Chase Stuart
Footballguy
Was fortunate enough to land seats in Row 11 exactly on the 50 yard line. Had a great view of the game, so I thought I'd present my thoughts:
Jets
Offense
The first play from scrimmage was great. Pennington throws a four yard out to Cotchery or Coles about 10 times a game, and the defense totally bit on the pump fake. Leon Washington was wide open, but Pennington underthrew him. Washington made the long catch and then made a great juke move about 10 yards down the field, and then raced into the end zone. Similar to his play against the Dolphins last year -- Washington is the team's biggest gamebreaker.
Pennington was hard to judge, although I don't think there's anything to judge from Pennington in the pre-season. We all know what Pennington is. He didn't throw too many passes today.
Washington had little room to run, and was mostly ineffective on the ground.
The big reason Pennington didn't pass much and Washington was ineffective was the line play. The left side of the line was terrible tonight. Brick got beat badly on a sack by Umenyiora, and Tuck got an easy sack with Bender simply missed his assignment. The Giants have a talented DL, but the state of the left side of the Jets line tonight was ugly. The loss of Kendall was obvious.
Long-term, I think Bender might become a decent guard. The problem is it seems unlikely to happen in the short-term. The Jets have a terrific coaching staff and I think they might be able to both coach up whomever lines up at LG and hide his weaknesses due to schemes/play calling. It's worth noting that Mangini even admitted that the Jets would not show much tonight, since they play the Giants in early October when it counts. I don't like reading much from pre-season games, but I would certainly consider downgrading all Jets players until the OL issue is resolved.
Coles/Cotchery/Baker did very little.
Second team:
Brad Smith and Justin McCareins both made excellent receptions on long throws by Clemens. Clemens played very well, although it was all against the Giants second team defense. He's accurate and has a nice arm, and has yet to disappoint those who thought he would be one of the top QBs from that class. But it's just impossible to judge a QB in pre-season against a second team playing vanilla schemes. It's worth noting that the Jets first team OL was in. Danny Ware was terrific, and also played behind the first string OL. He seems more than adequate as a Rb3.
Defense
The big story of the night was the much anticipated debut of Darelle Revis. Once again, be wary of taking much from a pre-season game. That being said, I was absolutely floored with how well Revis played considering he's basically missed all of camp and this was his first live action. He blanketed Toomer and later Sinorice Moss. Revis mostly played in the nickel spot when the Jets brought in an extra corner. He did a good job of keeping his players in front of him on 3rd and longs, and allowed two small receptions there. He made a great play at the goal line getting his hand in front of a player to deflect a pass. He showed off his strong instincts tonight, and did not get beat once. Clearly the highlight from an otherwise miserable game for the Jets.
The Jets had zero pass rush on Manning. This isn't exactly a big surprise, since the Jets rarely blitzed tonight and didn't generate much of a pass rush last year. The Jets DL is full of good players, but not great ones, and they're never going to get to the QB in a 3-4 defense. It's up to the outside 'backers to do it, and I'm not sure if Thomas and Hobson will be able to consistently get to the QB. The Jets run D was mediocre, which is also about what you expect. The Jets are your ultimate bend but don't break team, which they showed again tonight. They allowed a ton of yards but very few points until late in the first half.
Giants
Offense
Manning looked good. He wasn't rushed, so it's hard to make a ton of comments on him. When Manning has time to throw he's obviously going to be very good. No accuracy issues tonight, and he made mostly smart throws. The Giants offense was a bit conservative on 3rd downs throughout the first half, but that might be because the teams meet again soon.
Jacobs looked pretty good. He dragged David Harris on one play, gaining an extra three or four yards due to his strength. He's not an easy guy to take down, and did convert (by inches) a 3rd and two.
Anthony Mix made a great grab for his TD. Manning lobbed it perfectly, where only Mix could grab it, and he managed to get both feet just in. He also was guarded by Drew Coleman, who is 7 inches shorter than him. With his height he makes for an attractive target, but there's lots of competition in New York. With Shockey and Toomer out, Mix and Steve Smith got to play quite a bit. Smith had a couple of receptions but didn't do anything special.
The Giants offensive line looked pretty good tonight, which has to make Giants fans a bit more comfortable. Manning had solid protection and there were holes for Jacobs to run through. Droughns looked alright as well, although neither Jacobs nor Droughns had any big runs.
Defense
Umenyiora had a sack and looked good tonight. Justin Tuck's sack was on a broken play when he went through unblocked. The Giants defense was strong tonight, although the Jets played a very vanilla offense. Second string defense was shredded through the air and on the ground, which makes you wonder about their depth. J.R. Reed made a nice interception, but he won't see much time this year.
Special teams:
Nugent missed an extra point on what looked like a perfect snap/hold. Tynes missed two 40 yard field goals, but Josh Houston also missed a 42 yarder. Brad Smith returned kicks and punts tonight, although Revis took over for punts after half-time. McQuarters looked very good on both of his punt returns tonight. Ahmad Bradshaw had a very nice 43-yard kick return, and had an 18 yard run from scrimmage. Both punters played very well tonight, and certainly saw enough action.
