Sunday Morning Quarterback: New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Aug 4, 2014; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets free safety Calvin Pryor (25) walks out to the field prior to the start of training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Jets fans. Game two of the preseason is in the books, as the Jets topped the Bengals last night by the score of 25-17. There is no shortage of topics to discuss in this one, so let’s get to it.

First off, let’s talk about Calvin Pryor. If what we saw last night is what we should expect during the season, he may become my favorite Jet very quickly. Calvin threw his body around all night, causing an incompletion on one play, recovering another fumble, and just always being around the football. It’s only one game, but Calvin Pryor has all the makings of a high quality NFL safety.

Geno Smith did not play badly in this one. He did have the one interception, but that was on a mis-read between him and the receiver, David Nelson. To me, it looked like Nelson’s mistake because the throw was right at the defender. Whoever it was, better now than in the regular season.

Other than that throw, Geno Smith was efficient, throwing 10-13 for 98 yards and just the one interception. He did lead two extended drives, one that ended in a field goal and the other a one yard touchdown by Geno himself. After a rough start, the first team offense did get things going and made some positive things happen.

You also have to like how Geno Smith keeps his eyes down the field, and runs only when he has to. There was one excellent play last night, where the rush was coming, but Geno hung in there until the last minute, when he made a great move to elude the sack and run for the first down. You can see that he really has a trust in the system at this point, and that is exciting to see.

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

(21) runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Johnson is another guy that is going to be exciting to watch in 2014. We all know how good he has been in the past, but seeing him in our uniform is just a different experience, isn’t it? He too got off to a rough start last night, but was able to get extended time due to the injury to Chris Ivory. Johnson made the most of it.

Johnson ran the ball ten times for 63 yards. To watch him run around that corner, or just hit the hole and be through it faster than most…..wow! Bilal Powell added four carries for 41 yards and one touchdown.

Congratulations to Stephen Hill for his catch last night. It actually was a good one, and was a great third down conversion. One catch does not change a player, but it is a start.

It wasn’t all good, turn the page.

Aug 4, 2014; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets free safety

(39) walks to the locker room following training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The first team defense against the first team offense was scary, but not in a good way. It brought back unforunate memories from last season of a blowout loss to the Bengals from last October. Andy Dalton carved the Jets up. It was as if no changes were made to the back line at all, as Dalton went 8-8 for 144 yards and one touchdown on a bomb to Mohammed Sanu.

Antonio Allen was not bad during his first game at cornerback. The long pass that he gave up to A.J. Green was not so much his fault. Any NFL receiver can get separation from the defensive back if they push off as obviously as Green did. If Allen is going to play corner, the defense must be run with more help available to Allen. Other than that, Allen did OK, but overall, the defensive backfield absolutely got smoked by Andy Dalton. The Jets face a series of tough QB’s during the early part of the schedule. The secondary must pick it up, and do so quickly.

Finally, it was nice to see a big play come from the special teams. IK Enemkpali made an excellent block on the punt team. The quickest way to make a team is to be good on special teams.

What did you guys think of the game?