Report Card: Jets vs Eagles (Preseason)
by Brian Clark
Quarterback – B
Eric Ainge – 10/16, 131 yard, TD
He looked good in there, but I don’t know if he did enough to keep his job. The biggest thing he had was “happy feet” in the pocket. He completed 63% of his passes, and the touchdown pass he had to David Ball was nicely thrown, but can Mangini keep 4 QB’s on the roster?
Kellen Clemens – 3/8, 18 yards
Kellen only completed a few passes to Keller and a pass in the flat to Chatman in limited duty. It seemed today that both he and Ratliff would be put on hold so Mangini could get a clear look at Ainge.
Brett Ratliff – 3/4, 48 yards, TD
Brett looked poised out there on the TD pass to Paul Raymond. He did a head fake, got the guy in the air, rolled out nicely and hit Raymond in the back of the endzone. It is plays like that that make me think that he, and not Clemens, might be the quarterback of the future.
Running Backs – A
Jesse Chatman – 29 carries, 93 yards, TD; 6 rec, 87 yards
He looked like the wrecking ball out there, running between the holes as it was basically the Jesse Chatman show. He is the solid #3 rb for this team, and could be a powerful runner when put in there.
Wide Receivers – C
Paul Raymond – 3 receptions, 36 yards, TD
Marcus Henry – 2 receptions ,40 yards
David Ball – 2 receptions, 15 yards
Since it was the Jesse Chatman show, the receivers never really got into the game, unless it was in the back of the endzone. Most of the completions were short underneath routes, as Ainge rarely attempted to stretch the field. It doesn’t look like that Raymond and Ball will make the team, despite 2 TD’s in the preseason by Raymond. Henry has a good chance to get picked up on the practice squad.
Tight Ends – C
Dustin Keller – 2 receptions, 11 yards
Jason Pociask – 1 receptions, 8 yards
Keller caught his only two passes from Kellen Clemens early in the game. Despite the fact that Ainge kept his passes short, the tight ends really didn’t get involved. Keller played for the majority of the game, and will have a big impact on the team this year.
Offensive Line – B-
There is the good and the bad. Firstly, there were no starters that played today, so it was strictly putting players who have a chance to make the team in roles that they might need to fill if there is an injury. They did a decent job giving Chatman some holes to run, especially considering the lack of chemistry and people playing in different roles. However, they did give up 4 sacks, part of it is due to happy feet in the pocket (Ainge), but there were also one on Ratliff where the line broke within the first second.
Defensive Line – C
No sacks against the Eagles 2nd and 3rd squad guys…very little pressure on Kolb…not a good result. The only reason why they didn’t get lower is because they did a relatively decent job shutting down the Eagles run attack.
Linebackers – B
Kenwin Cummings had 6 tackles (5 solo) and is really doing his best to make this team. Players such as Spencer kept getting beat over the middle. Murrell had another strong effort with 4 tackles, and as always was around the ball. Spencer led the team and the unit with 6 tackles. Barton made a nice plays on the ball and Calvin Pace was very active on both the run and the pass.
Secondary – A-
Poteat and Abram Elam both had picks. Elam’s was a pretty one, cutting in front of the receiver on an A.J. Feeley rollout. Poteat’s was being in the right place at the right time, and intercepting a tipped ball. Ahmad Carroll had 5 tackles, and yes, Chansi Stuckey had 4 tackles. Troy Brown type role in his future, playing both WR and CB. Although he didn’t look great, it might be a way for Mangini to keep one less CB and take an extra LB (Murrell), or one extra QB (Ainge).
Special Teams – B+
Nugent went 2 for 2 on field goals, but kicked a ball out of bounds, which is inexcusable even in preseason. Ben Graham had a solid day, kicking 4 balls for nearly a 50 yard average. There was little done in the return game by Ahmad Carroll.
Coaching – B
I can’t complain too much with his decisions to not play any of the starters, especially Favre despite his whining. This game gave him a chance to get Ainge in there are see if he is the type of guy we can keep on our practice squad. Let’s just hope he makes some smart decisions before he needs to cut the team down to 53 on Saturday.
Stud Of The Game: Jesse Chatman
Videos
Rodgers Throws Away Shot at Victory as Jets fall to 3-9