Rod Boone's midseason Jets report card
Mark Sanchez passes during the second half of the Jets' comeback win against the Lions on Sunday. (Nov. 7, 2010) Credit: AP
Tied with five teams for the NFL's best record at 6-2 and sitting atop the AFC East standings by virtue of their head-to-head tiebreaker with New England, the Jets can say they are right where they want to be - for now.
But where they are is far from a finished product, given the disturbing rash of self-inflicted errors that keep cropping up.
"Us being 6-2 right now, it's great," Darrelle Revis said. "But I don't think we've played our best football yet. Even the last game, we made a lot of mistakes. We have to clean things up. We've got to be more consistent in what we do on both sides of the ball, and I think the best is yet to come."
How the Jets grade out at midseason:
OFFENSE
CThe running game, averaging 148 yards per game, is ranked fourth in the NFL. LaDainian Tomlinson has been a great pickup. He's on pace for 1,200 rushing yards, 10 TDs and 60 receptions.
Save for being blanked, 9-0, in the Halloween stinker against the Packers, the Jets have proved they can score when they need to. They've staged two fourth-quarter comebacks and are averaging 22.8 points a game. Mark Sanchez has to get the 20th-ranked passing game going, as he did Sunday when he threw for a career-high 336 yards. TE Dustin Keller and WR Braylon Edwards are tied for the team high in TDs with five, and Sanchez appears to have found a connection with both. He has yet to do the same with Santonio Holmes.
There's a sense this unit has underachieved. Its vast potential has yet to be tapped consistently despite averaging 350.2 yards. With all of their playmakers, the Jets should be gaining closer to 400 a game. They also have to get Shonn Greene (87 carries, 391 yards, 1 TD) going.
DEFENSE
BAlthough they lost nose tackle Kris Jenkins six plays into the season and their holdout All-Pro cornerback didn't round into form until recently, the Jets are sixth overall at 307.1 yards allowed per game. They're yielding 16.2 points a game, third-fewest in the NFL, and boast the fourth-best rush defense (87.4 yards a game).
Revis seems to be back to his lockdown self, and Antonio Cromartie has given them a nice tandem. They have to find a consistent answer at nickel, however, and probably should reinsert rookie Kyle Wilson and get his confidence back.
They must do a better job getting off the field on third down and need to improve an 18th-ranked pass defense that has only five interceptions, second-worst in the league.
SPECIAL TEAMS
AMike Westhoff's unit has been by far the steadiest, spearheaded by someone who had a few consistency questions coming into the season.
Nick Folk has turned out to be anything but a question mark; he's tied for third in the league in field goals with 16, misfiring on only three attempts. His only hiccups have come from 30-39 yards: He's 7-for-9 from that distance.
Steve Weatherford wasn't able to spread his wings and fly far enough on his unsuccessful fake against the Packers. But he's been effective at his regular job, leading all punters with 17 fair catches. He's dropped 17 of his 44 punts inside the 20, sixth in the league.
Brad Smith's 30.7-yard kickoff-return average is second in the NFL.
COACHING
B+Rex Ryan continues to change the franchise's culture and has the Jets among the league's elite. He's 3-for-7 in game challenges, a number that looks worse because of two ill-advised questionings of calls in the loss to the Packers.
Maximizing second-half timeouts and better end-game decisions are areas that need improvement, and Ryan must find a way to put a stop to the undisciplined penalties.
