Roderick Boone grades the Jets
OFFENSE
D-The only reason they don't get an 'F' is because they made a game of it - temporarily - in the second half with that 11-play, 80-yard drive and Thomas Jones wound up finishing with 103 almost invisible yards. Other than that, it was a putrid performance. Mark Sanchez was erratic, tying his career high for turnovers with five and had a nasty QB rating of 37.1. They mustered only 226 yards of offense and never got into any rhythm.
DEFENSE
C-Once again, the unit that's supposed to be the backbone of the team didn't get it done. It surrendered 272 yards in the first half - 410 overall - and allowed Wes Welker eight catches and 139 yards in the first half alone. They didn't get much of a pass rush on Tom Brady, who threw for 310 yards and a touchdown. Yielding 27 first downs didn't help matters, either. Sure, they stiffened up a bit in the second half, but the damage had already been done.
SPECIAL TEAMS
BEric Smith's block of a Chris Hanson punt with less than a minute left and Brad Smith's recovery and 4-yard touchdown return gave the Jets a huge lift going into halftime. Jerricho Cotchery filled in nicely for Jim Leonhard, returning a pair of punts for 25 yards. Dwight Lowery had a 44-yard kickoff return and David Clowney a 37-yard kickoff return. Steve Weatherford averaged a respectable 42.8 net yards punting.
COACHING
D Mark Sanchez and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had talked about the importance of breaking a string of slow starts. The implication was they would feature the run early and use short passes to get Sanchez into a rhythm. But that wasn't the case and the Jets continue to outsmart themselves with their play-calling. Putting Darrelle Revis on Randy Moss was a no-brainer, but having Drew Coleman, not a great cover corner despite his speed, shadow the best slot receiver in the game, Wes Welker, was not a smart move.
