Game Observations (MIA)

[TuscanyTile2]

1 hour ago, Augustiniak said:

Above all this was a typical jets sequence under bowles.  Win a game and look good.  Then play sloppy, spot the other team a lead, drop passes, commit turnovers, sloppy penalties, and lose despite shutting out the opponent in the 2nd half.  It’s hard to be real upset when a ‘bad’ game from a 21 yr old rookie qb is 60% completion and 336 yards.

The less things change, the more they remain the same.

[Long Island Leprechaun]

1 hour ago, Matt39 said:

Pretty spot on. Herndon was absolutely brutal.

That was my first observation as well. Stood out for making a couple of disastrous plays. Also just stood around when Anderson fumbled. No attempt at the ball at all.

Have to also say that Miami is actually a better team than I expected. Their edge rush is for real and Drake is a very good back. Receivers are more dangerous than I expected as well -- lots of speed there. Who was it that just blew by Claiborne and would have been gone for six if the pass was not overthrown?

Field position really defined this game. Jets just couldn't get a decent starting point for the majority of the game. And what was with Roberts? He looked like the same old Jets punt returner. Fair catch after fair catch. 

[nico002]

5 minutes ago, Long Island Leprechaun said:

That was my first observation as well. Stood out for making a couple of disastrous plays. Also just stood around when Anderson fumbled. No attempt at the ball at all.

Have to also say that Miami is actually a better team than I expected. Their edge rush is for real and Drake is a very good back. Receivers are more dangerous than I expected as well -- lots of speed there. Who was it that just blew by Claiborne and would have been gone for six if the pass was not overthrown?

Field position really defined this game. Jets just couldn't get a decent starting point for the majority of the game. And what was with Roberts? He looked like the same old Jets punt returner. Fair catch after fair catch. 

What do you want Roberts to do? Catch the ball and he drilled and fumble?

[varjet]

This game was MacBowles worst nightmare, because Darnold looked great but there were all sorts of roster, coaching and discipline issues.   You can clearly see the potential in replacing at least Bowles with a better coach, if there is one  

I think as a general matter most real Jet fans would rather see Nickerson, Jones and/or Burris try and figure out slot DB rather than Skrine.   He was a huge waste of salary cap and will not be on the team next year.  A team truly building for the future would have carried forward his space to next year.

Herndon is going to need to prove that he has a brain.  His reckless DWI was not confirming.  Maybe that is why he slipped to the fourth round, like Robby slipped out of the draft.   FWIW, Donahue got suspended 14 games for his 2 DWIs, one with impact.  Let’s see what Herndon gets.

It sounds like there are other teams in the NFL with OL issues.  For the most part, those teams had injuries.  The Jets OL remains 24-32 in the NFL.  For a NE team with a FQB now, that needs to improve.  

[greenwichjetfan]

We all know the positives. There’s not much to say other than, without Sam this would have been a 40 point blowout. He’s the real ******* deal, and I love everything about him. So I’m focusing on only the negatives here. As KRL mentioned, lots of missed opportunities, so I’m only going to focus on three guys. 

Herndon

I hate to do this to one of the guys on O that I was excited for all throughout the offseason and camp, but Herndon was awful. Cost us the game IMO. Should have stepped out of bounds to preserve our TO with around 18 seconds remaining in the first half, and should have extended for the end zone on the last play of the half. Those 7 points before halftime, when you knew you were receiving the second half kickoff - that’s what the great teams do. Sam drove us down the length of the field only to get screwed there. Then, we come out and score on the first possession of the second half, defense comes out like gangbusters and force a TO on the next play. Sam threw a bad ball which Pryor should have fought for, but whatever, int touchback, dolphins have it on the 20. Crowd forgives Sam because he’s the lone bright spot. Defense comes back out, gets another huge stop. Momentum is on our side now, crowd is loud, Sam rolls to his left on third down and makes a perfect throw 20 yards downfield to an open Herndon....who drops it. No excuse. Changed the complexion of the game. Awful.

 

Anderson

Fumble was awful. Not much more to say. Also, the refs screwed us in the end zone. Minkah was wrapped around Robby and they didn’t call defensive holding or PI before the half. Awful.

