Jets News Articles-12/10 Grading the Jets

[Kentucky Jet]

GRADING THE JETS

By Tom Rock

December 10, 2007

OFFENSE

D

The Jets managed only one touchdown against a team that had been allowing the most points in the NFL. They managed only six points in the first 57 minutes. Thomas Jones ran for 106 yards on 24 carries, but after finding the end zone for the first time last week he was once again kept outside the velvet rope. Twice he came within inches of scoring, only to be pushed back. Kellen Clemens threw two interceptions, including one on third-and-goal from the 2, and missed several of his receivers badly with short hops and overthrows. The Jets were 1-for-4 in the red zone and 2-for-12 on third downs.

DEFENSE

B

They managed to at least keep the team in the game until the final crazy ending. The Browns had scored 24 or fewer points only three other times this season, and they probably would have been held to 17 under "normal" end-of-game play. The combination of Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards was too much for Darrelle Revis to handle alone, as he was beaten several times in single coverage. Jamal Lewis ran for 118 yards, adding his name to the long century list against the Jets. Thirty-one of those yards came on the game-sealing touchdown run. Kerry Rhodes had his career-high fifth interception and also forced a fumble.

SPECIAL TEAMS

C

Lots of ups and downs from this unit, from Leon Washington's fumbles on kickoff returns, to a successful onsides kick, to two failed ones. Mike Nugent kicked four field goals and has nailed 14 straight. They executed the first onsides kick to perfection, but then faltered. Ben Graham, who struggled in Miami, punted well and nearly pinned two inside the 5. Wallace Wright had two tackles on Joshua Cribbs, limiting him to 7 yards on two punt returns. The Pro Bowl showdown between Cribbs and Washington turned out to be more of a wash, although Washington did have an elusive 33-yard punt return, matching his longest of the season.

COACHING

D

All the maneuvering at the end was just slight of hand to cover up the Jets problems: they're making chess moves with a team of pawns. They are still not executing, and while the players must take the brunt of that responsibility, some needs to go on the coaches. Eric Mangini gambled too often on the onsides kicks, and if he wanted to rely on his defense to get the ball back after it was 17-15, then he should have tried to pin the Browns deep. The delay of game penalty early on fourth-and-inches on the second possession of the game came across as desperate instead of aggressive, which the Jets can afford to be with the season gone kaput.

[Kentucky Jet]

TIME TO HURRY UP, LET CLEMENS SHINE

December 10, 2007 -- AFTER Kellen Clemens, no-huddle wizard, had taken the Jets 69 yards in nine plays in 2:28 in the driving rain to cut the Cleveland lead to 17-12, and after Brad Kassell had made a remarkable dive to recover an onside kick, it came down to Eric Mangini deciding to put his faith in another onside kick instead of his kid quarterback.

Of course, after sending in Mike Nugent, on fourth-and-10 at the Cleveland 20, to successfully cut the lead to two, a third option would have been to send the kickoff deep and rely on the Jets, who had three timeouts remaining, to get another stop.

Mangini went instead for the onside kick, which was grabbed by the Browns' Joe Jurevicius three plays before four Jets grabbed weakly at Jamal Lewis. The Browns back broke a 31-yard touchdown run that effectively put the game away, one more Nugent field goal and onside kick attempt notwithstanding.

Off a short field, instead of a long field, the Browns escaped, 24-18, because the Jets couldn't tackle when it counted. Also because as much space as was left for second guessing, Browns linebacker Leon Williams gave Chris Baker nowhere near that room on the failed two-point conversion that would have made it 17-14 and conceivably given Nugent a chance to tie the game.

Of all of Mangini's and Brian Schottenheimer's calls, that was the one with which we had the problem: That fade to Baker that the Browns and a lot more persons than the drenched remaining 3,000 - destined to eventually be 300,000 if the Jets had pulled off a miracle - knew was coming.

"It was a matchup we liked," said Clemens - no kidding because the Jets use it to death. "The ball could have been placed better."

For most of three hours, Clemens could have placed more balls better. He went behind, high, low, and away against the NFL's worst statistical defense, having as bleak a December day as ever suffered by a next Jets starting quarterback at the end of a lost season. Then the Jets went to the no-huddle and Clemens became Jim Kelly again, like against Baltimore, Washington, and Pittsburgh.

Of course, the Browns, who had sacked Clemens four times, were playing soft, largely in situations when the Jets needed two scores. But Clemens' accuracy improved startlingly, raising the question: Why aren't the Jets in any hurry to more often use the hurry?

"We do mix some of that in the course of the game," said Mangini. "It's always a consideration, but there are other things we like and think can be successful."

They need to think more about using things that are working, particularly for a quarterback with six games experience.

Of course Clemens, being a team guy and not wanting to be called out in a meeting by Mangini, wouldn't publicly volunteer to operate more often out of the no-huddle.

"That's up to the coaches," he said. "We just try to execute best we can."

But despite respectable final numbers (24-for-41, 286 yards) that execution yesterday was weak, particularly during third downs (the Jets were two-for-12) and on two interceptions. One came on a fourth-quarter underthrow of Wallace Wright along the sideline, the other a result of tying to squeeze one low and away to Jerricho Cotchery into end-zone coverage, ruining a golden second-quarter opportunity set up by a Kerry Rhodes interception.

