I have to say right off the top that I'm really happy the Jets won. But I'm going to stress the negatives in this game a little more than the positives - because the negatives were such that had they happened against a good team, the Jets would be 0-1 right now instead of 1-0.
And the negatives are: the running game, and the kicking game, specifically Mike Nugent.
The running game was a disaster on Sunday. Any time a running back touched the ball, you knew the play wasn't going anywhere.
The results on the ground:
D. Blaylock - 19 carries, 36 yards
K. Barlow - 11/35
B. Smith - 2/13
C. Pennington - 2/7
Part of this was the offensive line, just allowing the Titans to swallow up the runner, part was the Jets' runners not doing anything exciting to try to get free (except for Smith, who is exciting every time he touches the ball. Even in pre-season, at quarterback, running back, even wide receiver - Brad Smith will be fun to watch.) I'm looking forward to the Jets using Cedric Houston. I'm going to pound that point home all season until he gets a chance to prove himself.
Then there was the kicking. Mike Nugent missed two field goals and an extra point - had he even hit just the extra point this game wouldn't have been as close as it was. Since he did miss all three kicks, though, the Titans were able to score two touchdowns and get two 2-point conversions to tie the game, forcing the Jets to go down the field and score the game-winner.
The Jets were awesome in the first half. Then they got sloppy and that's where a better team would have beaten them. The Jets made barely a mistake in the first half, and were mistake-prone after halftime. This included a Chad Pennington fumble inside the Jets' own 5-yard line that the Titans recovered, leading to the touchdown that made the score 16-14, followed by the Titans' second 2-point conversion.
Besides the fumble, though, Pennington was great. He played his usual game, with short, accurate passes (including his 42nd and 43rd touchdown passes inside the red zone, without throwing a career interception there), going 24-33 for 319 yards with 2 TD, 0 INT. A very Pennington-like final line.
Pennington also re-established his relationship with Laveranues Coles, which never had the chance to get going last year after the Jets re-acquired Coles from Washington. They hooked up 8 times for 153 yards. Pennington also found Jerricho Cotchery 6 times for 65 yards, along with a touchdown - Cotchery needs to be a big part of the passing game.
Overall, you have to feel good about the Jets win. They're 1-0, as are next week's opponents, the Patriots. This win puts the Jets ahead of the Dolphins, who lost to Pittsburgh Thursday, and the Bills, who lost to the Patriots Sunday. And the Jets didn't blow the game. When the Titans tied it, Pennington marched the Jets right down the field and scored the game-winner. I don't know whether or not they would have been able to do this against a better team - but we won't have to wait too long to find out - next week the Jets play the Patriots - and first place in the division is on the line!!!!
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