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Report Card: Jets vs. Dolphins


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Jets 20 Dolphins 14

by Brian Clark

Quarterback – A-

Brett Favre – 15/22, 194 yard, 2 TD

The long awaited start by Brett Favre for the Jets did not disappoint. He drove the Jets down the field on multiple drives in the first half. His ability to throw the deep ball made every Jet fan tear a little on the 56 yard TD pass to Cotchery, and his ability to extend the play was seen on the TD pass to Stuckey. He was exactly what was billed, and gets the win.

Running Backs – A-

Thomas Jones – 22 carries, 101 yards, TD

Thomas Jones hit the hole hard and did a great job running in the seams made by the offensive line. His touchdown run is something that a high quality running back would make, bouncing off the tackle and taking the run to the pilon. It was his running earlier which allowed for the play action game to be effective. By already matching his touchdown total from the previous year, he looks primed for a strong season behind the offensive line.

Wide Receivers – B

Jerricho Cotchery – 3 receptions, 80 yards, TD

Chansi Stuckey – 2 receptions ,37 yards, TD

Laverneus Coles – 1 reception, 5 yards

The Jets receiving corps made some big plays early, but seemed to have a diminishing impact as the game progressed. Cotchery’s route on the deep ball was crisp and the way he finds the goal line is always a great trait to have in a receiver. Stuckey (my boy), did a nice job holding onto the Favre floater for the touchdown. Coles despite making a short reception on the first play of the game, was basically invisible for the remainder of the game. I wonder to what extent the injury had on his mobility.

Tight Ends – B

Chris Baker – 2 receptions, 34 yards

Bubba Franks – 2 receptions, 19 yards

Although none of the tight ends had any game changing plays, they’re production helped move the chains and extend drives. Baker caught a 29 yard pass on 2nd and 12 to help put the Jets in the red zone. Besides that all the catches were short curl routes that only gained minimal yardage.

Offensive Line – B-

Although they made good holes early for the running game, the offensive line had a relatively weak game in my opinion. They allowed multiple backfield pressures, and there were 3 or 4 occasions where the d line was able to break through the line at the snap. They allowed 3 sacks and a few other hurries on Favre. Despite all that when look at the end results, the Jets had a 100 yard rusher, and a QB who threw for 2 TD’s, so I can’t crucify them that much, but I do anticipate an improved performance next week.

Defensive Line – A

Great job by this group as each member had a contributing factor to the success of the game. This group had impacts on both the running game and the passing game. Kris Jenkins ate up runners on the inside, and it is noticeable when you have a presence like him in the middle. The Dolphins only gained 49 yards total on the ground, which is definitely attributed to the line play. Besides that, Sean Ellis had 4 tackles and a sack and I would hope for more performances like this, especially from the two outside rushers, Thomas and Pace.

Linebackers – A

Calvin Pace had 5 tackles and a sack Bryan Thomas had 3 tackles and 2 sacks. Both of these OLB’s had strong impacts in the success of the defense. Eric Barton led the team with 6 tackles, and David Harris picked up 5. The only bugaboo I have with this group is the coverage of the TE’s and RB’s in pass protection. Chad ate us up underneath (as expected), but I hope they do a better job next week against a less accurate QB.

Secondary – A+

I am glad I was already on the Dwight Lowery bandwagon before, because at least I was able to enjoy that comfy seat for a short while. The rookie was impressive in his first NFL game picking up 4 tackles, and making 2 TD stopping break ups in the endzone. This guy is the real deal, and although he may not have elite speed, he has great instincts, as seen on the 4th down play. Revis looked strong, and his 1 handed interception to seal the deal was the clincher to a great performance. Rhodes didn’t have a game changing day, but when the Dolphins receivers have 7 catches for 74 yards total, you can’t fault the group.

Special Teams – D

I don’t want to bring up the horrible game that this group had, but I must. The only thing saving this group was from an F, was Graham’s 45 yard average on punts, which is decent. Nugent missed his field goal, and then we couldn’t find someone to take the kickoff. My question is, if we couldn’t find someone to kick the extra point, why not just put Graham back there to drop kick it through. We know he has experience, and for a former rugger it should be an easy kick. Leon Washington was surprisingly quiet in the kicking game as well.

Coaching – B-

The coach can’t have a bad game, unless he comes in unprepared. It is hard to believe that someone who is as detailed as Eric Mangini, would not have a detailed contingency plan for if Nugent gets hurt. Once that injury happened, the Jets floundered for a bit until they had almost all of the 2nd quarter and some of the 3rd quarter to consider their options (even Kellen Clemens kicking XP’s). Besides that, his defense was strong, and the offense controlled the tempo of the game.

