New York Jets Report Card (Preseason Game 1)

Preseason Game 1:  Giants @ Jets
New Meadowlands: August 16, 2010, 8:00 PM

by Matt Keach
Featured Columnist

Quarterback: C-
Sanchez: 13/17, 119 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Clemens: 7/10, 84 yards
Brunell: 1/3, 14 yards
O’Connell 8/13, 70 yards, 2 INT

The first pass by Mark Sanchez was thrown behind running back Ladanian Tomlinson and into double coverage, and it nearly resulted in a pick six. Beyond that, he looked sharp. Jets quarterbacks only found the end zone once tonight when Mark Sanchez hit an uncovered Brad Smith. A scrambling touchdown by O’Connell was overturned and that ultimately led to another interception.

Running Backs: D+
Greene: 5 carries, 26 yards
Tomlinson: 8 carries, 17 yards
McKnight: 13 carries, 32 yards

No Jets running back found the end zone tonight (with the exception of an overturned run by Tomlinson). Greene looked good enough, but everyone else struggled. Tomlinson had a nice reception on 3rd and long for a 1st down. No Jets back had a run longer than 8 yards. A return by Nick Mangold might help.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B+
[12 Jets recorded at least 1 reception)

The wide receivers and tight ends were solid, but unspectacular tonight. No receiver scored a touchdown. Hartsock got called for a penalty. Keller didn’t contribute much tonight. 5 Jets receivers recorded at least 30 yards receiving. The yards leaders were: Holmes, Woodhead, Allison, Edwards and Cotchery. Braylon Edwards did a good job of hanging on to the ball, and Santonio Holmes made Kellen Clemens look decent. That alone is worth a letter grade.

Offensive Line: B+

The offensive line did a good job in pass protection, but the ground game went nowhere. The battle at left guard continues between Matt Slauson (who was flagged once tonight) and Vlad Ducasse. Nick Mangold should help cure the woes as soon as he becomes available.

Defensive Line: B

The starting defensive line did a good job at shutting down the run and pressuring Eli Manning, though they paid a hefty price for failing to get to Manning when Eli had the presence of mind to dump the ball off to Bradshaw, who gashed all three defensive units.

Linebackers: B+

Here again the first string defense looked solid. Though they failed to record a single sack, pick or fumble recovery, they forced a ton of 3 and outs. Kenwin Cummings is a solid and respectable backup to David Harris and Bart Scott.

Secondary: C

It was a tale of two halves for the Jets secondary. Cromartie and Wilson shined. Cromartie nearly recorded a pick on two occassions. Everyone else should be worried about losing their jobs, as little known Victor Cruz embarrassed the Jets 2nd and 3rd string secondary one by one, by one… Safeties played well enough. The primary cause for concern about the Revis holdout is the loss of front end talent, but what ought to be equally concerning is that the absence of Revis bumps players like Lowery, Coleman and Cole up a spot.

Special Teams: B-

Nick Folk: 3/4 FG, 1/1 PAT
T.J. Conley: 2, 52 LG
Steve Weatherford: 1, 49 LG

A kickoff returned for a touchdown by Victor Cruz (the Giants’ David Clowney) drops the grade for the special teams, who played quite well otherwise. Nick Folk still makes me nervous on field goals, but so far he’s better at kickoffs than Feeley. Eric Smith made a beautiful play to block a punt in the early goings. Larry Taylor was consistent on returns.

Coaching: N/R

No rating for coach Rex Ryan during the pre-season. Not gonna do it. Just not. I will say, it’s surprising that Rex let his starters play a full half in game 1.

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