Preseason Game 2 New York Jets Vs. Cincinnati Bengals Quick Hits

Aug 16, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Jets running back

(21) is stopped short of a touchdown during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight the Jets faced a big test in their 2nd preseason contest versus the Cincinnati Bengals. The Jets were without their #1 wide receiver, running back and tight end but still were able to move the ball against a stout Bengals defense. The starting defense played poorly but their depth helped them defeat the Bengals 25-17. How did it break down? Here are the quick hits:

1) Geno Smith has a good 1st half – Smith finished 10/13 for 98 with 0 touchdowns and one interception. He ran three times for 21 yards and a touchdown. He was calm and poised and consistently made good progressions. The interception was a miscommunication between he and Nelson based on which way Nelson should have turned. The passes otherwise were accurate and catchable. The Jets had a nine play drive for a touchdown, a 10 play drive for a field goal and a short four play drive for a touchdown which capitalized on a Cincinnati turnover.

2) The offensive line and skill position players have a better night – In the 1st half the Jets ran for 124 yards on 18 carries (6.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. Geno Smith was not sacked and only faced heavy pressure a couple of times. Chris Johnson led the way with 10 carries for 63 yards. Johnson showed burst both in gaining the edge and rushing up the middle. He also caught two passes out of the backfield. Bilal Powell had 41 yards rushing on only four carries and two catches for 13 yards. Greg Salas has stood out with good hands and decent burst with a 20 yard catch in the 1st half. Stephen Hill had an excellent catch on a 3rd and 16 for 17 yards and had a good run block. Jace Amaro had a good 17 yard catch in the 1st half, another seven yard grab where he leapfrogged a defender and had an 18 yard catch on a tight end screen nullified by penalty in the 2nd half. Amaro has looked good in the games and is slowly developing like a draft pick should.

3) Andy Dalton eviscerates the Jets defense – Dalton didn’t miss going 8/8 for 144 yards and a touchdown. AJ Green had three catches for 69 yards, including a 35 yard catch against Antonio Allen (he did clearly push off but receivers get away with that regularly). Allen was not responsible for any other receptions and played well in my opinion. Kyle Wilson got beat twice by Mohamed Sanu for two catches for 56 yards and a touchdown including a 44 yard touchdown. Dawan Landry was late coming over on both big plays. Curiously Calvin Pryor did not play in the 1st quarter with the starters. Gio Bernard had seven rushes for 22 yards including a 1 yard touchdown run. The secondary was terrible but there was no pressure either from the front 7. The 1st team didn’t start looking good until the Cincinnati 1st team left the game.

4) Penalties in the 1st half – The Jets had eight penalties for 95 yards in the 1st half, all but one of which were on the offense. These included personal fouls on Willie Colon (2), Breno Giacomini (2 but only 1 enforced), and Brian Winters (2 personal fouls, 1 holding penalty) and Stephen Hill had a phantom personal foul. Colon has to keep his cool or he will lead the league in personal fouls and cost the team games.

5) Calvin Pryor debuts – In his first series he recovered a fumble forced by a Demario Davis strip sack then later on he laid out Dane Sanzenbacher forcing him to drop the ball. The Jets blitzed him on multiple occasion with fumble recovery and a batted pass off of his pressure on another. He made a tackle behind the line for a loss on a run. Pryor looked very, very good. It will be interesting to see if he starts on Friday against the Giants or at least plays against the Giants’ starters.

Oct 13, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback

(28) tackles New York Jets wide receiver

(19) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Steelers won the game 19-6. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

6) 2nd half offensive notes – Vick was 5/9 for 70 yards and a touchdown, although 43 of those yards were on 2 screen passes. Vick looked pedestrian in his 1st 2 series with the 2nd team. Didn’t have the same energy as last week but in the 3rd drive he got the Jets down the field with two rushes for 16 yards, a 3rd and 30 screen pass that Daryl Richardson took for a 1st down and a wide receiver screen to Clyde Gates for 17 yards and a touchdown. Daryl Richardson converted a 3rd and 30 on a screen pass. Richardson will make this team. He is fast, has good hands and is useful on all 3 downs.

7) 2nd half defensive notes – AJ Edds looked good both in coverage and downhill. He has been everything that Jeremiah George was supposed to be and hasn’t been yet. Edds has a spot on the roster right now. Anthony Grady continues to look good up front getting pressure. Kerry Hyder flashed again on the defensive line. Brandon Dixon and Darrin Walls played well in the 2nd half as well as Matt Scott was 8/22 for 54 yards and an interception thrown to Walls for Cincinnati. Jaiquawn Jarrett recovered a fumble that Nick Bellore caused. Rontez Miles snuffed out a wide receiver screen but hurt his arm/shoulder doing it. Johnny Patrick had some problems in coverage. IK Enemkpali had a forced fumble on the Bengals final drive.

8) Special Teams – IK Enemkpali blocked a punt for a safety and has made plays in his limited playing time. Trevor Reilly had 2 nice special teams tackles. Nick Folk made a 40 yard field goal. Ryan Quigley averaged 47 yards per punt, including a 53 yarder with nice hang time while Jacob Schum had three punts that averaged 33 yards and looked as bad as they were. Neither punters are NFL quality. Jacoby Ford had a nice 30 yard return as part of his 3 attempts that averaged 23 yards. Ford and Kerley had a combined 5 punt return yards on 3 attempts. The coverage units looked good but did commit a number of penalties, including 1 by Enemkpali.

9) Injuries – Amaro left the game with a foot injury that didn’t look that bad. Rontez Miles made a nice play but hurt his arm/shoulder and it looked a bit more serious. Ras-I Dowling left the game with a groin injury and did not return. The Jets were without Eric Decker, Chris Ivory, Jeff Cumberland, Jalen Saunders, Dee Milliner, Dimitri Patterson, Dexter McDougle, Markus Zusevics, and Shaq Evans for this game. Decker, Ivory, Cumberland, Saunders and Patterson‘s injuries are not considered serious.