"I tried to put it low where only (Cotchery) could get it," said Clemens. "I didn't see the safety, a costly error on my part."

The rest of this season is devoted to inevitable errors on Clemens' part, otherwise Chad Pennington would be the quarterback and the Jets still would be trying to get to the playoffs.

Four years into the Giants' Eli Manning, there remains great debate about his eventual accuracy, so six games is not much of sample. Clemens' strength is obvious, though, so wouldn't it help him if were used more often?

jay.greenberg@nypost.com

[Kentucky Jet]

Washington and Cribbs have not-so-special days

BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com

December 10, 2007

How did the showdown between special-teams stars Leon Washington and Joshua Cribbs play out?

Each saw his kickoff return average slip a bit; Cribbs currently holds the lead with 30.98 to Washington's 28.54. Washington did have a nice 33-yard punt return in which he started out to his right, slipped out of a jam and found the left sideline. But he also mishandled a pair of kickoffs. Neither punched a no-brainer ticket to Hawaii. Players and coaches vote this week, and those who simply look to the top of the stat sheet for returner will have to vote Cribbs.

How did the weather affect the game?

The rain started to fall in the fourth quarter, but rather than douse the Jets' hopes, it seemed to spur them on. Kellen Clemens had played Derek Anderson twice before when they attended college at Oregon and Oregon State, respectively. And everyone knows Ducks like rain.

Kerry Rhodes put some licks on the Browns' receivers.

Yeah, and he took one, too. After whacking Cribbs on an 18-yard catch over the middle, he stood up a bit lopsided and headed to the sideline. "I was a little dazed," he said, "but I'm fine." He returned later in the drive.

Has Rhodes been playing well lately?

He sure has. It was his fourth straight game with an interception, making him the first Jet since Otis Smith in 1995 to do so. He's also set a career high, eclipsing his mark of four interceptions last year. He's become a master at cat-and-mousing quarterbacks into making throws and then picking them off with aggressive plays, something he did when he cut in front of Kellen Winslow for his interception yesterday.

Why did Darrelle Revis struggle against Braylon Edwards?

Well, it was a 6-3 receiver against a 5-11 corner, for one thing. Another was that Anderson was able to place the ball in his three passes to Edwards, including the 4-yard touchdown pass that Edwards seemed to pick off the shoulder of Revis. "I played as well as I could against him, tight coverage. The quarterback just put the ball in places that were tough for me to get to to make a play on," Revis said. "It wasn't a positive game for me."

Did the defense look a little different at the start?

Sione Pouha and C.J. Mosley made their first starts of the season, replacing Dewayne Robertson and Shaun Ellis at NT and DE. The addition didn't help the pass rush much. For the first time since Week 5, the Jets were without a sack.

SECOND GUESS

Kicking the field goal to make it 17-15 with 1:43 remaining and relying on the defense to stop Cleveland was a gamble worth taking. But the Jets then should have kicked it deep and not tried for a second straight onside kick recovery.

UNSUNG HERO

Wallace Wright

The special-teamer downed a punt at the 2 and made two nice tackles on dangerous return man Joshua Cribbs. On the first one, Wright waited patiently for Cribbs to catch the ball before wrapping him up for no gain.

[Kentucky Jet]

Trickery fails for Mangini and desperate Jets

Joe Gergen

December 10, 2007

The advisory is right there on the last page of the National Football League coaches' manual: When in doubt, scheme.

Under the hood protecting Eric Mangini's head from the rain that began at the onset of the fourth quarter, his mind was racing with possibilities. That's what happens when the available talent doesn't encourage orthodox strategy, when a leader is encouraged to mask deficiencies with semi-desperate ploys. Credit the coach with inspiring three of the strangest minutes in the Jets' long, debilitating season even if it didn't prevent another defeat.

Demonstrating more faith in his placekicker's foot than his quarterback's arm, Mangini orchestrated a late scenario in which Mike Nugent converted two field-goal opportunities and attempted three onside kicks. Then again, Kellen Clemens threw two interceptions, including a critical one from the Cleveland 2-yard line, in another performance that elicited questions about his immediate future. The result was a 24-18 loss to the Browns that dropped the team's record to 3-10.

Joe Gergen E-mail | Recent columns

"Whether we're up 30 or down 30, I'm ready," said Nugent, who kicked four field goals for the second consecutive game and three onside kicks for the first time in his life. "We try all kinds of crazy situations in practice, especially in training camp."

The late sleight of foot provided an entertaining finish to a humdrum game even if the vast majority of fans in half-filled Giants Stadium had been driven to their cars by the combination of disappointing offense and foul weather. Three minutes and two seconds remained when Clemens scored the lone Jets' touchdown on the Browns' suspect defense from the 1-yard line. An attempted two-point conversion pass from Clemens to Chris Baker failed, leaving the deficit at 17-12.

Nugent then attempted onside kick No. 1, a maneuver that starting linebacker Brad Kassell recovered for the Jets at their 43-yard line.

In a startling three plays, the Jets advanced to the Cleveland 20. But Thomas Jones was stuffed for no gain on first down and Clemens threw incomplete to Jerricho Cotchery and Leon Washington. With 1:48 left and the team still in possession of all three timeouts, Mancini elected not to go for broke on fourth down. Instead, Nugent was on line from 38 yards and the Browns' lead was reduced to 17-15.

