New York Jets Offense Looks Terrible in Embarrassing Loss To Ravens
The New York Jets were the bigmouths of the NFL offseason. The team, along with their head coach, made many bold predictions. They were supposed to be a rough and tough bunch headed for Super Bowl XLV.
Well, on Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens to open the New Meadowlands Stadium for themselves, they looked awful, and played one of their worst offensive games in team history.
Mark Sanchez wasn't allowed to take control of the game, and didn't produce anything whatsoever. It was a performance so bad, it makes you wonder what lies ahead.
Here's a complete game breakdown detailing what went wrong for the Jets.
Game Recap
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The Jets began their 2010 season at home against the Baltimore Ravens, two teams who had 9-7 wild card seasons in 2009. It was predicted to be a battle of two great defenses, and it was all of that. The only problem was that the Ravens should've scored more than 10 points.
The Jets defense was great on first and second downs, but on third down, they were as awful as can be. The Ravens converted 11 third downs on 19 tries, as every time the Jets needed a stop, Baltimore responded.
The Jets got possession of the ball to start the game, and had a quick three and out. It was a five-play drive that featured Mark Sanchez gaining 15 yards.
The Jets got the crowd excited right off the bat defensively, as they sacked Joe Flacco on his first play, and forced a fumble. The Jets would start at the Ravens 11 but only settle for a field goal.
The next drive for Joe Flacco and the Ravens was the huge disappointment. The Ravens ate up 9:16 on the clock and ran 13 plays, including converting on four third downs. One of the third down conversions was a third-and-28 holding penalty on rookie corner back Kyle Wilson.
The Ravens never scored thanks to another fumble, but it certainly made you wonder what was going on. Third downs and penalties were the Jets' achilles heel on defense.
Meanwhile on offense, the Jets couldn't get anything done all game, settling for three field goals. All of the bad play on both sides of the ball led to a Jets 10-9 loss on opening week.
Continue reading for breakdown and analysis of what the Jets did wrong on Monday night.
Darrelle Revis' Talents Actually Hurts The Jets
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Darrelle Revis is a great corner back and helps the Jets defense greatly, but on Monday night he proved his talents could actually hurt the Jets.
With teams not wanting to throw in Revis' direction, the Ravens picked on rookie Kyle Wilson and beat him. Whenever Joe Flacco needed to convert on a third down or a long play, he threw to Anquan Boldin, and virtually every time Boldin won the battle.
Wilson did make some stops in the end zone, but had a bad first career NFL game. He not only got beat by Boldin, he made some stupid penalties.
If the Jets are going to have a good secondary, they better limit Wilson's playing time and put it in the hands of Revis and Antonio Cromartie.
Cromartie also didn't have a strong game, but made an interception deep in Jets territory on Boldin in the second quarter. He is also much more experienced than Wilson.
Revis didn't look like he missed a beat after his 36-day holdout, and the Ravens didn't want any part of him. He was a non-factor, but looked good covering Derrick Mason when he needed to.
So although Revis is a huge plus for the Jets, he's become so good, teams are picking on others who are getting beat. The secondary was one of the reasons the Jets lost the game, by not containing Boldin.
Jets Will Not Succeed If They Continue to Baby Mark Sanchez
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The Jets saw quarterback Mark Sanchez grow in the playoffs last season. They saw that he has ability to be accurate when making his passes, and he has good mobility. So, what was the reason for them babying him to start his second season?
Sanchez was almost irrelevant in the defeat, and it was as if the Jets are trying to play without a quarterback. In the NFL, not having a quarterback will cost you immensely, and the Jets being scared to let him handle the ball will hurt them.
Sanchez only threw 21 passes in the entire game, and he converted 10 of them. He only gained 74 passing yards, and only a few times did he attempt to throw balls downfield.
He was relying a lot on the running game of LaDainian Tomlinson, who didn't look bad, but couldn't produce enough for what the Jets needed.
The Jets have to allow Sanchez to pass a little more, and make some more big-yardage plays. The dinks and dunks will not work, unless your defense is so good that you shut teams out. Even with the defense only allowing 10 points, they still lost.
The Jets needed to win a game in which they gave up so few points, but with the way they utilize Mark Sanchez, they won't win much this season.
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Third Down Defense and Penalties Kill Jets Chances
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The two main reasons the Jets lost was their defensive mistakes. They couldn't stop the Ravens on third down at any point, and they committed too many penalties.
While the Ravens committed five penalties for 38 yards, the Jets committed 14 penalties for 125 yards. In fact, the Jets only accumulated 51 more yards than penalty yards allowed.
Head coach Rex Ryan has always talked about wanting to have an aggressive defense, but all of his chatter is what's hurting his team. The Jets defense tried to be too aggressive on Monday night, leading to offsides, holding, pass interference, and roughing the kicker penalties.
Whenever they'd get a big stop on defense or make a big play on offense, it would be nullified by a senseless penalty. It happened all night, along with the head-scratching third down conversions allowed.
Over the years, the Jets have always had trouble stopping third down, but tonight it was ridiculous. It wasn't even a matter of will they stop it, but they weren't going to stop it.
Whether it was third-and-inches or third-and-28 to everything in between, the Ravens converted. The only way the Jets stopped them was on the run. Other than that, the defense let down every time.
The blame has to go to the secondary. They need to be more focused to stop the pass and end a drive.
Jets Running Game May Not Be As Strong As Last Season
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The Jets let Thomas Jones go in the offseason, and that may have been the wrong move. LaDainian Tomlinson didn't have a bad game, and the Jets were going up against Ray Lewis, but their ground and pound didn't look sharp.
Second-year back Shonn Greene only rushed for 18 yards, and the running game was stuffed by a ferocious Ravens defense.
If Mark Sanchez and the Jets intend on running the ball more to protect the quarterback, the running game must pick it up.
To put their night in perspective, their longest rushing play was 22 yards, and it was by receiver Brad Smith. The Jets converted six first downs, tied for the least in a single game in team history.
It was just an atrocious offensive game, highlighted by dropped catches and missed opportunities. The running game will have to pick it up if the Jets want to win games this season.
Jets Show They're Able to Rush The Quarterback
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The lone positive to take out of Monday night's loss is the Jets ability to put pressure on the quarterback. They didn't play smart defense. They were awful offensively, but they did put a lot of pressure on Joe Flacco.
If you think about it, that's the only way the Jets were able to limit the Ravens to 10 points. Baltimore had their chances in Jets territory, but other than the final drive of the first half, they couldn't pound the ball into the end zone.
The Jets blitzing showed off on the first defensive play of the game. Flacco got sacked by Shaun Ellis and Bryan Thomas, as they got right through the Ravens gaps to force a quarterback fumble.
They continued to pressure Flacco all night, and did the job, but unfortunately the offense was bad enough to make it all go for naught.
Putting pressure on the quarterback though was the only positive I could find from a terribly played game.
Closing Opinion and What's Up Next For Jets
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In the end, the Jets played the most embarrassing opening game of the season possible. After all the hype of Rex Ryan and his team, the Jets played a stinker in their first game at the New Meadowlands, and on national TV to boot.
Now, with an 0-1 record, the Jets will stay home to take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon.
The way the Jets played, coupled with the way the Patriots offense looked on Sunday, Gang Green is staring at a potential 0-2 start at home.
It would be a huge disappointment, and an embarrassment for Rex Ryan to have to answer questions about what went wrong so early on.
Whatever the case shall be, the Jets must regroup and get ready to get back even next week.
AFC East Standings After Week 1
Miami 1-0
New England 1-0
Buffalo 0-1
NY Jets 0-1
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