 

Adams

I’m a huge fan of Prez. Been defending him for a while, because even though it was a stupid draft pick, that’s a Mac problem, not JA. JA the player has been a joy to watch and have on the team lead the D. However, today he almost played a great game...but he was responsible for old man gore on the 3rd and 19, and instead of checking him, and started dicking around with the line and abandoned his responsibility. Completely irresponsible and should not be tolerated. 

 

(Not a person, but a huge pet peeve: Penalties)

The Jets should try something new next game. Going forward, when we get big stops on 3rd downs, they need to Stop Committing Penalties! Happened twice today, one which indirectly resulted in a TD right before the half. 

[greenwichjetfan]

5 minutes ago, greenwichjetfan said:

We all know the positives. There’s not much to say other than, without Sam this would have been a 40 point blowout. He’s the real ******* deal, and I love everything about him. So I’m focusing on only the negatives here. As KRL mentioned, lots of missed opportunities, so I’m only going to focus on three guys. 

Herndon

I hate to do this to one of the guys on O that I was excited for all throughout the offseason and camp, but Herndon was awful. Cost us the game IMO. Should have stepped out of bounds to preserve our TO with around 18 seconds remaining in the first half, and should have extended for the end zone on the last play of the half. Those 7 points before halftime, when you knew you were receiving the second half kickoff - that’s what the great teams do. Sam drove us down the length of the field only to get screwed there. Then, we come out and score on the first possession of the second half, defense comes out like gangbusters and force a TO on the next play. Sam threw a bad ball which Pryor should have fought for, but whatever, int touchback, dolphins have it on the 20. Crowd forgives Sam because he’s the lone bright spot. Defense comes back out, gets another huge stop. Momentum is on our side now, crowd is loud, Sam rolls to his left on third down and makes a perfect throw 20 yards downfield to an open Herndon....who drops it. No excuse. Changed the complexion of the game. Awful.

 

Anderson

Fumble was awful. Not much more to say. Also, the refs screwed us in the end zone. Minkah was wrapped around Robby and they didn’t call defensive holding or PI before the half. Awful.

 

Adams

I’m a huge fan of Prez. Been defending him for a while, because even though it was a stupid draft pick, that’s a Mac problem, not JA. JA the player has been a joy to watch and have on the team lead the D. However, today he almost played a great game...but he was responsible for old man gore on the 3rd and 19, and instead of checking him, and started dicking around with the line and abandoned his responsibility. Completely irresponsible and should not be tolerated. 

 

(Not a person, but a huge pet peeve: Penalties)

The Jets should try something new next game. Going forward, when we get big stops on 3rd downs, they need to Stop Committing Penalties! Happened twice today, one which indirectly resulted in a TD right before the half. 

Oh also, I know I’m nitpicking here, but some of Bates playcalls are beautiful and smart and well designed, but some are just complete cluster****s.

Last week’s 3rd and 2 has been well documented as bizarre. Today his inside handoffs were just too predictable. Every single time you thought that this would be a time when a lesser OC would run the ball, Bates called a run! Two or three times in the second quarter, then the first play out of the half after Bowles gave a post first half interview and said they needed to run the ball more, right after the second fumble, and the third play of the third possession in the third Q when it was still 20-6 but Jets had the momentum after the D got three straight stops and Sam hit Q for 21 yards. Dolphins D was starting to slow down, and we basically gave them a breather by running up the guy for no gain when the entire world knew we were gonna run there. And then to top it off, on second and long, he’ll call a screen or a quick flat...which is exactly what every defense knows is going to be run by a team with a young QB to try to get that QB in 3rd and short. But it’s sooo predictable that defenses are just sitting on those plays!

Its frustrating to know that I can call a defense to stop the Jets O from my own couch.

[KRL]

After calming down and going over the game again I'm more
encouraged:

- Bowles remained and coached aggressively even when the team
went down 20-0.  You're being a phony when you always bring up his
previous conservative tendencies then you cry when he pushes the
envelope.  He went for the TD at the end of the half, Herndon needs
to have better awareness and reach for the end zone.  Earlier Tannehill
fumbled on a one man rush, so he sent the house on 3rd & 19 and Adams
gets caught up in the trash

- Darnold was the best offensive player on the field in his second
game in the pros.  And that was with shaky OLine play, no run game,
receivers who had poor ball security and ran poor routes

[Hael]

Darnold is good, which is all that I really care about.  He just shows a lot of poise and talent.  There will be a lot of rookie mistakes that will cost us games going forward, but what matters is the progression.

