Oakland Raided by the Jets Defense

It wasn't pretty, but the only stat that matters is Rex's Gang Green is 1-0 after beating the Raiders 19-14 at Jetlife Stadium on Sunday. Never a dull week in Florham Park, the Jets continue to play with chips on their shoulders and more often than not come through. From Mark Schlereth's comments about Eric Decker, to the media's attention on our lack of a secondary, and finally former Jet, Austin Howard, saying Oakland would push us around.

Great

The defense dominated the Raiders offense at the line of scrimmage. The heralded group of MoJo and Darren McFadden were held to just 25 yards rushing on 15 carries against the Jets front seven. Derek Carr was under duress the whole game, going 20-32 for 152 yards, while being sacked twice. Before the Raiders final drive, the only time they crossed into the Jets side of the field was after an interception thrown by Geno Smith. Our two-headed rushing attack, Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory ran for 212 yards, including a 71 yard gallop by Ivory to put the game away.

Good

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called a really good game. The offense seemed to have a rhythm that has been missing for quite some time. The short passing game was very successful, and made Geno Smith look like a franchise quarterback. Smith was 23-28 with a touchdown, while making plays on his feet as well. Eric Decker caught five passes for 74 yards in his Jets debut.

Bad

The turnovers and penalties have to stop if the Jets want to come out of this their next three games with their heads still above water. The Jets were flagged 11 times for 105 yards, with most of those coming on the offensive side of the ball. Charles Woodson made a great play on his first quarter interception of Geno Smith but it could have been avoided. While Geno could make moves on his feet, he has to know when you just have to give up on a play. He took a sack that cost Nick Folk a makebale field goal attempt, and had a fumble inside the Raiders five. 

What's Next?

You have to think that Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will test our secondary more than Carr and the Raiders did this week. Add to the fact that the Pack had an extra 3 days to stew on their loss to the Seahawks in Thursday's Opening Kickoff game. That being said, the Packers have a weakness on their offensive line that could be exploited by our defense, and Eddie Lacy could miss the game with a concussion.

Jet Up!!! 2014 Season Preview

With football coming back this week, I am officially back from my hibernation. I will try to update the blog every week during the season. 

Jets Preview

Jet Up!!! The 2014 Jets are ready to takeoff and should be able to compete for a Wild Card spot in a top heavy AFC this year. For the first time since Rex Ryan took over the team in 2009, there are more questions about the defense than the offense, and I think that's a good thing.

Offense

Geno Smith looks to have matured a lot in the preseason, and should have a good sophomore campaign, with an offense that should benefit from the additions of Eric Decker and Chris Johnson. Smith finished last season with 3046 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, along with 6 rushing touchdowns. It is pretty obvious, but the key to his season is to get those TD and INT numbers a little closer to each other. If not, I could see Rex Ryan bringing in Michael Vick by mid-season.

Eric Decker is a nice addition to the passing game, but I am still a little skeptical that his success came with Peyton Manning. Decker had 619 yards in 2011 with Tim Tebow, and almost doubled that with 1,046 yards in 2012 with Manning. He's going to share the outside with David Nelson who doesn't really keep defensive coordinators awake at night. Jeremy Kerley is an underrated player coming out of the slot. Kerley is a very good posession receiver and should get a lot of opportunity in Marty Mornhinweg's west coast offense.

After rushing for over 2,000 yards 2009, Chris Johnson hasn't lived up to his high expectations. Sharing a backfield with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell he won't be expected to be the star of the team and should have a good bounce back year. He will also add another dimension to the Jets offense as a good pass catcher, with 42 reception with the Titans last season. Chris Ivory is a bruiser and will help wear down defenses for the speedy Johnson to take advantage of. 

Defense

You can argue that the Jets front seven could be one of the best in the league. Muhammad Wilkerson was the MVP of the defense last year with 10.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Damon "Snacks" Harrison is a run stuffer in the middle, and is one of the main reason the Jets defense finished third last season in run defense. The third guy on our line, is only the defensive rookie of the year Sheldon Richardson. With only six seasons combined of NFL experience there is no reason to think that the defensive line will only get better.

David Harris leads the linebacking corps in the middle alongside second year starter Demario Davis. Calvin Pace returns for his 12th season in the league after racking up 10 sacks last season. Rounding out the linebackers is Quinton Coples who has transitioned well from defensive end to linebacker last season.

