Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 1 Jets vs. Bills

Sept 9, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) throws a pass during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

Mark Sanchez and his offensive teammates have a lot to be happy about after yesterday’s game. The Jets won 48-28, but the game really wasn’t that close. There was no point where you felt they were going to blow it, which is a great feeling for may lifetime Jets fans. The 48 points was a record for the Jets in opening week.

The Jets really took a hold on this one early. After Darrelle Revis’ spectacular interception, the Jets scored their first touchdown of the day on a Sanchez to Kerley 12 yard TD pass. They went off and took a lead they never lost, scoring 20 points in the second quarter. They opened it up to a 41-7 in the third quarter after Cromartie took it to the house with a pick six, and Sanchez connected with Hill for the TD.

We got what we hoped for from the Jets defense, for the most part. They created 3 turnovers in the first half alone, 4 for the game. The particularly spectacular turnover was the pick by Darrelle Revis, going full extension up in the air to make the catch, and then having the presence of mind to get both feet down in bounds. The offense fed off of this, and all the turnovers scoring 24 points off of turnovers.

Yes, it is only one game. But, the points off of turnovers are a great sign, as we all pointed at the offense last year for squandering many opportunities.

Sept 9, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill (84) catches a touchdown pass during the first half at MetLIfe Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

Stephen Hill had a terrific football game, showing a lot of the potential that the Jets saw in him when getting drafted. He caught five passes for 89 yards and 2 TDs, looking a helluva lot better than he did dropping passes left and right in the preseason. He can fly, there is no question about that. It was great to see him making these catches, but he still needs to be careful to not catch it with his body. Even on the catches he made, you can see him doing that a bit too much, and as he stays in the league longer, he will take some hard shots from every direction to dislodge him from the football.

The running game wasn’t great, but it was vastly improved. Shonn Greene led the way with 94 yards in 27 carries with a late TD. They did enough to keep the passing game open for Mark Sanchez, but with only a net average of 3.3 yards per running play, that won’t be enough for ever. That will have to improve.

Behind an offensive line that gave him all day to throw, Mark Sanchez was wonderful. He made a bad decision early on the INT, but other than that, his throws were on target, and had more zip. On the day, he went 19-27 for 266 yards and 3 TDs to go along with the 1 INT.

Sept. 9, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (11) on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. Jets won 48-28. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Gold star to Jeremy Kerley as well. He became the first Jets offensive player with a return TD and an offensive TD, with his 68 yard punt return to go along with his 12 yard TD from Sanchez in the first quarter. All in all, a wonderful day for the Jets offense. The only black mark to me was the use of the Wildcat. Don’t get mad at me, Tim Tebow fans. Tim Tebow really didn’t provide any addition to the offense today. He ran the ball 5 times for 11 yards, and never attempted a pass.

It seemed like Sparano was trying to forcefeed the Wildcat into the game, which is not a good idea. There were times when the offense was in a good rhythm with Mark Sanchez, yet Tebow was brought into the game anyway. For example, there was a drive early in the first quarter, when Mark converted a third down with a 21 yard connection to Jeremy Kerley. After the accurate throw, in came Tim Tebow. Why? They didn’t need the change of pace. The Wildcat needs to be used as a change of pace, rather than just for the sake of it. Tony Sparano needs to be careful on that.

One more gold star has to go out to our new right tackle, Mr. Austin Howard. Did you hear Mario Williams’ name called during that game at all? I didn’t. Well, actually I did, when they talked about how Howard dominated him all game long. Excellent job.

December 12, 2010; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills kick returner CJ Spiller (21) returns a kick against the Cleveland Browns at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo defeated Cleveland 13-6. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-US PRESSWIRE

CJ Spiller was the lone bright spot on offense for the Bills, partially because Bart “Can’t Wait” Scott still “can’t tackle”. After taking over for the injured Fred Jackson, Spiller ran it 14 times for 169 yards and a 56 yard TD, that included a Bart Scott miss. I love the fact that Scott is motivated, now it needs to show up some more with a few more tackles.

One other guy that was mysteriously off the stats board was Aaron Maybin. The Jets didn’t record any sacks today, and we didn’t even see Maybin on the boxscore with any tackles. We need to see more Mayhem!.

All in all, a great day was had by the Jets yesterday. A bigger test comes next week in Pittsburgh.