By now everyone knows what Rex Ryan told reporters about how he considers the Jets the favorite to win it all this year. No matter what Rex Ryan says, the Jets are not the favorites to win the Super Bowl. They don’t have a reliable passing offense that is necessary to win games down the stretch. Fourth quarter comebacks are not the Jets forte and neither is stopping them. The Jets aren’t going to blow anybody out in the playoffs. They will need a fourth quarter game-winning drive or game-winning stop at one point to win a playoff game.
I’d really like to know if Jets fans have more confidence in Mark Sanchez putting together a late game-winning drive or the defense stopping one. The easy answer would be to pick the defense, but neither has happened in the regular season. In a handful of games this season the Jets’ defense played well up until the last few minutes and gave up a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. I know everyone is high on the Jets defense and rightfully so for being rated number one in several major categories, but you can lead the NFL in defense every year and it won’t matter unless you finish games. The Jets defense hasn’t shown us they can stop their opponents from scoring late in close games. Being the number one rated defense in the NFL and having a 9-7 record and just barely getting into the playoffs isn’t ideal.
On the other hand, Sanchez hasn’t done anything to tell us he can complete a drive using his arm for the majority of plays at any time in a game, not only the fourth quarter. If lack of time is a factor and the Jets have to get 70 or 80 yards through the air to score a touchdown, I don’t see the Jets rookie signal caller doing that.
If I had to put my money on one or the other, I’d choose the Jets defense. Putting aside their inability to stop fourth quarter drives in the regular season, all it takes is a tipped ball, missed block, bobbled snap, bad pass, forced fumble or another mistake by the offense for the Jets to stop the drive. On the flip-side, for Sanchez to put together a game-winning air attack he needs to be mistake free and the receivers (Braylon Edwards) can’t drop balls. They also need good pass protection, ball security, no penalties, and for someone to gain big yards after the catch to help Sanchez.
Of course none of this won’t matter if the Jets get out to a big lead early in the game and can sustain a two or three score lead. But this is the playoffs and all of the teams are really good, especially the defenses of the AFC teams. The Jets won’t blow away any of the AFC playoff teams, including the Bengals who they beat 37-0 in week 17. Games will be close heading into the fourth quarter and at one point or another, the Jets will either need to put together a game-winning drive or will need to stop one. The fact that five of the Jets’ seven losses were by five points or less tells me they have had some late game meltdowns.
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I disagree with idea that the Jets defense is not as good as the numbers show because of a couple games lost on late 4th quarter scores by opponents. In my opinion those losses go to the offense as well because they were not able to sustain long drives in second half. By frequently going 3 and out not only did the Jets fail to pad slim leads and to take substatial time off clock, but they also caused the defense to become worn down. If a defense is constantly on the field due to short possessions by the offense, sooner or later (especially later) it will wear down. The Jets didn’t suddenly forget how to play D on the last drive against teams like Atlanta. They were understandably exhausted and no longer capable of holding down the fort. When the Jets offense is able to sustain second half drives (they don’t all need to be scoring ones) and give the defense resting time, when multiple turnovers or other factors don’t cause them to repeatedly have to defend a short field, the Jets usually fare pretty well. Sanchez is going to be a fine QB in this league, but his inexperience caused interceptions kept a good 9 win Jets team from being a great 12+ wins team this year. If the “good’ Mark Sanchez shows up in postseason the Jets will be a very tough out, primarily on account of their GREAT defense.
Good points Roy. With that being said, the Jets still need to finish games on defense, no matter how tired they are or how bad of field position they have. Yes the offense deserves some of the blame but a mark of a good defense is being able to finish games and hold on to a lead, no matter how small it may be. There is no question the Jets defense is great but what good is having great stats without Ws? Finishing games is the difference between being really good and superb. The offense and defense are both to blame for this however.
They have done enough in games to have leads in the fourth quarter and squandered them away. It’s easier if the offense scores more points, yes, but that’s not always going to be the case, especially with the rookie QB who, I agree, is going to be a really good QB.
This team has a very bright future. The combination of Rex’s defense, Sanchez’s potential and a solid offensive line gives this team a chance to be in the mix for years.