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Jets 19 Steelers 16 (Overtime): Finally Something to Cheer
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
2:08:00 PM EST
The Jets finally got their second win of a long season with
a 19-16 triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, err the
Meadowlands. The abundance of Pittsburgh
fans in the stadium made the affair a home game in name only. The Jets were
able to overcome the hostile crowd to hand an elite team an upset loss. Curtis
Martin Day ended with the team the Hall of Fame running back played for over
his hometown team.
Kellen Clemens recorded the first win of his career. Even with the win, his numbers were ugly. The second year quarterback completed less than fifty percent of his passes, going 14 of 31 for 162 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. The statistical struggles really were not his fault. His pass protection was suspect against a fierce Pittsburgh pass rush. His receivers also struggled to get open against the league’s best pass defense. Laveranues Coles was limited after injuring his ankle making a 56 yard reception on a first series flea flicker. After that, the Steelers blanketed Jerricho Cotchery, and none of his other receivers stepped up against high quality coverage by the Pittsburgh secondary. To his credit, Kellen seldom forced things that were not there aside from the one interception. He did not panic in the pocket. There was not much he could do.
The impressive part of Kellen’s performance is the way he shook off this frustrating game in the clutch. He got the ball on his own 14 with 2:23 left and the Jets trailing 16-13. Clemens completed 5 passes and broke a 15 yard scramble on the drive to get the Jets into scoring range. He showed enormous poise and composure in not trying to force thing. The Steelers gave him short passes underneath, and he took them. Clemens did everything he had to in order to win the game. Brad Smith dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass that Kellen put right on the money. His only mistake was spiking the ball on first and goal from the 5 with 0:37 left. In that situation, there was no need to waste a play because the clock was not a factor. This was the third time in three starts that Clemens directed a fourth quarter comeback (including the McCareins drops in Baltimore where he could not have done more to tie the game). Kellen Clemens is still a work in progress, but the hallmark of a franchise quarterback is the ability to lead a team in critical spots. He seems to love the pressure.
Thomas Jones had his best day as a Jet. In a game where his run blocking was spotty, Jones looked like a manpossessed in running for 117 yards on 30 carries. This was the guy for whom the Jets traded in the offseason. He broke tackles and fought for every yard. Jones also did a phenomenal job in pass protection for Clemens, taking on linemen and blitzing linebackers and secondary players by himself. On a day when pass protection was not great, things could have gotten ugly without Jones helping the line out.
This was the defense’s best game of the year. After recording 9 sacks in the first 9 games, the Jets got 7 against the Steelers. That number could have hit double digits had Ben Roethlisberger not been so elusive within the pocket. The coaching staff did as good of a job in scheming as it did in the game against New England after the bye last season. The Jets disguised their blitzes and came out in exotic sets, such as placing Shaun Ellis at outside linebacker. That is a thought for the future since Ellis is the best pass rusher on the roster and is unable to maximize his talents as a 3-4 defensive end. In short, this was a really creative gameplan. Woody Johnson should petition the NFL to have a 32 week, 16 game regular season because Eric Mangini has been at his best with an extra week to prepare.
All of the credit cannot go to the coaching staff. A number of players stepped up and looked better than they had at any point this season. Ellis had 2 sacks. Dewayne Robertson had 2.5 and held down his spot on the line as the Jets held Willie Parker to 52 yards on 21 carries. People have complained about the staff all year, but it ultimately comes down to players. Neither had done much of anything in 2007 before the game against Pittsburgh. They appeared to have a renewed fire. It was at this point last year that the defense started to improve after an awful start to the year. If Ellis and Robertson can bring consistent efforts like this for the rest of the year, Mangini and Bob Sutton will start to look a lot better to fans.
The Steelers kicked away from Leon Washington all day on kickoffs, opting to pooch it short. They inexplicably went away from that strategy on a punt in overtime, and Leon made them pay with a 33 yard return to get the Jets into field goal range. Leon is showing himself to be less and less of an option on offense, a limited player who makes for a nice third down back. He is still a very viable weapon on special teams. He quietly has become the game’s most dangerous return man outside of Devin Hester. No team in its right mind is goingto give him a chance to return a ball soon, which will result in kicking game mistakes and great field position for this team.
Mike Nugent connected on all 4 of his field goal attempts, including a chip shot at the end of regulation to sent the game to overtime and a 38 yarder to win it in the extra period. It is poetic justice that the Jets won this game because of their kicker. Everybody remembers how the Jets had lost their last meeting with the Steelers in no small part because of their kicker. That game is the reason this team spent a second round pick on Nugent. That is the kind of kick that can turn around his season. Mike has struggled on long kicks in 2007 and seemed to have lost his confidence. There is no better way to get that back than a game like this.
Jets fans should be embarrassed over the number of Steelers fans in the building on Sunday afternoon. There is no excuse for allowing that to happen. It was a late start. The team is bad. The weather was lousy. It was an easy game to skip, but that is no excuse for not getting a ticket to a fellow Jets fan. The only comparison one can make is a 2000 game at Notre Dame Stadium that looked like a sea of red from all of the Nebraska fans in attendance. This team deserves support no matter how bad it is. These players do not deserve to have their home stadium rooting for the opposition. Anybody who abetted Pittsburgh fans by selling their tickets to them did this team a great disservice. After the hatchet job that Phil Simms and Jim Nantz did to this fanbase in Week 1, the last thing we needed was another alleged example of the Jets having lousy fans.
This game does not mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. The season is still lost. It is a great display of the character of this team. Against such a daunting opponent and a hostile home crowd, it would have been easy for these guys to mail in a performance. This was an indication that the Jets are at least going to be competitive down the stretch. It might hurt their Draft position, but it can help reestablish a winning atmosphere in the locker room entering 2008, which is important for the future.
