Warfish's Jets vs. Bears Review

[Warfish]

Today was a tough game to watch, and was very, very disappointing.

We'll start with the positives:

--The Jets Defense played an excellent top-flight game today, all around. Barring the short field disadvantage after the onsides debacle, and the one big-play letdown of a slipped-and-fell CB on the wrong play (of all plays to fall, don't fall when you have no secondary help).

The scheme was quite good, we made Grossman look very very average, and we kept their running game mostly in check all game long. Yes, their RB went over 100, but that isn't a sign, in this case, of failure. The running game was all Chicago had, and the went to it early and often. In any event, the loss sure isn't on our defense.

--The Jets O-Line and RB's also played very well today, when they had the right plays to run. It was great to see Houston back in action, as this was exactly the kind of game he is best suited for, rough, up-yer-gut north/south running. And he looked very good. Washington had his moments as well, and made some key pass-block pickups (and made them well, all things considered), and I really liked the run blocking of #44. He looked great. O-line, going against one of the best D's going, kept Chad mostly protected, and with enough time to make something happen. Solid outing, and continued development from both of young RB's and young O-line.

Well......that kinda does it with the positives. Special Teams was average today, Miller on KR's was average too. But to be fair, the Bears Special Teams are some of the best in the league, so it's hard to fault them too much, they did what they could and didn't blow anything or make any major screwups (the onsides kick nonwithstanding).

Now, the negatives.......this is going to hurt.

--Coaching. Wasn't great today. The horrible "out on a limb" call of the onsides kick was a killer. It wasn't a game-losing killer, but it was still a very bad idea at the worst possible time. Against a great defense, after going toe-to-toe with them in a Defensive Slugfest all first half, where your team looked better on Offense, you simply do not take this risk. You just don't. Look, I love Mangini so far, and I love how hard he works, how well he and his Co's have been scheming, etc, etc.....but I think he overthought himself on that one and was too smart and too tricky for his own good. That was a horrible call.

Additionally, I believe we failed to exploit a pretty obvious weakness we seem to have found: The running game up the middle. Early in the game we were making very good solid gains going right down the bears throat. But in what may be another case of over-thinking something simple, we just HAD to throw some razzle-dazzle and complexity into the mix, even if it wasn't needed. Sidelines runs and short side-to-side passes were not the answer today vs. a very fast persuit Bears Defense. The power of this Bears team is in running down the ballcarrier, side-to-side pursuit and great tackling ability. When we ran up the middle, those positives were, to a big degree, offset...allowing for some very good gains. When we sideline, either run or pass, it went very badly. And we didn't seem to make the corrections in scheme to exploit what was working, and minimize what wasn't. Again, it may be another case of the staff thinking they were smarter than everyone else and sticking with their plan, even when the other stuff would have been better.

--Chad Pennington. My past feelings on him have been well documented. But I'll be strait up here: I am NOT calling for him to be benched or sat or anything of the sort. Right now, he's still the likely best option, and our season is not yet "dead" playoffs wise.

With that said, he was very very bad today. The hallmarks of the "Classic Chad Pennington" is accuracy, smarts and consistency. He was none of those today. He missed very open receivers, and completely ignored very open reads. He focused on one receiver much more than in the past. He overthrew balls, he underthrew balls, he was rattled in the pocket, threw early a number of times and seemed to react to phantom pressure more than in his past. He was clearly not good today, and the two interceptions were the de facto cause of our defeat today. Neither was anyones fault but Chad. They fall squarely on him. On one he had a wide open Coles in the corner and never looked. On the other, he threw one of those "Why the hell would you throw that??" balls, and gave the Bears an easy INT just outside scoring range for us. These two picks were unforgivable. It's not that Chad played badly vs. a GReat Defense, because he BEars ARE great, it's that the mistakes he made were almost all his fault, not somethign the Defense did to make him err.

