Jets lose to Raiders: Quick Thoughts

In the New York Jets first of three straight road games, this was supposed to be the easiest.  This was supposed to provide the Jets will some assurance that they would return to MetLife Stadium with a 3-2 record.   Instead, a pitiful performance against the Oakland Raiders in which the Jets lost 34-24, has left the team at 2-1 and facing the barrel of Baltimore and New England ahead.

Pick a side here, offense or defense, and the result was the same:  An unemotional, lazy, sad performance.

Let’s go through our quick hits:

OFFENSE

1. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Shonn Greene.  The RB was lackluster again and overshadowed by the his veteran counterpart. Which leads us to…

2. LaDainian Tomlinson.  Can you ever say enough about how good LT is?  The Jets are three games into the 2011 season and the year old is easil their best player.

3. Mark Sanchez.  It’s year 3 for you, kid.  Time to stop with the terrible interceptions and learn when to throw the ball away.  Sanchez threw away the momentum with an endzone INT.  With 369 yards and 3 TDs (2 in the air, 1 running), the numbers were there.  The result wasn’t.  Too many throws to his RBs and little dunks to receivers.   Taking a hand to the face and wearing a visor in the second half, Sanchez may have broken his nose.

4. Santonio Holmes.  1 catch for 19 yards.  Enough said.

5. Plaxico Burress.  3 catches for 55 yards with a TD only goes to show what could have been.  Burress wasn’t targeted enough and deserved more from Sanchez.  Great blocking throughout the game.

DEFENSE

1. The Jets Defense got embarrassed today.  No better way to say it.  Raiders RB Darren McFadden rushed for 171 yards and 2 TDs while the Raiders rushed for 234 yards overall, the most yards allowed in 41 games under head coach Rex Ryan,

2. Antonio Cromartie.  Four pass interference penalties aside, Cromartie killed the Jets with his bumbling kickoff return in which he coughed up the ball to the Raiders setting the team up for a 14 point lead.  He left the game late with a rib injury and didn’t return.

With a Buffalo Bills victory over the New England Patriots, the Bills are atop the AFC East at 3-0, with the Jets and Pats at 2-1.