New York Jets Week 4: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Aug 22, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback

Geno Smith

(7) celebrates with tight end

Jace Amaro

(88) after catching a touchdown pass against the New York Giants during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

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The Jets lost their 3rd straight this time to the Detroit Lions and fell to 1-3 on the season. Only 14% of teams that start 1-3 make the playoffs so those are the odds facing the team with the next games including a trip to San Diego, home for Denver and at New England on a short week. What went down this week? Here is the good, the bad and the ugly:

The Good – There is no good this week because this was a horrible, listless loss and there were few highlights for me. Chris Ivory played well, Jace Amaro started to break out and the front four played reasonably well but I’m not going to search for silver linings on a day where there aren’t any.

The Bad

1) The Game Plan – The Jets came out and established the run on the 1st drive with Chris Ivory garnering 51 yards on that possession alone but after that 14 play drive that netted a field goal there were five straight 3 and outs followed by a six and out. They so handcuffed Geno Smith with simple, short throws in the first half that the offense had no rhythm. Smith let it snowball and he finished the first half 4/12 for 32 yards. There were two drops and one hail mary attempt that made the number look even worse but he was bad. The plan to run the ball consistently on 1st and 2nd down led to 3rd and long which is not a high percentage conversion. If they had started off like the 1st drive of the 2nd half that went 14 plays for a touchdown and mixed both run and pass it would have been easier to come back to the run and establish it with the safety backed out of the box.

2) Same thing defensively – The Jets weren’t very exotic in what they ran against Detroit. There was not a lot of pre-snap movement so they didn’t make Stafford have to think as much. Stafford is prone to mistakes when he gets frustrated or confused and I think the defensive game plan could have been tailored to make him less comfortable. There was also very little to no adjustment on how to cover Golden Tate after it was clear that Calvin Johnson was a diversion, if he was even on the field. There is no excuse for having Kyle Wilson 1 on 1 with Tate on the 3rd and 10 play in the 3rd quarter when the Lions had the ball at their own 10 yard line. A stop there swings all the momentum to the Jets but they couldn’t cover Tate and it led to a 90 yard drive that put Detroit back up by two touchdowns. The Jets also got caught with David Harris on him for some reason.

3) Injuries – The Jets lost Calvin Pryor and David Nelson to lower body injuries in the 2nd quarter. Antonio Allen was also limping so badly he had to be carted out of the locker room. Tommy Bohanon also went for x-rays. Without Nelson it made the Lions defensive responsibilities easier because they took the attention they would have paid Nelson and used it to stop Jeremy Kerley and/or bring pressure. Pryor had a half sack in the game but also blew an assignment and was the primary reason a receiver was allowed to get behind the defense when Matthew Stafford hooked up with Jeremy Ross for a 59 yard score. Antonio Allen clearly believed he had deep safety help and Pryor didn’t even react. Losing Pryor and Nelson for any period of time will thin out the 2 weakest groups on the team (wide receiver and secondary) so hope for minor injuries that have quick recovery times. Losing Allen for any time will be the straw the broke the defense’s back. You can’t get pressure on the quarterback quick enough with bad corners that will be beat easily.

4) Drops – Eric Decker had 2 drops as did Chris Ivory and they all seemed to come at the worst time. Decker’s 1st drop was on a 3rd down pass in the 1st quarter and his 2nd drop would have given the Jets a long field goal attempt just before the half. Ivory dropped a pass where he had 20 yards of running room and a blocker in front of him and his 2nd one was a 3rd down play on the Jets final drive that sealed their fate.

5) Another week, another officiating gaffe – As bad as the Jets played they were within 24-17 with around 4 minutes left and Reggie Bush ran for 6 yards. There was an injury on the play and after the commercial break Rex Ryan had challenged whether or not Bush had fumbled. The camera shielded the ball but it was clear based on the timing of when both players rolled out of the pile that Richardson had taken the ball from Bush before Bush had hit the ground. Since there was no clear picture of the ball the ruling on the field could not be overturned. The Jets would have had a 1st down at the Lions 25 if the play was called correctly on the field. Instead, the Lions were able to run out the clock.

Sep 28, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) walks off the field after the game against the Detroit Lions at MetLife Stadium. The Lions won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

The Ugly

1) Geno Smith – Smith finished 17/33 for 209 yards with one touchdown, one interception and one fumble lost. The numbers don’t really even tell the story. Smith was slow with his decision-making, indecisive and inaccurate. He didn’t look and feel like a leader today instead he looked just like a rookie in the midst of a slump like last year and that is not acceptable anymore. If the Jets had competent quarterbacking they would be 3-1 at a minimum. 5 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost through 4 games just isn’t protecting the ball

. Apparently Smith also lost his cool with a heckling fan and let loose two f-bombs. I still say you give him the year to show whether he has it or not but he can’t have many more games like this and keep his job.

2) The last two drives – The Jets had the ball on their own 15 down 7 points with roughly 4 minutes left in the game. It got to 3rd and 2 and on that play Ivory dropped a ball that hit his hands and left a 4th down. With 2 timeouts and the 2 minute warning Rex Ryan decided to punt it away. The Jets never got it back. The Lions were able to run out the clock against the Jets’ top flight run defense. The Jets couldn’t stop Reggie Bush when it counted and that will haunt Rex Ryan. I thought he should have went for it on 4th down because that has been his personality since he got here and he would have been second guessed anyway so why not be criticized for being too aggressive instead of too passive. It left an awful taste in my mouth as I’m sure it did yours and the Jets as a whole.

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