flgreen Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 McElroy: Tough cookie, one brainlock August, 16, 2011 Aug 16 3:11 AM ET By Rich Cimini HOUSTON -- Rookie QB Greg McElroy said he felt a little bit sore after the game. No wonder. He played three quarters, attempted 39 passes, took five sacks and countless other hits. He was one of the big stories in the Jets' 20-16 loss to the Texans. McElroy, a seventh-round pick from Alabama, started slowly, fumbling on a strip sack on his first possession. He settled down and wound up leading the offense to two field goals and a touchdown. "I was really nervous -- naturally, I suppose," he said. "It's kind of funny. My first start in college, I started 2-for-12 with a pick against Virginia Tech and we were able to answer back. The great thing is, I was able to get with Mark (Sanchez) and Bru (Mark Brunell) at halftime and talk to them and use them as resources. It slowed down for me in the second half and I thought we played well." McElroy almost pulled out the game. After the Texans went ahead, 20-16, with 1:56 to play, McElroy got the ball at his 24 and drove to the Houston 20. He nearly had a 46-yard touchdown pass to rookie WR Michael Campbell with 55 seconds left, but Campbell dropped it in the end zone. On the final play, McElroy made a mental error, scrambling out of the pocket as time ran out and running 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. He was flagged for an illegal forward pass, and that was that. Game. McElroy played so much because Brunell sat with a finger injury. REX HOT: Rex Ryan went nuts in the second quarter, when the Jets had to burn a timeout for having too many men on the field on a first down from the Houston 4. The guilty party appeared to be DE Marcus Dixon, who jogged on the field late -- ther 12th man. Ryan, enraged, took off his headset and spiked it to the ground, reminiscent of his headset spike at the end of the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh. THE BIG FELLAS: Ryan was pleased with the play of rookie DLM Muhammad Wilkerson and NT Kenrick Ellis. Actually, Ellis outshined Wilkerson, making two tackles (including a goal-line stuff) and batting a pass that was intercepted by LB Josh Mauga. Ellis let his pad level get too high at times, but displayed power and hustled downfield on plays. "It was more than I thought it was going to be," Ellis said. Wilkerson started the game, as expected, and didn't really do anything noticeable -- unless you want to count an offsides penalty. On one play, he lined up as a stand-up rusher. D-MASE: On the ESPN pre-game show, Ryan predicted that WR Derrick Mason would catch between 90 and 100 passes. That's rather stunning, even by Ryan's standards, considering the leading receiver on the team last year (Dustin Keller) had only 55 catches. Ryan explained, saying, "A slot receiver typically in this league will catch about 60 balls, but I think he's exceptional. With the two guys we have on the outside, with Plaxico (Burress) and 'Tone (Santonio Holmes), he should be a special slot receiver." ODDS AND ENDS: Rookie RB Bilal Powell (nine carries, 25 yards) didn't run for big numbers, but he showed some giddy-up on a 19-yard screen pass ... Nice game for TE Jeff Cumberland (six catches for 77 yards) ... PK Nick Folk was good from 33 and 40 yards. Nick Novak made his only FG try, 35 yards ... The punting battle was about even. T.J. Conley should've had the Texans pinned at the 1, but Brodney Pool failed to down the ball and it went for a touchback ... Rookie Jeremy Kerley looked comfortable on punts and kickoffs. His highlight was a 34-yard kickoff return. He caught the ball nine yards deep and took it out. You're going to see a lot of that with the new kickoff return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusher Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Watching the 2nd half now. Kid looks great against scrubs. Nice little backup I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integrity28 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 D-MASE: On the ESPN pre-game show, Ryan predicted that WR Derrick Mason would catch between 90 and 100 passes. That's rather stunning, even by Ryan's standards, considering the leading receiver on the team last year (Dustin Keller) had only 55 catches. Ryan explained, saying, "A slot receiver typically in this league will catch about 60 balls, but I think he's exceptional. With the two guys we have on the outside, with Plaxico (Burress) and 'Tone (Santonio Holmes), he should be a special slot receiver." <3 Rex - but I hate it when he makes gross exaggerations like this, makes it look like he's not in touch with the game. He over-exaggerated his expectations of Jason Taylor last year in a similar capacity. A little too much pandering to the veterans, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrissey Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 He had that game won.. it's too bad that ball was dropped. I was pretty impressed with his play in the second half, especially considering how awful he looked in the 2nd quarter. He doesn't have a great arm, but he's pretty accurate and showed some poise. What more can you ask for with only 2 weeks of training camp under his belt with no rookie camp or mini camps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apache 51 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Freshman playing against seniors, anyone remember that? Not bad, today. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsfan80 Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 <3 Rex - but I hate it when he makes gross exaggerations like this, makes it look like he's not in touch with the game. GREG MCELROY WILL THROW FOR 4000 YARDS THIS YEAR BOOK IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RutgersJetFan Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Everyone loves a white kid who can take a beating. Word on the street is that Leberfeld still jerks off to Bollinger vs Carolina highlights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoicsentry Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I was surprised at how much heat he took in the game thread. I thought he performed admirably, considering the circumstances. For a rookie quarterback without a training camp to maintain his composure like that was impressive, especially after Vlad Ducasse (who is NOT a rookie and HAS had a training camp) nearly got him DESTROYED on more than one occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMaynard Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I like McElroy. He has some nice attributes. Unfortunately, he has one of the weakest arms I have ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visajets Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 GREG MCELROY WILL THROW FOR 4000 YARDS THIS YEAR BOOK IT HOW MANY SACKS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vudu Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Tough cookie- maybe. But he has a bitch arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barcs Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 More importantly, how is his down field blocking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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