Jets Need To Take Off After MNF Loss

In my last post I said that the NY Jets needed to do three things in order to win their Monday Night Football game in Miami against the Dolphins. I said rookie Mark Sanchez needed to protect the ball - he did. I said the Jets running game needed to get something going - they really didn't, but the passing game and offense overall was very good. And I said that the Jets defense had to find a way to contain the Miami Dolphins' Wildcat offense - they couldn't. Out of those three things you would have thought that the defense would handle their part of the deal. You would have thought that Sanchez would blow it somehow and or the running game would be anemic. Leon Washington and Thomas Jones only rushed for 44 and 42 yards respectively, but the running game was boosted by a pair of fake punts engineered by Special Teams Coach Mike Westhoff - one a beautiful 26 yard run by punter Steve Weatherford and the other a 12 yard scamper by Brad Smith. No, the Jets lost this one in surprising fashion. The previously tough Jets defense was totally unprepared to stop Miami and their ball control, clock eating, run happy Wildcat offense. Which, by the way, is what the Jets offense could look like if they could just excel at running the ball.



With the addition of Braylon Edwards, Mark Sanchez has another big threat at his disposal and the Sanchez-Edwards combo picked up any slack from the injured Jericho Cotchery and the weak rushing game, connecting five times for 64 yards and a TD. Edwards also made some key catches to set up two more scores. I get the feeling that Edwards is gonna be a key player on the New York Jets and I hope he keeps himself out of trouble so he doesn't wind up like the receiver from that Blue New York football team! Kudos to the Jets brass for going and rescuing him from Cleveland.



The Jets defense, though, is not the first defense to be embarassed by the Dolphins' unpredictable Wildcat scheme. They've been giving defenses fits since last season when they did it with Chad Pennington, and now they're doing it with Henne at the helm. Rex Ryan might be right that the Jets defense made Henne look like Dan Marino, but Mark Sanchez stepped up this game and looked like Ken O'Brien. The difference in this game was when the Dolphins went to the Wildcat the Jets D continued to come with the pressure and over pursued, and got burned for it. Repeatedly! But it wasn't like there was a lack of effort on the Jets' defenses part. Maybe they should have played more of a read and react type of game against this type of offense than a pure attack defense. But Rex Ryan's Defenses don't play that way. So they got burned. I think they'll be okay. They played great defense the first four games and the offense (Sanchez) made their mistakes. Now Sanchez stopped making mistakes and the offense played well but the defense had a lapse. When they finally put it all together with all three phases the New York Jets are gonna be some team. They should keep their heads up high. The Jets have to go in to next weeks game at home against the 1-4 Buffalo Bills and do just that. Put a complete game together and win a game that they should win. The Bills have their backs up against the wall and should not be considered a gimme. But the Jets should win this game and go in to the Raiders game at 4-2. And we all know what they should do against the Raiders. That would make them 5-2 when they meet up with Miami again. Maybe by then Rex Ryan can come up with some kind of plan to stop the Dolphins' dangerous Wildcat.