As far as the rest of our O.  Well, we have very average OLine play but we don't have elite players anywhere.  Enunwa is almost a 1 but isn't quite there.  Anderson is an average 2.  It's a good supporting class, but really wants one or two more high caliber offensive stars that can enable everything else.

On D.  Same problem really.  We have good players, but not elite players.   Adams and Williams are good players, but they don't quite rise to that elite level where they consistently change games, and have a tendency to either dissappear or to be responsible for a bad play.  Biggest problem is still the LBers in run D, they get swallowed up by blockers far too easily.  Team needs one more big star to finish games.

All in all, its a huge improvement compared to these last few seasons.  We aren't going to win the superbowl this year, but we are about 3 or 4 pieces and some maturation away from being right there in the hunt

[TuscanyTile2]

10 hours ago, KRL said:

Defense

- A new DLine scheme which had 2 DL and 2 OLB rushing the passer brought more
pressure but I wonder if that left them vulnerable to the run    

This is the real question. 

[Jimmy 2 Times]

What's with the Dolphins celebrating like airplanes when they scored?

Because Santonio Holmes did it 8 years ago?

[Ohio State NY Jets fan]

1 hour ago, KRL said:

- Darnold was the best offensive player on the field in his second
game in the pros.  And that was with shaky OLine play, no run game,
receivers who had poor ball security and ran poor routes

Great write ups as always, Thanks KRL

To me, this is all that matters this year, Sam keeps developing and stays healthy, we will be fine 

[32EBoozer]

11 hours ago, Vader said:

The Dolphins are not bad and are a tough out for us — they seem to match up well. And even though the Dolphins lead dominated the tone and tempo, both Darnold and the D were able to push back and put the team in a position to win.

That said, in a sloppy game, the team that capitalizes on the turnovers, wins. That is what happened here.

Well, just wait until Thursday..... that Cleveland "D" is for real. We need Kearse back and that OL better improve quickly!

 

 

[nyjunc]

STs set tone, Miami's punter was outstanding.  We were constantly backed up and Miami constantly in great field position. The D was great early, Miami should have scored 30+ easily.

The turnovers obviously- led to 14 of Miami's 20 pts. 

Big time Ds at least hold opponents to FGs after TOs, our D couldn't do that and couldn't get a late stop with Miami having no confidence in their QB to throw and running down our throats.

Coaching- Bowles never has his teams ready after big wins.  I just don't get it, I've tried to like him and he'll have at least the rest of this season to change my mind but we need a new HC.

[sec101row23]

I’m not sure there should really be any surprises from what we saw yesterday.  People around here have been saying the O line isn’t very good and the receiver group is being vastly overrated for months now.   Powell is decent at times but Crowell looks slow hitting the hole IMO.  Just a lack of legit play makers. It is what it is right now, but Mac better have an All Pro GM offseason building this offense during this offseason.  Thank God he didn’t piss away those draft picks on Khalil Mack.  

[KRL]

As far as the rest of our O.  Well, we have very average OLine play but we don't have elite players anywhere.  Enunwa is almost a 1 but isn't quite there.  Anderson is an average 2.  It's a good supporting class, but really wants one or two more high caliber offensive stars that can enable everything else.

 

Don't get caught up on "names" just look at the NYG.  How's that working out

[MaxAF]

Glass half full perspective. 

Sam had a very good game. I don’t blame him for the 2nd INT. Pryor needs to finish the route and it’s a touchdown. Darnold had some crucial dropped passes that could have changed the game. The offense had been pinned deep to start off the drives most of the day.

 O- line with 2 motion calls in a row can’t happen. Momentum killer. Edge rushers were very good for the Fins.

The D played well most of the game. They were on the field a long time. 

Special teams did not cover well and the sky high punts kept Roberts neutralized. 

Over all not a horrible game. 

Mistakes at critical times during the game hurt us. 

[talisaynon]

Watched this game and I couldnt help but think why is this dogsh*t quarterback beating us when ours is so much better?

Hopefully we won't have to sit through this again in the future. Cause Tannehill is dogsh*t. And it was typical Miami wildcat bullsh*t that's maddening to lose to.

Can't wait for Darnold to be able to put his team on his back and say **** you oline, defense and special teams, you're dogsh*t, it's going to be all up to me, and then proceed to win games on his own

[Matt39]

11 hours ago, Long Island Leprechaun said:

That was my first observation as well. Stood out for making a couple of disastrous plays. Also just stood around when Anderson fumbled. No attempt at the ball at all.