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2:08:00 PM EST
Jets 19 Steelers 16 (Overtime): Finally Something to Cheer
Kellen Clemens recorded the first win of his career. Even with the win, his numbers were ugly. The second year quarterback completed less than fifty percent of his passes, going 14 of 31 for 162 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. The statistical struggles really were not his fault. His pass protection was suspect against a fierce Pittsburgh pass rush. His receivers also struggled to get open against the league’s best pass defense. Laveranues Coles was limited after injuring his ankle making a 56 yard reception on a first series flea flicker. After that, the Steelers blanketed Jerricho Cotchery, and none of his other receivers stepped up against high quality coverage by the Pittsburgh secondary. To his credit, Kellen seldom forced things that were not there aside from the one interception. He did not panic in the pocket. There was not much he could do.
The impressive part of Kellen’s performance is the way he shook off this frustrating game in the clutch. He got the ball on his own 14 with 2:23 left and the Jets trailing 16-13. Clemens completed 5 passes and broke a 15 yard scramble on the drive to get the Jets into scoring range. He showed enormous poise and composure in not trying to force thing. The Steelers gave him short passes underneath, and he took them. Clemens did everything he had to in order to win the game. Brad Smith dropped a potential game-winning touchdown pass that Kellen put right on the money. His only mistake was spiking the ball on first and goal from the 5 with 0:37 left. In that situation, there was no need to waste a play because the clock was not a factor. This was the third time in three starts that Clemens directed a fourth quarter comeback (including the McCareins drops in Baltimore where he could not have done more to tie the game). Kellen Clemens is still a work in progress, but the hallmark of a franchise quarterback is the ability to lead a team in critical spots. He seems to love the pressure.
Thomas Jones had his best day as a Jet. In a game where his run blocking was spotty, Jones looked like a manpossessed in running for 117 yards on 30 carries. This was the guy for whom the Jets traded in the offseason. He broke tackles and fought for every yard. Jones also did a phenomenal job in pass protection for Clemens, taking on linemen and blitzing linebackers and secondary players by himself. On a day when pass protection was not great, things could have gotten ugly without Jones helping the line out.
This was the defense’s best game of the year. After recording 9 sacks in the first 9 games, the Jets got 7 against the Steelers. That number could have hit double digits had Ben Roethlisberger not been so elusive within the pocket. The coaching staff did as good of a job in scheming as it did in the game against New England after the bye last season. The Jets disguised their blitzes and came out in exotic sets, such as placing Shaun Ellis at outside linebacker. That is a thought for the future since Ellis is the best pass rusher on the roster and is unable to maximize his talents as a 3-4 defensive end. In short, this was a really creative gameplan. Woody Johnson should petition the NFL to have a 32 week, 16 game regular season because Eric Mangini has been at his best with an extra week to prepare.
All of the credit cannot go to the coaching staff. A number of players stepped up and looked better than they had at any point this season. Ellis had 2 sacks. Dewayne Robertson had 2.5 and held down his spot on the line as the Jets held Willie Parker to 52 yards on 21 carries. People have complained about the staff all year, but it ultimately comes down to players. Neither had done much of anything in 2007 before the game against Pittsburgh. They appeared to have a renewed fire. It was at this point last year that the defense started to improve after an awful start to the year. If Ellis and Robertson can bring consistent efforts like this for the rest of the year, Mangini and Bob Sutton will start to look a lot better to fans.
The Steelers kicked away from Leon Washington all day on kickoffs, opting to pooch it short. They inexplicably went away from that strategy on a punt in overtime, and Leon made them pay with a 33 yard return to get the Jets into field goal range. Leon is showing himself to be less and less of an option on offense, a limited player who makes for a nice third down back. He is still a very viable weapon on special teams. He quietly has become the game’s most dangerous return man outside of Devin Hester. No team in its right mind is goingto give him a chance to return a ball soon, which will result in kicking game mistakes and great field position for this team.
Mike Nugent connected on all 4 of his field goal attempts, including a chip shot at the end of regulation to sent the game to overtime and a 38 yarder to win it in the extra period. It is poetic justice that the Jets won this game because of their kicker. Everybody remembers how the Jets had lost their last meeting with the Steelers in no small part because of their kicker. That game is the reason this team spent a second round pick on Nugent. That is the kind of kick that can turn around his season. Mike has struggled on long kicks in 2007 and seemed to have lost his confidence. There is no better way to get that back than a game like this.
Jets fans should be embarrassed over the number of Steelers fans in the building on Sunday afternoon. There is no excuse for allowing that to happen. It was a late start. The team is bad. The weather was lousy. It was an easy game to skip, but that is no excuse for not getting a ticket to a fellow Jets fan. The only comparison one can make is a 2000 game at Notre Dame Stadium that looked like a sea of red from all of the Nebraska fans in attendance. This team deserves support no matter how bad it is. These players do not deserve to have their home stadium rooting for the opposition. Anybody who abetted Pittsburgh fans by selling their tickets to them did this team a great disservice. After the hatchet job that Phil Simms and Jim Nantz did to this fanbase in Week 1, the last thing we needed was another alleged example of the Jets having lousy fans.
This game does not mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. The season is still lost. It is a great display of the character of this team. Against such a daunting opponent and a hostile home crowd, it would have been easy for these guys to mail in a performance. This was an indication that the Jets are at least going to be competitive down the stretch. It might hurt their Draft position, but it can help reestablish a winning atmosphere in the locker room entering 2008, which is important for the future.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
