myself all week that he won’t turn it over against the Bills but I mean lets be real. Tom Brady threw 4 picks against them. Granted I don’t see him throwing 4. But I think him throwing at least 2 is certainly in the realm of possibilities. Sanchez’s decision making needs to be much better. He needs to be sharp from the first snap otherwise the Jets are in trouble.

Problem number dos. Fred Jackson. As I heard on ESPN a couple weeks ago, the Jets talk a lot about stopping the run, but they don’t actually do it. Jackson has had an MVP type season so far and whats worse, is that even when the bills were bad, they have ALWAYS been able to run it on the Jets for the past decade.  Whether it be Travis Henry, or Willis McGahee, or Marshawn Lynch, or Fred Jackson, or the fat pizza delivery boy, if you’re in a Bills uniform playing RB, you’re almost guaranteed to rush for 100 yards with a touchdown or two.

So that’s the sad truth Jets fans. The way I see it is that the Jets pass defense will keep Fitzpatrick in check. He’ll throw a lot underneath, screens, dump offs. Quick passes and running game, chewing up a lot of clock and eventually leading the Bills to a win. Not to mention the fact that the Jets weren’t exactly great last year offensively after the BYE week. Not Rex’s specialty. Bills 24- Jets 20.

After another week of smack talk from Rex Ryan, the Jets finally decided to back his coach up with their play on the field, particularly in the second half. The first half, to be honest, was more of the same Jets that have looked sub-par at best to start the year. The offense was anemic, they had let up 21 first half points, turned the ball over on offense. Needless to say going into the second half I didn’t give them much of a chance. But the Jets defense and running game stepped up big time. If you’ve been a reader on here you know I’ve been preaching since week one the need to run the ball. And that’s exactly what the Jets did. Shonn Greene looked like the guy people expected him to be, and Sanchez managed the game well from there.

It was great to have a Plaxico Burress sighting, because despite reports otherwise, I was beginning to think he was in fact still in jail and not on the Jets sideline. But Sanchez finally used him for what he was intended for. He was a presence in the redzone, looking  in that area. He didn’t get any shorter in jail and with him getting more time in the offense and more into football shape, I expect big things from him in the second half of the year. All in all I was definitely pleased with the Jets performance this week. The defense stepped up huge in the second half when it had to, making Phillip Rivers look like Kyle Boller at times. Keep up this intensity, and the Jets will be right where they need to be come playoff time, and hopefully by the offense will be clicking on all cylinders.

Last week, I preached to you all that the Jets needed to get back to ground and pound. Their offensive line was playing too soft and they needed that hard nosed running mentality back. Well getting Nick Mangold back certainly helped and the Jets actually looked very good at time running the football. At the end of the first half, the Jets had BY FAR their best drive of the year, handing it to Shonn Greene basically every play and running it down the Patriots throats. That drive was impressive; it was the Jets of the past two years, unfortunately that was about the end of the good news for them this week.

Lets face it, the Jets were quite simply outmatched. They played a better team, on the road. They never had a chance. What did we notice that made the Pats so good? OFFENSIVE LINE! I don’t know how much I can preach this boys and girls. The Pats offensive line made it look like the Jets defensive line were a bunch of pee wee football players going up against the Varsity Team. It was David vs Goliath and Goliath wins in the trenches everytime. Brady had all day to throw, and the law firm had holes that even I could’ve run threw. The Pats don’t have the skill players the Jets do. The talent in those positions is far superior on the Jets. But as I keep preaching, the game isn’t won in skill position talent. If you don’t have time to get them the ball it simply doesn’t matter.

So what do we take out of this week? It was both positive and negative. They did show they didn’t completely lose the ability to run the ball despite the fact that they averaged under 4 yards a carry. But the offense still needs to be better. 7 3 and outs in totally unnacceptable considering the Pats had only had forced 8 3 and outs all year. We basically doubled that in one game. That is totally on Brian Schottenheimer for is inept play calling. His days might be numbered as Jets Offensive Coordinator and I can’t say I’m totally upset about it.  So hang in their Jets fans. The next four games are crucial. We need 3! Anything less and the playoffs are looking more and more less likely. Hopefully things start to click, but I’m not too optimistic just yet.