Instead of kicking the ball deep, Mancini opted for a second onside kick and this one backfired, landing in the lap of Joe Jurevicius, who returned it to the Jets' 37. Jamal Lewis carried on three consecutive plays for the Browns and the third resulted in a 31-yard touchdown. But a long pass by Clemens to Cotchery repositioned the Jets in scoring territory and the coach opted for a field goal on first down at the Cleveland 17 with 37 seconds left.

"We were down by two scores," Mangini said, "so it was really a function of time more than anything else. Going down and being able to hit the field goal right there gave us a shot with 30 seconds to go."

The Browns didn't even bother with a deep receiver on the ensuing kickoff. Rather than a short pop, Nugent was instructed to bang a line drive off the nearest opponent. But the kick passed through the Cleveland contingent unimpeded and eventually bounced out of bounds. He got another try because a Brown was offsides, and his third onside attempt into a pile was unsuccessful. Cleveland ended the game by taking a knee in Jets' territory.

More disturbing than the defeat was the team's offensive woes.

Clemens has thrown nine interceptions against four TD passes. He entered the game with a meager passer rating of 61.5 and achieved a 59.6 yesterday against the league's lowest-ranked defense. Mangini wouldn't commit to the second-year player for next week's game against the unbeaten Patriots, but he didn't profess any great concern, either. Instead, he made his standard response of playing whoever gave the team its best chance to win.

Rest assured, he'll have to scheme harder than ever this week in preparation for mentor Bill Belichick. Mangini did his best yesterday as former colleague Romeo Crennel knew he would.

"I wasn't surprised by it," the Browns' coach said, "and I thought it was smart on Eric's part."

[Irish Jet]

I forgot all about that fade on the 2pt Conv. That was a frickin terrible desicion. Way too many other options available in that scenario. I'd have called a QB draw.

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets get no lift out of kicks

BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com

December 10, 2007

Mike Nugent shook his head in disbelief.

"I've never played in or watched a game where there were so many onsides kicks," he said.

In fact, there were three in the final 2:58, providing a dizzying end to what had been a rather dull game between the Jets and Browns. The first try worked for the Jets. The second went straight to the Browns. The third wound up in a scrum, at the bottom of which Joe Jurevicius managed to squeeze it and the Browns' playoff hopes.

Gamesmanship was on display in the final minutes of yesterday's 24-18 loss to the Browns, but ultimately the loss was about the Jets being unable to score enough points against a bottom-ranked defense like Cleveland's. The opportunities on those short kickoffs paled in comparison to earlier ones in which the Jets found themselves at the 1-yard line and couldn't produce any points, or could do nothing but take a delay-of- game penalty on fourth-and-inches when their best play seemed to be an attempt to draw the defense offside.

"We came in expecting to put up points," Jets tight end Chris Baker said. "We kind of put everything together last week and we wanted to build on that."

Last week the Jets scored 40 against the Dolphins. This week, facing a team that is fighting for an AFC wild-card ticket, the Jets (3-10) came up short. Or, in the case of Nugent's second onside kick attempt, long by about three yards.

That was the difference on the play, Nugent said. He should have dropped it in at 12 yards and instead it went 15. Seems like a shade, but in a 3-10 season, there are a lot of shades to look at, most of them gray.

When the Jets' defense swept the Browns (8-5) off the field in three plays that took a total of 63 seconds off the clock, there was a shocking glimmer of hope for the hopeless Jets, trailing 17-6 at the time with 5:27 remaining. Playing offense with urgency, they marched 69 yards on nine plays in 2:28 to score on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Kellen Clemens to close within five points. A two-point pass from Clemens to Baker was incomplete, setting up the skewed point differential that led to the late-game decision-making.

First, Brad Kassell recovered an onside kick that was tipped by Brad Smith, who dived over Browns defenders to keep the ball alive. The Jets drove to the Browns' 20, but on fourth-and-10, instead of going for a touchdown or a first down, Eric Mangini had Nugent kick a 38-yarder that made it 17-15 with 1:43 remaining.

Because the Jets had all three of their timeouts remaining, it seemed like a good decision. Even after the Jets tried another onside kick, their second in a row, the one that went three yards too far, it almost worked. The Jets stopped the forced-to-run-the-ball Browns on first and second down, using their timeouts to keep the clock from moving too quickly. But on third-and-4, Jamal Lewis broke through the line, spun out of a few more tackles and eventually landed in the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown.

"Once he broke it, it was over anyway," safety Kerry Rhodes said of the meaningless missed tackles at the end of the run. "I tried to rip the ball out, almost got it out."

The touchdown made it 24-15, but the Jets weren't through yet. They drove to the Cleveland 17 on a 32-yard pass from Clemens to Jerricho Cotchery and, on first-and-10, had Nugent kick his fourth field goal. "We were down by two scores, so it was really a function of time more than anything else," Mangini said of that decision.

The Jets then tried their final onside kick attempt, this one with 32 seconds remaining. When the Browns recovered it, the game essentially was over.

Had the Jets been able to pull it out, it would have been shocking, especially considering how poorly they had played until those final hectic attempts. They were 2-for-12 on third downs and 1-for-4 in the red zone.

