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Mark Sanchez had one of his best games as a Jet with a 123.4 quarterback rating, competing 19 of 27 for 266 yards. Tony Sparano did a nice job of calling pass plays at the right time, against certain coverages . . .
The way things started for the Jets’ passing attack, it looked like they were picking up from last year.
Mark Sanchez was off-target on a square out to Stephen Hill on the left side. Sanchez seemed to rush the throw a little bit. This was probably adrenaline related.
Two plays later, on third-and-six, Sanchez hit Hill on a square out to the left side, beating rookie corner Stephon Gilmore, who the Jets picked on quite a bit.
Two plays later, Jeff Cumberland cut from the middle to the right side, away from LB Nick Barnett, and hauled in a 11-yard pass from Sanchez.
Two plays later, Sanchez ran a bootleg to the left side, and attempted to flip the ball to Cumberland, and the ball went off the tight end, and into the hands of S Brian Scott.
Here is what happened. Sanchez had three options on this play, and decided to flip to Cumberland, who was right in front of him. Why not throw it, why flip it? Cumberland told me after the game that Sanchez could not execute a normal throw because they were too close to each other.
Darrelle Revis got the Jets back the ball quickly with a pick, and Sanchez and Tim Tebow led the Jets on a 8-play, 61-yard drive.
The general consensus is that Tebow and the Wildcat wasn’t effective in this game. Granted it could have gone a little better, but on this drive, it was helpful.
Tebow had two Wildcat runs for four yards on this possession, setting up a pair of second-and-six situations which were helpful to Sanchez.
Through the air, it was “The Jeremy Kerley Show” on this possession. On the first third down, a third-and-seven, Sanchez threw a deep out on the right side to Jeremy Kerley for a gain of 21 yards. Kerley beat Leodis McKelvin on this play. The Jets were smart to pick on McKelvin, who hasn’t developed like the Bills had hoped after picking him 11th overall in the 2008 draft. This drive wrapped up with Kerley beating McKelvin again. Sanchez did a nice job with a pump fake, and Kerley grabbed a pass down the right side for a touchdown.
There was an incompletion on this drive to Holmes down the right side. It looked like Sanchez overthrew a wide open Holmes, but in all fairness to the quarterback, Holmes didn’t do a great job of getting off the bump-and-run, and this messed up the timing of the route.
On the next drive, which started late in the first quarter, and carried into the second, Sanchez had three key throws.
On 2nd-and-10, Dustin Keller sat down in a hole in the zone, and caught a seven-yard pass over the middle.
Then on 3rd-and-3, Sanchez hit Holmes for a gain of nine between McKelvin and Gilmore on the numbers on the left side.
Two plays later, Sanchez hit Hill for a 33-yard touchdown down the left side. Hill got nice separation from Gilmore thanks to a Sanchez pump fake, that the rookie corner fell for.
This isn’t a second guess because I’ve said it repeatedly since the draft (and I have plenty of company)- the Bills reached for Gilmore. He was a late first round-type corner, who the Bills picked at 11. His instincts aren’t great, and you saw that yesterday.
The Jets had one last scoring drive in the first half that resulted in a field goal. Sanchez drove the team 73 yards on 15 plays.
This drive had a nice combination of running and passing, with the highlights through the air being a couple of 17-yard throws to Holmes, and a key third down throw, on third-and-nine, to Cumberland, over the middle for a gain of nine. There was also a third-and-two throw for five yards to Hill. Sanchez did a nice job of keeping the chains moving on this drive, and the Jets were up 27-7 at the half.
The key to the first half was the Jets targeting a pair of struggling cornerbacks – McKelvin and Gilmore. Sanchez and the offensive coaches did a good job of continually going after them . . .
INJURY UPDATES – Patrick Turner was pulled out of the Buffalo when he felt his hammy pulling a little bit. It was a smart move, and probably prevented a more severe pull.
“It feels sore, but not that bad,” Turner said today . . .
Yesterday, sources claimed Darrelle Revis didn’t have a concussion. Today, they are calling it a mild one. Yesterday’s reports would have created a more likely scenario for him to play in Pittsburgh. Now, he’s more iffy because of how strict the NFL is about following certain protocol following a concussion.
September 10, 2011
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