Beating Oakland opening day was a must and the Jets are now 1-0. Getting the W is what counts in the end, but it shouldn’t have come down to recovering an onside kick to preserve a 5 point victory.
Should Have Been a “Rat Kill”
As Coach Rex Ryan pointed out so well in the after game press conference, when the offense has almost a 400-100 yard advantage on offense, it should signal an easy victory. Having 11 penalties, a fumble and an interception, the Jets almost beat themselves, while totally dominating the Raiders. We also didn’t get any turnovers from the Raiders, something the Jets have really emphasized in camp.
Now for the good stuff!
Offense
The Offensive line did a great job, both pass and run blocking. Brian Winters was really impressive. They took good care of Geno.
The Jets scored points on their first drive of the season, first time in 10 years and started with great KO return by Saalim Hakim.
Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory were the real deal. Speed that the Jets haven’t had to go all the way, and great hands on that shovel pass by CJ for a TD. It was so awesome to have a Jet runner go 71 yards and now teams have to respect that possibility.
Some great throws, key third down run pick-ups by QB Geno Smith. We all know the mistakes he made but he’s still growing. He spread the ball around well to the TE’s and WR’s.
The defense didn’t record any sacks but there was constant pressure on QB Derek Carr. They shut down the running game and I was glad to see Jason Babin have some pressures too.
Defense
The defensive backfield, that so many questioned, played so well. It was the best tackling I’ve seen by Jet safeties and corners in a long time.
Antonio Allen showed he is one tough football player, wherever you play him.
Though we didn’t have a major run back on punts, Punt Returner Jalen Saunders looked very relaxed and sure handed for his first pro game.
With the strength of the defense, I had said we need at least 20 points to win games. Next week, playing at Green Bay against Aaron Rodgers, we need to play with the same intensity and great tackling as we did today, but need to finish drives with TD’s, not penalties and/or Field Goals, to get to 24 or more to win. It can be done against the Green Bay Defense.