"It's crazy," Cotchery said. "Situational football. We weren't good on third downs, we weren't good in the red zone. We were playing a team like the Browns that is going to score points, and we didn't do that."

Sunday

Jets at New England

1 p.m.

TV: Ch. 2

Radio: WEPN (1050), WABC (770), WRCN (103.9)

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[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' next opponent is unbeaten Patriots

BY TOM ROCK | tom.rock@newsday.com

December 10, 2007

Kerry Rhodes was asked about the Jets' next opponent.

"Who do we play next?" he asked with such a convincing straight face that it was met by stunned silence before he cracked his own grin. For a second, Rhodes seemed to be the only person even remotely involved with the organization - from fandom to front office - not aware that Sunday's game will be in Foxborough against the Patriots.

This will be the first meeting between the teams since the opener, a game that launched both a New England winning streak and a cloud of speculation from the spying controversy that continues to this day.

The season has not gone according to the hopes of the Jets, but they have a chance to at least disrupt the ambitions of the team that has haunted them for most of the last decade. It's a small chance - microscopic - but a chance nonetheless.

"It's going to be a chance to play the best team in the league, a chance to go up there and do something special," Jets tight end Chris Baker said. "It could be something that we can hang our hat on if we can go up there and pull off an upset. That makes it more interesting."

Not that anyone expects such a shocking result. Rhodes pointed out that ESPN has a new category on its bottom-line ticker, keeping track of the Pats as if they were a sport unto themselves. Linebacker David Bowens noted that any time someone lists opponents who possibly could beat the Pats, the Jets are never mentioned.

"Our pride is on the line," Bowens said. "Damn the records."

The Jets weren't foolish enough to guarantee a win over the Patriots, a move that did not pay dividends for the Steelers yesterday. At 3-10, would such a proclamation be taken seriously anyway? But they can guarantee one thing: It will get messy up north if the Jets play as poorly as they did against the Browns.

The early line out of Las Vegas last night had the Patriots as 25-point favorites.

"We'll just come out and try to play hard," Rhodes said. "Hopefully, we can do something and not get beat bad."

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets' Coles, Cotchers battle pain to play

BY KATIE STRANG | caitlin.strang@newsday.com

December 10, 2007

Wide receivers Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles overcame injuries to give the Jets a chance yesterday against the Browns. They totaled 13 receptions, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory.

Cotchery, who broke his right index finger during practice two weeks ago and underwent surgery, was listed as doubtful before the 24-18 loss to the Browns but had six receptions for 119 yards. Coles, who suffered a high left ankle sprain against Pittsburgh on Nov. 18, missed the game in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day and played in pain against Miami last week. Yesterday he had seven catches for 48 yards.

"I thought both of those guys had gutsy performances," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "Coles, dealing with the injury he's been dealing with, and Jerricho, dealing with an injury to his hand, and to be able to come out and get over 100 yards, that is pretty good."

On the Jets' first drive, Cotchery quickly proved his resolve. On the second play from scrimmage, he made a 12-yard reception. On the next play, Cotchery caught a short pass from Kellen Clemens and turned it into a 22-yard gain.

Cotchery wore a latex glove over his right hand and a special cast to protect his injured finger. He said he wasn't the only Jet playing hurt.

"A lot of people on the team are playing through pain. A lot of people are banged up right now, but I was just trying to fight through it," he said.

Coles, who was forced out of the game a number of times because of the sore ankle, said, "It's tough. I feel bad that I can't just stay out there the whole time ... I am testing myself. I am pushing myself to the limit. I am going to try it again next week."

Late in the third quarter, Coles provided a spark, picking up a first down on a fourth-and-8 situation from the Browns' 34-yard line. He grabbed a short pass from Clemens on the right side, then scooted down the sideline for 9 yards, stiff-arming a defender and leaping for the first down. That kept the drive alive and helped set up Mike Nugent's 41-yard field goal, which pulled the Jets to within 14-6 with 2:50 to play in the quarter.

Coles, who earned a reputation for toughness by starting 104 consecutive games before suffering a concussion against Buffalo in October, returned on the next drive and pulled in three passes for 17 yards before Clemens was intercepted by cornerback Brandon McDonald at the Jets' 31 with 10:07 to play.

After the game, Cotchery dismissed any concern about risking further injury to his hand and explained why he and Coles pushed themselves to play.

"We love our teammates, and if we feel like we can help our teammates, we're going to go out there and give it our all," Cotchery said. "We're not just going to sit around just because we have a losing record. If we feel like we can help the team, we're definitely going to try to do it."

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets run out of chances against Browns

By BRIAN HEYMAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: December 10, 2007)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Recovering one onside kick is a fluke. Recovering two is like winning Lotto. And recovering three in one game? Vegas shouldn't even bother calculating the odds.

But the coach formerly known as "Mangenius" kept rolling the dice late in the fourth quarter, trying to somehow pull off a miracle Jets comeback. But like so much in this lost season, it didn't quite work out for Eric Mangini.

The sleet was falling from the black sky early last night, and there were maybe a few thousand fans left in the Meadowlands stands that were maybe half full at the beginning. The clock finally struck 0:00, and the scoreboard read: Browns 24, Jets 18.

