Soaring Jets gather no Moss

Although the Jets are increasingly gaining a reputation as a home for talented malcontents and assorted knuckleheads, the brass wisely decided to eschew the services of Randy Moss, the quintessential Diva of Wide Outs. In fact, one wag stated that Terrell Owens is Mother Teresa compared with Moss. When questioned about the availability of Moss, QB Mark Sanchez stated he was “apathetic.” Gang Green apparently is content with its current crop of receivers, who were responsible for approximately 10 dropped passes against the Packers last week.

Of more relevance is the preparation of the Jets for their upcoming opponent, the Detroit Lions. Although the Lions continue their record losing streak on the road, they are certainly a dangerous club at home. Calvin Johnson, a.k.a. “Megatron”, (named after the evil leader of the Decepticons from the “Transformers”), is perhaps the modern version of Moss, without the baggage. His skills had previously been wasted until this season, due to the continuous ineptitude of Lion’s quarterbacks since, well, forever, but 1st round draft choice Matt Stafford seems to be the real deal. Megatron is an imposing 6’5”, weighs 236 pounds, and runs with speed, grace, power, and a superb ability to catch anything thrown in his vicinity. Cornerback Darrelle Revis, finally returning to his All-Pro form after weeks of enduring a nagging hamstring injury, will have his biggest test of the season. Johnson was named NFL Offensive Player of the Week with a nine-catch performance for 101 yards and three TD’s last week against the Redskins. On offense, the most intriguing matchup will to see if the Jets superb Guard Brandon Moore can contain behemoth Ndamukong Suh, the 2nd pick in the 2010 draft, who is having a superb rookie season, with 6.5 sacks and a touchdown thus far.

Of equal concern is the recent slump of the Sanchise. After playing the first four games of the season with remarkable poise and accuracy, Sanchez is enduring a three game slump, having completed less then half of his passes over that span, despite receiving excellent protection from the Offensive Line. After failing to throw an interception the first five games of the season, Mark has thrown four over the past two games. He is making questionable decisions, failing to observe open receivers, and throwing off the mark in key situations. One such example occurred in the final five minutes of the game against Green Bay. Sanchez threw an incomplete pass to Jerricho Cotchery on that play; however, Braylon Edwards was so wide open that Head Coach Ryan stated “Seth Ryan could’ve made that throw.” Seth happens to be Ryan’s teenage son. Perhaps part of Sanchez’ problem is dealing with the treacherous wind patterns at the Meadowlands. Eli Manning had difficulty passing in this difficult venue for some years.

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Another potential issue going into the Lions match is the decline of the running game. Ryan stated that Detroit often put 8-9 men in the box, forcing Sanchez to pass. However, the Jets typically face this many defensive players hovering around the line of scrimmage, and due to their superb offensive line, still manage to accrue sizable yardage via their “Ground and Pound” attack. As the Jets average 159 yards on the ground per game, and the Packers defensive front is hardly the re-incarnation of the Steel Curtain, it is a bit puzzling why Offensive Coordinator Shottenheimer chose to abandon the run fairly early in the encounter. The other impediment to running consistently was three penalties in the first half which put the Jets in 1st and long situations, which usually dictate eschewing the run. However, in the second half, LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Green combined for only 10 carries for 40 yards, despite the fact that the Jets were only three points behind. New York needs to get back to relying on their running attack next week against the Lions, who rank 27th in the NFL against the run.

It is mandatory that the Jets regain their focus this week. New York is already a game behind the New England Patriots. This appeared to be an off year for the Pats, saddled with a very young secondary, and the lack of a running attack. But Belichick is once again proving why he is the greatest Head Coach in the modern game. The December rematch against the Pats is shaping up as perhaps the definitive encounter of the season.  

By: Paul J. Nebenfuhr
ProFootball-fans.com New York Jets Correspondent