Have to also say that Miami is actually a better team than I expected. Their edge rush is for real and Drake is a very good back. Receivers are more dangerous than I expected as well -- lots of speed there. Who was it that just blew by Claiborne and would have been gone for six if the pass was not overthrown?

Field position really defined this game. Jets just couldn't get a decent starting point for the majority of the game. And what was with Roberts? He looked like the same old Jets punt returner. Fair catch after fair catch. 

Yeah I watched the fumble play a few times and Herndon was picking daisies. He’s a liability. 

[carlito1171]

12 hours ago, Better2bgreenthanblue said:

I'll miss Buster next year...?

 

Would like to see Nickerson get more time in the slot as the season goes on 

[MaxAF]

15 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

Yeah I watched the fumble play a few times and Herndon was picking daisies. He’s a liability. 

He’s also a rookie

[KRL]

24 minutes ago, talisaynon said:

Watched this game and I couldnt help but think why is this dogsh*t quarterback beating us when ours is so much better?

Hopefully we won't have to sit through this again in the future. Cause Tannehill is dogsh*t. And it was typical Miami wildcat bullsh*t that's maddening to lose to.

Can't wait for Darnold to be able to put his team on his back and say **** you oline, defense and special teams, you're dogsh*t, it's going to be all up to me, and then proceed to win games on his own

Excellent point!!!  That's the thing that makes the loss particularly annoying,
the defense held MIA to under 170 yards passing.  Tannehill was garbage and when
the best thing you can say about a QB is he ran the ball well that's a problem.
Concerning Darnold, do people realize how special that 35+ yard throw to Herndon
(which he dropped) was???  He spun out of the pocket, rolled to his left (against
his body) and delivered a strike right onto Herndon's hands.  That's an Aaron
Rodgers type of play  

[Adoni Beast]

- For a 21 year old rookie. I thought Darnold was impressive. Second int wasn’t on him at all, as admitted by Pryor. He had a lot of drops too, and was dropping dimes on the run. His future is bright.

- We need a true #1 WR. We need LT, Center, and LG, upgrades.

- We need Edge help BADLY.

- Bowles has to be on thin ice. I’m not a Bowles hater, and have given him the benefit of the doubt. But he really needs to win these types of games. If we lose in Cleveland, which we may very well...his seat will be hot and that HC job will be very attractive to any candidate for next year.

[#27TheDominator]

26 minutes ago, Matt39 said:

Yeah I watched the fumble play a few times and Herndon was picking daisies. He’s a liability. 

Didn't have the sound.  If Anderson is on the ground with a guy on top of him and he reaches out and hsa the ball, why isn't he down? They kept showing that stringy arm reach out and try to pull it back in. Seemed like he might have had it to me. 

[Integrity28]

3 hours ago, KRL said:

After calming down and going over the game again I'm more
encouraged:

- Bowles remained and coached aggressively even when the team
went down 20-0.  You're being a phony when you always bring up his
previous conservative tendencies then you cry when he pushes the
envelope.  He went for the TD at the end of the half, Herndon needs
to have better awareness and reach for the end zone.  Earlier Tannehill
fumbled on a one man rush, so he sent the house on 3rd & 19 and Adams
gets caught up in the trash

- Darnold was the best offensive player on the field in his second
game in the pros.  And that was with shaky OLine play, no run game,
receivers who had poor ball security and ran poor routes

Players failed to execute. Blaming coaches for yesterday is what people do when they’re not being honest with themselves.

[KRL]

Just now, Integrity28 said:

Players failed to execute. Blaming coaches for yesterday is what people do when they’re not being honest with themselves.

Stop making sense!!!

[ChuckkieB]

I was there with my son and the stadium was electric, but there were still plenty of Dolphins fans in the building.  Hopefully that will change as the team starts to have more success and the hometown fans actually start going to the games.  As far as the game goes, the O line was not good but despite that, the Jets could have won the game if Darnold hit a wide open Enumwa in the end zone and converted that turnover instead of giving the ball right back with an end zone INT.  A few rookie mistakes but still lots to be encouraged about.  Darnold is the real deal.  

[Sonny Werblin]

Only one game observation mattered and it was known before the game. The Lolphins D line is much, much better than the Jets O line.

