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6 Things to watch tonight


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Jets-Texans: 6 things to watch

August, 15, 2011

Aug 15

6:00

AM ET

By Rich Cimini

HOUSTON -- The Jets return to the scene of Rex Ryan’s first win as coach – Houston, where they opened the 2009 season with a rout of the Texans. This time, it’s only a pre-season opener, which means the starters will play only about a quarter. But, hey, it’s Monday Night Football on ESPN, and that’s always a cool thing.

Things to look for:

Quarterback Protection: Two of Mark Sanchez’s trusted bodyguards – C Nick Mangold (neck/shoulder) and RG Brandon Moore (hip) – won’t play. They’ll be replaced by Rob Turner and Vladimir Ducasse, respectively. Turner is no stranger to the NFL, but Ducasse still is a neophyte, learning a new position. The coaches won’t expose Sanchez by asking him to hold the ball too long; it’ll be chuck and duck, if necessary. If Sanchez is under duress, it will be hard to gain a true evaluation of the offense.

Prime-time rookie: Backup QB Mark Brunell is out with a finger injury on his left/throwing hand, so that means rookie Greg McElroy will get plenty of work on the national stage. He should be used to it, having played at Alabama. McElroy is a former Texas schoolboy star, so it's only fitting that he debuts in the Lone Star State.

New Old Guy: With Plaxico Burress (ankle) sitting out, newcomer Derrick Mason will start opposite Santonio Holmes, the $50 million man. Mason, 37, has been around the block (and around and around), but this will be his first chance to get a feel for Sanchez and the overall operation. Watch for Mason on third down; he knows how to find the soft spots and keep the chains moving.

Little Big Man: Rookie WR Jeremy Kerley has been tearing up the practice fields in Florham Park, N.J., but now we’ll see how he fares under the bright lights against a real opponent. Kerley, raised in Texas and a TCU alum, will get a long night’s work. He will return punts and kickoffs and play with the starters in three-receiver packages. You’re going to like this guy; he’s fun to watch.

The Rookies: There’s a reason why the Jets let Shaun Ellis walk to the Patriots – and his name is Muhammad Wilkerson. The first-round pick is expected to start at defensive end, adding much-needed youth and athleticism to the defensive line. Fellow rookie Kenrick Ellis (6-5, 345), a third-round pick, brings the size. You’re going to need a roster to keep up with the new faces on the D-line.

Third time a charm?: Two third-year players, RB Shonn Greene and OLB Jamaal Westerman, are expected to fill bigger roles this season. Greene, lackluster last preseason, needs to strong start to validate the coaches’ faith in him. Westerman, primarily a special team in the past, will fill Jason Taylor’s role as the first OLB off the bench. Westerman has one job: Pressure the quarterback.

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Prime-time rookie: Backup QB Mark Brunell is out with a finger injury on his left/throwing hand, so that means rookie Greg McElroy will get plenty of work on the national stage. He should be used to it, having played at Alabama. McElroy is a former Texas schoolboy star, so it's only fitting that he debuts in the Lone Star State.

Camp was 2 weeks long with minimal hitting and hes injured besides the fact he wore red shirt and wasnt even in any contact drills. A waste of a roster spot.

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Lets see the depth of the offensive line- a lot of uncertainty there

Yeah. I thought they were only going to work Ducasse at RT. I know that Turner is the #1 backup at both G positions and he has to play C, but now who is the backup T. I wonder if they are going to roll Ducasse to T when they bring in the subs.

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Prime-time rookie: Backup QB Mark Brunell is out with a finger injury on his left/throwing hand, so that means rookie Greg McElroy will get plenty of work on the national stage. He should be used to it, having played at Alabama. McElroy is a former Texas schoolboy star, so it's only fitting that he debuts in the Lone Star State.

Camp was 2 weeks long with minimal hitting and hes injured besides the fact he wore red shirt and wasnt even in any contact drills. A waste of a roster spot.

Oh for the love of God, are you kidding me with this? I'm seriously becoming embarrassed to share Jets fandom with some of you people. I'm so sorry that the Jets' improvements over the years hasn't given some of you people enough legitimate things to constantly cry about, but you'll just have to live with it. Maybe you'd be happier as a Browns or Lions fan, they always suck.

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Oh for the love of God, are you kidding me with this? I'm seriously becoming embarrassed to share Jets fandom with some of you people. I'm so sorry that the Jets' improvements over the years hasn't given some of you people enough legitimate things to constantly cry about, but you'll just have to live with it. Maybe you'd be happier as a Browns or Lions fan, they always suck.

To be fair, I'd much rather have Brunell as a coach than a player. Nevertheless, I'm excited to see this McElroy kid get some work, so perhaps his injury is a blessing in disguise.

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Yeah. I thought they were only going to work Ducasse at RT. I know that Turner is the #1 backup at both G positions and he has to play C, but now who is the backup T. I wonder if they are going to roll Ducasse to T when they bring in the subs.

