Monday Morning Quarterback: New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Oct 13, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) throws a pass during the pre game warmups for their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

It’s the morning after. The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up their first win of 2013 yesterday from MetLife, beating the New York Jets by a score of 10-6. The Jets now hold a 3-3 record as they prepare for a game against the Patriots coming up next week. Let’s take a look at the unhappy recap:

This game was very inconsistent, especially on the offensive side of the football. A lot of credit must go to Dick Lebeau, as he had an excellent game plan. The Steelers took away the Jets’ downfield passing game, Geno had no chance. The Jets averaged five yards per play through the air, which is not in line with the rest of the year. Geno has been near the top of the league in efficiency throwing it down the field, so Lebeau takes that away. And the Jets were never able to adjust.

Marty Mornhinweg called an “interesting” game today, that I believe is not in doubt. They did throw it 34 times, but they also worked HARD at establishing the run. It worked a bit early in the game, but not by the end. The Jets played the three-man running group, and they had their moments. Bilal Powell did post 18 yards, and Ivory added 16. But, they never got any continuity with it, and it fell out of the plan by the second half as the Jets didn’t run it much at all.

The concept makes sense, trying to make Geno get his feet on the ground with the game, but it didn’t work. Why? Because Geno has shown that he can make the throws with the big boy’s. He needs to be trusted more by the coaching staff, and let Geno play! How else will he learn?

Finally, we have to talk about the turnovers. Geno, Geno, Geno. You can not throw any picks in the redzone ever, and to throw more than one? It doesn’t matter if you are hit or not. We know that Geno was hit on one of them, but he still was looking to make a throw in a dangerous place, the middle of the field. Those types of mistakes are unacceptable. You want to get fans annoyed? Turn the ball over in the scoring zone.

He had the one attempt downfield to Stephen Hill. Hill was very open, Smith just missed him. You don’t get a lot of chances in the NFL game, you have to make them count. Geno didn’t this time, and the Jets lost.

The defense played quite well, they just got tired out in the end. They were as stout as usual against the running attack, allowing less than three yards per carry on the ground. You didn’t hear the names of the guys in the center of the defense too much, because Pittsburgh stopped running in that direction.

They also got pressure on Roethlisberger, especially early. Remember when I talked about, however, that he is tough to bring down? Ben showed that yesterday. The Jets would have had a safety if Ben wasn’t so tough to bring down. Big Mo had him right in his cross-hairs, but took his shot too high and been was able to shake free. They got some sacks in, as well as other hits and pressures, but weren’t able to bring him down for the safety.

The bottom line is this, the Jets had an opportunity to set up a huge game next week, and they didn’t take advantage. They came out of the gate flat, and the team stayed flat for the entire afternoon, and the record goes to 3-3.

Next up, New England.