Now we get to the biggest problem this team has. After losing Darelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie in consecutive offseasons the secondary is a huge question mark for this team. Dee Milliner, who had a less than impressive rookie campaign and is already hampered by a high ankle sprain could be off to a rough start. Kyle Wilson might be our best corner coming into the season, get your tissues Jets fans. It's gotten so bad that Dimitri Patterson disappeared when he realized who he was playing with. The Jets used their first round draft pick to bring in hard hitting safety Calvin Pryor from Louisville. He should be a perfect fit on a Rex Ryan defense. Dawan Landry did a commendable filling in for his brother LaRon last season at the other safety position. 

Intangibles

Rex Ryan knows how to get more with less than almost any other coach in the NFL. He gets his players to believe in a us vs them mentality and has them whipped into a frenzy every Sunday. That mentality does get us into trouble sometimes with stupid penalties. After starting off against the Raiders, the next 6 games are rough, including trips to Green Bay and New England and a home game against Peyton and the Broncos. If we could survive that stretch then we could finish nicely in the second half of the season. 

Prediction

All things considered I see us going 9-7 this year, and that should be enough to be in competition for a Wild Card spot. 

Vick a Jet

They say if you have bad news, the best time to break it is Friday night, when most people are getting ready to go out. The Jets did just that signing Michael Vick to a 1-year $5 million contract earlier this evening. This organization continues to make terrible decisions that makes us feel like we take two steps back for every one we take forward. After shocking all the "experts" and having Geno Smith lead us to an 8-8 record in his rookie campaign, which earned Rex Ryan a much deserved contract extension, we have had the worst 10 days of NFL Offseason. It all started out well by cutting locker room cancer Santonio Homes, but then things fell off a cliff.

We replaced Holmes, with a decent receiver in Eric Decker, but is he really deserving of 5-years $35 million? Then, after cutting Antonio Cromartie, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Darelle Revis used us to sign a contract with Cheaters in New England. Then, it looked like John Idzik was going on strike (perhaps he was too upset that CM Punk left WWE), letting Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie sign with the cross-town Giants.

Now tonight is the straw the broke the camels back. Michael Vick is past his prime, and when he isn't turning the ball over he is getting injured. Apparently John Idzik is looking to make the same mistakes that his predecessor Mike Tannenbaum made with Tim Tebow. Instead of giving Geno Smith every opportunity to grow into a possible franchise quarterback, we turned the fans against him before training camp. The only thing that could make this move even worse is if we bring in the assclown DeSean Jackson for a Philthydelphia reunion.

As they say in Italian, il pesce comincia a puzzare dalla testa, or the fish stinks from the head down, and it begins and ends with Woody Johnson. We will NEVER WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP with Woody running things. He is a media whore, who will go after headlines instead of rings. There is a reason why the Jets will always be two steps behind the Patriots and Giants.

The overlooked casualty in this move is former 5th overall draft pick Mark Sanchez who was granted his release from the team. The Jets continued to do wrong at every step for Sanchez, by cutting him late in the free agent period, after several teams already made moves at the QB position. Sanchez finishes his five year tenure with Gang Green with a little over 12,000 yards, with 68 touchdowns and 69 interceptions, as well as three offensive coordinators. I wish him well in a better run franchise.

Goodbye Rex?

Rex Ryan's 41st career win as head coach could possibly be his last. On the eve of penultimate game of the 2013 Jets season, Rex's fifth with the team, Ryan told his players that "the word on the street" is that he's going to be fired after the season, and asked them to fight with him for the last two games of the season.

Midway through the second quarter of football against the hapless Browns though, it looked like Gang Green was ready to send Rex on his way for some parting goddamn snacks. The team rallied around their head coach, outscoring Cleveland 24-3 from that point forward on the way to a 24-13 victory. Geno Smith had an efficient game, finishing 20-36 for 214 and 3 total touchdowns (2 passing).

The criticisms of Rex are fair, he is a defensive minded head coach who has a hands-off mentality when it comes to the offense, his mouth can write checks his ass can't cash, and he has a history of blundered timeouts/challenges. However, you can't argue with the results. His .518 (41-38) winning percentage is third highest in Jets history (even though Al Groh shouldn't count since he was only a coach for one season). Ryan's four playoff wins is also a franchise high. You know going into the season that a Rex Ryan coached defense will always be ready to play on Sundays. Nobody expected this team to be competitive going into the season, let alone be in the playoff race going into Week 14. You can argue that Rex has gotten more out of his team than any other coach in the NFL this season.

