The New York Jets face an interesting dilemma entering Week 9. This isn't the first time that they've been in this situation as an organization. All it takes is a slow three or four week patch in the middle of November, and you can go from on top of the division, to needing help to get in as a wild card.
The Jets had a taste of how difficult it can be to win three consecutive games on the road in January last season. As Jets fans, we were all hoping to avoid that route this season by winning the AFC East. At first glance, the Jets appear to be a superior team personnel wise to the their immediate rivals in Miami and New England.
What is going to determine what happens next is the following three weeks. For the Jets, it's at Detroit, at Cleveland, Houston. The Jets are superior to their next three opponents. A division champion has to win these games.
Last week's blanking at the hands of the Packers was humiliating enough. With the talent on the Jets offense, there is simply no excuse for not being able to stay on the field and score points. There is plenty of blame to go around. Mark Sanchez suffered through a third consecutive sub-par performance, completing just 16 of 38 in windy NMS. Putting up points and winning football games are a QBs two primary concerns every Sunday. Sanchez has had issues when the wind picks up, and he has been having issues finding the third and fourth option, especially on third down. The Jets receivers did him no favors either, as they dropped six passes and allowed both Sanchez interceptions to be ripped out of their hands.
The offense also turned it over three times, and the Jets committed forty yards more in penalties than their opponents. Despite outgaining Green Bay 360-237, the Jets wound up losing by nine at home. So far this season, the new stadium hasn't been kind to the home team, whether it's the Jets or the Giants. How surprising that when the working class fans who really care about being the 12th man are priced out of the market, your home crowd has a mausoleum like dreariness. Impossible to imagine, right?
But that's a different discussion for a different time.
This week we have the Detroit Lions, who are an improved bunch over the last few years, and are fully capable of defending their home turf against a suddenly offensively challenged unit like the Jets. If there is readily apparent weakness for Detroit, it's their run defense, which means both Schottenheimer and Ryan have to remain committed to the run, even if it only works sporadically at first.
With the assorted receivers the Jets have at their disposal, it's easy to forget what got them to this point. For the Jets to be effective on offense, at least during this phase of Sanchez' career, they must run the ball and make big plays off of play action. Unless Sanchez can prove that he can distribute the ball to all of the weapons at his disposal, Ryan and Schottenheimer have to manage not just the amount of plays available to Sanchez, but the options within those plays.
And, above all else, OC Brian Schottenheimer must avoid getting cute with his playcalling. For three consecutive games, the Jets have been a pass first team with a little too much cuteness for their own good. For one week, I'd like to see less Wildcat and less reverses. Just line up and hit the man in front of you. And for God sakes, get Shonn Greene involved in the game. Six carries for him is not enough. We're on pace to wear LT out by Week 14.
It was nice to see that Rex Ryan is a fan of the Big Kovalsky (well...not really, but he must be a reader since he's blitzing less often the last two weeks, per my suggestion). It may be a time to confuse the young Matthew Stafford with a few odd fronts and blitz packages. He's not Aaron Rodgers yet, so there may be opportunities there to force mistakes.
I don't know how much of Charles Johnson is going to wind up being Darrelle Revis' responsibility, but I hope both he and Antonio Cromartie play well, and perhaps even catch an errant Stafford throw. The defense was great last week, but Stafford likes to take chances, especially in the middle of the field, which means there are opportunities for turnovers.
It's up to you, Jets. New England is on a roll (better now than in January), and the division will get away from us quickly over the next month unless you correct last week's mistakes right now. It's been more than a month since the Jets played well for four quarters. They've been fortunate to escape from the last three games at two and one, when they could have easily lost all three. If they can turn it around today, there's plenty of time to sharpen their skills for the postseason. For now, we'll ignore the alternatives. Let's just say they involve a quiet January.
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