Some thoughts and observations on a Victory Monday in Jetland.
HOME COOKING: The Jets are finally settled into their new stadium, and are quietly building a home field advantage. Yesterday win over the Chiefs put Gang Green at 6-1 at home this year, with their final home tilt with the Giants remaining on Christmas Eve. Yesterday's game was also the Jets second home blowout win at home, and just like their week 2 win over Jacksonville, the Jets defense feasted on a young QB.
PROPS FOR SCHOTTEY: Simply put, we are as tough a critic as anyone of Jets OC Brian Schottenheimer, but yesterday he deserves some credit. That's not to say we weren't cussing at him when the Jets had to burn a TO before their very first play or when Sanchez got clobbered on a meaningless 4th and 2 up 35-10, but he was on point for most of the day in between. First play from scrimmage saw RB Shonn Greene run for 31 yards and made apparent the Chiefs lack of interest in tackling yesterday. Sanchez ended the drive on a beautifully designed naked bootleg, reminiscent of his score in Pittsburgh last December. Sanchez and the Jets offense are at their best when they mix in the play action pass, while establishing their ground game. Easy passes early to TE's and RB's seem to get Sanchez in a comfortable rhythm, instead of forcing the ball to his WR's. Holmes and Burress might be great talents and perfectly capable of putting up monster numbers in a prolific offense, but this offense runs best when they use them as complementary weapons to keep opposing defenses from stuffing the box with safeties and linebackers. I don't want to use the word decoy, but when they use #10 and #17 to stretch the field with vertical routes, defenses are forced to keep them honest which opens up the easier underneath routes to Keller, Kerley, Turner, and even dump offs to the RB's out of the backfield. The Jets have also realized that screen passes are very effective against aggressive, blitzing defenses, which the Jets see often as teams try to rattle Sanchez with pressure. With possible playoff matchups looming with the Texans, Ravens, or the Steelers, the Jets use of screen passes might be their best chance of creating big plays. Also, don't be surprised to see the Jet add a new wrinkle by throwing a deep pass. If teams blitz and also bring up an extra safety/LB to stop the screen, look for Holmes or Kerley on a deep stop and go. Now that the Jets offense seems to have gotten back on track, it begs the question of why they risked blowing their season with a spread offense. Only Rex and Schottenheimer will be able to answer that one.
LEONHARD OUT FOR YEAR: We all know this is a big blow to the Jets secondary, and maybe as importantly their punt returns unit, but the Jets should be able to overcome the injury to #36. Nobody will miss him back deep catching punts more than us, but injuries are part of the game and the beat has to go on. The Jets were stunned when Leonhard went down in practice last year just days before their trip to Foxborough, but they were able to regroup and win playoff games against both Manning and Brady with Brodney Pool and Eric Smith picking up the slack, and we see no reason that this injury will derail the Jets season. In fact, Pool may be a slightly better athlete giving the Jets a little more size back deep, but of course they will miss #36's leadership --that simply can't be replaced.
WAYNE"S WORLD: Very quietly, everybody's favorite whipping boy on the offensive line is playing dare we say solid football. Sure Hunter struggled early in the season against Dallas, Oakland, and Baltimore, but who doesn't struggle against Ware, Seymour, and Suggs? Hunter has settled into the position, may prove to be a reliable starter, and has become a leader amongst the offense. Yesterday he challenged his teammates that they wouldn't want to see him in the locker room if they lost.
GETTING HELP + PLAYOFF PICTURE: Yesterday could not have been a better day for Gang Green. I could nitpick and complain about the Cowboys failing to put the nail in the Giants coffin, but seeing a wounded bear missing both arms and legs scares me as much as the G-Men. T. J. Yates may have saved the Jets season, leading the Texans past the Bengals after trailing 16-3 at halftime. Just moments after Yates found Walter in the Bengals end zone for the game winning score on the final play, the Saints defense delivered another early holiday gift to Jets fans with a goal line stop on the final play to beat the Titans. The 8-5 Jets now have a 1 game lead on both the Titans and Bengals, plus hold a 10-6 tie breaker with the Bengals if the Jets beat Miami and split their NFC games. The Jets still need the Titans to lose once more to avoid having to run the table. The Titans would own the tie-breaker at 10-6 due to their 8-4 AFC record, with the Jets 7-5 in conference. We don't see the Titans losing to the Colts, but it is possible they could lose to Jacksonville (not likely) or Houston. Our gut says they Titans will find a way to lose again, but we wouldn't bet on it. Bottom line is the Jets mentality must remain to win out, or they would once again lose control of their destiny.
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