Good point

They probably should. Rex made it clear in his presser the other day that Ducasse will be a T. I was kind of surprised to see him starting at G tonight.

Kids got enough on his plate, play him at T

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Oh for the love of God, are you kidding me with this? I'm seriously becoming embarrassed to share Jets fandom with some of you people. I'm so sorry that the Jets' improvements over the years hasn't given some of you people enough legitimate things to constantly cry about, but you'll just have to live with it. Maybe you'd be happier as a Browns or Lions fan, they always suck.

Sweet Jesus tar and feather me for not liking 40 yr old Brunell as a backup QB on this team. Im one of those bad NYJETS fans according to you. And by the way who the hell are you? :angry:

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To be fair, I'd much rather have Brunell as a coach than a player. Nevertheless, I'm excited to see this McElroy kid get some work, so perhaps his injury is a blessing in disguise.

He's a backup QB, which as a general rule is not a position of particular talent around the NFL. There aren't even enough good QBs in the league to fill out 32 starting positions. Any time there's a backup QB even slightly worth a damn in the NFL, he's getting traded to be someone else's starter. His job is nothing more than to support the starting QB and hopefully not be a complete disaster if he's forced to step under center. Sure it'd be great to have someone better than that old ma, but if he helps Sanchez then it's all worth it, and trying to play this injury as some sort of major disaster is just more of this ridiculous incessant whining that's been going on non-stop around here. The injury is nothing even slightly significant, but it's freakin' preseason and the guy has like 20 years experience, so the team isn't exactly overly worried about his prep and so rather than throw him out there they'll let the young rookie kid get his reps in. Frankly, there's nothing even slightly worrying about this, and I couldn't be happier that McElroy is going to be getting plenty of work.

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Good point

They probably should. Rex made it clear in his presser the other day that Ducasse will be a T. I was kind of surprised to see him starting at G tonight.

Kids got enough on his plate, play him at T

They obviously don't trust anybody else and job #1 has to be keeping Sanchez from getting hit. This does indicate that he isn't going to be fighting to start at RT. We all knew that when Hunter signed, but cue the cries of "BUST!"

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Oh for the love of God, are you kidding me with this? I'm seriously becoming embarrassed to share Jets fandom with some of you people. I'm so sorry that the Jets' improvements over the years hasn't given some of you people enough legitimate things to constantly cry about, but you'll just have to live with it. Maybe you'd be happier as a Browns or Lions fan, they always suck.

+1

So many Jet fans are comically absurd. I guess all those years of complaining about sucky teams, the fans need to find something to bitch about with a perennial playoff team.

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The NYGIANTS have David Carr and Sage Rosenfels the NYJETS Mark Brunell ;)

I hope this McElroy is the real deal.

Not to say Brunell isn't old and washed up, but the dude is a 3x Pro Bowler compared to a massive bust of a #1 overall pick and a career backup. Backup QBs suck, and so do about half the starters, welcome to the NFL.

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Oh for the love of God, are you kidding me with this? I'm seriously becoming embarrassed to share Jets fandom with some of you people. I'm so sorry that the Jets' improvements over the years hasn't given some of you people enough legitimate things to constantly cry about, but you'll just have to live with it. Maybe you'd be happier as a Browns or Lions fan, they always suck.

I agree in total Bleedin ... cept you might need to limit those options to the Browns ... the Lions should be close to being the real deal here shortly.

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Not to say Brunell isn't old and washed up, but the dude is a 3x Pro Bowler compared to a massive bust of a #1 overall pick and a career backup. Backup QBs suck, and so do about half the starters, welcome to the NFL.

Last season I read an article on nfl.com about the best backup QB's in the game. I think Volek topped that list. We shoulda signed him to be our backup.

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Last season I read an article on nfl.com about the best backup QB's in the game. I think Volek topped that list. We shoulda signed him to be our backup.

Billy Volek was money for the Titans when McNair would go down - hasn't played much as a back-up to Flippy. Think he's on his last year of a 3 year. Would love to have him as a back-up. He's one of the very few that could be a difference maker if called upon.

Redskins. John Beck is their starting QB. 'Nuff said.

Thanks for reminding me of another team that has historically sucked and will suck to epic proportions this season - Shannahans kid has a hand on the steering wheel of that soon to be wrecked train too.

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Billy Volek was money for the Titans when McNair would go down - hasn't played much as a back-up to Flippy. Think he's on his last year of a 3 year. Would love to have him as a back-up. He's one of the very few that could be a difference maker if called upon.

Thanks for reminding me of another team that has historically sucked and will suck to epic proportions this season - Shannahans kid has a hand on the steering wheel of that soon to be wrecked train too.

I haven't really seen enough to judge Volek but I'm sure in spot duty he would be good. We are probably gonna be looking for another veteran QB to backup if Brunell doesn't come back next year. Maybe Volek will fill that spot.

Redskins are just cashing it in now hoping to draft Luck #1 next year. I really doubt Shannahan makes anything outta Beck, who BTW, was outperformed by Grossman. It's turd against turd.

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