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Things we learned about the Jets
December, 15, 2014
DEC 15
12:45
PM ET
By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com
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A few takeaways from the New York Jets' 16-11 win over the Tennessee Titans:
1. Geno Smith has validated the team’s controversial decision to put him back in the lineup. It was the right call at the time, regardless of who made it, and it looks even better three weeks later. Look, Smith hasn’t been great, but he also hasn’t been terrible – a 78.2 passer rating in three starts since his return. The Jets wouldn’t be gaining much with Michael Vick in the lineup; he’s not the future. Smith might not be the future, either, but he’s showing he belongs somewhere on the 2015 depth chart.
2. The Jets’ official website posted a video of Rex Ryan’s postgame address to the team, your basic “hard-work-pays-off” speech from a fired-up coach. In the background is owner Woody Johnson, with his two young sons. Johnson is locked in, hanging on Ryan’s every word, smiling occasionally. Oh, to be a mind reader. Johnson has a deep affinity for Ryan, and it’s quite obvious the team likes him, too. In two weeks, Johnson is expected to fire Ryan. You can’t help but wonder what was running through his mind as he watched his coach in the locker room; thinking about what might have been or, per chance, letting his heart tell him what still could be?
3. Not surprisingly, Johnson declined to speak to reporters as he left the locker room, saying he will talk after the season – i.e. Black Monday. There’s still the thought floating around that embattled general manager John Idzik somehow might survive. That would be an unpopular decision by Johnson.
4. The players gave Ryan the game ball, with D’Brickashaw Ferguson making the presentation in the locker room. It was a nice birthday present for the coach, who turned 52 on Saturday.
5. Ryan scoffed at the “Suck for the Duck” premise, essentially saying Marcus Mariota is no Peyton Manning. I wonder what he’d be saying if he thought he’d have an opportunity to coach him.
6. Hard to believe, but this was only the second time the Jets outscored an opponent in the fourth quarter. They did it last week, too – a 6-3 edge on the Minnesota Vikings – but no one should care about that because they blew the game in overtime. For a change, the Jets finished.
7. Quinton Coples hasn’t made enough plays in his career to have a personal highlight film, but if he decided on a short film, it should be entitled, “The Hurt Locker.” For the second straight year, he knocked Titans quarterback Jake Locker out of a game. This time, he squashed him with a clean hit, causing a shoulder injury. Afterward, teammate Jason Babin called over to Coples in the locker room, saying, “You’re Locker’s arch nemesis.” The defensive-minded coach probably wished Coples faced Locker more often. A year ago, Coples and Muhammad Wilkerson tag-teamed him, resulting in a season-ending hip injury.
8. The Jets are up to 11 takeaways, needing only three to avoid the indignity of having the fewest in a 16-game season. (The Houston Texans had only 13 last season.) The Jets' team leader is a wide receiver, T.J. Graham, who has three fumble recoveries on special teams. File that under “strange, but true."
9. The Jets held the Titans out of the end zone, but let’s keep it in perspective: The Titans had only three healthy wide receivers, four backups on the offensive line and a third-string quarterback (Charlie Whitehurst) for most of the game.
10. With Frank Wycheck and Kevin Dyson in the house for alumni weekend, the Titans nearly pulled off another Music City Miracle. They covered 49 yards with a pass and three laterals, coming up 9 yards short on the final play. “Kind of scary,” safety Calvin Pryor said. In January 2000, Wycheck and Dyson hooked up in the original Miracle.
December, 15, 2014
DEC 15
12:45
PM ET
By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com
00COMMENTS0EMAILPRINT
A few takeaways from the New York Jets' 16-11 win over the Tennessee Titans:
1. Geno Smith has validated the team’s controversial decision to put him back in the lineup. It was the right call at the time, regardless of who made it, and it looks even better three weeks later. Look, Smith hasn’t been great, but he also hasn’t been terrible – a 78.2 passer rating in three starts since his return. The Jets wouldn’t be gaining much with Michael Vick in the lineup; he’s not the future. Smith might not be the future, either, but he’s showing he belongs somewhere on the 2015 depth chart.
2. The Jets’ official website posted a video of Rex Ryan’s postgame address to the team, your basic “hard-work-pays-off” speech from a fired-up coach. In the background is owner Woody Johnson, with his two young sons. Johnson is locked in, hanging on Ryan’s every word, smiling occasionally. Oh, to be a mind reader. Johnson has a deep affinity for Ryan, and it’s quite obvious the team likes him, too. In two weeks, Johnson is expected to fire Ryan. You can’t help but wonder what was running through his mind as he watched his coach in the locker room; thinking about what might have been or, per chance, letting his heart tell him what still could be?
3. Not surprisingly, Johnson declined to speak to reporters as he left the locker room, saying he will talk after the season – i.e. Black Monday. There’s still the thought floating around that embattled general manager John Idzik somehow might survive. That would be an unpopular decision by Johnson.
4. The players gave Ryan the game ball, with D’Brickashaw Ferguson making the presentation in the locker room. It was a nice birthday present for the coach, who turned 52 on Saturday.
5. Ryan scoffed at the “Suck for the Duck” premise, essentially saying Marcus Mariota is no Peyton Manning. I wonder what he’d be saying if he thought he’d have an opportunity to coach him.
6. Hard to believe, but this was only the second time the Jets outscored an opponent in the fourth quarter. They did it last week, too – a 6-3 edge on the Minnesota Vikings – but no one should care about that because they blew the game in overtime. For a change, the Jets finished.
7. Quinton Coples hasn’t made enough plays in his career to have a personal highlight film, but if he decided on a short film, it should be entitled, “The Hurt Locker.” For the second straight year, he knocked Titans quarterback Jake Locker out of a game. This time, he squashed him with a clean hit, causing a shoulder injury. Afterward, teammate Jason Babin called over to Coples in the locker room, saying, “You’re Locker’s arch nemesis.” The defensive-minded coach probably wished Coples faced Locker more often. A year ago, Coples and Muhammad Wilkerson tag-teamed him, resulting in a season-ending hip injury.
8. The Jets are up to 11 takeaways, needing only three to avoid the indignity of having the fewest in a 16-game season. (The Houston Texans had only 13 last season.) The Jets' team leader is a wide receiver, T.J. Graham, who has three fumble recoveries on special teams. File that under “strange, but true."
9. The Jets held the Titans out of the end zone, but let’s keep it in perspective: The Titans had only three healthy wide receivers, four backups on the offensive line and a third-string quarterback (Charlie Whitehurst) for most of the game.
10. With Frank Wycheck and Kevin Dyson in the house for alumni weekend, the Titans nearly pulled off another Music City Miracle. They covered 49 yards with a pass and three laterals, coming up 9 yards short on the final play. “Kind of scary,” safety Calvin Pryor said. In January 2000, Wycheck and Dyson hooked up in the original Miracle.
