For the third straight week the Jets tested their fans patience, faith, and cardiovascular health with another last minute win, this time against the Houston Texans. The Jets had been dominating the game through three quarters but a communication breakdown between Shonn Greene led to a pivotal fourth quarter fumble that turned the tide for Houston.
The Texans went on to score 20 unanswered points putting the Jets in a 24-23 hole with a little over two minutes to go. Without right tackle, Damien Woody, the Texans defense picked on backup lineman, Wayne Hunter by directing pressure to his side. Hunter had an exceedingly difficult stopping the Houston pass-rush led by former number one draft pick, Mario Williams. With the Jets backed up in their own territory, the Texans brought a blitz to the right side that was able to get to Sanchez as he threw the ball, causing what most fans thought was the final blow.
However; the Jets defense held the Texans to a field goal leaving them with an opportunity to win the game with 55 seconds left and no timeouts. Obviously those in attendance had not watched the last two games where Mark Sanchez directed game-winning drives on the road, as most fans began to file out echoing the mantra of the "Same Old Jets."
As long as there is sufficient time on the clock the newly crowned, "Cool Hand Mark" will find a way to put the Jets in a position to win. The drive started the same way the others preceding it had, with a pass to Ladainian Tomlinson in space, allowing him to create yards with his vintage speed and quickness. Sanchez then hooked up with Braylon Edwards on a 42 yard streak down the sideline, which set the Jets up for the game winner at first and goal from the six yard line with 16 seconds remaining. On the next play the "San-tastic" duo of Sanchez to Santonio Holmes put the game away with a six yard fade to the corner of the end-zone. Mike Tannenbaum is looking like a genius acquiring Holmes for just a 5th round draft pick. 11 weeks and five heart attacks later, the Jets have the best record in football at 8-2, are tied for first place in the AFC East and poised for the stretch run. Having said that here are a few things to watch out for as the Jets make their playoff push:
The Absence of Big Wood:
If the Jets lose Damien Woody for any extended period of time it will be tough for the Jets to execute their offensive game plan. As we saw on Sunday the pass-protection was porous without "Big Wood" as Sanchez had very few comfortable pockets to throw out of. The absence of Woody will also make it increasingly difficult for the Jets to impose their will on the ground as opponents have been coming out with stacked boxes all season in order to stop the Jets ground and pound attack. We are being told that Woody's injury is a sprained MCL and is not season ending, pending an MRI.
Greene Looking Green:
For weeks fans and experts alike wondered why Shonn Greene had not been getting many touches, which can be attributed to his propensity to fumble the ball. After coughing up the ball in the Monday Night Opener against the Ravens, Greene did not even sniff the field. Recently, over the past couple of weeks Brian Schottenheimer has began to phase Greene back into the offensive game plan. However; after Sunday's crucial fumble nobody knows when we will see Greene again if he continues to turn the ball over.
The Pass Rush (or lack thereof):
Despite the hype and hoopla surrounding Rex Ryan's defense, the Jets have had trouble getting consistent pressure on the quarterback. The beauty of Ryan's system is that he does not care where the sacks come from, it relies heavily on deception, disguising blitzes with a number of different fronts. The lack of a conventional pass-rush is causing the Jets to bring more corner and safety blitzes leaving them vulnerable in the secondary (see the Joel Dreesen touchdown). On that play, Ryan tried to bring pressure up the middle by blitzing both safeties, (Eric Smith and Jim Leonhard) leaving them susceptible in the secondary, opening the door for Joel Dreesen's catch and run. It is safe to say that Jason Taylor has been rather ineffective for a majority of the season hence why we are beginning to see more and more of Vernon Gholston, who has not looked all that bad in limited action.
Playing Down:
Over the past three weeks the Jets have displayed a blatant inability to put away inferior opponents. All three games have gone down to the wire and all three could have been losses. What is most worrisome here is that the Jets will get complacent, knowing that regardless of how big a hole they dig themselves into, their young quarterback will dig them right out. This will not always be the case, especially against upper echelon teams like the Patriots, who the Jets face in two weeks. Granted 8-2 is a great record but 8-2 does not guarantee you a playoff spot, ask Eric Mangini whose 2008 Jet team was 8-3 only to finish 9-7 outside of the playoff hunt. Although Rex Ryan won't apologize for winning ugly he could very well be apologizing for losing if they keep this up.
Defensive Lapses:
For all their talent and ability, the Jets defense has not come up big this year in crunch time, specifically the last two weeks, giving up leads late in the fourth quarter to mediocre teams. Coach Ryan's aggressiveness has been to his own detriment recently, calling ineffective blitzes late that have exposed the secondary for big gains. The defense I am not so worried about, although they are not the same world beaters they were last year, Ryan and Pettine know what they are doing and should be able to straighten this out.
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