Tag: New York Jets (Page 19 of 59)

Ravens win white-knuckle thrill ride over Jets on Monday Night Football

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez throws against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half in their NFL football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, September 13, 2010. Ravens' Trevor Pryce is at left. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

Well, that was fun. Watching the Jets’ offense was roughly about as exciting as a three hour root canal in which your dentist has to jab you with a Novocain needle six times because he keeps missing the nerves in your mouth.

The only difference between Mark Sanchez and Trent Edwards right now is $7.25 million a year. The second-year quarterback did nothing Monday night to silence critics that say he’s the one thing that will hold the Jets back from competing for a Super Bowl berth.

In his team’s 10-9 loss to the Ravens, Sanchez completed 10-of-21 passes for 74 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. For those scoring at home, his average completion averaged a measly 3.5 yards. There’s a good chance that if he purposely tried to trip over one of his offensive lineman every play, he could have fallen forward for more yards then if he attempted a pass.

Drop back, look down field, hold for one second, check down to running back, repeat.

When the Jets’ offense came back onto the field down one point with under two minutes left, they had no shot to get into field goal range because Sanchez wasn’t going to throw vertical. And even when he went temporarily insane and threw the ball further than three yards on a crucial 4th and 10 at the end of the game, tight end Dustin Keller caught the ball and ran out of bounds one yard short of the first down marker when nobody was around him. Keller must have felt that the Ravens played hard enough to earn the win, so he’d just give it to them. Of course, he was hit so hard by Ray Lewis the play before that it’s possible he didn’t know what down, quarter or team he played for by that point.

Speaking of the Ravens, they didn’t set the world on fire with their offensive performance tonight, but at least they moved the ball. Turnovers killed them in the first half and they couldn’t run against the Jets’ stingy front seven, but how good did Anquan Boldin look in his Baltimore debut? He beat Kyle Wilson so many times that the New Jersey highway patrol is going to have to stop the Ravens’ bus before it heads to the airport so they can integrate Boldin about domestic abuse.

Does anybody else feel like they just got done watching a fourth preseason game?

Why the Jets are overrated

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan stands on the sidelines in the fourth quarter in week 1 of the NFL Preseason at The New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on August 16, 2010.    UPI /John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

Bill Simmons picks the Pats over the Jets in the AFC East this year, and here’s why:

First, I seem to be the only person who remembers that the Jets were 9-7 last year. You’d think they went 19 and minus-3. Second, I don’t trust the Sanchize even a little. Not a smidge. Unless he was trying to get us drinks from a crowded bar and the bartender was a cute female. Third, all the fuss about New England’s admittedly shaky defense obscured its explosive offense: The Pats are loaded at receiver and tight end, they have Brady, they can chuck the ball with anyone and they’re pissed off that nobody is picking them. And fourth, I’m a huge homer. So there.

I forgot that the Jets lost seven games last year…hmm…

Through five or six episodes of “Hard Knocks,” Rex Ryan does seem to be full of bluster, and Sanchez looked fairly brutal in the preseason. They’ll have a strong running game and a good/great defense, but I’m not sure that makes them the Super Bowl favorites that they seem to think they are.

Ray Lewis has a few choice words for Rex Ryan and the Jets [video]

On the last episode of “Hard Knocks,” Rex Ryan suggested that Mark Sanchez call the plays in the second half of the Jets’ final preseason game. He said that he did the same thing when he was in Baltimore with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis and they were tapping out pretty quickly. Well, Ray doesn’t want Rex Ryan mentioning his name…

Monday night, baby!

Top 5 Storylines of Week 1 in the NFL

SAN DIEGO - JANUARY 17: Head coach Rex Ryan of the New York Jets stands on the field during the AFC Divisional Playoff Game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on January 17, 2010 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

It’s Week 1 in the NFL, so you know there are going to be some juicy headlines heading into this weekend’s action. Here are my top 5…

1. What will Rex Ryan and the Jets do for an encore?
We’ll have to wait until Monday before we see “Hard Knocks” play out on the field, but Ryan’s squad is going to get a stiff test right off the bat. The Ravens are loaded offensively and some believe could challenge for a Super Bowl berth this season. Meanwhile, Darrelle Revis is back at practice after holding out for 36 days, but is he ready to play after missing all of training camp? How will his chemistry be with a defense that he hasn’t played a live game situation with in over seven months? Can the Jets live up to their own Super Bowl expectations? Something tells me we’re going to find out a lot about both of these teams in four nights.

2. How will the new-look Redskins fair?
The Redskins were a disaster under Jim Zorn last year, so owner Daniel Snyder hired Mike Shanahan to help restore order and then signed off on a trade for Donovan McNabb. Now questions remain not only about McNabb’s health, but about whether or not he has enough help around him. The O-line is still a major question mark, as are the running back and receiver positions. On the other side of the ball, Shanahan has been feuding with Albert Haynesworth for the better part of a decade and rumors have started to circulate that he could be traded to Tennessee (uh, Haynesworth – not Shanahan. That would be ridiculous.). Kind of a bad time to be playing on national television against a divisional rival that is expected to be a Super Bowl contender, huh?

