Week 7 Jets Report Card

October 21, 2012; Foxboro, MA USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan after after being defeated by the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-US PRESSWIRE

The grades are in, from the Jets 29-26 loss yesterday afternoon. They put in a very good effort, and the grades reflect as much:

QUARTERBACK:C+

Mark Sanchez did have a good stat line, 28-41 for 328 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He made some excellent throws, including the TD to Dustin Keller, and several pinpont throws to Jeremy Kerley. All in all, he had a pretty accurate day. The grade comes down because of the mistakes Mark made. His safety, the INT, the game ending fumble, were all at points that were far too critical to overlook. When the game hung in the balance, Mark Sanchez made too many mistakes to rate a higher grade.

RUNNING BACKS:B-

Although they only averaged 3.2 yards per carry, the backs did have their moments. In limited work, Lex Hilliard was over 4 yards per carry, and Shonn Greenedid add a touchdown. The Jets did stick with it, and when it was working, Mark Sanchez was able to be his most effective, when he could throw off of play action. We have to take a little bit off of the grade with the botched handoff. But, the running game wasn’t bad.

WIDE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS:B-

Jeremy Kerley stepped up with a huge performance, recording 7 catches for 120 yards. Mark Sanchez’s favorite was back to his old self, as Dustin Keller added catches for 93 yards. These two played an excellent football game. Stephen Hill added 4 catches of his own, but his drop late in the game was huge, and could have changed the final score. People can criticize Mark Sanchez all he wants, but when he makes a perfect throw, he can’t catch it for them. Nobody else was a factor, including a bad performance by Chaz Schilens.

OFFENSIVE LINE:B

Although they did allow four sacks, they did give Mark Sanchez a lot of time to throw for most of this game. Sanchez overall performed well, and that is a credit to the offensive line. Add to that, the fact that there were holes for the running game against a top rushing defense, and the line gets a solid B.

Oct 21, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) makes a touchdown reception in front of New York Jets safety LaRon Landry (30) during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

DEFENSIVE LINE:B-

The defense did put out a strong effort, even if nobody stood out statistically. They only recorded one sack, but did get pressure up the middle on Tom Brady at times. They also held Stevan Ridley to under 70 yards rushing, and personally under 4 yards per carry. They weren’t spectacular, but did enough as a group to keep the Jets in the football game.

LINEBACKER:C+

These guys didn’t play terribly either, but they get a lower grade due to the performance of the New England tight ends. These guys needed to bump the tight ends off their pass routes, but didn’t do a good enough job of it. Bart Scott and Calvin Pace looked as slow as ever at times, and allowing 11 catches for 132 yards and 2 TDs to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez is just not going to cut it. Whether it is the young guys, or the veterans, they have to be physical against a team like that, and they didn’t do a good enough job. Again, the team was in the game, so they do get some credit, but less due to the play of the tight ends.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:B-

This group gets an average grade as well, but slightly better than the linebackers due to the play on the outside receivers. Deion Branch and Brandon Lloyd combined for 2 catches for 15 yards, which is a credit to the coverage on the outside. Other than Wes Welker, the Patriots’ wide receivers did nothing all game long. The grade goes down, however, due to the play of the Patriots’ tight ends as well. Despite the fact that LaRon Landry contributed 12 tackles, they weren’t physical enough over the middle to make the difference that was necessary.

SPECIAL TEAMS:C+

Nick Folk was clutch with the field goal, and Joe McKnight played as gutty of a football game as you will ever see, averaging 29 yards per kickoff return, with a high ankle sprain. The grade comes down because of that kickoff return. All they had to do was tackle Devin McCourty, and the momentum stays on the Jets side, but they couldn’t do it. That was too big a play to overlook.