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Sunday, October 21, 2018

Jets Lose 37-17

"Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect." 
                                          ―Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many fans will blame the questionable officiating in the Jets loss today. If you look closer it was a combination of yes, the officiating, Sam Darnold’s poor play, dropped passes, stupid football (Darron Lee not knowing what a lateral is) and the Minnesota Vikings ability to capitalize on big plays-Cousins 4th & 8 TD pass to Aldrick Robinson. On the Jet side Sam Darnold missed Robby Anderson overthrowing him when he had 1-2 steps on the defensive back. Great quarterbacks make that throw. Was there a bright side today? If you want to find a silver lining maybe it was DB Darryl Roberts who despite being in the middle of two Vikings touchdowns played well. Morris Claiborne also continued his stellar play this season but he was also torched on that 4th down TD pass to Robinson. I cannot fathom why a player as athletic as Claiborne was not able to knock that ball down cleanly. Chris Herndon (4 rec. 42 yds. 1 TD) caught his second touchdown in as many weeks and just missed a third one. After a two week honeymoon, it is time Todd Bowles takes his knocks. Why in the name of instant replay did Todd Bowles not challenge that possible safety and that pass to Robby Anderson that was knocked away after I thought he had possession and came down with two feet before landing on the ground. Todd Bowles prepares the team well and he looks like a good coach when everything is going the Jets way (i.e. Lions & Broncos game). But when there are make or break plays on the field he cannot make the correct decision. I pray I am wrong about Bowles and hope he leads the Jets to 5 Superbowls but I have no confidence in him in a close game the last two minutes.

Offense
Sam Darnold (17-42, 206 yds. 1 TD,3 INT) never got into a rhythm today.  It was his worst game as a pro. He completed 4 straight passes in the first quarter touchdown drive. In the second and third quarters, Darnold was 2-of-13 for minus-1 yard. It did not help that many passes were dropped but he was off his game today. For Sam Darnold to be effective as a rookie, the Jets have to have an effective running game. Here’s a stat: The Jets are 0-4 when Sam attempts more than 30 passes in a game. Sam Darnold will be a very good if not great quarterback in this league. But it will not happen over night.

It is quite obvious that the offensive line has got to be a priority in the off season. Darnold is throwing under duress too many times and hurrying his passes.  Center Spencer Long’s blocking is getting worse and worse as the season goes on and it is affecting his hiking the football, especially when the Jets are in the shot gun. No doubt if Sheldon Richardson was breathing down my neck 10” away I’d snap the ball wrong but this is becoming a huge issue that is happening way too much this season. The Jets have got to either draft the best center available in next year’s draft with their first pick or sign the best free agent center available. I’d rather have Spencer Long play guard so the burden of the shotgun snaps are on someone else. Long is a decent blocker but he is not showing it.

Robby Anderson (3 receptions, 42 yds.) is getting frustrated and I don’t blame him. He was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty and he has a history in his short career of being a hot head. Like last year when he threw his helmet. When he went through his off-season arrest ordeal I labeled him as a no good thug. But guess what? I’m on his side. Think about it. In today’s game Sam Darnold missed him long for a sure TD overthrowing him. He gets pummeled going down the left sideline and no pass interference is called and when they showed the replay it was obvious the pass was a catchable ball and there should have been a penalty. And lastly on that pass down the middle that he had then lost it when he and the defender hit the ground Todd Bowles refused to challenge it. I saw that as a catch. Who wouldn’t get frustrated? And this on top of last year’s debacle with McCown missing him long nine times. It is going to get tougher for Anderson as the wide receivers are going down like ducks but he has got to stay the course. He is still the Jets best long ball threat.

Terrelle Pryor got cut by the Jets yesterday. What in the world is Mike Mac thinking? We are told it was an injury settlement and he might resign with the Jets 2-3 weeks down the road. I don’t know what the real story is and we may never find out but Pryor was a weapon. He will be missed.

Defense
Why in the world of Burgess Owens was Perry Nickerson covering Adam Thielen on some plays one on one. Nickerson is quick but he is not ready for this task in his young career. As mentioned previously DBs Darryl Roberts and Morris Claiborne played well but were both involved in giving up 3 TDs. Jamal Adams was very active but this player has got to make sure he doesn’t play out of control. He was very close to a couple of penalties. Running back Latavius Murray only had 69 yards rushing for the Vikings but he scored two TDs and looked like an All-Pro on a few of his rushes. Brandon Copeland had an active game and Henry Anderson made a couple of nice plays.

Then there was the throw into the ground by Cousins that looked to be behind the receiver and is a fumble. My son sent me a text and could not believe Darron Lee stood and watched the ball. His remark is that this happens once a week in the NFL and teams don’t even practice it. I bet there is one team that does practice it. Nevertheless, bad coaching.

