New York Jets Show Plenty of Promise Despite Loss to Green Bay Packers
Blowing double-digit leads against a heavily favored team and Super Bowl contender is about as low as it gets on the "bad loss" meter of NFL losses.
Throw in the fact that their would-be game-tying touchdown was wiped out by a phantom timeout from their own sideline, and this recent loss falls into line with every "Same Old Jets" mantra that is so carelessly thrown around.
Lost in the disappointment and frustration is the fact that the Jets had a reason to be so frustrated and disappointed to begin with. For about 27 minutes, the New York Jets were not just winning—they were competing on a different level than the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers.
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Rex Ryan's squad was dominating both sides of the ball on their way to a 21-3 lead in front of a stunned crowd in Green Bay.
While they were aided by an early Packer fumble, the Jets had answers to everything the Green Bay Packers threw at them, which gives more reason for Ryan to feel good about his team's chances of surviving the gauntlet of its schedule than any timeout controversy can take away from.
The Jets did not have such a strong start because they simply "stole the momentum" or the Packers "came out flat." They outexecuted and outsmarted a quality team on both sides of the ball for nearly a half of football.
The Jets were the first to score on a shortened field—thanks to a mishandled quarterback-center exchange by the Packers—but they demonstrated their initial dominance on defense. Right away, it was apparent that Aaron Rodgers was not throwing against what is believed to be a secondary kept together by Elmer's glue.
On paper, Darrin Walls versus Jordy Nelson is a mismatch the Packers would take 10 out of 10 times. When tested by Rodgers on the Packers first (real) drive of the game, Walls is in Nelson's front pocket, giving him no chance to make a play.
Not only did the Jets cover well, but they generated a pass rush. When Rodgers did have a player open, Quinton Coples and Co. were already within a fingernail's length of the quarterback's polyester.
The Jets were beating the Packers physically and strategically. On 3rd-and-long, Ryan dials up a perfectly executed blitz that leaves linebacker Demario Davis unaccounted for while the secondary holds up well enough to give time for the blitz to work.
The Jets were equally as dominant on the offensive side of the ball. In just a few plays, any notion that Eric Decker was nothing more than a Peyton Manning byproduct was thrown out the window. Decker put a move on Sam Shields off the line that Shields won't forget anytime soon before catching a perfect pass from Geno Smith between two defenders.
These are not cases of the Jets having some kind of mythical "momentum" to ride. This is simply a case of one team playing better football than another in just about every facet of the game.
Injuries to Eric Decker and the presence of a hobbled Dee Milliner onto the field would allow the Packers to reverse the course of the game and pull out the win, but the result of the game does not change the fact that the Jets starters dominated their Packer counterparts for nearly a full half of football.
In the first half, the Jets' offensive game plan was always a few steps ahead of the Packers. This elegantly blocked quarterback draw gave the Jets an easy first down.
The design of this blocking scheme created a perfect lane for Smith to pick up an easy nine yards. This play would not have worked nearly as well without the perfect combination of pre-snap movement, double-teams and execution. Left guard Brian Winters, who sometimes appears to be the weak link on the Jets offensive line, made a particularly impressive block going across the formation to take Clay Matthews out of the play.
This play showed some of the progression the Jets offense has made in terms of its ability to execute—but this is just a small part of why the Jets have so much to look forward to under second-year offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
The most valuable facet in the Jets' ascent to respectability is the development of quarterback Geno Smith. Smith has shown noticeable improvement since the third game of the preseason, playing less like a robotic rookie and more like a quarterback who is actively looking to make plays and win games.
What has been most impressive in Smith is his fearlessness about pushing the ball downfield. When the game was on the line in a 4th-and-short situation, Smith did not look for the easy completion—he went right for the end zone to hit Jeremy Kerley for the touchdown.
Thanks to the most untimely timeout in NFL history, the TD pass to Kerley never counted. Nonetheless, the play does not take away from Smith's willingness to be aggressive in a critical situation—a quality many quarterbacks never are able to exhibit.
Smith has numerical evidence to back up his development as well. In his first two games, he has improved in just about every meaningful statistic since his up-and-down rookie campaign in 2013.
| 2014 (2 games) | 65.0 | 397 | 2 | 2 | 81.0 |
| 2013 | 55.8 | 3,046 | 12 | 21 | 66.5 |
Moral victories do not count for much in the NFL, but this stretch of in-game dominance from the Jets was a glimpse of the team's potential. No longer will the Jets be simply trying to "stay in" games against the powerhouse teams. After flashing this caliber of play, expectations will be higher; the Jets will no longer able to ride the "little team that could" label. The level of talent has made an obvious difference in the potential of this squad.
However, as much upside as the roster general manager John Idzik put together has, the futile second half showcased how quickly things can fall apart. Because of their deficiencies at some key positions, particularly at cornerback and wide receiver, the Jets are still at least another year away from completing Idzik's overhaul of the team's roster.
Whether or not the Jets ultimately achieve their goal of making the playoffs and having a successful season remains to be seen. What is known, however, is that New York is headed in the right direction no matter how big of a lead they let squander on Sunday.
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