3. Kevin Kolb gets stiff opening test
All eyes will be on Kolb this week in the first game of the McNabb-less era in Philly. He won’t have time to get acclimated to the situation for very long, because the Super Bowl-hopeful Packers are coming to town with their top ranked defense from a year ago. It’ll be interesting to see what the backfield combination of Kolb and Shady McCoy will produce in their first live run of 2010. The offensive line is good and Kolb has plenty of weapons in the passing game thanks to DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin, but if McCoy can’t find running room then the Packers will certainly amp up the pressure. This could wind up being the best matchup on the Week 1 schedule next to Ravens-Jets’ bout on Monday night.

4. Mike Martz’s Windy City Debut
If you’re like me, I’m waiting for one of two things to happen in Chicago this year: Jay Cutler becoming the second-coming of Jeff George in Martz’s offense…or Jay Cutler becoming the second-coming of Jeff George in Martz’s offense. George, if you remember, could zip the ball around a football field as well as any quarterback in the league. Too bad he also forced passes into small windows instead of throwing it out of bounds or take sacks. He was also a pistol when it came to dealing with teammates and coaches, which is not unlike Cutler. It stands to reason that given Cutler’s skill set, he could wind up having a great season under Martz. But considering his offensive line still isn’t that good and he’ll be throwing the ball even more than he did last year, he could also wind up breaking the NFL record for interceptions in a single season. Either way, it should be fun.

5. Welcome to the NFL, Sam Bradford
Unlike some people, I don’t mind when teams start rookies at quarterback. The best way to learn the game is to play and while young signal callers are going to make plenty of mistakes, they’re also going to gain valuable experience as well. Bradford needs a better set of receivers than what the Rams currently have on their roster, but it’s not like the team is sending him into a firefight with a water gun and a shank. The offensive line is improving and having Steven Jackson in the same backfield will help take some of the pressure off of the rookie’s shoulders. He’s going to make some dumb mistakes and chances are, he’s also going to make some plays that make you say, “Hmm, nice throw kid.” Either way, Week 1 isn’t going to make or beak his future. It’ll be fun to see how he does in his first NFL test though.

Just missing the cut…

6. Is Maurice Jones-Drew healthy?
7. Brady and Welker sans car accidents and knee injuries
8. T.O. and Ocho Act I
9. Can the Texans finally get the Colts monkey off their backs?
10. How will the Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers fair with Dennis Dixon under center?
11. Pete Carroll makes his debut in Seattle
12. Will we actually see Brandon Jacobs’ head explode if Bradshaw gets more opportunities in the Giants’ offense?

Everybody wins in Darrelle Revis contract situation

HEMPSTEAD, NY - JANUARY 10:  Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets poses for a portrait on January 10, 2007 at the Jets training complex in Hempstead, New York.  (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

It took roughly 35 days for Darrelle Revis to settle his contract dispute with the Jets.

Thirty-five long days.

The details have been announced and the terms of the deal are that Revis will receive a four-year contract worth $46 million and he’ll also get $32 million guaranteed.

Here’s why it works for all parties:

Revis: He’s not going to make as much as Nnamdi Asomugha on a per-year basis, nor will he be able to call himself the highest paid cornerback in the NFL (two things that were apparently important to him when the process started). However, he’s going to walk away from this deal with $36 million in guaranteed money, so at the end of the day who gives a flying Rex Ryan about being the top paid corner? Thirty-six million guaranteed is $36 million guaranteed. Plus, he skipped all of training camp (which is the time of year players absolutely hate) and shows up just in time to play in the Jets’ opener next Monday night.

Jets: They were never going to pay Revis what he was asking for, but considering they were able to hang onto their best defender and sign him to a deal that allows them to sign other players is what the Jets wanted for themselves all along. Obviously if he continued to hold out then they wouldn’t be out anything financially, but it would have come at the price of losing their top defensive player. The Jets believe that they’re a Super Bowl contender and if they are going to accomplish their goals, then they need Revis locking down one side of the field.

Rex Ryan: Had Revis held out for even a fraction of a year, it would have compromised what Ryan has already started to build in New York. He led this team to the AFC title game last year and while I applaud him and the Jets for saying that they could have gotten by without Revis, the fact of the matter is that he’s their most vital piece defensively. Without him, it stands to reason that the Jets could have gotten by with rookie Kyle Wilson. But with him, they should return to the top of the league in all defensive categories and now Ryan can continue to work on what he started last year with the Jets. With him, they’re contenders (playoffs or otherwise) again.

Mike Tannenbaum: The dude can finally go back to sleeping at night.

Revis didn’t get what he ultimately wanted in the end, but nobody should be insinuatating that he “lost” this battle. He just skipped all of training camp, will play a full 16-week season and now has $36 million in his back pocket.

He didn’t lose anything.

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