I don't understand why John Idzik would bring Rex back for this year, and when he exceeds even the most optimistic Jets fans expectations, he is still on the chopping block. There is no doubt that players love playing for Rex and his unique style of motivation. As much as Mike Francesa thinks that Rex is a clown or a buffoon, his player universally love him.

If Rex only has 7 days left as Jets head coach he is going out like he came in. In the post-game presser, Ryan joked that the players will be out buying presents with Santa tomorrow and he doesn't care what the media thinks about giving the team a "victory Monday". He also praised cornerback Dee Milliner after riding the rookie through much of the season. If next week's game against Miami ends the reign of Sexy Rexy, I want to be the first person to thank him for all he's done in re-establishing pride in this franchise.

Same Old..... No No No Not Today

Jets-Bucs

They were on the brink of victory, when a boneheaded play by their linebacker cost them the game, Same Old ...... Bucs (What?!). The roller coaster of emotions Gang Green put their fans on during the last 5 minutes of Sunday's opener against Tampa Bay was nothing short of amazing.

Nick Folk hit a 30-yard field goal with 5:05 left in the game to give the Jets their first lead since 1:07 in the first quarter. Then, Josh Freeman led the Bucs on a nine play, 61 yard drive, sparked by a 37 yard reception by Vincent Jackson, to put Tampa back up 17-15 with just 34 seconds left in the game. After an incomplete pass, rookie Geno Smith fired a 25 yard completion to Kellen Winslow, and followed it up with a 10-yard run to the Tampa 45. Then, which brought back shades of Eric Barton in the 2004 playoffs, Lavonte David was called for a 15-yard personal foul, which set up Folk's game winning 48-yarder.

After hearing all offseason how they would be one of the worst teams in the league, Rex's crew came out to prove a point on Sunday, defeating a team many figured will compete for the NFC South title, thanks to the addition of former Jet, Darrelle Revis. The defense played a great game, which is expected by a Rex Ryan coached team. The question was, how would rookie Geno Smith play in his first career start. While there were some bumps in the road, Smith (24-38, 256 yds, 47 yds rushing) came up big when the moment called for it. After two first half turnovers, Geno settled down and showed tremendous poise battling back in the second half.

The offense showed signs of struggle, and there are a few issues for the long term, but for now football is back, and one New York team is 1-0, and they wear green.

 Week 1 Quick Notes

• Speaking of the Blue guys, Eli did his best Sanchez impersonation, throwing a pick to Demarcus Ware on his first throw of the season, the first of six turnovers for Big Blew It in their season opening loss to Dallas. Not even a clearly injured Tony Romo could rescue the G-Men from themselves. All that was missing was a butt-fumble.
• Chip Kelly unleashed his quick strike, no-huddle offense on the NFL Monday night, in a 33-27 win in Washington. The Iggles are going to be fun to watch this season. 
• In the biggest upset of Week 1, the Titans demolished the Steelers, who were shutout offensively, with a grand total of 2 points. 
• I hope none of my readers have the unfortunate situation I found myself in, with David Wilson and Steven Ridley rushing for a combined 65-yards on Sunday for my fantasy team. 
• After preparing all off-season for the read-option offense, Jim Harbaugh threw Green Bay for a loop, with Kaepernick throwing for 412 and 3 TD's in a rematch from last season's division round playoff. Kaep and RG3 have a target on their backs this season after the option offense befuddled defensive coordinators all of last season.
• "Tom Brady pulled out too early"- a Sportscenter anchor during Pats-Bills highlights
• Speaking of the Patsies, the Bills and rookie EJ Manuel gave them all they could handle, and now both Danny Amendola and Shane Vereen are out with injuries. 
• Falcons fans had nightmares of the NFC Championship Game, as Matty Ice failed to score from the Saints 7 yard line late in the 4th Quarter as Sean Payton gets a win in his return to the NFL.
• That Peyton Manning guy is pretty good. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

Jets-Patriots

No rest for the weary, on Thursday when arch-nemesis' the Jets and Pats look to rekindle their rivalry in 2013. Gang Green has lost their last four against the Pats, with their last victory coming in the 2010 playoffs. The last time these two teams met was Thanksgiving 2012, in a game us Jets fans would like to forget. 

