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Cowboys 34 Jets 3: Bitter Turkey
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
11:13:00 AM EST
The Jets received a beating in front of a national audience on Thanksgiving. Dallas destroyed Gang Green by a 34-3 score in what was easily this team's worst performance of 2007. That is truly saying something, considering the team is now 2-9. Despite the lousy record, the Jets have at least been competitive in almost all of their games. This Thanksgiving showing was certainly an exception.
Kellen Clemens had a very rocky outing. If he eventually develops into a franchise quarterback, we will remember this game as part of his growing pains as a young quarterback. If he does not, we will remember this as an early indication that he was not going to make it. Either way, things were ugly for the second year signal caller. He completed only 12 of 27 passes for 142 yards and 1 killer interception returned all the way by Terrence Newman to make the score 21-0 and essentially end things. Kellen has been in a tough spot because of the defenses he has faced. There is still a trouble trend developing. In all four of his games, Clemens has gone through at least a complete half where the offense has been unable to sustain much of anything. This was the worst of all, where the Jets did nothing offensively during the entire game. His completion percentage is under 50%. Part of the blame goes to Brian Schottenheimer, who has not changed the offense at all from when Chad Pennington was under center. The playcalling is still a bunch of short, timing routes. The problem is that Clemens does not possess Chad's accuracy. There are few shots down the field, despite Kellen's big arm. Dallas has been prone to surrendering big plays, but the Jets kept things conservative. Nevertheless, Kellen is going to need to show signs of improvement and put together at least one complete game before the end of the year, or Gang Green will have an issue at quarterback.
Thomas Jones' performance was the story of his season. He struggled, gaining only 40 yards on 17 carries, but never had anywhere to run. The right side of the line, Brandon Moore and Anthony Clement, might have just signed new contracts within the past calendar year, but the team should look seriously into upgrading both spots over the offseason. If Darren McFadden falls to the Jets, they should take him, but even a running back that good is going to have a tough time with this kind of inconsistent run blocking up front.
The receivers on this roster really need to improve their route running. Theyneed to get well beyond the sticks on third and fourth down. Brad Smith and Chris Baker both ended drives because they did not go far enough into first down (or the endzone in Baker's case) territory on critical plays. The passes were underthrown and both had to adjust by coming back short of where they needed to be. This is basic route running. Sometimes the quarterback has to underthrow the ball. Receivers need to leave themselves enough of a cushion to make the catch and still ensure they pick up the necessary yardage.
The defense gave a really valiant effort. Twice in the early going, Dallas came away with no points starting a drive from inside New York territory. This prevented the game from getting out of hand sooner. Even though the Cowboys' stats look good, this unit had a good game. There was once again good pressure on Tony Romo as the Jets recorded 3 sacks. Terrell Owens had only 65 yards and 1 touchdown on 6 catches, which put him below his season averages. Darrelle Revis got burned on a 22 yard touchdown reception in garbage time but otherwise held the receiver in check. Even when Owens caught the ball, he had to work for it. Multiple times he made receptions and got tackled well short of the sticks on third down. Dallas scored 10 in the fourth quarter and seemed to move the ball with ease, but the game was out of hand at that point. Gang Green's defense had shown signs of fatigue from a long flight, a short turnaround, and an overtime contest against the physical Steelers. Since Clemens' interception accounted for 7 points, this defense actually held the explosive Dallas offense under its average. Even though Marion Barber and Julius Jones combined for 167 rushing yards, this defense should be proud of its effort. Given all of the obstacles, it acquitted itself well and continued to show signs of improvement.
This result was hardly a shocker. The Jets were going to have a tough time beating two elite teams in five days. There is not much to take from this contest. Everybody knows this is a bad team. The only thing to do is move on and make sure this team is not remembered for being Miami's only win of 2007.
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11:13:00 AM EST
Cowboys 34 Jets 3: Bitter Turkey
Kellen Clemens had a very rocky outing. If he eventually develops into a franchise quarterback, we will remember this game as part of his growing pains as a young quarterback. If he does not, we will remember this as an early indication that he was not going to make it. Either way, things were ugly for the second year signal caller. He completed only 12 of 27 passes for 142 yards and 1 killer interception returned all the way by Terrence Newman to make the score 21-0 and essentially end things. Kellen has been in a tough spot because of the defenses he has faced. There is still a trouble trend developing. In all four of his games, Clemens has gone through at least a complete half where the offense has been unable to sustain much of anything. This was the worst of all, where the Jets did nothing offensively during the entire game. His completion percentage is under 50%. Part of the blame goes to Brian Schottenheimer, who has not changed the offense at all from when Chad Pennington was under center. The playcalling is still a bunch of short, timing routes. The problem is that Clemens does not possess Chad's accuracy. There are few shots down the field, despite Kellen's big arm. Dallas has been prone to surrendering big plays, but the Jets kept things conservative. Nevertheless, Kellen is going to need to show signs of improvement and put together at least one complete game before the end of the year, or Gang Green will have an issue at quarterback.
Thomas Jones' performance was the story of his season. He struggled, gaining only 40 yards on 17 carries, but never had anywhere to run. The right side of the line, Brandon Moore and Anthony Clement, might have just signed new contracts within the past calendar year, but the team should look seriously into upgrading both spots over the offseason. If Darren McFadden falls to the Jets, they should take him, but even a running back that good is going to have a tough time with this kind of inconsistent run blocking up front.
The receivers on this roster really need to improve their route running. Theyneed to get well beyond the sticks on third and fourth down. Brad Smith and Chris Baker both ended drives because they did not go far enough into first down (or the endzone in Baker's case) territory on critical plays. The passes were underthrown and both had to adjust by coming back short of where they needed to be. This is basic route running. Sometimes the quarterback has to underthrow the ball. Receivers need to leave themselves enough of a cushion to make the catch and still ensure they pick up the necessary yardage.
The defense gave a really valiant effort. Twice in the early going, Dallas came away with no points starting a drive from inside New York territory. This prevented the game from getting out of hand sooner. Even though the Cowboys' stats look good, this unit had a good game. There was once again good pressure on Tony Romo as the Jets recorded 3 sacks. Terrell Owens had only 65 yards and 1 touchdown on 6 catches, which put him below his season averages. Darrelle Revis got burned on a 22 yard touchdown reception in garbage time but otherwise held the receiver in check. Even when Owens caught the ball, he had to work for it. Multiple times he made receptions and got tackled well short of the sticks on third down. Dallas scored 10 in the fourth quarter and seemed to move the ball with ease, but the game was out of hand at that point. Gang Green's defense had shown signs of fatigue from a long flight, a short turnaround, and an overtime contest against the physical Steelers. Since Clemens' interception accounted for 7 points, this defense actually held the explosive Dallas offense under its average. Even though Marion Barber and Julius Jones combined for 167 rushing yards, this defense should be proud of its effort. Given all of the obstacles, it acquitted itself well and continued to show signs of improvement.
This result was hardly a shocker. The Jets were going to have a tough time beating two elite teams in five days. There is not much to take from this contest. Everybody knows this is a bad team. The only thing to do is move on and make sure this team is not remembered for being Miami's only win of 2007.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