The Jets tried hard as usual, only to fall hard in the end, leaving Cleveland sitting in wild-card territory at 8-5 and the Jets a 3-10 mess.

"A team in our situation ... a lot of teams would probably fold up and just give up," wide receiver Laveranues Coles said. "But that says a lot for the guys to keep playing the way we did."

Kellen Clemens and the offense didn't start making plays until 5:27 remained in the game. The Jets were in a 17-6 hole despite facing the worst-ranked defense in the NFL.

It didn't help that Clemens had one of his two interceptions come in the end zone - Sean Jones grabbed a low throw for Jerricho Cotchery just inside the goal line early in the second quarter - after Kerry Rhodes set the Jets up at the 12 in a scoreless game by picking off a pass for the fourth straight game.

"If we had taken advantage of the opportunities at the beginning of the game, we're not in that position at the end," said Jets running back Thomas Jones, after rushing 24 times for 106 yards.

So now they had to use the no-huddle, and the inexperienced Clemens seems to be better at that than when he took his time. He drove the Jets 69 yards in nine plays, capped by his 1-yard sneak. But his 2-point pass to Chris Baker in the left side of the end zone fell incomplete, so it was 17-12.

Time for Nugent to try onside kick No. 1. And Brad Kassell recovered for the Jets at their 43.

The Jets drove down to the 20. It was fourth-and-10, 1:48 left. They needed six. Mangini decided to go for three, and Nugent hit it through from 38 yards.

What was Mangini thinking? He could have kicked to try to pin the Browns deep, but he was gambling on another onside kick and his three timeouts.

"I thought it was pretty well executed the first time, and I liked our chances for getting it," Mangini said.

He thought wrong. Joe Jurevicius recovered at the Jets 46 and got it down to the 37. The Jets used two timeouts, so it was third-and-four. Jamal Lewis burst through the middle on the final carry of his 118-yard day and broke several tackles on the way to a 31-yard touchdown, and it was 24-15 with 1:22 left.

Then Clemens, who wound up 24 of 41 for 286 yards, completed three passes to get the Jets to the 17 with 37 ticks showing on the clock. Mangini decided to have Nugent kick right there on first down and then try to recover a third onside kick. Nugent drilled a 35-yarder, making him 4 for 4 and 14 of his last 14 and making it a six-point game.

"We were down by two scores, so it was really a function of time more than anything else," Mangini said.

With the Browns expecting the onside kick, Nugent bounced the ball down the field, hoping it would hit off someone in the wet conditions. But it went out of bounds at the 3. Cleveland, though, was offside. Do over.

So Nugent tried a short onside kick, but Jurevicius jumped on it at the Jets 42, and that was it.

"I've never played in or watched game where you had to kick so many onside kicks," Nugent said. "It's rare to get one onside kick let alone get two. But as long as I can give the guys a good ball, it turns it into a 50-50 chance."

Derek Anderson, Clemens' old friend and rival from their high school and college days in Oregon, threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Lewis for a 7-0 lead in the second quarter and a 4-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards despite tight coverage by Darrelle Revis for a 14-3 lead on the first drive of the third quarter.

"We just kept plugging away at it like we always do, and we got a rhythm going in the second half," Anderson said.

Now the Jets get a road date on Sunday with coach Bill Belichick's 13-0 Patriots, the team they turned in for the Spygate scandal in the opening 38-14 loss.

"Obviously, New England is the best team in the league with what they have done to this point," Clemens said. "They are very talented across the board. We will give it our best shot to try and get a win."

Reach Brian Heyman at bheyman@lohud.com.

[Kentucky Jet]

Youth Movement Falters in Jets' Loss to Browns

Football

By MICHAEL DAVID SMITH

December 10, 2007

If the final few weeks of this disappointing Jets season are mostly about the development of their young players, yesterday's loss represented a step backward.

The most important of those young players, quarterback Kellen Clemens, briefly helped the Jets make the game interesting during a strange final few minutes, although hardly anyone stuck around to see the ending on a rainy day at the Meadowlands. But the Jets' 24

[Kentucky Jet]

Jets-Browns game recap

Monday, December 10, 2007

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

THE RED ZONE

The Jets struggled to score a touchdown for the entire game, entering the end zone just once, with 2:59 remaining. Their red-zone efficiency was 1-for-4, compared with Cleveland's 2-for-2.

THIRD DOWNS

The Jets converted just two of their 12 third downs, hampering their ability to move the ball. When they scored 40 points against Miami last week, they converted 10 of 18 attempts. Cleveland, meanwhile, converted 61 percent of their third downs yesterday.

CLEMENS?

Kellen Clemens' shaky performance, especially against the league-worst Browns defense, didn't make him look like the franchise's answer at quarterback. He threw no touchdown passes and two interceptions, and seemed effective only in the no-huddle offense. Just think how much harder it will be against the Pats.

DID YOU NOTICE?

In a built-up matchup between top kick returners Leon Washington and Joshua Cribbs, Washington muffed Cleveland's opening kickoff. On his next return, he took a punt 33 yards to midfield. ... The Jets' Wallace Wright downed Ben Graham's first punt on the 2-yard line, then immediately tackled Cribbs for no gain on the next punt. ... Jets S Kerry Rhodes staggered off the field and met with the team doctor after decking Cribbs on an 18-yard completion. Rhodes returned later that series. ... The Jets challenged WR Braylon Edwards' 14-yard catch on fourth-and-four, but the call on the field was upheld, costing them a timeout. ... Wintry mix arrived at the Meadowlands at the start of the fourth quarter, and the stadium began to empty.