These aren't the same Pats that played that game 10 months ago. Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, Vereen, and Woodhead will all be out of action, as will new acquisition Danny Amendola. Like a wounded animal, however, any team with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick is always dangerous. 

The key to this game is for the Jets defense to hit Tom Brady early and often, as he is known to get rattled. Geno Smith should have an easier time moving the ball against the Pats than he did against Revis and the Bucs. 

I don't think the Jets are going to win, but this game is a hell of a lot closer than Vegas is predicting with a 12 1/2 point spread. Maybe Rex can keep preaching the message of us against the world to the locker room, and you never know what could happen when they take the field Thursday night. 

Prediction: Patriots 30 Jets 20

Ship-Rexed?

Another offseason has come and gone, and now, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!!!

Gang Green has had a quiet offseason, by Rex Ryan's standards, and truth be told are in rebuilding mode. That isn't to say that there isn't anything to be excited about as a member of Jet Nation. We will see rookie Geno Smith get a chance to start this season, hopefully our young receiving corps will show some sparks, and as always with Sexy Rexy we'll have a hungry (for goddamn snacks) and aggressive defense.

Quarterback

The offseason competition between Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith had a clear winner in my opinion, that was until Rex brought Sanchez in the 4th quarter, to take home the Snoopy Trophy in the annual MetLife Bowl, not the real Bowl game the stadium will be hosting in February. Jets fans know what you're going to get with Sanchez. When you ask him to be a game manager, he is an adequate player, but when asked to lead a team, he is a rumbling, stumbling, butt-fumbling turnover machine.

Geno Smith is the question mark. He fell to the second round for a reason, and there are some questions about his leadership and work ethic. Scouts say he has good arm strength, but could struggle with accuracy, as you saw against the Giants in the preseason. He was announced the starter and will play the first game of the season. Despite that, Rex has said that the QB competition is ongoing, and the job isn't Geno's to keep, if he struggles early.

Grade: C-

Running Backs

Chris Ivory will get his chance after playing behind a variety of backs in New Orleans. After playing in only 24 games in 3 seasons with the Saints, Ivory will be given a chance to be a star in this run-first offense. Ivory's physical running style makes him susceptible to injury though. Second year back Bilal Powell showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie year. He is a good runner and decent in the passing game.

Grade: B-

Wide Receivers/Tight End

The main question for this group is if/when Santonio Holmes will be back. Despite a rough 2011, Holmes was showing more maturity in the first few weeks of the 2012 campaign, before suffering a season-ending lisfranc injury. Holmes is a playmaker who has history of coming up in the clutch, and will be a play-maker in an offense in desperate need of one. Stephen Hill is going to have to improve from a rough rookie season. He was targeted 47 times, only catching the ball 21 times, and had a problem with the dropsies. Jeremy Kerley reminds me of a Jerricho Cotchery type player. He runs good routes and has great hands, a prototypical possession receiver.

Kellen Winslow and Jeff Cumberland will have to replace Dustin Keller in the offense. Winslow is an athletic tight end, but his age and injury concern leave legitimate question marks. Cumberland has had a good preseason, and we'll see if it carries into the season.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

Pro Bowlers Nick Mangold and D'Brickshaw Ferguson are the anchors on the o-line. They are joined by Vlad Ducasse, Austin Howard and former Steeler Willie Colon. The big guys up front are going to have their work cut out for them on what will be a run-first offense.

Grade: B+

Defensive Line

The front-seven is the Jets strength. Mo Wilkerson has the makings of a star defensive end, and this could be his breakout year. Kendrick Ellis and Damon "Snacks" Harrison are the big bodies in the middle. Both guys have had a great camp. First round pick Sheldon Richardson will man the other end.

Grade: B

Linebacker

David Harris is going to have to step up his game after a poor 2012 season. Demario Davis is taking over for the retired Bart Scott, and should add some great speed to the linebacking corps. Calvin Pace returns for his 6th season in the green and white, and is still a good pass rushing outside linebacker. Quinton Coples will miss the first few weeks of the season with a hairline fracture of his ankle. Coples came on strong in the second half last season, playing defensive end, and may struggle a bit this year adjusting to his new position.

