5 Quick Hits: Jets vs. Bills

1.

Mark Sanchez looked impressive. Sanchez looked every bit the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be today in a 48-28 defeat of the Buffalo Bills at Met Life Stadium. Despite an early mistake via an attempted suffle pass to Jeff Cumberland which resulted in an  interception #6 appeared posied and confident in an impressive showing this afternoon. Sanchez passed for 250+ yards with three touchdowns for a 123.4 quarterback rating and one interception in a game in which the New York Jets scored early and often. Mark Sanchez delivered the football accurately and on time keeping the offense ahead of the chains with great offesnvie rhythm. Sanchez stood tall in the pocket and displayed elite footwork to showcase the hard work and dedication put in during the offseason. Overall this was a great sign and provides a foundation the offense can build off of in the upcomming weeks.

2.

Stephen Hill appears to be the real deal. While Hill struggled in the preseason with dropped passes and subpar route running, those concerns never appeared in todays win. Everyone knows Stephan Hill has elite measurables, and today he showcased them with 88 receiveing yards and two touchdowns against a struggling Bills secondary. Hill made nice adjustments on the fly to connect with Mark Sanchez on deep throws and managed to catch the football consitantyl while in the shadow of Buffalo defenders. If Hill can perform at the this level for the entirety of the season the New York Jets may have a real playmaker on the outside.

3.

The defense was mediocre. The Buffalo Bills ammassed 195 yards rushing and outgained the Jets with 390 total yards of offense. The defensive backfield looked dominant with three interceptions while the front 7 appeared outmatched as CJ Spiller consistantly ripped off big gains both up the middle and on the outside. The loss of Sione Pouha proved significant as he has the ability to stuff the middle and disrupt runningbacks behind the line of scrimage, something the Jets lacked severly in today’s matchup. While the front 7 struggled, the backfield duo of Yehremiah Bell and Laron Landry provided a physical presence not seen in years past. While both players made some mistakes attempting to make the highlight reel, they provided plenty of big hit which certainly got in the head of bills receivers and running backs. While there may not be much incentive to play hard when up big early in the game, the New York Jets defense must improve against the run to win close games later in the season.

4.

The offensive line played well. In his first NFL start Austin Howard played great, neutralizing star defensive end Mario Williams. Howard was conistant in pass protection, while also displaying ability to run block at the point of attack to help open holes for Jets runningbacks. As a whole the line played better than expected with few penalities, and no glaring mistakes in regards to blocking assignments and protection schemes. Although the run game lacked wide open holes in the run game, the Jets line provided enough day light to consitantly gain yardage and put the offense in good down and distance siuations on second and third down.

5.

Tim Tebow was less than stellar. In five rushing attempts Tebow gained 11 yards, failing to attempt or catch a pass and failing to record a tackle on special teams. Although used often, Tebow’s opportunities were insifnificant as he was relegated to either handing off the football on a jet sweep, or keeping it himself to carry it up the middle. Tebow did account for a delay of game penalty when taking the field with the Wildcat package in the redzone, something that no coach wants to see. The role for Tim Tebow is certainly larged than what was displayed today as the game was in hand rather early, providing no reason to show anything but the most vanilla of Wildcat plays. With Sanchez performing great Jets fans