Inside the Jets vs. Bills Film Room: Offense

One more time, to put a period and wrap a bow around this 2012 debacle, we go inside the film room and take a look at the Jets offense. This afternoon, JETSerious will take his final look at the defense, but now, the offense.

There are a lot of poor things we could take a look at, we all know this. But, it’s the last one of 2012, so let’s look for the positive. And, despite all of the problems, there was one major positive this year. That positive was Jeremy Kerley, and more specifically, the talent of Jeremy Kerley that Mark Sanchez was able to draw upon. Mark Sanchez gets a lot of heat for not making anybody better, well he made this guy better.  First we will look at the 40 yard gainer, see the formation to the right.

Jeremy Kerley is lined up one on one on the outside.  As we move this forward, you will see how Mark Sanchez has established great trust in Kerley, to put the ball where he knows he will be.  Kerley will just make a simple move to the inside, and then go right around the defender’s outside shoulder.

Kerley take 1-2 steps to the inside of the defender, and then cuts to the outside, following the green arrow.  Let’s move it forward.

Kerley isn’t exactly wide open, the defender actually has decent coverage on him.  But, unlike he does most other occasions, Mark puts the ball up where his guy can make a play.  And the result?

40 yards down the field, Kerley makes the catch, and it’s first down Jets.  See?  Out of all of the muck that was the 2012 offense, Mark Sanchez did establish a good relationship with one guy.

Turn the page, and we will look at a play that shows Kerley’s maturity.

Through most of the year, I have mentioned, ad nauseum, that the receivers never come back to the football when Mark is in trouble. They too often stay along their route, leaving Mark no outlet to throw the football. But, Kerley is the exception here, watch.

This time, Kerley is lined up to the right, with Mark Sanchez lined up in the shotgun, the paths of both players are indicated by green lines. Kerley is going to start his route up the field, but Mark Sanchez will find nobody open, so he is flushed from the pocket. Kerley will break off his route, smartly, and come back to Mark. Watch.

See? Look in the circles, everybody is covered, so Sanchez is going to scramble to buy extra time. Kerley will sense this and come back to him, giving him a target to throw to.

See the circle? Kerley is coming back to Mark, and he scrambles for his life. This is a fundamental skill for any good wide recevier, they have to sense when the quarterback is in trouble, break off their route, and come back. Kerley does, and the result?

An eight yard pickup.

So, as bad as it went this year, there were some positives. Kerley became a weapon for the Jets offense. No matter who the quarterback is, Kerley will be an asset to that player going forward.