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The Jets finally put together one of those long opening drives you expect from top-shelf offenses, methodically marching down field on 15 plays from their own 20 – it was impressive in many ways . . .
After three straight runs for a first down, and then a sack of Mark Sanchez by DE Alex Carrington, Sanchez hit Plaxico Burress on a quick slant for a gain of 14. Burress did a great job avoiding the jam on the line, and then had free-sailing to the middle where Sanchez hit him.
Then a few plays later, Sanchez hit Dustin Keller on a crossing route, from left to right, and it gained 24 yards. This is a perfect example of the great matchups Keller is getting with all the attention their starter receivers garner. Keller was matched-up with run-stuffing inside linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, who is not a good pass coverage player, and the Jets tight end torched him.
Two plays later, Sanchez hit Burress on a crossing route from left to right for another gain of 14. Burress beat CB Drayton Florence on this play.
After a short pass, and two runs, the Jets had the ball on the Buffalo 7, and Sanchez threw an interception in the end zone to end this long drive. This pass is was ill-advised. It was into triple-coverage, and was overthrown. There had to have been a better option, considering all the defensive backs in that area. This was an example of a problem Sanchez has – he too often insists on making his first read work, come hell or high water. The plays wasn’t there, and a lot of good work was wasted.
The Jets next possession is one that the Jets tight end room will soon want to forget.
On first down, Sanchez ran a bootleg to the right side, and hit Dustin Keller on the short right side, and he attempted to leap over Jairus Byrd, and landed on his shoulder and side of his head, and had to leave the game with a slight concussion. While it wasn’t the smartest play, I don’t think he would have gotten the first down without it – it turned from a nine to 11 yard play.
This drive ended up going nowhere due to a pair of Matt Mulligan holding penalties, and a 12 men in the huddle penalty. On the last play of the possession, Sanchez threw behind Santonio Holmes on a quick slant on the right side. Holmes had a step on CB Leodis McKelvin, but Sanchez threw it behind the receiver.
On the second play of the Jets third possession, Sanchez hit Burress over the middle for a gain of 19. Burress beat Leodis McKelvin on this play. All of these Burress catches I have mentioned so far, he had single coverage thanks to Santonio Holmes.
Two plays later, on a 2nd-and-7, Sanchez hit Jeremy Kerley for a gain of seven on the short left side. Once again, an example of favorable coverage for Kerley with all the Jets weapons – safety Jairus Byrd was covering the quick slot receiver.
Late in this drive, on 3rd-and-8, Sanchez attempted a pass over the short middle to Joe McKnight, and it was picked off by safety George Wilson, off a tip. This was overturned by replay, and Nick Folk kicked a 49-yard field goal.
The Jets got the ball back with under two minutes left in the half, thanks to a Calvin Pace interception, but after two Sanchez imcompletions (Kerley and Holmes), and a dump pass to LT, they tried a 50-yard field goal, that was wide right.
That concludes Part I of our review of Mark Sanchez in the Bills game. We will have Part II by 8 PM this evening. As I mentioned on my blog on this website, Sanchez is a little unhappy with the New York media for receiving unfair coverage this year that is too negative. Maybe he has a point, but after reading about this first half, do you think he has a fair point? He does a lot of good things, but he’s very inconsistent.