THE NUMBER

Onside kicks attempted by the Jets in the final three minutes of the game. They recovered only the first, by LB Brad Kassell.

-- JENNY VRENTAS

[Kentucky Jet]

Clemens' miscues continue

Monday, December 10, 2007

BY DAVE HUTCHINSON

Star-Ledger Staff

Kellen Clemens is six games into his audition for the Jets' starting job at quarterback next season, and lucky for him, "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell isn't critiquing him. It would get snippy.

And the audience just might agree with the sharp-tongued Englishman.

Clemens, who replaced Chad Pennington as the permanent starter five games ago, continues to learn on the job. The results have been mixed at best, making it far from certain the Jets feel comfortable handing him the keys to their franchise for the foreseeable future.

Despite going against the NFL's worst defense and coming off a 40-point performance the week before, Clemens again had major growing pains as the Jets lost, 24-18, to the Browns yesterday in the freezing rain at a half-empty Giants Stadium.

The good news for Clemens is that he has three more games to make his case. The bad news for him and the Jets (3-10) is that the undefeated New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick are up next. The Patriots boast the NFL's highest-scoring offense and a grudge just as daunting. Remember "Spygate"? It could get real ugly before it gets better. The opening line in Las Vegas had the Patriots favored by 24 1/2 points on Sunday.

Against the Browns (8-5), Clemens completed 24 of 41 passes for 286 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked four times and had a 59.6 passer rating. Once again, he was brilliant in the two-minute, hurry-up offense. If only the Jets could somehow run it all the time.

"That's up to the coaches," said Clemens, who has guided the Jets to two victories in six starts. "They set the tempo. ... What they did was simplified to some extent. The two-minute situation is something that we put a lot of emphasis on, and we've had some success with it."

The game might have been lost on Clemens' first interception. It came on a third-and-goal from the 2-yard line at the start of the second quarter in a scoreless game. He tried to hit wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery in the end zone on a curl route after an interception by Jets safety Kerry Rhodes gave the Jets the ball at the Cleveland 12-yard line. Browns safety Sean Jones stepped in front and made the interception.

"To come away from that situation with no points because of a costly interception on my part is both unacceptable and a huge momentum swing," said Clemens, who has thrown four touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. "Jerricho did a nice job getting around his defender. I tried to put it low where only (Cotchery) can get it. I didn't see the safety, who did a nice job of jumping in front of the ball."

Clemens couldn't get it done despite gutsy performances by wide receivers Laveranues Coles, who had seven catches for 48 yards despite a high ankle sprain, and Cotchery, who has a broken right index finger but came up with six catches for 119 yards.

Repeatedly, Clemens missed open receivers despite only mild pressure and fumbled once (the Jets recovered). Playing in less than ideal conditions, he did have some nice throws, but not nearly enough. The Jets converted just two of 12 on third-down situations and scored only one touchdown in four trips into the red zone (inside the 20-yard line).

"I thought he did okay today," said Jets coach Eric Mangini, who gave no indication he's planning a switch back to Pennington. "There were some things that weren't very good but there were some things that we pretty good as well. We had a chance there to at least put ourselves in a position to win the game."

A Clemens sneak late in the fourth quarter trimmed Cleveland's lead to 17-12, and the Jets recovered an onside kick. Mike Nugent's 38-yard field goal with 1:43 to play made it 17-15. But Mangini, despite having all three timeouts, elected to try a second onside kick, and the Browns recovered at the Jets' 37-yard line. Three plays later, running back Jamal Lewis (21 carries, 118 yards, one TD) rumbled 31 yards, breaking several tackles, to seal the game with a touchdown.

"I thought we executed the first time and I liked our chances for getting it (again)," said Mangini, whose defense was respectable until the final run by Lewis.

Although the Jets rolled up 387 yards of total offense, including 106 yards on 24 carries by running back Thomas Jones, they couldn't make plays when it counted. The Browns entered the game having allowed a league-high 338 points.

"We came in expecting to score points," tight end Chris Baker said. "We put everything together last week. We called the right plays but we just didn't get it done on third down."

Said Cotchery: "Its crazy. It's situational football. The coaches dialed up some great stuff and you have to be able to execute, win the one-on-one battles."

Dave Hutchinson may be reached at

dhutchinson@starledger.com

CONTINUED 1 | 2 Next

[Kentucky Jet]

One game, multiple game-changing moments

Monday, December 10, 2007

BY JENNY VRENTAS

Star-Ledger Staff

After the Jets' 24-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns yesterday, coach Eric Mangini paused when asked about one of the potential game-changing situations.

"There were a lot of them," he said.

When the Jets fell behind 17-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, it seemed like the game was out of reach for the team, especially in the sloppy conditions. But after quarterback Kellen Clemens' 1-yard touchdown run just inside of three minutes, the Jets were just five points behind, and each call from the sideline -- including a 2-point conversion, three onside kicks and a fourth-and-10 situation -- suddenly became critical.

