SNY- Victory can not hide Jets' problems

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' victory can't hide Jets' problems

Defense gives up 424 yards of total offense to a bad team

By Dylan Butler SNY.tv

Even though it was a little too close for comfort at the end, the Jets picked up their first win of the year, holding off the rival Dolphins for a 31-28 win Sunday at the Meadowlands.

When breaking down the team's performance, that's the biggest positive. Although the coaching staff and players won't admit it, 1-2 is a huge difference from 0-3 in the NFL. It is basically what is separating teams still vying for the playoffs and those teams that are slowly fading away.

And really, when you look at the way things have played out in the AFC East, it's pretty much according to script with the Pats head and shoulders ahead in first, the Jets alone in second and the Bills and Dolphins in a battle for the basement.

Suddenly, things don't seem so desperate in Jets Nation. A win this week over the hapless Bills will bring them back to .500 as they prepare to face the Giants at the Meadowlands in Week 5.

But let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Back to the Miami game.

The Good

Chad Pennington: How he would respond from the high ankle sprain that kept him on the sideline against the Ravens would be a question. And it's clear that Pennington is still not 100 percent. But Pennington delivered an emotional, gutty performance in leading the Jets to victory.

He was 15-of-22 for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns -- a 3-yard lob to Laveranues Coles in the first quarter and a perfectly thrown ball to Chris Baker for a 4-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first half.

His longest pass of the game was a 23-yarder to Coles late in the third quarter in a 15-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Pennington, gimpy ankle and all.

The Jets were also 8-of-13 in third down conversions, which is also a credit to Pennington. And there were other things he did well, intangibles noticed by Eric Mangini.

"He was able to draw them offside three different times," the Jets coach said. "The play on third-and-2 where he ran up to the line of scrimmage and was able to snap the ball when they had 12 men on the field. That's a first down without running a play. The awareness of how many guys are on the field. You can't ask for a better play than that, where you run up, snap it, catch them, and you have a first down in the red zone."

Thomas Jones: After a running back-by-committee situation last year, the Jets traded for Jones in hopes of finding their feature back. And after working on getting in sync with the offensive line in the first two games, Jones had a breakout performance against the Dolphins.

He rushed for 110 yards on 25 carries, including 92 yards in the second half as he punished the Miami defense, in particular Travis Daniels, who he dropped with a series of stiff arms.

"You start to get a feel for the game and how the defense is playing and you are able to instinctively do some more things," Jones said. "That is what I was feeling in the second half. It felt good to have some success running the ball."

Chris Baker: Can this guy finally make a touchdown catch without a lengthy review? After getting robbed in Cleveland last year for what should have been the game-winning score, Baker is 2-for-2 in reviews this season.

The tight end has proven he can be a reliable threat in the passing game, which helps Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, who receive the lion's share of the attention by the secondary. He's got great feet, soft hands and can make the big play. His touchdown catch at the end of the first half was probably the biggest play of the game for the Jets.

"There's been some difficult balls that he's come down with, and that comes back to concentration and really how well you're able to run the route and how well you are able to separate from the defender," Mangini said. "He continues to improve there."

And it was more than just his second touchdown reception of the season. He did a great job blocking, helping Thomas Jones rush for over 100 yards for the first time as a Jet. Baker also delivered a key block in Leon Washington's 98-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.

"I've liked the things that Chris has done," Mangini said. "We've talk a lot about his approach to the offseason. He's done some nice things when he's had the opportunity in the passing game. He's does some really good things with the running game and Thomas Jones' production yesterday, that all ties into the offensive line."

Offensive Line: The group rebounded from a shaky start and protected Pennington well, blocked for Jones and negated reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor.

Particularly, D'Brickashaw Ferguson bounced back from two forgettable games to play well against the Fins. Although, Mangini said defending Taylor was a shared responsibility.

"There were a lot of people involved in that process," Mangini said of keeping Jason Taylor quiet. "When Brick did have opportunities to block him on his own, I thought that he did a nice job. Brick has improved steadily and he continues to work on the areas that he has identified he needs improvement in and we've identified that he needs improvement in. He's done some really good things."

Leon Washington: The Jets have struggled on special teams, giving up big plays and not really getting any of their own -- until Sunday. Washington's explosiveness was on full display in the second quarter when he scampered 98 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Justin Miller went to the Pro Bowl last year for his ability to break off the big return, but he's on the injured reserve. That's what made Washington's run back so important.

"What I really like about Leon is his toughness, his inherent toughness," Mangini said. "Early on last year, rookie minicamp and the OTAs, I was relentless with him because the ball was on the ground and there were things he wasn't picking up. He just kept plugging away at it and he got better and better at those things."

The Bad

Defensive Line, Linebackers and Secondary: I'm sorry, while it's great that the Jets finally recorded a sack (Shaun Ellis) and an interception (Kerry Rhodes), they still gave up 424 yards of total offense to a bad Miami team with a terrible offensive line.

As was the case for most of last season, the Jets failed to stop the run, allowing Ronnie Brown to rush for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. Trent Green absolutely picked apart the Jets defense with screen pass after screen pass, to the likes of Chris Chambers, Brown and Marty Booker.

"It's more of everybody trying to get to the ball," David Barrett said. "We need to get more guys running to the ball to make tackles."

And the Jets nearly blew a 31-12 fourth-quarter lead by allowing the Dolphins to score a pair of Brown touchdowns, the second on a 22-yard screen pass. Miami scored on five of its final six possessions.

Back-to-back penalties when Miami was in the red zone -- the first was a questionable illegal use of hands call on Darrelle Revis and the second was a pass interference on Erik Coleman -- allowed Brown to score on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter.

"Whenever you are in a situation where you are 0-2 and you are trying to get off the snide it is always tough," Rhodes said. "The first win is always the toughest one and we got it now, so we have something to build on."

Dylan Butler is a regular contributor to SNY.tv

[lancemehl]

Jets' victory can't hide Jets' problems

Defense gives up 424 yards of total offense to a bad team

By Dylan Butler SNY.tv

The Jets were also 8-of-13 in third down conversions, which is also a credit to Pennington.

More than just a credit, Dylan, it's what he does.

[lancemehl]

Jets' victory can't hide Jets' problems

Defense gives up 424 yards of total offense to a bad team

By Dylan Butler SNY.tv

"He was able to draw them offside three different times," the Jets coach said. "The play on third-and-2 where he ran up to the line of scrimmage and was able to snap the ball when they had 12 men on the field. That's a first down without running a play. The awareness of how many guys are on the field. You can't ask for a better play than that, where you run up, snap it, catch them, and you have a first down in the red zone."

Dylan Butler, is it? That's what he does.