Anyone who still clings to the idea that Chad Pennington is the "Chad of Old" need only watch this game on repeat till they understand the truth. He simply isn't. The Chad of old beats these Bears today, likely 21-10 or so. Again, it's been said already, but the Chad of old, weak arm or not, could be relied upon to be three things: Accurate. Consistent. Smart. Today, he showed that even when he was relatively well protected, he could not be any of those things. This was a very disappointing development in the comeback of Chad...and one which bears scrutiny as we continue this season. Chad always had the skills (accuracy, consistency, smarts) to overcome his obvious physical limitations, but if he cannot consistently show these traits game to game, then his future becomes very hard to predict. He's still the right choice right now, but he must rebound from today, and start showing he can be consistent in his smarts and accuracy both from game start to game end, and from game to game. Right now he is a roller coaster of inconsistency.

This, like the Colts game earlier this year, is the kind of painful disappointing letdown only the Jets seem capable of providing. Like the Colts, this was a game the Jets had every right to win, vs. an opponent that is among the elite of this years NFL crop. And our Jets, even with the problems we have right now, went toe-to-toe and played them very very hard. The team and staff still deserve kudos for how far they have brought this team in such a short time. But I hope a few lessons sink in too:

--Don't over think. Sometimes jamming the ball down your opponents throat time and again is the smartest choice.

--Don't think you always have to be tricky and sneaky to win.

--Our running game is getting better every weak. Don't give up on it.

--Watch Chad very closely from here on out. His future can and should be determined not by wins and losses, but by how consistently he shows the accuracy and smarts that made him a good-to-almost-great QB in the past. If he has them, and shows it every week, he has a future. If he remains wildly inconsistent, and worse, wildly inaccurate....the time for change will come sooner rather than later.

Tough game today. We play a Texans team next week that, record aside, does NOT suck. It will be a major test of both this new staff, and the players, to overcome the disappointment of today, and take it to the Texans. Another close nailbiter win (or worse, loss) with inconsistent Chad play is the worst possible thing that could happen. The Jets are a better team that the Texans, and should really take it to them. But right now.......it's hard to see if Chad and Co. can. Remember Cleveland.

So, 5-5, and the rebuilding year keeps rolling. Playoffs are still far from out of the question, but neither is 7-9. Jets need to work on consistency. I know, I've said it half a dozen times already, but that must be the goal, both for Chad, and the rest of the team. We are getting better, and making progress. But that may not be enough for a playoff run in 2006.

Next week is key to seeing how the rest of this season might play out. Go JETS!

[pac10jet]

Very well written and good analysis.

If Mangini is going to take risks (see onside kick), why not put Brad Smith in ALOT more.

Not only on a 3rd down situation, but as QB? Let Brad Smith lead a Jet's drive. It sounds nuts, but if Mangini is going to take risks - why not?

That last two minute drive would have been perfect - put in Smith.

Maybe it's just that reverse in the pre-season game that really highlighted Smith, but somehow I think that alot of talent is untapped in Smith.

[mr nyjet]

warfish, good thoughts.

but, we need to get somebody with a real, nfl-quality arm in there.

a 21.1 in cleveland and a 42.8 rating today do NOT mean you should be the starter!

there can not be one rule for the rest of the team, but ducky gets a free pass.

sit him on the bench and go with somebody else. nobody else could have been worse today or in cleveland.

[bearsfan1]

great read, if you guys had been playing any other team you would have won big today. thanks for all the great football talk see you guys next time our teams meet.

[PatsFanTX]

Today was a tough game to watch, and was very, very disappointing.

We'll start with the positives:

--The Jets Defense played an excellent top-flight game today, all around. Barring the short field disadvantage after the onsides debacle, and the one big-play letdown of a slipped-and-fell CB on the wrong play (of all plays to fall, don't fall when you have no secondary help).

The scheme was quite good, we made Grossman look very very average, and we kept their running game mostly in check all game long. Yes, their RB went over 100, but that isn't a sign, in this case, of failure. The running game was all Chicago had, and the went to it early and often. In any event, the loss sure isn't on our defense.

--The Jets O-Line and RB's also played very well today, when they had the right plays to run. It was great to see Houston back in action, as this was exactly the kind of game he is best suited for, rough, up-yer-gut north/south running. And he looked very good. Washington had his moments as well, and made some key pass-block pickups (and made them well, all things considered), and I really liked the run blocking of #44. He looked great. O-line, going against one of the best D's going, kept Chad mostly protected, and with enough time to make something happen. Solid outing, and continued development from both of young RB's and young O-line.

