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Midseason Report Card
They were the toast of the town and the darlings of the NFL, though it seems like light years ago after their recent struggles.
When the Jets got off to that roaring 3-0 start, Mark Sanchez was the steal of the draft who was playing more like a veteran than a rookie and Rex Ryan's brash confidence was considered an asset, not a detriment.
But after dropping four of their last five to head into this week's bye at 4-4, the whispers about Sanchez's arm strength, the size of his hands and his level of readiness have become more prevalent. Ryan all of a sudden didn't know what he's doing, is too cocky and should be taking a more hands-on approach with the offense and special teams, not just leaving his fingerprints on the defense.
This kind of roller-coaster ride probably would make the folks at Six Flags Great Adventure stand up and take notice. It's certainly been an interesting first eight weeks of the 2009 campaign for the Jets.
OFFENSE B-
They are in the middle of the pack in the NFL in overall offense, ranking 16th with their 342.1-yards-per-game average. But the Jets are tops in rushing, gobbling up 177.3 yards per contest, and Thomas Jones is fifth in the league with 704 yards. Mark Sanchez became the first rookie quarterback to open the season with three straight wins but has been up and down, though he's shown bounce-back ability. Braylon Edwards has been a nice addition with 13 catches for 192 yards and two TDs in his four games as a Jet, and Jerricho Cotchery showed he can be a No. 1 receiver. They still have to find a way to get tight end Dustin Keller more involved, which was finally the case Sunday when he was targeted a team-high 13 times and had eight catches. As for the guys up front, the number of pre-snap penalties needs to be curtailed; the offensive line is getting flagged a bit too often for false starts and illegal shifts.
DEFENSE B+
With the exception of giving up the lead three times in the fourth quarter against the Dolphins in the Monday night game in Miami, the defense has played well for the most part. It is No. 2 in the league in yards allowed at 273.4 per game and is fourth against the pass, yielding 165.2 a game. It has given up only seven touchdowns in eight games. After recording only four sacks through the first five games, it picked it up with 10 in its last three. Darrelle Revis, who has two interceptions, continues to be a shutdown cornerback and has locked up some of the league's elite receivers. The inside linebacker duo of Bart Scott and David Harris already has totaled 81 solo tackles and 4.5 sacks. The Jets lost their big man in the middle when Kris Jenkins went out for the season with a torn right ACL, but Sione Pouha and Howard Green have helped fill the void.
SPECIAL TEAMS C
The cold, hard truth is Mike Westhoff's unit has cost the Jets two games. Punter Steve Weatherford's botched hold in overtime against the Bills was a crusher and ultimately convinced Westhoff to go with backup quarterback Kellen Clemens as the new holder. They also didn't get the job done Sunday, letting Ted Ginn Jr. return kickoffs 100 and 101 yards in a game in which the defense held Miami to 104 total offensive yards. Weatherford's punts, which average 41.5 yards, have been adequate and 13 of his 53 punts have been downed inside the 20. Jay Feely is money, making 13 of 15 field-goal attempts. Losing dynamic kick returner Leon Washington for the season with a broken right leg is a big blow and it remains to be seen how well Justin Miller fares. He didn't show a lot of explosiveness in his first game back as a Jet Sunday.
COACHING C+
Rex Ryan has made some good choices, in particular naming Mark Sanchez the starter, and they're finally getting to his "ground and pound" approach. But the tough-talking first-time head coach has to get better at his decision-making and needs to utilize his timeouts better. He sometimes shows too much confidence in his defense and goes with his gut rather than playing the percentages, especially in end-of-game management. Still, the Jets have taken on Ryan's outgoing personality and he's certainly changed the environment around the franchise.Something tells me you'll need to buckle up during these last eight weeks of the regular season because there are surely going to be a few more bumps along the way as the Jets attempt to end their two-year playoff drought. We'll be keeping tabs the whole way of course, so don't forget to stay locked in on The Boone Docks -- where we'll host a Live Chat here at noon tomorrow -- and with us on Twitter at twitter.com/rodboone.
Tags: Mark Sanchez, Thomas Jones, Braylon Edwards, Dustin Keller, Jerricho Cotchery, Bart Scott, David Harris, Darrelle Revis, Kris Jenkins, Sione Pouha, Howard Green, Steve Weatherford, Ted Ginn, Kellen Clemens, Jay Feely, Leon Washington, Justin Miller, Mike Westhoff, Rex Ryan, midseason report card