Green Tidbits
…..Pro Football Focus ranked the top 3 offensive lines to date as: Rams, Eagles, Packers. Jets were 21st…..After he dropped a sure 1st down pass, I've seen enough of TE Eric Tomlinson. Let’s go with Herndon & Sterling with Leggett on deck….If I’m the Jets I give Dez Bryant a call……At one point in game Jets were 0-7 on 3rd downs…..Michael Strahan was an embarrassment at half time saying Sam Darnold was playing great. He obviously was not the watching game…..Why do I even torture myself watching Pats highlights…..Elgton Jenkins Mississippi State, Tyler Biadasz Wisconsin,  Michael Jordan Ohio State are the three top ranked centers in college via Walter Football…..Ryan Kalil, Brett Jones, Nick Easton are top ranked NFL unrestricted free agent centers available in 2019. I like KC Chief center Mitch Morse who is only 27 and has upside….Welcome new Green Rewind reader Steve from Haverstraw NY and close friend of Rob August.....  

What The Jet Scribes Are Saying
Rich Cimini, ESPN
Some day, Sam Darnold might be a better quarterback than Kirk Cousins. Some day, the New York Jets may look back at their ill-fated pursuit of Cousins and call it the best rejection they've ever received. Some day. But not Sunday, which served as a reminder the two quarterbacks and their respective teams are in totally different places. Struggling with the blustery conditions at MetLife Stadium, Darnold was outplayed by the Minnesota Vikings' $84 million quarterback in a 37-17 loss that snapped the Jets' two-game winning streak. It was Darnold's worst game as a pro, as he completed only 17 of 42 passes for 206 yards, with three interceptions and a touchdown for a 34.4 passer rating.....Darnold, coming off his best game, learned a hard lesson in NFL quarterbacking. He had no answers for the Vikings (4-2-1), a formidable defensive team with the ability to pressure and lock down wide receivers with man-to-man coverage. It can be a deadly combination for an inexperienced quarterback. He completed only two passes to his wide receivers through three quarters, rather stunning in today's NFL. Jermaine Kearse, who had nine receptions last week, was held without a catch. Now the front office must consider this question: Should it acquire a wide receiver before next Tuesday’s trading deadline? Without Quincy Enunwa (ankle) for a few weeks, and with the just-released Terrelle Pryor (groin) on an injury sabbatical, so to speak, the Jets are down to Kearse, Robby Anderson and a bunch of inexperienced tight ends. Amari Cooper and Demaryius Thomas are big-name receivers reportedly on the trading block. The Jets aren’t a win-now team, so it wouldn’t make sense to trade future assets for a playoff run that may not happen. But at the same time, they must consider Darnold’s development. Will they impede his growth by standing pat? “We’ll see if everyone is healthy,” said Bowles, responding to a question about a potential reinforcement at receiver. “I think we have enough capable bodies right now.”

Brian Costello, NY Post
The Jets believe they are going places this season. On Sunday, they saw just how far they still have to go. The Vikings came to MetLife Stadium and handed the Jets a 37-17 loss, ending their two-game winning streak and sending them to 3-4. The Jets showed that while they can beat up on teams like the Colts and Broncos at home, they are not ready to play with the league’s best. Rookie quarterback Sam Darnold had his worst day as pro, throwing three interceptions and completing only 40 percent of his passes. The Jets had four turnovers in all on offense and forced none on defense. They made mistakes on special teams, and the defense held strong for most of the game but folded in the fourth quarter.

“It’s nothing to hit the panic button about,” linebacker Darron Lee said. “They’re a good football team that capitalized on some stuff. We were right there the whole time.”

The Vikings (4-2-1) only led 10-7 at halftime. Kirk Cousins, the $84 million man, did not tear up the Jets defense, but he did enough to break the game open in the second half. Cousins went 25-for-40 for 241 yards with two touchdown passes. Star receiver Adam Thielen had nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, his seventh straight game with 100 yards receiving. The game was lost by a disappearing act from the offense in the middle of the game. After putting together an 86-yard drive in the first quarter that ended with Darnold finding fellow rookie Chris Herndon for a 12-yard touchdown, the offense vanished.....After the game, the talk in the Jets locker room was about avoiding a repeat of last year when they let a 3-3 start turn into a 5-11 season. Safety Jamal Adams spoke to the team about avoiding the same fate.
“We were in this situation,” Adams said. “Went down to Miami we were 3-3. Obviously, we ended up losing that game and then came back and lost the next game. You just got to stay positive, understand that we played a good football team and they made more plays than we did. We’ve just got to do the little things right at all times and always preach that.”The Jets head to Chicago to face a tough Bears team next week, trying to get their season back on track.“We’ve got to win,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to finish. How things go from here shows the growth of the team from last year to this year.”

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