Despite four-game win streak, Jets eager to improve
Despite getting dealt from the Steelers, Holmes still ranks Heinz Field as his favorite stadium to play in.
Credit: AP
Jason Taylor believes the Jets have barely scratched the surface, hardly even tapped into their potential during their four-game winning streak.
"We know how good we can be," the linebacker said after the Jets held off the Vikings, 29-20, Monday night. "We know we are doing enough to win right now, but some of those mistakes we are making need to get corrected. And we'll do that as time goes on. We are getting there. You don't want to be playing your best football in October, and we understand that."
What they also understand is this: Once they shore up a few inconsistencies, look out. They may be scary.
"When we fix all these problems," tight end Dustin Keller said, "we are going to be a very tough team to beat."
Think about it for a second. Despite rattling off four straight victories and vaulting to the top of the AFC East standings with a 4-1 record, the Jets have put together only one game - last week's 38-14 pummeling of Buffalo - in which they've clicked on all facets.
So all three units have areas that can use a little improvement, places where things can benefit from being polished up here and there.
"We are not even playing capable of how this defense and how this offense and special teams can play," linebacker Bart Scott said.
That's because as good as their No. 1 rushing attack has looked, the Jets' aerial game hasn't been as fluid. They're only throwing for 172 yards per game, leaving them 25th in the league, and often have been forced to settle for field goals. That happened five times Monday and could have cost them the game.
Then defensively, as shown by the second-half rally from Brett Favre and the Vikings, the Jets have had sporadic breakdowns in their secondary. Their 23rd-ranked pass defense has been subpar at times, yielding 234.6 yards per game.
Antonio Cromartie believes it's all about consistency.
"The sky is the limit for us," the cornerback said. "Our biggest thing is to just to try to keep improving week in and week out. In the first half, when you hold a team under 100 yards, it's a great feeling. But we've got to keep that going. We've got to keep on pushing and we've got to emphasize what we want to improve on week in and week out."
That's the mentality the Jets are adopting, something they feel is necessary to get to that postseason promised land.
"We get our guys healthy and we're humming and playing with our confidence that we know we can play with," Rex Ryan said Tuesday, "this team is going to be right there."