Grade: B-

Secondary

Revis who? Without the best cornerback in the league, the Jets were still the 2nd ranked pass defense in the league. Antonio Cromartie returns after a great 2012, and he is out to prove he is the second best corner in the NFL. Rookie Dee Milliner takes the other side of the field, and he has a lot of potential coming from the National Champions, Alabama. Kyle Wilson will move back to the nickle spot, after playing on the outside with Revis' injury last season. Dawan Landry will be replacing his brother LaRon in one safety spot, while preseason standout Jaiquawan Jarrett mans the other spot.

Grade: B+

The Jets are in a strange spot this season. They are in rebuilding mode, but they aren't good enough to compete for a playoff spot, and not bad enough to get a top 5 draft pick. After going 6-10, with some of the worst quarterbaThcking in the history of the league, you have to imagine Geno is going to be an upgrade. Plus, our younger players, Wilkerson, Hill, Kerley, and Coples ony getting better I think we're looking at an 8-8 season for Gang Green.

Week 1 Preview

Only the Jets will trade Darrelle Revis, and then have to play him on Opening Day, as the Bucs come to town. This game will be a good litmus test for the team, since Tampa is a decent but not great team. How they perform here will give us a good idea of what to expect the rest of the season. 

Tampa had the top run defense in the league last year, and they may force rookie Geno Smith to beat them. The good news for Jets fans is that it looks like Santonio Holmes is going to start for the first time since Week 4 last year. Rex Ryan already said that he's warned Smith not to test Revis, who is recovering from an ACL tear. 

Josh Freeman is going to struggle against our secondary, with Cromartie matching up well against Vincent Jackson. The Jets had problems against the run last season, and they will be tested by Doug Martin. 

This should be a close game, with either Geno or Freeman being forced to make a play late to win it. I think Gang Green makes the JetLife Stadium crowd happy with a home opener win, before going to New England on Thursday night.  

Prediction: Jets 20 Bucs 13

Hail to The Kings?

Avenged Sevenfold's sixth studio album, Hail to The King was introduced to the world via a free Itunes stream on Monday. After listening to the album a few times, and having some time to absorb it, I'm ready to give my review.

Shepherd of Fire sets the tone for the album, and is going to be a great song to open up concerts, with the ominous tolling of a bell and the sound of rain falling in the beginning. Their first single, and the title track Hail to The King has grown on me, and is a pretty damn catchy song. Doing Time checking in at 3 1/2 minutes is the shortest A7X song. It sounds like it would belong on Appetite for Destruction. This Means War follows in the footsteps of Metallica's Sad But True, and is the heaviest song on the album. Requiem finishes out the first half of the album strong, and is my favorite song so far. It is the most original song on the album, and I like M Shadows chanting/singing here. Synyster Gates adds a sick solo to the song.

Crimson Day is your typical rock-ballad. I think it's easily Avenged's worst ballad. Dear God, Seize the Day, and So Far Away blow this out of the water. Heretic is a good song, but sounds out of place on this album, It sounds more like a track from City of Evil, but that's not a bad thing. Coming Home is another solid track, but nothing really special. This is where the album falls off a cliff in my opinion. Planets isn't bad instrumentally, but I don't like anything about the lyrics or Shadows singing here. Acid Rain wins an award for the worst Avenged Sevenfold song ever. It sounds like a bad pop-rock song, and would be better on a Nickleback album.

I was skeptical about the album, hearing the band talk about putting out a stripped down record, and emulating the bands they grew up listening to. My hopes were raised when I heard critics praising the album as the band's best work. A7X is always evolving as a band, constantly experimenting and tinkering their sound, so hopefully this was just a bump in the road. To me though, this sounded as if Avenged Sevenfold were a cover band of 80's and 90's metal. They took out all the things that separated Avenged Sevenfold from every other band, the dueling guitars, fast drums, harmonizing vocals, and threw them out the window.

Overall I would give Hail to the King a 6/10. The album starts off really well, and Crimson Day is an average ballad, but the last two tracks were so bad, it knocks it down from an 7.5 to a 6 in my opinion. Shadows said in a few interviews that the writing process was tough without the help from Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan for the first time in their careers, and it showed here. Don't get me wrong, even though this album disappointed me, I still and am and will be an Avenged Sevenfold fan foREVer.