The Jets went for the 2-point conversion to pull within a field goal, but the pass to tight end Chris Baker fell incomplete. When receiver Brad Smith batted Mike Nugent's onside kick and linebacker Brad Kassell recovered the ball, however, the Jets got the ball back right away on their 43-yard line.

They drove down to Cleveland's 20, where the offense stalled after a rush by Thomas Jones and two incomplete passes. On fourth-and-10 with 1:48 remaining and the score 17-12, the Jets decided to kick the field goal, a 38-yarder from Nugent.

"In that situation, (it was going for it on) fourth-and-10 versus kicking the field goal and being in a field-goal type game," Mangini said. "If we missed it, then we'd fall back and get in a touchdown situation."

The field goal made the score 17-15, and the Jets still had three timeouts remaining. Though Mangini said he considered kicking the ball deep and trying to get a defensive stop, with the luxury of the timeouts, his team's success recovering the first onside kick persuaded him to call for a second one.

"I thought we had a really good opportunity to recover the second time, then we'd have three timeouts with the ball," he said. "It really was just a function of risk/reward at that point."

This time, though, the Browns' Joe Jurevicius recovered the ball and returned it 9 yards to the Jets' 37-yard line. Three plays later the Browns scored another touchdown on a run from Jamal Lewis to put them up 24-15.

Nugent said he thought he placed the ball too deep on the second onside kick, about 15 yards instead of 12, which made it easier for Cleveland to recover.

"It's rare to get one onside kick, let alone get two," said Nugent, who added that he had never played in or watched a game with three onside kicks. "But I think as long as I can give the guys a good ball, it turns it into a 50-50 chance."

The Jets followed Lewis' touchdown with a five-play, 43-yard scoring drive, which ended with a 35-yard field goal from Nugent, his fourth of the day. That put the score at 24-18 with 37 seconds remaining. Nugent tried a ricochet kick on the ensuing kickoff, a play designed to force the receiving team to fumble the line drive -- especially in yesterday's wet conditions.

That kick went out of bounds, but penalties on the play gave the Jets a second chance to recover the football. Nugent tried his third onside kick of the evening, but after a scrum of players sought the ball, Jurevicius once again surfaced with it.

The commotion of the final three minutes didn't reward the Jets, but afterward the players said they didn't question any of the coaching decisions.

"Even up until the end we still had a shot," Baker said. "It was actually a pretty good strategy; it was pretty heads-up on play-calling."

Jenny Vrentas may be reached at

jvrentas@starledger.com

[Kentucky Jet]

Mistakes Cloud Clemens

[Kentucky Jet]

By GREG BISHOP

Published: December 10, 2007

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Dec. 9

[Kentucky Jet]

Browns best Jets, closer to playoffs

By DENNIS WASZAK Jr.

AP Sports Writer

Sunday, December 9th 2007, 7:47 PM

Appleton/News

Kellen Clemens looks down field during Sunday's game that saw his team get beat by the Cleveland Browns.

Derek Anderson got the better of Kellen Clemens this time around, too.

In doing so, Anderson significantly improved the Browns

[Kentucky Jet]

CANARSIE PROUD OF BROWNS' WILLIAMS

By DAN MARTIN

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December 10, 2007 -- Leon Williams didn't take long to make his presence felt during his first trip to Giants Stadium.

The former Canarsie High linebacker, now in his a second year with the Browns, tackled Leon Washington after a 1-yard gain on the game's first play.

But it was the play that he made to break up a pass to Chris Baker on a two-point conversion attempt during the Jets' furious comeback yesterday that made the biggest difference.

Check Out Mark Cannizzaro's Blog

"I had man-on-man on the tight end," Williams said after Cleveland hung on to beat the Jets, 24-18. "I've got to make the plays I'm supposed to, like that one."

The stop preserved a 17-12 lead with 2:59 to go in the fourth quarter and helped the Browns to stay ahead after the Jets had recovered an onside kick and booted a field goal 1:16 later. It also made up for a questionable pass interference penalty against Williams on a pass to Baker during the touchdown drive.

The Brooklyn native was a force throughout the game and has done well since leaving Miami, where he didn't have the career many people thought he would in college.

"He didn't live up to their expectations, I guess," Canarsie head coach Mike Camardese said of Williams. "He wasn't who they wanted him to be. Everyone wanted another Jonathan Vilma. That's not him."

It turns out Williams is pretty good anyway. He ended up with 1

[Kentucky Jet]

COLES, COTCHERY SHOW GRIT

By MARK CANNIZZARO

December 10, 2007 -- If wins were given out for toughness and dedication to teammates, receivers Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery would have the Jets in a thick of a playoff race.

Check Out Mark Cannizzaro's Blog

The playing status of both Cotchery, who played with a splint on his broken right index finger, and Coles, who played with a painful high ankle sprain, was iffy all week.

Cotchery, who missed last week's game, finished with six catches for 119 yards. Coles finished with seven catches for 48 yards.

Coles, who limped off the field a number of times and had to take some plays off, was asked if he'd be concerned about damaging his ankle further by playing on it.

"That's something I probably have to sit down with the coaching staff and doctors and talk about," he said. "I'm sure it's something we'll have to address this week. I'm doing the best I can. I'm kind of going through some tough times. I hate having to come off the field."