Well......that kinda does it with the positives. Special Teams was average today, Miller on KR's was average too. But to be fair, the Bears Special Teams are some of the best in the league, so it's hard to fault them too much, they did what they could and didn't blow anything or make any major screwups (the onsides kick nonwithstanding).

Now, the negatives.......this is going to hurt.

--Coaching. Wasn't great today. The horrible "out on a limb" call of the onsides kick was a killer. It wasn't a game-losing killer, but it was still a very bad idea at the worst possible time. Against a great defense, after going toe-to-toe with them in a Defensive Slugfest all first half, where your team looked better on Offense, you simply do not take this risk. You just don't. Look, I love Mangini so far, and I love how hard he works, how well he and his Co's have been scheming, etc, etc.....but I think he overthought himself on that one and was too smart and too tricky for his own good. That was a horrible call.

Additionally, I believe we failed to exploit a pretty obvious weakness we seem to have found: The running game up the middle. Early in the game we were making very good solid gains going right down the bears throat. But in what may be another case of over-thinking something simple, we just HAD to throw some razzle-dazzle and complexity into the mix, even if it wasn't needed. Sidelines runs and short side-to-side passes were not the answer today vs. a very fast persuit Bears Defense. The power of this Bears team is in running down the ballcarrier, side-to-side pursuit and great tackling ability. When we ran up the middle, those positives were, to a big degree, offset...allowing for some very good gains. When we sideline, either run or pass, it went very badly. And we didn't seem to make the corrections in scheme to exploit what was working, and minimize what wasn't. Again, it may be another case of the staff thinking they were smarter than everyone else and sticking with their plan, even when the other stuff would have been better.

--Chad Pennington. My past feelings on him have been well documented. But I'll be strait up here: I am NOT calling for him to be benched or sat or anything of the sort. Right now, he's still the likely best option, and our season is not yet "dead" playoffs wise.

With that said, he was very very bad today. The hallmarks of the "Classic Chad Pennington" is accuracy, smarts and consistency. He was none of those today. He missed very open receivers, and completely ignored very open reads. He focused on one receiver much more than in the past. He overthrew balls, he underthrew balls, he was rattled in the pocket, threw early a number of times and seemed to react to phantom pressure more than in his past. He was clearly not good today, and the two interceptions were the de facto cause of our defeat today. Neither was anyones fault but Chad. They fall squarely on him. On one he had a wide open Coles in the corner and never looked. On the other, he threw one of those "Why the hell would you throw that??" balls, and gave the Bears an easy INT just outside scoring range for us. These two picks were unforgivable. It's not that Chad played badly vs. a GReat Defense, because he BEars ARE great, it's that the mistakes he made were almost all his fault, not somethign the Defense did to make him err.

Anyone who still clings to the idea that Chad Pennington is the "Chad of Old" need only watch this game on repeat till they understand the truth. He simply isn't. The Chad of old beats these Bears today, likely 21-10 or so. Again, it's been said already, but the Chad of old, weak arm or not, could be relied upon to be three things: Accurate. Consistent. Smart. Today, he showed that even when he was relatively well protected, he could not be any of those things. This was a very disappointing development in the comeback of Chad...and one which bears scrutiny as we continue this season. Chad always had the skills (accuracy, consistency, smarts) to overcome his obvious physical limitations, but if he cannot consistently show these traits game to game, then his future becomes very hard to predict. He's still the right choice right now, but he must rebound from today, and start showing he can be consistent in his smarts and accuracy both from game start to game end, and from game to game. Right now he is a roller coaster of inconsistency.

This, like the Colts game earlier this year, is the kind of painful disappointing letdown only the Jets seem capable of providing. Like the Colts, this was a game the Jets had every right to win, vs. an opponent that is among the elite of this years NFL crop. And our Jets, even with the problems we have right now, went toe-to-toe and played them very very hard. The team and staff still deserve kudos for how far they have brought this team in such a short time. But I hope a few lessons sink in too:

--Don't over think. Sometimes jamming the ball down your opponents throat time and again is the smartest choice.

--Don't think you always have to be tricky and sneaky to win.

--Our running game is getting better every weak. Don't give up on it.

