SNY- Jets answers provide zero clues

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' answers provide zero clues

Pennington might or might not play next week. Who knows?

By Dylan Butler / SNY.tv

There were a lot of bad things on the turf at the Meadowlands Sunday afternoon -- the offensive line, the defensive line, the defensive secondary, the rushing game and the special teams. When you get beat "in all three phases," as Chad Pennington put it, there's a lot to complain about.

And when you pay good money to sit in the stands, there's a lot of frustration that comes with a 38-14 loss, especially to the arch-rival New England Patriots, especially on the opening day of the season.

But to direct that ire toward Pennington, who has been the heart and soul of the Jets for the past five seasons, is not only misguided, it is downright moronic.

This is not directed at all Jets fans, just at the idiots who gave a Bronx cheer when Pennington hobbled off the field and was replaced by backup Kellen Clemens after Pennington's right ankle was twisted like a pretzel following a third-quarter sack.

Jets fans, I ask you this: Do you think your team has a better chance at returning to the playoffs with Clemens under center? Did you forget everything Pennington has done for the Jets? How close he brought your team to the Super Bowl?

The Jets, of course, took the high road when the subject was brought up, both after the game and on Monday at Weeb Ewbank Hall. And they remained as secretive the day after as they were the hour that followed the game as to the extent of Pennington's injury.

"We'll review it during the course of the week like we do with every injury situation," Eric Mangini said Monday. "This is the same process for everybody that's injured."

Get used to that answer, because it will not change. While Pennington had an MRI Monday, the Jets are not required to list his status until Wednesday's injury report and, although there has been improvements, there is still incredible leeway when it comes to those reports.

For example, Pennington could throw two passes through a tire while sitting in a lounge chair and would still be listed as having limited participation in that day's practice. And since all but the initial stretching and warm-ups are closed to the media, it will be virtually impossible to know if Pennington will be able to play against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday.

If he can't play, then it's Clemens who will take the snaps, just like some of those fickle fans want.

Since you need to find a goat in such an embarrassing loss, I will help you, Jets fans, because there's plenty of blame to go around.

How about we start with the offensive line, who are the ones really responsible for Pennington's high ankle sprain.

Pennington was sacked four times, Clemens was sacked once. Remarkably, despite being under constant pressure, Pennington still completed 16-of-21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Jarvis Green blew past D'Brickashaw Ferguson on the play that resulted in Pennington's injury and had back-to-back penalties late in the first half -- the first was denied.

Adrien Clarke, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Anthony Clement were all also responsible for at least one sack. Because of the porous offensive line, I'd give Thomas Jones a pass after he rushed for 42 yards on 14 carries in his Jets debut.

While the Jets quarterbacks had to think quickly all game, Tom Brady had so much time to complete a pass, he could have ordered a cappuccino and taken a power nap in the pocket before a Jets player came near him. Often, the Jets opted to rush with just three linemen, allowing Brady to pick apart the defensive secondary and make Randy Moss (nine catches for 183 yards, one touchdown) look like the greatest receiver in the history of football. He's up there, but he's not that good anymore.

It's strange that the Jets didn't try to blitz Brady more, since that was a major reason they went to Gillette Stadium and returned with a victory last year. In that game, the Jets blitzed liberally and Brady was very uncomfortable in the pocket. The result was four sacks and one huge interception in a 17-14 win, the first for the Jets in Foxboro since 2002.

Yes, I know the Patriots have upgraded their receiving corps and Moss and Wes Welker are a lot more dangerous than Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney, but that's no reason to scrap the idea of pressuring the quarterback.

There's plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the defensive secondary, too. David Barrett had probably his worst game in his four years with the Jets. He should have had Welker wrapped up, but the receiver spun inside to avoid the tackle and scored on an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

He also got beat for a 21-yard pass from Brady to Moss on a 9-play, 73-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass from Brady to Benjamin Watson to end the first half and was part of the zone defense (joined by Drew Coleman and Jonathan Vilma) who got torched for Moss' 51-yard touchdown grab.

Moss also got the best of Justin Miller for 18 yards and 33 yards and Miller was promptly yanked from the game late in the second quarter, although Mangini hinted it had more to do with a possible re-aggrevation of a hamstring injury that limited him during the preseason.

The only one who didn't get beat badly by Brady and Moss was rookie Darrelle Revis, who played well in his debut. He was second on the Jets, behind Kenyon Coleman, with seven tackles.

And then there's the special teams. Oh, the special teams. This was one of the Jets strongest suits a year ago, which is what made the record-breaking 108-yard kickoff return by Ellis Hobbs to open the second half even more shocking.

It was that play that took all the energy out of the Meadowlands and turned the attention of some shallow fans toward Pennington.

Justin McCareins and Brad Smith both had chances to tackle Hobbs inside the 20, but took bad angles. David Bowens completely missed a tackle at about the 20, which is what opened up a lane for Hobbs.

Mangini also deserves his share of the blame here. Perhaps the mercurial Mangini thought too much here. He didn't go back to what worked against Brady a year ago and the Jets didn't disguise their blitzes well enough.

Offensively, Mangini went the conservative route early by not going for it on 4th and 1 from the New England 46 on the Jets first drive, yet put Pennington in danger by calling for a quarterback sneak when Pennington bravely returned to the game with a heavily wrapped right ankle.

Dylan Butler is a regular contributor to SNY.tv.

[Sperm Edwards]

Blah blah blah. Jets sucked Sunday & everyone should be on their knees worshiping St. Pennington, who hath been paid over $35M for completing one NFL season.

Yawn.

[JetCane]

Adrien Clarke, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Anthony Clement were all also responsible for at least one sack. Because of the porous offensive line, I'd give Thomas Jones a pass after he rushed for 42 yards on 14 carries in his Jets debut.

Green blew past D'Brickashaw Ferguson on the play that resulted in Pennington's injury and he had back-to-back penalties late in the first half -- the first was denied.

--

If they dont block anyone it wont matter who is playing RB and QB.

[#27TheDominator]

Blah blah blah. Jets sucked Sunday & everyone should be on their knees worshiping St. Pennington, who hath been paid over $35M for completing one NFL season.

Yawn.

You are one bitter mofo. I don't see where it says we should worship Pennington. Even if you think he sucked Sunday, he sucked far less than every other facet of the team.

[Sperm Edwards]

You are one bitter mofo. I don't see where it says we should worship Pennington. Even if you think he sucked Sunday, he sucked far less than every other facet of the team.

I have TPS.