Weekly Jets Blog Week 15

Frustration and despair. These are two of just countless adjectives you could use to describe the Jets painful 10-7 loss to Atlanta. The Jets maintained control of the game through the first 3 quarters behind powerful defense, before falling apart and giving the game away in the 4th which is something they’ve done all year long. The fact that the Jets couldn’t solve this negative repetition of events over the course of the season, coupled with their extreme lack of a passing offense led to their overall demise. At 7-7, the Jets are still mathematically in the playoff hunt, but with so many teams to compete with, a spot in the postseason seems unlikely.
Mark Sanchez did show some good signs in the game, despite throwing for 3 more interceptions. He finished with 226 passing yards, highlighted by a 45-yard pass to Braylon Edwards, who finished with 105 receiving yards. Sanchez seemed more comfortable and made some better decisions, but he couldn’t adjust to the cold, wet weather, resulting in many throws that were way long or way short. Thomas Jones was shut down and held to just 52 rushing yards. The biggest killer was special teams. Gang Green couldn’t convert any of their 3 field goal opportunities; the first was a bobbled snap by the holder Kellen Clemens, the second was booted wide right, and the third was blocked after a high snap. An inability to come through in those situations is a great weakness for a team.
Once again, the Jets defense was nearly flawless. They held Matt Ryan to 152 passing yards. No Falcons running backs were able to eclipse 59 yards. Defensive Player of the Year candidate Darrelle Revis shut down another superstar wide receiver in Roddy White, holding him to 33 yards. They didn’t give up a touchdown until there was less than 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter, by which time they were exhausted after spending so much of the game on the field. The Falcons last drive was impressive, ending in a 6 yard TD-pass to Tony Gonzalez. The Jets had led 7-3 since the 1st quarter. David Harris was masterful yet again, leading the team with 11 tackles.
The inability to close out games crippled the Jets the entire season. Fourth quarter collapses also led to losses against Miami and Jacksonville, and in 4 out of their 7 losses, Gang Green either held a lead or was tied at half time. They finish with games against the Colts and the Bengals. The unbeaten Colts will most likely end up playing their regular players most of the game versus the Jets, while the Bengals will probably rest there’s in Week 17. Barring some sort of ridiculous and undeserved miracle, the things that the Jets can look forward to the most are the 2010 Pro Bowl and of course the 2010 NFL Draft. Thomas Jones, Revis, Harris and many others should represent the Jets in Hawaii while the organization should be watching some bowl games to look for potential future draft picks that could fill many needed holes. The average salary for rookies will take a huge drop after the 2010-11 season, so many college studs are leaving school early for the NFL, presenting the Jets with many great opportunities to patch up key holes and build up for another run at the playoffs.