New York Jets Grade Roundup
By Alan Schechter
Oct 16, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New York Jets quarterback
Geno Smith(7) flips the ball to New York Jets quarterback
Michael Vick(1) against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets 27-25. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
It’s the middle of the bye week, and the Jets are away from their facilities taking a break to regroup, and try to finish out the final six games with some dignity. So, let’s take a couple of minutes to look back on the first ten games of the year, and the player grades.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Pro Football Focus is a website where they take a complex formula to each player, each week, and figure out a grade for them. The higher the grade, the better they played. The grade is taken and a cumulative grade is figured out for the entire season.
So we are going to look at the grades, by position. We will start at the top, with the quarterbacks:
Michael Vick: -14.0 Geno Smith: -19.7
No real surprise here, the quarterback play has been pretty bad. OK, it has been really bad. Michael Vick has been better, but not by a lot.
Nov 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back
Chris Ivory(33) runs with the ball during the first half of their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Next we run down the grades for the Jets running backs:
Chris Ivory: -1.1 Bilal Powell: -1.2 Chris Johnson: -4.9
This again is a pretty accurate description of the Jets running backs to date. Ivory has been the best, and although carrying the ball a limited number of times, Powell has been second. CJ2K has not been great, but put up his best grade in week 9 (1.3) when he rushed for over six yards per carry on just ten carries.
Oct 26, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver
Eric Decker(87) during warm ups before the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. Buffalo Bills defeated New York Jets 43-23. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Let’s next go through the Jets’ wide receivers and tight ends:
Eric Decker: -1.4 Percy Harvin: 2.5 Greg Salas: -1.2 T.J. Graham: -1.4 Jeremy Kerley: -4.4 Jace Amaro: 0.1 Zach Sudfeld: -2.9 Jeff Cumberland: -12.5
David Nelson recorded a -10.7, but he didn’t make the main list because he is no longer on the Jets. It is interesting that the acquisition of Percy Harvin was the most controversial among Jets fans, and yet he has the only positive WR grade, though only through two games. Decker’s negative grade is a bit of a surprise since he has looked rather good when in there, but he hasn’t been perfect. Same goes for all Jets’ wide receivers.
Nov 2, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; New York Jets guard
Willie Colon(66) and center
Nick Mangold(74) on the line of scrimmage during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Now for the offensive line. You will see that one Jets lineman has been his usual self, the rest….well let’s just take a look:
Nick Mangold: 16.5 Breno Giacomini: -5.3 D’Brickashaw Ferguson: -1.8 Willie Colon: -11.8 Brian Winters: -15.3 Oday Aboushi: 0.4
You can see that the Jets made the right move by placing Aboushi in the lineup when Winters was injured. Nick Mangold has been far and away the Jets most consistent player on offense. The rest of them have been battered with penalties and allowing too many pressures on the quarterback.
Sep 28, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets defensive end
Muhammad Wilkerson(96) reacts after the Detroit Lions scored a touchdown at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Now let’s look at the Jets best position group, the defensive line:
Muhammad Wilkerson: 28.9 Sheldon Richardson: 19.5 Damon Harrison: 9.0 Leger Douzable: 2.5 Kenrick Ellis: -1.2 T.J. Barnes: -2.8
The “Sons of Anarchy” are getting the job done for the Jets, as we all expected them to. The only major disappointment is Barnes, with the position low of -2.8.
Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets linebacker
Calvin Pace(97) tries to get past Oakland Raiders tackle
Khalif Barnes(69) at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Raiders 19-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Now for the linebackers:
David Harris: -7.5 Demario Davis: 1.7 Calvin Pace: -7.7 Quinton Coples: -3.4 Jason Babin: 5.0
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It’s fairly surprising that the top grade at linebacker, even in limited snaps, is Jason Babin. The only time I really recall hearing his name was on that terrible penalty he took last week. Demario Davis is going to be a star for the Jets, and his improving PFF grade is evidence of that.
Nov 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers tight end
Heath Miller(83) runs with the ball while New York Jets free safety
Jaiquawn Jarrett(37) attempts to tackle him during the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets defeated the Steelers 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Now for everyone’s favorite group, the Jets defensive backs:
Dawan Landry: 5.5 Calvin Pryor: 2.6 Darrin Walls: -1.2 Antonio Allen: -4.7 Kyle Wilson: -1.6 Phillip Adams: -6.8 Jaiquawn Jarrett: 4.1 Marcus Williams: -1.2
Is there any real surprise here? I don’t think any of us had any false hope about the Jets secondary. We know they have been bad. Since he was benched, it’s surprising to see that Calvin Pryor’s grade is as high as it is, but obviously the team doesn’t use these grades. Jarrett took a nice bump in his grade after his performance last week against the Steelers.