Jets Disappoint on Thanksgiving

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Jets vs. Patriots Post Game Recap 11/22

The New York Jets were totally embarrassed at home on Thanksgiving by the New England Patriots, as most fans left the stadium at half time because the game was already well over after a historically bad second quarter. The final score was a 49-19 Patriots victory.

The loss puts the Jets at (4-7) now for the season, and almost certainly ends their shot at the playoffs something that would have been a tall task even with a win on Thanksgiving.

The Jets were actually tied with the Patriots after the first quarter 0-0, but three turnovers in the second quarter on a Sanchez interception, and fumble along with a Joe McKnight fumble on the kickoff return led to the horrendous 35 point second quarter from the Patriots, with the Jets only kicking a field-goal at the end of the half. The field goal was a curious one if you are down by 35 points on the Patriots goal-line why not go for a touchdown.

Most notably absent from the game was Tim Tebow who was questionable with a rib injury but was in uniform, but Tebow didn’t step on to the field on offense or special teams making it curious that third string quarterback Greg McElroy wasn’t in uniform in case of a Sanchez injury.

Mark Sanchez didn’t play well against the Patriots but the blame can’t all go on Sanchez despite two awful turnovers including a comical fumble when he ran into his lineman’s rear end. Sanchez finished the game throwing for 306 yards on 26 for 36 passing with a touchdown pass to Dustin Keller, and the two turnovers. Most of Sanchez’s stats came in junk time with the Patriots defense clearly in somewhat of a prevent defense.

The Jets pass defense was owned by Tom Brady even though he was missing his favorite weapon in Rob Gronkowski you wouldn’t know he was missed by the way that Brady played. Brady torched the Jets for 323 yards on 18 for 28 passing, and three touchdowns to Shane Vereen, Wes Welker, and Julian Edelman.

The Jets will have a little more time than usual before the next game against the Arizona Cardinals, as it will be interesting to see how the Jets respond after this game realizing the playoffs won’t be happening this season.

Is It Tebow Time?

Is it finally Tebow time for the New York Jets? The Jets have just lost three games in a row bringing their record to 3-6. Mark Sanchez threw the ball 22 times and completed only nine of them for 124 yards. This managed to lower the already league's lowest completion percentage for Sanchez, which is at 52% for the season. Sanchez has also thrown nine interceptions on the year, four of which are in the red zone, which leads the NFL. Along with the interceptions, Sanchez has fumbled the ball eight times, second only to Michael Vick.

Lost in Sanchez's inability to pass effectively is the ineffectiveness of the running game. Tony Sparano was brought in to get the Jets back to the ground-n-pound offense that got them to two AFC Championship games. However, that is not the case this season, as the Jets have only rushed for 3.8 yards per carry, 23rd in the NFL.

Tim Tebow has only seen limited action in games on the offensive side of the ball, using him mostly in the wildcat for runs and attempting only six passes on the season, completing five. In the 2011 season after starting 1-4 with Kyle Orton at quarterback, the Broncos gave Tebow the start and he led them to an 8-8 finish. With Kyle Orton at the helm, the Broncos averaged 3.6 yards per carry. However, with Tebow starting, the Broncos averaged 6.1 yards per carry. That is a 2.5 yard increase in the running game per rush which is staggering.

Tebow as a passer is actually slightly more effective than Sanchez is currently. In Tebow's short career, he has thrown for 17 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. Tebow's completion percentage is slightly lower than Sanchez, but his yards per pass attempt at 6.75 yards is .5 yards more than Sanchez's.

Tebow might not be the long term answer in New York, but it is clear that Mark Sanchez is not the answer either. If the Jets want to win games now, Tebow gives them most likely their best option at the quarterback position. Rex Ryan's blind faith in Sanchez has led the Jets to the 30th ranked offense in the NFL, and with the playoffs still a possibility for the Jets, a change needs to be made to this atrocious offense.

Jets Struggle in Seattle

New York Jets vs. Seattle Seahawks Post Game Recap 11/11

The Jets tail spin continued on the west coast in Seattle against the Seahawks, as the Jets were dominated by Seattle losing 28-7 to move the Jets to 3-6 on the season, and have lost five of their last six.

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The Jets offense looked awful again lead by an awful game from Mark Sanchez, who was only 9 for 22 with 124 yards passing, and threw a costly red-zone interception, and lost a fumble. Rex Ryan has to realize that Sanchez just isn’t good and make the switch to Tebow or Ryan maybe shown the door after the season.

Tim Tebow got to do some more than normal against Seattle, as Tebow threw one more pass on Sunday than he had all season. All three of Tebow’s passes were bubble screens to Jeremy Kerley but he was 3 for 3. He also ran it four times for 14 yards. The lack of Tebow use is a real head scratcher what do the Jets have to lose he can’t be worse than the way Sanchez is playing now.

The Jets rushing offense was mediocre against a good Seahawks defense, as Shonn Greene ran it 15 times for 58 yards, but as a team had less than 100 yards rushing so much for the ground and pound.

The Jets receiving core had a really rough time against the big physical Seattle secondary, as the Jets were lead in receiving by Jeremy Kerley who had five catches for 57 yards with most of that coming on a 43-yard catch. Dustin Keller was the only other Jet with multiple receptions, as Keller had three catches for 47 yards with most of that coming on his 32-yard catch.

The Jets defense was once again pretty good, as was the only reason that the Jets didn’t get shutout in Seattle thanks to a Muhammad Wilkerson fumble return for a touchdown. The Defense was playing well up until the 4th quarter but probably got tired from being on the field to long or just gave up that their offense was doing nothing to help them. Some bright spots for the defense were that they did a very good job putting pressure on rookie quarterback Russell Wilson sacking him four times.

The special teams once again let the Jets down this week, as Jeremy Kerley fumbled a punt return mistakes that just can’t be made with the lack of an offense for the Jets. A positive on the special teams was that they did a good job containing former Jet Leon Washington keeping him from breaking anything big.

The Jets will be on the road again next week to face the St Louis Rams, and a familiar face in Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.