A win is a win is a win. So, that being said, we are now 1-2 and the season is still alive. What is great is that our next two games are winnable - Bills and Giants. But, let's focus on yesterday's game.
Chad received loud applauds when he entered the game to show our appreciation for him. And you can't really complain as he threw for 2 touchdowns, ran for 1, and moved the offense eating up a lot of time on the clock in the 3rd quarter. However, let's look at his numbers. Chad was 15 for 21 for 124 yards. Do you know what that amounts to? A lot of dinky short passes despite being 8 for 9 on 3rd down conversions. We were really spoiled last week when we got to see what a QB could do with an arm, throwing the ball down field, and really spreading out the offense. I liked what I saw. Nothing against Chad as he wins games for us but imagine what he'd be able to do if he had an arm? We had a glimpse of that in Kellen Clemens last week and sitting watching this game, I missed the downfield throws.
It was nice to see Thomas Jones finally have his breakout game breaking the 100 yard barrier. There was one run that wasn't a huge gain but it showed how good of a runner this guy can be when he gets in a groove with his offensive line and when they can get him a hole to run threw. After his run, he was pumping his fist and it was great to see the emotion out of him. I think this was the sign of good things to come.
The offense moved nicely despite the short passes and even Justin McCarins caught the first ball thrown his way. I loved that Chris Baker had a nice catch in the endzone. It is nice when we use the tight end as this is never a big part of Jets' offenses. And Coles caught a nice TD as well. D'Brickshaw finally had a good game guarding Jason Taylor who had 0 sacks, only 4 tackles, and 3 offsides penalties. Good job Brick...now let's do it again next week.
What I really loved is that after we let the Dolphins tie up the game, on the ensuing kickoff, Leon Washington took the ball 98 yards for a TD. I guess we didn't lose a step with Justin Miller being out for the year.
I didn't love the defense yesterday in the 4th quarter. We nearly blew an 18 point lead and let the Dolphins walk all over us. For much of the game, they would run the same screen pass up the middle for 10 yards. And, do we EVER stop a 2-pt conversion? It has a 30% success rate but it seems like we give it up 100% of the time to defy the odds. But, it got a little hairy in the end when it came down to the on-sides kick that luckily we recovered to seal the game 31-28. If you look at the total stats, we were really outplayed being outgained 424 yards to 256. Out pass rush was still pathetic. Shawn Ellis got his first sack and there was one other pressure the rest of the day. We need to get to the QB more than we do. Kerry Rhodes finally got an interception which turned out to be a big one as it was the defense's first takeaway all season.
Notes:
1. For the fourth straight year, the Jets returned home after a bad road loss to beat the Dolphins
2. The jets have won 6 of the last 7 meetings vs. the Dolphins, and 15 of the last 19.
3. Pennington is 7-1 lifetime against the Dolphins.
4. It was Pennington's third-lowest yardage total of his career and the fewest he's had in any of his 32 victories in the regular season.
5. The Jets' running game outgained the passing game, 141-124, something that happened only twice last year
6. Pennington's rushing touchdown was the sixth of his career, his first since Oct. 24, 2004.
7. After the game, Miami cornerback Travis Daniels picked a fight with defensive end Shaun Ellis in the tunnel, and the two players had to be pulled apart.
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