--Watch Chad very closely from here on out. His future can and should be determined not by wins and losses, but by how consistently he shows the accuracy and smarts that made him a good-to-almost-great QB in the past. If he has them, and shows it every week, he has a future. If he remains wildly inconsistent, and worse, wildly inaccurate....the time for change will come sooner rather than later.

Tough game today. We play a Texans team next week that, record aside, does NOT suck. It will be a major test of both this new staff, and the players, to overcome the disappointment of today, and take it to the Texans. Another close nailbiter win (or worse, loss) with inconsistent Chad play is the worst possible thing that could happen. The Jets are a better team that the Texans, and should really take it to them. But right now.......it's hard to see if Chad and Co. can. Remember Cleveland.

So, 5-5, and the rebuilding year keeps rolling. Playoffs are still far from out of the question, but neither is 7-9. Jets need to work on consistency. I know, I've said it half a dozen times already, but that must be the goal, both for Chad, and the rest of the team. We are getting better, and making progress. But that may not be enough for a playoff run in 2006.

Next week is key to seeing how the rest of this season might play out. Go JETS!

Dude,

WTF have you been?

Great read.

[shawn306]

If the Jets are ever going to be successful with Pennington as the QB they HAVE to be able to run the football down teams throats a la teams like the Steelers.

Power football also sets up play action which in mind is what would make Pennington a better QB. Impose your will on the D. Dictate what the D has to do (Play the run) and just physically beat them up.

Let's not forget this is still a work in progress. The fact that they are even contending for playoff spot at this point in my mind is a bonus.

I thought the Jets did a good job in first half of running the football at times. The second half though the Bears were able to shut it down and when you shut down the running game you also shutdown the Jets passing game.

Defensively I thought the Jets were fine today. They still though are going to have to come up with some pass rushers up front so they don't have to sell out with the blitz all the time.

[quietjets]

Oh I am sure that everyone bashed Mangini's gut on onside kick because it was failed... Well, Suck it up!.... Mangini was right to try this out because he had a faith in defense as well as Maynard wont punt football into inside 20 successfully.

Gave up a field goal after unsuccessful onside kick.. Big deal.

Did you notice the series that guided Bears to 3-0 where Barton was doubled locating at outside of RB's track and Vilma was BRUSHED OFF by a SINGLE OL locating right there on RB's track. Thomas ran for easy yards in that play..

Kassell has played better than Barton? My Foot. Kassell, Hobson and Vilma cant beat a damn single OL whilst Barton burned all energy battling 2 bodies.

If I must finger someone for Jets' loss then it would be Pennington. Bears' DB is slightly better than average and LB corp is lethal.. Pennington could not get balls into deep area and made almost all throws into LB zone which was virtually impossible for receivers to run for extra yards.

Pennington looked scary when blitzkerg was underway.. Unbelievable.

Anyway, welcome back, Houston.

[serphnx]

If the Jets are ever going to be successful with Pennington as the QB they HAVE to be able to run the football down teams throats a la teams like the Steelers.

Power football also sets up play action which in mind is what would make Pennington a better QB. Impose your will on the D. Dictate what the D has to do (Play the run) and just physically beat them up.

Let's not forget this is still a work in progress. The fact that they are even contending for playoff spot at this point in my mind is a bonus.

I thought the Jets did a good job in first half of running the football at times. The second half though the Bears were able to shut it down and when you shut down the running game you also shutdown the Jets passing game.

Defensively I thought the Jets were fine today. They still though are going to have to come up with some pass rushers up front so they don't have to sell out with the blitz all the time.

Man, even the Steelers passed to win on their Super Bowl run. How do you expect to ever be a Super Bowl contender if you have a QB that you need to surround with a great O-line, great run game and great Defense to have a chance? Why do we specifically need Pennington for that? Any QB can win with that arrangement, but it's near impossible to build that type of team.

[Barton]

Man, even the Steelers passed to win on their Super Bowl run. How do you expect to ever be a Super Bowl contender if you have a QB that you need to surround with a great O-line, great run game and great Defense to have a chance? Why do we specifically need Pennington for that? Any QB can win with that arrangement, but it's near impossible to build that type of team.

POTW nom. I've been saying this for weeks and weeks.

