Grading the Jets - Tom Rock

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjgrades304953634oct30,0,76004.story?coll=ny-jets-print

Grading the Jets

BY TOM ROCK

Newsday Staff Writer

October 30, 2006

Newsday's Tom Rock rates the Jets' performance in Sunday's loss to the Browns.

OFFENSE: D

Not only were the Jets unable to score on offense, they had three turnovers that led to 10 Browns points. Pennington's quarterback rating of 21.1 is a career low, eclipsing even the performance earlier this season in Jacksonville for futility. Thus Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, who entered the game as the top receiving duo in the AFC, were limited to a combined nine catches for 83 yards. The Jets running game, which seemed to be on track last week, was derailed. The illusion that the Jets were close in this one comes only from the controversy over the Chris Baker no-catch in the end zone in the final minute.

DEFENSE: C

Twenty points and 267 yards don't seem like a lot to give up, but these are the Browns and, like Dawg (Pound) Years, those numbers should be multiplied by seven for a truer reflection. Eric Smith's first career interception was one of the only mistakes the Jets forced QB Charlie Frye to make, and it came as a direct result of the Jets' inability to put pressure on Frye, who danced in the end zone before tossing the ill-advised pass into triple-coverage. In the fourth quarter, the Jets were able to stuff the Browns and give the offense a chance to tie the score, but it was way too late for heroics.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

Justin Miller's second kickoff return for a touchdown of the season was one of a few bright spots for the special-teams unit. Ben Graham seared a 69-yard punt in the fourth quarter that, along with a shoestring tackle by Brad Smith, changed the field position for the final (ultimately fruitless) Jets drive. Graham also pooched a punt that was downed at the 1. Mike Nugent kicked 27- and 47-yard field goals but missed a forgivable 52-yarder that was short and to the right. Had the officials overturned a play on which Drew Coleman appeared to recover a muffed punt by Cleveland's Joshua Cribbs, that would have been another huge special-teams play.

COACHING: D

The Jets' defense had a chance to rattle the Browns early and take advantage of their inexperienced offensive coordinator, damaged offensive line and flimsy quarterback. Not until the second half, when it was too late, did they start pressuring the Browns and it paid off. Brad Smith has become less of a gadget player but the Jets still try to use him with an element of surprise that is no longer there. Besides the first drive for a field goal and the immediate moments after Miller's touchdown return, the Jets seemed flat and the Browns were the team bouncing with excitement.