After a 2-0 start, it looked like the Jets had it in cruise control. They would get through the regular season without a problem, and hopefully continue with playoff success they’ve had the last couple years.  But unfortunately, two weeks later, things couldn’t look more opposite. Last night was a joke. There’s no way to make that performance sound good. Rex Ryan got embarrassed in his homecoming to Baltimore, flat-out. The Ravens were deeper, faster, and can actually get to the quarterback. I was ashamed to watch that game last night. I’m not one to overreact to one game but that was probably the worst display by the Jets under Rex Ryan since he’s been here. The offense looked clueless, and I don’t see it getting any better.

The biggest problem… offensive line. The Jets front office decided over the past couple years to put all this money into skill players. Santonio Holmes, Tomlinson, Burress just to name a few. But let me tell you something. Skill players don’t win championships. Dominance in the trenches wins championships.  Look at the Jets the last couple years when they were good. They’re offensive line was stacked. Brick, Faneca, Mangold, Moore, and Woody. Now these guys are replaced with Baxter, Slauson, and Wayne Hunter. Look at the Pats when they won all those games. Sure they had Moss one year, but when they won the championships, Deion Branch and Troy Brown were two of their top recievers. Their offensive line was dominant and gave Brady all day to throw. The Steelers… dominant on both sides of the ball in the trenches. I’m not sure what happened to Wayne Hunter but he might as well not even be out on the field. He has been horrific at right tackle this year, and with Mangold being hurt the line has been nothing short of abysmal. Sure Sanchez hasn’t played good but Peyton Manning couldn’t look good behind that line. You need more than a second and a half to be able to throw. And god for bid they could get a push to run. The Jets have been known for ground and pound. That has what made them successful for the last couple years. Playoff football is won if you can run, and stop the run. Right now the Jets can’t really do either.

The identity of this team is gone. They’re playing softer on offense, throwing it every opportunity they get. Get them back to that ground and pound that has been so effective and successful the last couple years. If that doesn’t happen, this problem will become more than a 2 game slump. Sure they might still go on to win some regular season games, and they might even get lucky enough to get in the playoffs. But if this team as constituted now, were to match up against the Ravens, Texans, or the Steelers (despite their offensive line being miserable yesterday too) in the playoffs, the Jets wouldn’t stand a chance. Run the ball. Run it again. And then run it again. Get that mean streak back in that offensive line. Get Wayne Hunters’ head out of his ass, and maybe then, this team will get back to being  the team we’ve had the last couple years and thought we had going into this year.

Revis after his interception with 51 seconds remaining in the 4th

What a way to start the season for the Jets. On the tenth anniversary of 9/11, last night was one of the most memorable games in New York Jets history. Down by 14 points in the fourth quarter, the Jets rallied beginning with a Mark Sanchez touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress. Then six minutes later, Isaiah Trufant (who was just called up from the practice squad), blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. After Tony Romo threw a crucial interception, Nick Folk kicked a game-winning 50 yard field goal with just 27 seconds left. This was the greatest comeback for the Jets since the “Monday Night Miracle” in 2000 against the Dolphins.

Two weeks ago, I predicted the Jets will win the AFC Championship. Last night’s victory reassured me that this team has what it takes. Of course the Jets are talented, but last night showed their resiliency. In the Giants’ 2007 memorable season, there was one game that made me believe the team had something special – Week 13 at Chicago. Eli Manning was coming off his worst performance against the Vikings throwing 4 interceptions (three pick sixes). By the end of the third quarter against the Bears, he threw two more interceptions. But down 16-7 in the fourth, the Giants scored two straight late minute touchdowns and won 21-16. Last night’s Jets game proved to me that the Jets have this same drive. Even though Tony Romo and the Cowboys shot themselves in the foot, the Jets made the adjustments and put the pressure on Dallas. It’s only the first week, but the Jets have started the 2011 season on the right foot.

Nick Folk's Game-Winning Field Goal