Get it through your head people, Chad is nothing more than a stopgap game manager with no arm. He has no upside or future.

[mr nyjet]

POTW nom. I've been saying this for weeks and weeks.

Get it through your head people, Chad is nothing more than a stopgap game manager with no arm. He has no upside or future.

welcome to the realist club!

for those who are still drinking the 2002 kool aid, here's a clue:

from today's daily news:

So, what's going on with these veterans getting the clipboards?

"I think the veteran is a pipe dream," one GM said. "They are looking at him at what he was, not what he is. Then, as the season moves on, they wear out. As they erode, your expectations lessen. What happens internally to the team and the organization is there is no hope. Where is the hope? How are we getting better? The only way we are going forward is we want to play the young guy."

woody/tanny/mangini should get over their blind spot when it comes to qb play on the jets!

[#27TheDominator]

Man, even the Steelers passed to win on their Super Bowl run. How do you expect to ever be a Super Bowl contender if you have a QB that you need to surround with a great O-line, great run game and great Defense to have a chance? Why do we specifically need Pennington for that? Any QB can win with that arrangement, but it's near impossible to build that type of team.

Right, but you go with the best guy you have. Improve at every position every offseason. If that leaves you with an awesome team with a Chad level qb so be it. If it leaves you with Peyton Manning and a crap D, so be it. Get the best team and go with it. Something tells me that with all the emphasis on intelligence Mangini would hate seeing rookie mistakes at qb or worse Ramsey mistakes. The pick in the endzone was not good, but the other one was truly stupid and that was the first time I saw Mangini look at Chad like: "Hey you idiot, what are you doing?"

[shawn306]

Man, even the Steelers passed to win on their Super Bowl run. How do you expect to ever be a Super Bowl contender if you have a QB that you need to surround with a great O-line, great run game and great Defense to have a chance? Why do we specifically need Pennington for that? Any QB can win with that arrangement, but it's near impossible to build that type of team.

If Pennington is going to be Mangini's guy then this is the way I think he needs to go.

We all know Pennington has his "issues". He is never going to be the Brett Favre gunslinger that we all want.

If they go with Clemens next year I have no problem with that. If they go with Pennington then the offense needs to be tinkered with. That is all I'm saying. I'm not making excuses for him. He was awful today.

[Lady Jet]

If the Jets are ever going to be successful with Pennington as the QB they HAVE to be able to run the football down teams throats a la teams like the Steelers.

Power football also sets up play action which in mind is what would make Pennington a better QB. Impose your will on the D. Dictate what the D has to do (Play the run) and just physically beat them up.

Let's not forget this is still a work in progress. The fact that they are even contending for playoff spot at this point in my mind is a bonus.

I thought the Jets did a good job in first half of running the football at times. The second half though the Bears were able to shut it down and when you shut down the running game you also shutdown the Jets passing game.

Defensively I thought the Jets were fine today. They still though are going to have to come up with some pass rushers up front so they don't have to sell out with the blitz all the time.

Everybody loves the funny threads, but posts like these also deserve

POTW NOM!

[nek0s]

Bears fan here ... just wanted to say you jets fans have been the best so far this year !

you all have acted classy on our boards and most importanly didn't make excuses !!!

yall would rather talk football then ****

anyway to the OP chicago shut down the run in the 2nd half. still the jet's played a tough game ! your D looked impressive and you didn't make meny mistakes. thats how chicago wins BTW , we waite for a mistake and make it hurt as much a possable !

i don't know what the jet's will do this year but i look forward to meeting you guy's in the play off's next year.

[joewilly]

Bears fan here ... just wanted to say you jets fans have been the best so far this year !

you all have acted classy on our boards and most importanly didn't make excuses !!!

yall would rather talk football then ****

anyway to the OP chicago shut down the run in the 2nd half. still the jet's played a tough game ! your D looked impressive and you didn't make meny mistakes. thats how chicago wins BTW , we waite for a mistake and make it hurt as much a possable !

i don't know what the jet's will do this year but i look forward to meeting you guy's in the play off's next year.

thanks nekos, good team with good fans. thats the bears in a nutshell.

we blinked 1st & forced issues which cost us. we were not patient in the 2nd half