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In Part I, of a two-part series, Dan goes deep into what happened in the Jets-Bengals preseason game. Let’s get it started . . .
DeMario Davis looks like he’s going to be a force on special teams. He had the first two tackles on special teams . . .
The Jets first team offense wasn’t very good, but I think it’s only fair to cut them some slack, considering it was their first game in a new offensive system.
The first offensive play call by Tony Sparano was as simple as possible, and a play Sanchez is very comfortable with –a bootleg to the right side. Sanchez hit John Connor for a loss of one. Connor is from Cincinnati, so maybe they dialed up the first play for him in his homecoming.
Then the Jets protectors messed up on a stunt. Bilal Powell actually did his job on his play. He picked up blitzing linebacker Thomas Howard, but nobody picked up Rey Malaluaga, and he sacked his old USC friend Mark Sanchez . . .
Kyle Wilson returned the first punt. He needs to run more north-south, and less east-west. He was trying to juke people running laterally to the left side, instead of heading up field.
Jordan White, when given a chance to turn punt later, did a better job of running north-south . . .
Sanchez got more going on the second drive. Well kinda. They actually had a three-and-out, but then the Bengals had a penalty on the punt, so they got the ball back.
Sanchez connected on three consecutive passes to another old USC friend, Patrick Turner, for six, six and nine yards.
These three plays in a row give you a glimpse into Tony Sparano’s mindset as an offensive coordinator. He has no problem throwing to the same guy over and over, until the other team stops it.
The Jets old offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, was more inclined to spreading the ball around, even if they had a favorable matchup. I never understood that mindset.
Sanchez also did a nice job of scrambling for four yards, on a third-and-two. He had an effective pump fake while running to confuse on defender
But this drive fizzled out after these four nice plays.
One bad play of note at the end of this possession was Jeff Cumberland giving up a sack to DE Manny Lawson, who just flat-out beat him off the edge.
I think in time, Cumberland can be a good blocker, but right now he’s too inconsistent. I think the Jets #2 blocking tight end isn’t on the roster yet. I think Mike Tannenbaum repeats his recent history and brings one in late in the camp, like he did with Ben Hartsock and Matt Mulligan, both late summer additions.
Then on the very next play, there was another protection breakdown.
DE Michael Johnson beat D’Brickashaw Ferguson off the edge on the blindside, and this forced Sanchez up in the pocket, and the defender Matt Slauson was blocking, DT Devon Still, just slid off of him, got in Mark’s face, and the quarterback was forced to throw the ball away. This was Brick’s fault, not Matt’s. Johnson destroyed the pocket, and Still cleaned up the mess . . .
The Bengals got the ball back, and went down the field on a drive that resulted in a field goal.
I have a couple of thoughts on the defense from this series which lasted for 15 plays.
On the first carry of the series, Quinton Coples got turned around by RT Andre Smith, and the defensive end ended up with his back to the ball-carrier. This Benjarvis Green-Ellis run went for four yards.
Overall, Coples had a very good game (and I will get into his performance more in Part II), and it’s clear he has a knack for getting to the quarterback, but as a 3-4 end, he must do a better job against the run. His technique on this play was poor.
Overall, Kenrick Ellis also had a pretty good game, but on this series, he got pancaked on a Green-Ellis gain of 12 off left tackle. I like his motor, but he’s on the ground way too much, and a man his size, should not get pancaked as much as he does.
To his credit, Ellis had two run stops on this series, stopping Green-Ellis after gains of just three and two. Ellis plays really, really hard.
Bart Scott got beat by Green-Ellis on a pass over the short middle that the running back took for 18 yards.
Maybe it’s unfair to Scott to rip him too much for this play because it’s not a great matchup for him, but the Jets need to come up with a way, or a player, to deal with this kind of play better.
August 11, 2012
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