Inside the Jets vs. Dolphins Film Room: Offense

Oct 14, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill (84) runs off the field after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

It’s Wednesday, and it’s time to go into the film room. The defense will be featured this afternoon with the great JETSerious. This morning, as always, we take a look at the offensive film. Let me tell you something, the offensive tape was just that, offensive. This performance was about as bad as it could get, bringing shades of the 49ers shutout to mind. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to break down for you, until I read one of our posts from yesterday.

Our great writer, Sean L Durham, put up a post yesterday talking about how Mike Tannenbaum put together, or didn’t put together this football team.  Please take a look at it by clicking here, as it is just great.  In it, he talks about how the Jets have entrusted the starting wide receiver position to Stephen Hill.

In it, Sean talks about how Stephen will become a great wide receiver in time, but the Jets expectations for him in year one are just too much.  Why?  Because he is a rookie.  There are a couple of examples in the game this past Sunday that prove his point, and that is what I am going to take a look at this morning.  Stephen did have a nice catch or two, but he made his rookie mistakes.  The first one is a play in the second quarter where Hill misreads the coverage:

Mark Sanchez is under center, with Stephen Hill set wide to the left, one on one with the cornerback.  Hill, circled in green, is set to run a post pattern, or run straight, and then make a cut to the goal post.  But, where his inexperience comes in is when he reads the defense.  See the group of Dolphins circled by the defensive line?  They are showing blitz, and with Hill one on one, he is going to be the “hot” receiver.  He needs to recognize that Mark is not going to have time to allow him to make his cut, and instead run a “go” route, straight down the field.  Let’s move forward.

Here is Sanchez, clearly under duress.  Stephen Hill needs to break off his post pattern, and run straight ahead, following the green arrow.  Instead, he continues his post pattern, following the black arrow.  Mark unloads the football to where he is expecting Hill to be, straight down the field on a go route.  The result?

Hill is in the lower circle, with his momentum going towards the post.  The higher circle is the football, heading towards where Hill needed to be running.  With more experience, and more reps, Stephen Hill will get to understand this and recognize it faster.  But it becomes magnified because the Jets have pinned a lot of importance on a rookie wide receiver.

We will take a look at the drop from the second half on the next page.

This time, Stephen Hill is lined up to the right in a bunch formation, with Mark Sanchez in the shotgun.  As Hill follows the green arrow on his route, he will get a quick bump from the defender in red circle, but will be putting his move on the defensive back, circled in blue.  Let’s roll the tape forward.

Stephen Hill puts on a great move here.  The defender is circled in blue, Hill is in green.  Hill makes a move with one step with his left foot towards the goal post.  Instead of continuing to the post, he turns it into a double move, by breaking for the back pylon.  Hill is open, but the DB is not out of the play.  It is going to take a perfect throw from Mark Sanchez, over the head of the defender to hit Hill for the touchdown.  Mark DOES make a great throw, but Hill doesn’t pull it in.  Take a look.

OK, maybe the throw is a bit late, as the defender does have time to close in on Hill.  But even taking that into account, the fact is that Sanchez laid the ball right in Hill’s bread basket.   He put the ball right where his guy needed it in order to make the catch.  Stephen Hill has to make that catch.

Stephen Hill will make this catch, and make a whole lot more too.  He clearly is talented, and has shown flashes already so far this season.  But, the Jets have put a lot on his plate.  They have put him in position to where they need more than flashes.  The Jets expect him to be the consistent deep threat from the starting wide receiver position, and that is a lot to expect of a rookie with his limited experience.  It’s too much, Sean was absolutely right yesterday.

He will get there, but it’s not fair for him to be in this position so early.