Monday Morning Quarterback: New York Jets vs. Oakland Raiders

Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback

Geno Smith

(7) drops back to pass against the Oakland Raiders during the second quarter of a game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Jets got the job done yesterday, winning their opener by a score of 19-14. The Jets did a lot on defense, stopped the run like we said they needed to do. Derek Carr needed a late flurry of yards to reach the 100 yard mark passing, finishing with 151. There were a lot of positives, but also some negatives in this one, so let’s get right to it.

I always say that the game starts and ends up front, and that is what happened today. The Jets played well on the offensive line, allowing only one sack and running the ball for over six yards per carry. That is domination, folks. The defensive line gave up a net of 25 YARDS RUSHING. That is as good as it gets. The Jets lose up front, they probably lose this one. But they didn’t. They won the game, in the trenches, like always.

Geno Smith played a good game. Completing 82 % of your passes as a quarterback (23-28) is never anything to scoff at. He played well. Smith was intercepted once and lost a fumble, but that is going to happen with a young quarterbacks. His rating was over 96 yesterday. That is a great start for the New York Jets, and Smith is only going to get better. Smith, for the most part, was decisive and accurate with the football. He was able to move around and get out of the pocket when the play broke down.

The Jets pounded away on the ground, and the Chris duo is going to be quite the running attack. The two of them, Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson, averaged 7.08 yards per carry on the ground. Johnson added his stamp on the passing game as well, adding five receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown on a shovel pass from Geno Smith. Ivory is as good as it gets between the tackles, as we saw with that great 71 yard touchdown run that he broke off, breaking the game open, and it doesn’t get much better than watching Chris Johnson run in the open field.

And, Geno spread the ball around to seven different receivers, with new Jets’ number one receiver Eric Decker leading the way with 74 yards on five receptions. For the most part, Decker looked good, although I will air my one complaint on the next page. Jace Amaro got into the act with his first two career receptions.

Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets receiver Eric Decker (87) is tackled by Oakland Raiders cornerback

Tarell Brown

(23) and safety

Tyvon Branch

(33) at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Raiders 19-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Now, to the problems. First of all, the Jets’ penalties have to stop. They can get past 11 penalties for 105 yards against an offense that is as bad as the Raiders, but it won’t against any of the teams the Jets are getting ready to face. The Jets need to be more disciplined, period. This will not cut it. All of these good teams will make the Jets pay for shooting themselves in the foot.

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It was also a game of missed opportunities. The Jets had chances in the game, chances to beat the heck out of this football team. They have to become more efficient in the red zone. Protect the football, don’t commit penalties, and score touchdowns. Also, don’t get cute either, and that falls back to the coaching. In the red zone, keep it simple, and get it done, which I want to talk about for a minute.

What was Marty Mornhinweg doing? Calling trick plays inside the ten? Really? You are running the ball well, and you have CHRIS IVORY! When he was born, God gave him the task of scoring touchdowns in short yardage situation. Stop with the reverses, bringing the backup quarterback in as a wide receiver, and all that other garbage. Run the ball twice, and if that doesn’t work, fake it on the third play and run a bootleg. That’s it. This game doesn’t have to be that hard. Marty, don’t fall into that disease of getting too smart for yourself.

Let’s talk about the interception for a minute. Like I said on page one, I blame Eric Decker just as much as I do Geno Smith on this one. Don’t get me wrong, it was a bad choice. Woodson tricked him into thinking that Decker was open, and closed fast. But, Decker cannot just sit there and wait for the pass to come in. You have to come back to the ball and help your quarterback. Eric Decker is a big guy, he needs to make Woodson interfere with him in order to get to the ball. Decker cannot just watch Woodson cut in front of him like that.

But, it’s a win. No matter what they look like, they all still count the same. Like Bill Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. The Jets are 1-0, and off to Green Bay.

They just have some things to clean up.

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