Studs Of The Game: Calvin Pace, Bryan Thomas, Brett Favre

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Special teams could gotten a D- to an F, Nuge missing out on that PAT attempt nearly bit us if hanging Chad could've pulled off a comeback. Word is the Jets are going to try out either Jay Feely or Vanderjagt :bag: if Nuge's injury is serious. I hope and pray we don't get Vanderjagt, thats the last thing we need is a guy who can't kick clutch shots

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Good job man on the report but how can you not mention Revis here?

I'd put in Lowery as well.

Overall, solid job Brian. Pretty much the exact grades I would've given except maybe not an A+ for the Secondary. Pennington did have 200+ yards.

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good report but the bad grade to the coaching staff is missing.

offense- too conservative when it mattered.

defense- how do you not attempt to pressure the q'back & fall into a cover 2

special teams- 53 athletes on the team & no one can kick the ball? wtf? no provision whatsoever?

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Yes, Pennington did have 250 yards, but the majority were to TE's being covered by Barton/Harris/Pace.

And I wanted to add both Revis and Lowery, but am I going to throw down 5 studs of the game? Pace was strong on the pass rush and had a good deal of tackles. Thomas had 2 sacks and pressure. Favre looked good in his debut.

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Thank you for the insightful report. I agree completely on your appraisal of Coach Mangini's lack of contingency for Nugent. I always assumed that the punter practices kicking during the week in case something happens to the kicker. I was actually shocked at how poorly Graham did on his one kickoff. To see Clemens on the sidelines attempting to kick was also an embarrassment.

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I'd say you were a little generous with the week 1 grading. For the most part I agree but I would have to down grade the secondary / pass protection grade. I know that most of the passes were short under routes to TE/RB but you have to be concerned. I also think that you have to upgrade the grade on the D-Line. I don't care who you play holding a team to 49 yards on the ground is an accomplishment. When was the last time the Jets D was at least solid against the run?

Sorry to say it but the play calling was just bad at the end of the game. Why is it when the Jets are up they go conservative and not put the game away? Is it just me or does it seem like they try running the ball too much to the right and not behind Faneca?

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Upgrade the D-line from an A to an A+?

Minor details.

And the reason for the relative generosity is based on the fact that after 30 weeks of no football, and much longer for meaningful Jets football, we were able to see a team go out there and win, and have players produce like this team could do something great this year.

If you are not optimistic about that, just hand over your Jets Fan Membership card

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nice job. wouldnt have given the secondary an A+ even though revis and lowery made some stellar plays yesterday espeically revis who picked off pennington in the closing seconds. rhodes had 7 tackles i think off the top of my head could be wrong but he was non existent really, would have liked to seen them blitz him ALOT more. sutton got real conservative in the 4th quater again which was why the phins even had a chance late in the game.

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No way secondary gets an A. Fasano ran wild. They did good against the WRs, but the safeties are part of the secondary and they are partially responsible for the TEs.

Eric Smith is a horror show. On the first fins TD, he was standing behind two LB's befopre he realized that his man was wide open. I would rather see Elam in the game than this JAG.

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Partly responsible, yes.

On the TD pass, it was Eric Smith who messed up on the assignment. But most of the TE catches were on LB's.

A- Then?

No.

Later in the game, when we were in the prevent, there were CBs/Safeties on the TEs.. t hey still ran free.

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Eric Smith is a horror show. On the first fins TD, he was standing behind two LB's befopre he realized that his man was wide open. I would rather see Elam in the game than this JAG.

maybe, which is why Im saynig no way the secondary gets an A or anything that starts with an A. B+ is as high as I'd go and that's a stretch. Chad F'ing Pennington threw for 250+ and if it wasn't for his NOODLE ARM he would have had 1 more play to pull a Carolina on us...

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good report but the bad grade to the coaching staff is missing.

offense- too conservative when it mattered.

defense- how do you not attempt to pressure the q'back & fall into a cover 2

special teams- 53 athletes on the team & no one can kick the ball? wtf? no provision whatsoever?

exactly

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No way secondary gets an A. Fasano ran wild. They did good against the WRs, but the safeties are part of the secondary and they are partially responsible for the TEs.

It was insane how much use Pennington got out of Fasano yesterday, as I think Chad looked to him as much in one game as he had in years for Baker. I think I know why Penny was so much more willing to use his TE yesterday, take a look at this pic of Fasano after 2 Chad Pennington completed passes:

duckhunt1.jpg

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