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Sunday, October 28, 2018

Jets Play Like They Didn't Want To Be In Chicago

I want my team to play competitive football every week.
I want my team prepared and disciplined so they don’t make stupid pre-snap penalties.
I want my team to do something daring like fake a punt.
I want my team to play like they want to win every game no matter what the circumstances.
I want my team to have an offensive line that doesn’t lose the point of attack every 3 out of 4 plays with the defense hitting our running back behind the line of scrimmage.
I want my highly touted 1st round draft picks like Lee, Adams & Williams to make a game changing play just once!
I want my offensive coordinator to be unpredictable instead of running the ball on every first down in the 1st half.
I want my coach to have his players show there is a sense of urgency when down by two touchdowns and go to the hurry up offense earlier rather than later.
I want my coach to know how to use the clock, his timeouts and when to challenge a play.
I want my coach to hold players accountable and take them off the field if the same mistakes persist. Like Neal Sterling having 2 pre-snap penalties early in the 1st quarter.
I want my coach to show more anger not just on the sidelines but in his press conference instead of telling us how he is proud that the team continues to fight.

Despite the Jets playing with a lot of injuries and having a rookie quarterback they came out as flat as pancakes today and showed a lack of enthusiasm. All we are going to hear all week is how banged up the Jets are. Big news! Other teams and organizations don’t care! Todd Bowles is a defensive coordinator wearing head coach’s clothes. His locker room press conference was embarrassing. To quote him:

"I'm very proud of the way they fought and stayed together," he said, relaying his postgame message to the players. "This was one of the first games the entire year we stayed together as a team and fought, collectively."

Apparently Todd Bowles thinks there are moral victories in the NFL and believes highly in participation trophies. I got news for Woody & Chris Johnson. As long as Todd Bowles is the Jets head coach, there is a chance that the franchise quarterback we have waited decades for may get injured.

Again it was the opposing quarterback that the Jets made look better than he is. Whether it is Ryan Tannehill, Blake Bortles or Mitchell Trubisky, the 2018 New York Jets make them look like Johnny Unitas. But today it was more Mitchell Trubisky’s feet than his arm that did the job. He rushed 6 times for 51 yards at 8.5 yards per run that did the Jets in for most of the day especially on 3rd down plays. The Jets linebackers showed zero containment and let Trubisky easily turn the corner more times than Isaiah Crowell and Trenton Cannon did combined. Give Bears first year offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich credit. He was Bobby Fischer and the Jets were Boris Spassky. The Bears counter moves were excellent! Besides Trubisky running for first downs, the Jets called a blitz and the Bears run a screen to Tarik Cohen for 70 yards and a touchdown. And that was Cohen’s only reception of the game. Fans kept waiting for the Jets to get going but it was the pre-snap penalties, the first down runs for losses and the play calling by the Bears that did the Jets in.

Offense
The Jet offense seemed to be in neutral for most of the afternoon. A combination of Sam Darnold being under pressure and the Jets receivers not getting open hurt the team today. The running game was awful with Isaiah Crowell leading the Jets with 25 yards on 13 carries for an average of 1.9 yards. With Khalil Mack sitting out the game for the Bears the Jets should have moved the ball better. In the third quarter the Jets caught a break when Bear Eddie Jackson made a Jet like mistake getting an unnecessary roughness 15 yard penalty after the Jets were stopped cold. Darnold led them on their only touchdown drive on a 16 yard pass to tight end Chris Herndon, his only reception of the day. The real highlight of the drive was a 29 yard reception to Deontay Burnett who made a great play. I can’t understand why the Jets did not target Herndon more in the first half. I think he was their best receiver on the field and he was only targeted two times the whole day. Horrible play calling by Jeremy Bates. Green Rewind contributor Ray Clifford pointed out how Bate’s play calling only looks good when the Jets running game is working. He has not shown he is capable of making the necessary adjustments.

Defense
Tough to criticize this crew who was on the field too long. For the second week in a row the defense did not get a turnover. Marcus Maye playing hurt led the Jets with 7 tackles. Brandon Copeland was active and had another sack which makes 3 so far this year. After Darron Lee started the season playing well he is reverting back to his old self being out of position. He got pinched on two of the runs by Trubisky. DB Darryl Roberts makes mistakes but he has played well overall. He is having a surprisingly very good season and gives effort. Defensive lineman Mike Pennel made a couple of nice stuffs. Jamal Adams had 6 tackles but it was his missed tackles that were more noticeable. Week after week the defense is on the field way too long and plays well but keeps giving up the big 3rd down play. They looked gassed in the 4th quarter and Buster Skrine looked bad on the touchdown pass to Anthony Miller. The biggest “faux pas” by the defense was letting the Bears go 79 yards down the field after the Jets scored their only touchdown. This is when the defense is suppose to step up but they did not.
   
Green Tidbits
….. Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles’teams have started 3-5 each of the past three years…..The Jets game plan seems to be win the game 13-10 or just come out without anymore injuries. How conservative can you be on offense….. Neal Sterling was forced to leave with an injury and it looks like his 2nd concussion of the year…..WR Deontay Burnett had 4 receptions for 61 yards being targeted 4 times. Play him!…..Kearse,  had two drops which is inexcusable. Hey Jets, help this rookie QB out! Too many dropped balls the last 2 weeks…..Hey Todd there are no such things as a competitive loss. You either win or lose a game…..Leonard Williams and Jamal Adams were both the 6th picks in the draft and many considered both the best player on the board. Truth be told they do not play at an All-Pro level…..Trenton Cannon plays at the level he played in college. Division two…..Rookie LB Frankie Luvu was credited with a sack. If it was up to me I sack Darron Lee and start Luvu…..Jason Myers continues his great kicking….. Marquise Brown wide receiver, Oklahoma is the guy I want Sam to Throw to…. 

