Is it T-Time?

Apparently the Jets didn't get the message. Hurricane Sandy wasn't supposed to hit JetLife Stadium until Monday, but Hurricane Philbin and the Miami Dolphins did plenty of damage to the Green and White. Now, it is fair to question whether or not the time has come for Rex Ryan to do what I never thought was possible, and that is to start Tim Tebow at quarterback.

Mark Sanchez has become the scapegoat for much of the Jet fan base, and just like Alex Rodriguez, it's not all his fault, but he's done nothing to quiet the boos. Through 8 games, Sanchez has 11 turnovers (3 fumbles and 8 interceptions) to his 10 touchdowns, his completion percentage is at a career-low 52.9, and his quarterback rating of 72.8 is his lowest since his rookie season. The team is in the bottom half of the league averaging 21 points a game (20th) and 317.4 yards of total offense (27th).

Stop me if you've heard this before, because I feel like a broken record at this point. The offensive line has been inadequate at best, Sanchez has been sacked 18 times so far. The running game is in the middle of the pack, averaging 110 yards a game. Most importantly though, the receiving core has been constantly changing. Starting in training camp, the receivers were never at full strength. Dustin Keller and Santonio Holmes, our top 2 targets, only played in a handful of plays together. Jeremy Kerley has played well, but Stephen Hill, Chaz Schillens, Jeff Cumberland and all the other clowns we've brought in has made Mark's life a living hell (between running the wrong routes or dropping passes).

I saw this coming into the season. With Brian Schottenheimer and Wayne Hunter gone, if the team struggled offensively the blame was going to fall on Sanchez's shoulders. I feel like Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan have done almost everything possible to upstage their quarterback. The talent on the offense has been dwindled down since 2010 (Braylon, Cotchery, Plaxico, Damien Woody, and LT have all been let go and they never really replaced them).

It is a shame, but I think the time has come for the Jets to replace Mark Sanchez at quarterback. They took a kid with a promising start to his career, and now he has lost all confidence. I still think Mark could be a pretty good quarterback in this league, but he has lost all support in New York. At 3-5, even in a weak AFC the Jets season is pretty much over. With a bye coming next week, it just gives Jets fans an extra week to simmer over this loss, and let their voices be heard on Boomer and Carton and Mike Francesa. I think we should use this extra week of practice to decide whether they want to hand the reigns of the circus to Tim Tebow or maybe even give proven winner Greg McElroy a chance.

Let's get on to this week's report card:

Offense 

D+

The Jets first six offensive possessions went for a total of 27 yards!!! By the time they actually got into Dolphins territory late in the second quarter they were already in a 20-0 hole. Mark Sanchez threw the ball a season-high 54 times, and the Jets are now 0-2 all time when Sanchez has to throw the ball more than 50 times. The Dolphins were killing our offensive line, recording 4 sacks and 7 QB hits. Aside from a long second-half run, the running game was stagnant. Clyde Gates (WHO?) CLYDE FUCKING GATES was our leading receiver with 7 catches for 82 yards, playing against the team that cut him on Hard Knocks. Dustin Keller is officially back, with another 7 reception day.

Defense

B-

Looking at the stats, the Jets defense didn't play too bad. The Dolphins only had one drive over 50 yards, but allowing a touchdown on the Dolphins first possession of the second half pretty much ended the game. Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas combined for 101 rushing yards. Matt Moore stepped in after Ryan Tannehill's injury on the opening drive, and played well. Just watching the game, it was crazy how many tackles we are missing, and it officially an epidemic for this team. That is especially telling given how Rex Ryan takes pride on having a tough physical team.

Special Teams

F

This could easily be the longest day in Mike Westhoff's coaching career. The special teams were surprised by an onsides kick after the Dolphins field goal on their opening drive. Then, the Dolphins blocked both a field goal and a punt. Putting the exclamation point on the game was Marcus Thigpen's  57 yard return that set up a Dolphins second half touchdown. According to Rich Cimini, the Jets were the first team in 20 years to have a blocked FG, a blocked punt, and had an onsides kick returned against them in the same game.

Around the AFC

In the upset of the weekend, the Browns beat the Chargers 7-6 in a barnburner in Cleveland. If Norv Turner thought that fans were calling for his head after blowing a 24 point lead to Denver a couple weeks ago, his seat must be getting real hot now...... The New England Patriots made jolly old England their home as they pounded the Rams in London. Tom Brady showed no jet lag (pun intended), throwing for 304 and 4 touchdowns (2 to Gronk and 2 to Lloyd), as they outgained St. Louis by 150 yards...... The Steelers had perhaps their most dominating game of the season, shutting down RG3 and the Redskins.  After rushing for almost 250 yards against the Giants last week, Washington failed to even put up 100 yards on the ground. The 'Skins didn't help out Griffin, dropping 10 passes...... Andrew Luck led the Colts on two 80-yard drives (one in the 4th quarter to tie the game, and the other in overtime to win it) as they beat the Titans 19-13..... On Sunday Night, Peyton's Broncos outshined the Saints beating them 34-14. Denver racked up 530 yards, outgaining the Saints 278 yards!!! 

Around the NFC

It was a tale of 4 quarters in Big D, but the Giants held on to beat the Cowboys to take an early 3 game lead in the division. 3 of the Cowboys first 6 drives ended in interceptions, including a pick 6 by Jason Pierre-Paul, as the Giants ran out to a 23-0 lead. Dallas drove the ball 272 yards combined in their next four possessions to take a 24-23 lead with 3:43 left to play in the third quarter. The Giants and Captain Clutch, Eli Manning, scored the game's final six points (also thanks to two more Cowboy turnovers) to win 29-24. However, Dallas had an opportunity to win the game with seconds left in the game, when Dez Bryant caught was would have been 37 yard touchdown pass that was overturned because his hand landed out of bounds..... The Falcons handed Andy Reid his first career loss coming off of a bye week, and now the Eagles have a full blown quarterback controversy. Atlanta outclassed Philly, as Matty Ice threw for 3 scores, including a 63 yard bomb to Julio Jones..... The Bears erased two fourth quarter deficits to beat the Panthers 23-22. A Cam Newton pick six gave Chicago their first lead with 6:44 left in the game. Carolina answered back with a field goal, before Cutler went 6-7 for 52 yards on the final drive, which set up a Robbie Gould 41 yard field goal..... The Lions followed in the Bears footsteps, with two fourth quarter comebacks of their own. Matthew Stafford threw three TD passes, and one on te ground as Detroit outlasted the Seahawks..... Without Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers sweated out a close game to the Mo-Jo-less Jaguars in Lambeau. Blaine Gabbert passed for 120 more yards than Rodgers, but the Jags came up just short.