Jets
Offense
The first play from scrimmage was great. Pennington throws a four yard out to Cotchery or Coles about 10 times a game, and the defense totally bit on the pump fake. Leon Washington was wide open, but Pennington underthrew him. Washington made the long catch and then made a great juke move about 10 yards down the field, and then raced into the end zone. Similar to his play against the Dolphins last year -- Washington is the team's biggest gamebreaker.
Pennington was hard to judge, although I don't think there's anything to judge from Pennington in the pre-season. We all know what Pennington is. He didn't throw too many passes today.
Washington had little room to run, and was mostly ineffective on the ground.
The big reason Pennington didn't pass much and Washington was ineffective was the line play. The left side of the line was terrible tonight. Brick got beat badly on a sack by Umenyiora, and Tuck got an easy sack with Bender simply missed his assignment. The Giants have a talented DL, but the state of the left side of the Jets line tonight was ugly. The loss of Kendall was obvious.
Long-term, I think Bender might become a decent guard. The problem is it seems unlikely to happen in the short-term. The Jets have a terrific coaching staff and I think they might be able to both coach up whomever lines up at LG and hide his weaknesses due to schemes/play calling. It's worth noting that Mangini even admitted that the Jets would not show much tonight, since they play the Giants in early October when it counts. I don't like reading much from pre-season games, but I would certainly consider downgrading all Jets players until the OL issue is resolved.
Coles/Cotchery/Baker did very little.
Second team:
Brad Smith and Justin McCareins both made excellent receptions on long throws by Clemens. Clemens played very well, although it was all against the Giants second team defense. He's accurate and has a nice arm, and has yet to disappoint those who thought he would be one of the top QBs from that class. But it's just impossible to judge a QB in pre-season against a second team playing vanilla schemes. It's worth noting that the Jets first team OL was in. Danny Ware was terrific, and also played behind the first string OL. He seems more than adequate as a Rb3.
Defense
The big story of the night was the much anticipated debut of Darelle Revis. Once again, be wary of taking much from a pre-season game. That being said, I was absolutely floored with how well Revis played considering he's basically missed all of camp and this was his first live action. He blanketed Toomer and later Sinorice Moss. Revis mostly played in the nickel spot when the Jets brought in an extra corner. He did a good job of keeping his players in front of him on 3rd and longs, and allowed two small receptions there. He made a great play at the goal line getting his hand in front of a player to deflect a pass. He showed off his strong instincts tonight, and did not get beat once. Clearly the highlight from an otherwise miserable game for the Jets.
The Jets had zero pass rush on Manning. This isn't exactly a big surprise, since the Jets rarely blitzed tonight and didn't generate much of a pass rush last year. The Jets DL is full of good players, but not great ones, and they're never going to get to the QB in a 3-4 defense. It's up to the outside 'backers to do it, and I'm not sure if Thomas and Hobson will be able to consistently get to the QB. The Jets run D was mediocre, which is also about what you expect. The Jets are your ultimate bend but don't break team, which they showed again tonight. They allowed a ton of yards but very few points until late in the first half.
Giants
Offense
Manning looked good. He wasn't rushed, so it's hard to make a ton of comments on him. When Manning has time to throw he's obviously going to be very good. No accuracy issues tonight, and he made mostly smart throws. The Giants offense was a bit conservative on 3rd downs throughout the first half, but that might be because the teams meet again soon.
Jacobs looked pretty good. He dragged David Harris on one play, gaining an extra three or four yards due to his strength. He's not an easy guy to take down, and did convert (by inches) a 3rd and two.
Anthony Mix made a great grab for his TD. Manning lobbed it perfectly, where only Mix could grab it, and he managed to get both feet just in. He also was guarded by Drew Coleman, who is 7 inches shorter than him. With his height he makes for an attractive target, but there's lots of competition in New York. With Shockey and Toomer out, Mix and Steve Smith got to play quite a bit. Smith had a couple of receptions but didn't do anything special.
The Giants offensive line looked pretty good tonight, which has to make Giants fans a bit more comfortable. Manning had solid protection and there were holes for Jacobs to run through. Droughns looked alright as well, although neither Jacobs nor Droughns had any big runs.
Defense
Umenyiora had a sack and looked good tonight. Justin Tuck's sack was on a broken play when he went through unblocked. The Giants defense was strong tonight, although the Jets played a very vanilla offense. Second string defense was shredded through the air and on the ground, which makes you wonder about their depth. J.R. Reed made a nice interception, but he won't see much time this year.
Special teams:
Nugent missed an extra point on what looked like a perfect snap/hold. Tynes missed two 40 yard field goals, but Josh Houston also missed a 42 yarder. Brad Smith returned kicks and punts tonight, although Revis took over for punts after half-time. McQuarters looked very good on both of his punt returns tonight. Ahmad Bradshaw had a very nice 43-yard kick return, and had an 18 yard run from scrimmage. Both punters played very well tonight, and certainly saw enough action.