What The Jet Scribes Are Saying
Rich Cimini, ESPN
When a rookie free agent named Deontay Burnett (four catches for 61 yards) is your leading receiver, you have a world of problems. The receiving corps, sans Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa, gained no separation against a Chicago defense that was missing star pass-rusher Khalil Mack. Quarterback Sam Darnold, who mastered the art of the throwaway, miraculously played turnover-free football.
"We had a lot of new people in there," Bowles said. "They fought hard, and they played hard. I'm not going to use injuries as an excuse. We just have to make more plays."
Bowles is in a tough spot. With a formidable schedule and a roster picked apart by injuries, the Jets could be headed for another double-digit-loss season. Bowles doesn't have a playoff mandate, per Johnson, but that doesn't mean he gets a free pass. His charge is to show progress, to prove to ownership that he is building something special with Darnold, but it could be difficult to manufacture the necessary evidence.Will ownership be sympathetic to Bowles because of the injuries and the rookie-quarterback factor? Don't bet on it. Another 5-11 season, no matter how it happens, would be difficult to sell to the fan base. That would mean three straight five-win seasons, and there's no way to spin 15-33 into a happy story.

Manish Mehta,NY Daily News
It takes much more than fighting to be winners, let alone champions. With Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson and Bilal Powell out, the talent void was obvious. We’re not talking about Rice, Taylor and Craig here, but anyone with a modicum of football knowledge knows that there was a tangible talent drop-off on Sunday. So, put that aside for a second. Now, brace yourself for the truth: Talent had nothing to do with the five false start penalties from five different players that basically screwed Gang Green. You could hear it in Darnold’s voice. He might be the most respectful 21-year-old I’ve ever come across, but he was clearly pissed off by the pre-snap nonsense…..The fallout: Darnold was either running for his life or trying to find blanketed receivers when they were behind the sticks. The ground game disappeared with Isaiah Crowell and rookie Trenton Cannon combining for a grand total of 30 yards on 17 carries. The Jets didn’t plan on the Bears playing base defense against their nickel runs, Beachum said.
The penalties on first and second downs made life harder on the money down. Jeremy Bates’ group converted just 3 of 14 third downs one week after going 2 for 13. The Jets managed just 98 total yards – and 2.6 yards per play – through three quarters before winding up with 217 total yards (3.8 yards per play).Bowles’ team trailed 7-3 at halftime thanks to one blown assignment from a blitzing Avery Williamson, who let speedy running back Tarik Cohen leak out for the easiest 70-yard screen pass for a touchdown that you’ll ever see.

“That was on me,” Williamson said. “I had to hug (Cohen) up. I just swam (and ran past him) and I realized when it was too late.”

The Jets offense couldn’t generate much of anything outside of two drives despite not having to face all-world outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who was out with an ankle injury. They went three-and-out on four of six drives in the first half and 6 of 11 for the game. Darnold’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Herndon early in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 17-10 before Bowles’ defense cracked.Mitchell Trubisky engineered a 79-yard scoring drive capped by Jordan Howard’s 2-yard touchdown run to put the Jets in a 14-point hole again and effectively end any chances of avoiding a second consecutive loss.

“That hurt,” Williams said. “The offense finally started helping us out… but (we) couldn’t do that…. That’s back breaking…. Those are the moments when we need to close. It’s those big defining moments like that when we have to step up.” But they didn’t.It’s unclear if they ever will.The belief is there. The desire to be great is too.But it’s about more than that at this point.

Brian Costello,NY Post
Offense:Grade: D
The Jets barely had a pulse on offense for most of the day. They went three-and-out on six of their first eight possessions and only crossed the 50-yard line twice in the game. Injuries left rookie QB Sam Darnold (14-of-29, 153 yards, 1 TD, 75.8 rating) without many options to throw to. The rushing game was nonexistent, averaging 2.4 yards per carry. Isaiah Crowell (13 rushes, 25 yards) got stopped at the line of scrimmage repeatedly.

Defense:Grade: C-
The defense had long stretches of good play. It was just a 7-3 game at halftime. But when the Jets most needed a stop, after the offense made it a seven-point game in the fourth quarter, the defense caved and gave up a 79-yard touchdown drive. Bears RB Tarik Cohen turned a screen pass into a 70-yard score in the first half on a blown assignment by Jets LB Avery Williamson. Bears QB Mitch Trubisky (16-of-29, 220 yards, 2 TDs, 102.7 rating) killed the Jets with some timely runs (6 rushes, 51 yards).

Special teams:Grade: C+
The Jets did a good job of not letting Tarik Cohen (4 punt returns, 36 yards) kill them. Kicker Jason Myers had a 42-yard field goal on a tough day to kick at Soldier Field because of the rain. Punter Lachlan Edwards averaged 42.1 yards per punt. The return game was a non-factor.

Coaching:Grade F
The Jets continue to take dumb penalties. That is on the coach. Seven pre-snap penalties, including five false starts by the offense, is unacceptable. Jets coach Todd Bowles seems at a loss on how to stop the penalties. He also made some questionable decisions, like punting late in the fourth quarter down two scores and declining a penalty in the third quarter. Jeremy Bates was handcuffed by his personnel, but he could have shown more imagination early.

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