The New York Jets were able to get their first win of the preseason last Thursday night at home with 13-10 win over Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts. Gang Green won in dramatic fashion as back up kicker Andrew Furney nailed a 51 yard field goal with just about a minute remaining to seal the deal. Next up are the Bengals who lost their first preseason game to the Kansas City Chiefs in a shootout 41-39.
The Jets didn’t dazzle offensively week one but also didn’t turn the ball over. Only one touchdown was scored by the Jets as Chris Johnson punched it in from a few yards out for the Jets first touchdown of the year. That scoring drive was set up by Vick, who played the second quarter and showed he’s still got that “it” factor. Vick showed flashes of his old self as he was able to scramble for a first down on a 3rd and 9 situation in the second quarter which opened a lot of people’s eyes. The man can still play and with a strong performance on the road August 16th, should there be a Quarterback battle?
Each threw six passes against the Colts, Smith completing four and Vick completing three. If you were to decide who had a better first game based on passing yards and QBR, Geno Smith had a better game by far as he beat Vick in QBR 80.6 to 56.2 and threw for 16 more yards. Smith even ran once for 10 yards showing his mobility as well so how could there be any talk about competition?
Michael Vick has been a proven star in the NFL for the last 14 years, and when healthy he’s arguably one of the most dynamic players in the league. If Vick plays well against the Bengals and Smith struggles, Rex might want to consider looking into giving Geno Smith the “Aaron Rodgers” treatment by putting him behind a proven star to learn and be bred for success. Needless to say watching Brett Favre all those years worked for Rodgers, and it could be the perfect move for the Jets at this point in both Smith’s and Vick’s careers.
As for the Jets next task at hand, they’ll have to keep up with a Bengals offense that was firing on all cylinders against the Chiefs in their debut. Teams typically shake off rust and start slow the first few weeks of the preseason but not the Bengals, who racked up 376 yards of offense and dominated through the air and on the ground. The scary part is that it wasn’t just Andy Dalton and AJ Green who did the damage, young guns Matt Scott and rookie running back Jeremy Hill shined in their 2014 debuts.
LSU product Jeremy Hill ran hard to average six yards per carry, while Scott threw for 66 yards and scrambled for 68. Yeah it’s just preseason, but The Bengals offensive performance in week one showed they aren’t just a team who can beat you through the air, but a team with a running game that’s on the rise with the elusive Giovani Bernand and the hard running BenJarvis Green-Ellis, along with Jeremy Hill.
However a soft defense that surrendered 41 points to the Chiefs backups could be just what the doctor ordered for the Jets. Counting the Green and White Scrimmage amongst themselves, the Jets have scored one touchdown in almost 150 minutes of game action. Despite this fact, Geno Smith was quoted after the game saying “We did well as an offense…We put points on the board, had two drives, got a field goal, and we won the game.” Though he may be right, the Jets need to find an offensive identity and get into rhythm before the start of the regular season.
On defense however the Jets bolster one of the best front seven’s in the league as they shined in their preseason debut against the Colts. Linebacker David Harris led the charge in week one as he totaled 6 total tackles (4 solo) as well as a sack. However the Jets secondary took a hit Sunday afternoon at Training camp as rookie Dexter McDougle and second year corner Dee Milliner left with injuries. The Jets official website reported later that evening that McDougle has a torn ACL and that the extent of Milliners injury is being assessed as high left ankle sprain. Milliner couldn’t put any weight on his left leg after a battle for the ball with wideout Quincy Enunwa, as he was helped off the field by trainers. Already a weakpoint for the Jets defense, this young secondary can’t afford to be bit by the injury bug or have any setbacks, as they need time to come together and form a cohesive unit if the Jets want to make a run at the AFC east title this season.
Even though there are a lot of the recent question marks with this Jets team, they’ve got a solid foundation and a roster that fans should be excited about. Look to see a heavier dose of the first team defense as well as first team offense with both Michael Vick and Geno Smith looking to play less conservatively and possibly even together. Offensive coordinator Marty Morhinweg has been flashing a few wildcat formations at camp, including one where both Vick and Smith take turns lining up outside while the other is in the backfield in shotgun formation. New additions Chris Johnson and Eric Decker will look to shake off some more rust and make more of an impact on the first team offense. On defense Rex and the boys will try and lick their wounds, improve further on last week’s solid outing and cool off the Bengals red hot start to the preseason.