*

S Kerry Rhodes, who had Pro Bowl-worthy numbers last year but wasn't invited, has been playing to a Pro Bowl level of late.

Rhodes picked off a pass for the fourth consecutive game yesterday and now has a team-leading, career-high five interceptions this season. Rhodes, who also forced a fumble yesterday, also has a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery this season.

He's the first Jet to record an interception in four consecutive games since Otis Smith in 1995.

*

Rookie CB Darrelle Revis had a tough day trying to cover Browns WR Braylon Edwards, who finished with three key catches for 63 yards and a TD.

Edwards caught a fourth-down pass on Revis in the second quarter, caught a 45-yard pass in the third quarter and then caught a four-yard TD pass.

It was Edwards' 13th TD catch of the season, a Browns record.

"It wasn't a positive game for me," Revis said.

*

K Mike Nugent made FGs of 35, 41, 38 and 35 yards and has now made his last 14 attempts and 21 of his last 22 with the only miss a 54-yard attempt. He's 26-of-31 this season. . . . For Kellen Clemens, his 24 completions and 286 passing yards were career highs.

[Kentucky Jet]

Boor-ed Jets fans still harassing at halftime; Gate D still center of attention

BY KRISTIE ACKERT

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, December 10th 2007, 4:00 AM

Dimwitted Jets fans defied boosted security and scrutiny Sunday to try to preserve an unsanctioned tradition of lurid halftime horseplay.

Despite an attempted crackdown, Gang Green rooters crowded around the notorious Gate D rotunda at Giants Stadium and chanted at women to expose their breasts.

At least three women revved up the testosterone-fueled revelers by motioning a shirt-lifting tease that sent stadium security and state troopers scrambling to cover them up.

"I think it is going to take some time for the handful of fans that go out there to understand that improper conduct is not going to be tolerated," said Matt Higgins, Jets senior vice president for business affairs.

While the promise from officials to crush the bad behavior thinned the ranks of modern-day Neanderthals yesterday, there was still a rambunctious group that refused to be silenced.

Six men were booted from the stadium for "instigating" and warned to stay away, said Dennis Robinson, CEO and president of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

"I think it went as well as can be expected," Robinson said. "There were no injuries, everybody was safe and the crowd dispersed without incident."

The rowdy conduct was tame compared to previous Jets home games, where several hundred men would line up four and five deep chanting to see women flash. Several women complained of being bombarded with bottles and spit when they refused to comply.

"It was blown all out of proportion," said Steve Theman of North Arlington, Va., a regular at Jets games. "Nobody threw bottles at girls, they threw them in the middle [of the spiral and down on the ground]. We're only guilty of having a good time."

While fans said the boorish behavior has been going on for three years, Jets officials said they first heard of it from media reports last month.

As the Jets' record sunk to 3-10 yesterday with a loss to the Cleveland Browns, fan Jason Pritchard cursed the attempts to quash the halftime hijinks.

"If a woman wants to feel like she wants to entertain about a 1,000-plus guys and show her boobies and get everyone excited about a game, then so be it," Pritchard said. "The Jets are terrible, this is the only thing good about the Jets' game and now it's gone."

kackert@nydailynews.com

[Kentucky Jet]

Vegas gives Jets 24.5 points and no chance to beat Patriots

BY MIGHTY QUINN

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Monday, December 10th 2007, 4:00 AM

So you thought the 18 points the Colts were favored over the Jets in Super Bowl III were a lot? Try 24-1/2 against the Patriots this Sunday.

America's Line opened the betting late Sunday night in Las Vegas with New England a 24-1/2-point favorite over the Jets. A few Internet sites had the Pats favored by as many as 25 and 27 points over Gang Green.

The spread is the highest America's Line has issued in its 20 years covering the NFL. Two weeks ago, the Patriots were favored by 24 over the Eagles. In 1987 and 1993, the San Francisco 49ers were 23-1/2-point favorites over the Falcons and Bengals, respectively.

The Jets and Patriots are scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Foxborough.

[Kentucky Jet]

Before and after the Browns-Jets game on Sunday, there will be a lot of catching up between the opposing quarterbacks and the opposing coaches.

Cleveland's Derek Anderson and New York's Kellen Clemens played against one another at Oregon State and Oregon, respectively, and also played against one another in high school in Oregon. And the Browns' Romeo Crennel and the Jets' Eric Mangini were assistant coaches on the same staffs with the Jets and New England.

"It's been really neat how this whole thing has played out," said Clemens, who is from Burns, which is in the middle of the state. Anderson is from Scappoose, which is north of Portland. "We went to a football camp in California together and really got to hang out and just talk. It's really an amazing thing how two guys from small towns in Oregon can now be starting for NFL teams and going to go against one another this Sunday."

The camp that Clemens referred to was no ordinary one. It was the Elite-11 quarterback camp in California, and also among the attendees were future NFL players Matt Leinart and Brodie Croyle.

"Derek and I played against each other for the first time (my) sophomore year of high school in basketball, and they handed it to us," Clemens recalled. "Then we played against each other again senior year in football, and beat us again. We squared off twice that summer in an all-star basketball game, and I was on the winning side for a little bit. Then we played each other twice in college, and we each won one and lost one. We've had a really good friendship throughout all that