[#27TheDominator]

I think people are being a bit hard on Herndon for the play before the half.  It was a bad play and all, but I don't see it as boneheaded.  He put the ball on the floor.  He had to gather it back up before he could do any diving for the end zone.  Again, not a good play, but I don't see it as necessary indicating systemic stupidity.

[MDL_JET]

5 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

I think people are being a bit hard on Herndon for the play before the half.  It was a bad play and all, but I don't see it as boneheaded.  He put the ball on the floor.  He had to gather it back up before he could do any diving for the end zone.  Again, not a good play, but I don't see it as necessary indicating systemic stupidity.

He should've gotten out of bounds on the pass before that, he turned back inside. But that's just something he'll learn as he goes. 

[IndianaJet]

13 hours ago, Dinamite said:

One more bone to pick with Herndon... Right before the first half ended, he caught a ball by the sidelines.  Rather than stepping out of bounds and saving a timeout (which became crucial) he thought for an extra inconsequential yard and cause the Jets to burn a time out and a few more seconds.   

 

He has talent but his head wasn't right during the game.   He needs to step it up now that Sterling is likely out for Thursday's game.

Was going to post this.  I think the bigger mistake for Herndon was not getting out of bounds on that play.  I'm not gonna fault him too much for not being able to stretch into the endzone on the last play of the half...gotta give some credit to the defenders on that one.

But not going out of bounds.  That's a rookie mistake, it's the type of mistake we have to live with now especially playing with so many young guys.

But you know what?  I'd rather Herndon make that mistake now, then next year in a playoff game.

[Long Island Leprechaun]

11 hours ago, nico002 said:

What do you want Roberts to do? Catch the ball and he drilled and fumble?

He probably would have been better off letting it bounce. Seriously, this is same old Jets. He took off once and got a handful of yards. That matters deep in your own territory. It's his job.

[mrcoops]

19 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

I think people are being a bit hard on Herndon for the play before the half.  It was a bad play and all, but I don't see it as boneheaded.  He put the ball on the floor.  He had to gather it back up before he could do any diving for the end zone.  Again, not a good play, but I don't see it as necessary indicating systemic stupidity.

I agree. He's a rookie who was seeing his first significant game time as a pro.

He should have tried to get out of bounds on the first catch, but that was a rookie mistake.

On the one near the EZ, he was obviously initially a little disorientated with the hit. He did try to reach for the EZ, but was stopped short. 

Bit tough pinning the loss on the kid. They was plenty of blame to go around in this game.

[greenwichjetfan]

21 minutes ago, MDL_JET said:

He should've gotten out of bounds on the pass before that, he turned back inside. But that's just something he'll learn as he goes. 

20 minutes ago, IndianaJet said:

But not going out of bounds.  That's a rookie mistake, it's the type of mistake we have to live with now especially playing with so many young guys.

7 minutes ago, mrcoops said:

He should have tried to get out of bounds on the first catch, but that was a rookie mistake.

I understand that we have no recourse for this other than to chalk it up to a "rookie mistake" but that doesn't sit well with me. There is no excuse for not understanding the situation. I guarantee that dude has played madden at some point in his life. He also played college and probably peewee. To not have that awareness is bonkers to me. Him not going out of bounds was arguably more important than any of the other 4 things I'd fault him for yesterday. Meanwhile, it sucks because I've been so amped to see the guy in real game action. Gotta hope he learns, and learns quick.

[Matt39]

1 minute ago, greenwichjetfan said:

I understand that we have no recourse for this other than to chalk it up to a "rookie mistake" but that doesn't sit well with me. There is no excuse for not understanding the situation. I guarantee that dude has played madden at some point in his life. He also played college and probably peewee. To not have that awareness is bonkers to me. Him not going out of bounds was arguably more important than any of the other 4 things I'd fault him for yesterday. Meanwhile, it sucks because I've been so amped to see the guy in real game action. Gotta hope he learns, and learns quick.

Also has a DWI under his belt already. Yesterday was flat out bizarre. I dont think you can play him. The out of bounds, the GL, the brutal drop, not going after a fumble....I mean thats a seasons worth of eff ups.

[Jack Straw]

34 minutes ago, MDL_JET said:

He should've gotten out of bounds on the pass before that, he turned back inside. But that's just something he'll learn as he goes. 

This is something he could have learned in his previous 8+ years of football, no?