Giants vs. Jets: Snoopy Bowl VII

From the desks of:

DO IT FOR THE DUKE  and  WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

FORTY-EIGHTH YEAR OF GIANTS/JETS PRE-SEASON FOOTBALL

THE TURF WARS

1969-2009

Jets lead the all-time pre-season series 25-21-1 over the Giants

SNOOPY BOWL

I -  NYG 31; NYJ 16       II - NYJ 17; NYG 3

III - NYG 26; NYJ 3        IV - NYJ 24; NYG 21

V - NYG 35; NYJ 24       VI - NYJ 28; NYG 18

VII

New York Giants

vs.

New York Jets

FROM

MetLife Stadium

If you derive satisfaction from gaining local bragging rights through this game, by all means have your fun.  I do not begrudge anyone for that.

I, however, view Saturday's game as nothing more than a scrimmage.  But if there ever was a meaningful pre-season game with actual implications, this would indeed be the one.  That said, my anticipation is sufficiently high.  For sake of team spirit then, lets go Giants!

Scrimmage Three is fairly straight forward - nothing fancy, just beat the man in front of you.  That makes this game a convenient way of gauging speed, instincts, and physicality, minus all the in-season brain work.  Therefore I'm not necessarily interested in winning Snoopy Bowl VII, but I will be keeping a very watchful and critical eye on certain aspects of Big Blue's game.

NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS: Lack of Offensive Balance Plagued the 2015 Giants.

The Giants last year demonstrated they can score points.  

This year should be no different, or will it?   

In 2015, their 420 total points ranked sixth in the NFL, for an average of 26.4 points per game.  In fact, Eli Manning and his receiving corp tied Tom Brady and his minions for the league's most touchdown receptions.

Rushing the ball, however, was a completely different matter.  The Giants rushed for a mere five touchdowns last season - easily last among the NFL's top ten scoring teams.  League wide, only San Diego rushed for less.  

That's called a one dimensional offense, and it needs to be corrected.

The offensive line's failure to create sufficient daylight certainly played a part in last year's overall rushing futility.  They're improving and slowly creating stability, but still have a ways to go, especially on the right side.  So I'll be paying particular attention to them come Saturday evening.

The running game's true phantom menace, however, were the coaches themselves, who ponderously employed a three, and sometimes four man backfield rotation.  Limiting their touches, hindering their ability to establish rhythm, and leaving them completely out of sync is not something they should repeat.

The Giants suffered lack of ball possession, plain and simple.  Sure the Giants can score, but they can not manage the game clock, much less dominate it, without an effective running game.  Last year was a perfect example.  The Giants failed to hold numerous 4th quarter leads because their lack of rushing prevented them from possessing the ball and killing the clock.

Dollar and a Prayer: Will Money Save Jerry Reese's Job?

Defensively speaking, Coach Spagnuolo and the players under him will ultimately determine whether Jerry Reese will still be serving in his present capacity this time next year.  The grace period earned for his part in securing the organization more Lombardy trophies is essentially over.  

Reese spent quite a Big Blue fortune this off-season revamping a woeful defense, and if this last ditch effort fails, I expect him to be relieved of his duties.

Here's what I'd like to know...

In each of the Giants four Super Bowl victories, they featured powerful running games.  Joe Morris, Otis Anderson, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw all rushed behind superior offensive linemen.

Be it the old Washington Redskins or Denver Broncos, numerous clashes against the San Francisco 49ers, the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers or New England Patriots, et al, the Giants wore their various opponents down to their preferred speed, managed the clock with defense and the running game, and generally put a stop to high powered spread formations, and west coast style offenses.

So ... if smash mouth football has been proven to work in any era, why then are the New York Football Giants so intent on becoming a west coast style offense - the very kind we used to defeat?

Just saying....

What tight end?

NEW YORK JETS: All Eyes On Ryan Fitzpatrick

Now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is back in the fold, the big question is can he duplicate last season's performance, in which he threw for career highs with 3,905 passing yards and 35 touchdowns.  

For the Jets sake, Fitz better ... because the situation surrounding Geno Smith is now bordering comical.  

Up front, the Jets offensive line will be as good as their center.  That's Nick Mangold's spot.  Nuf ced. With the expectation they'll will keep Ryan upright, Fitzpatrick will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.  Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Matt Forte, Bilal Powell, Kellen Davis, all should provide for a balanced attack.

Tourism Up on Revis Island

On the other side of the ball, Gang Green is still in search of a legitimate pass rush.  It's a situation that's hurt them before, and is bound to haunt them again.  And of course, Derrelle Revis still has as much to do with the Jets pass rush as anybody.  Their scheme will still be contingent on deception, and coverage.  Revis Island, however, is not the isolated paradise it once was.

N.Y. Jets: Bowles Boils Over After Cross Country Plight

From the desk of:  WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

Turbulent Skies

New York Jets: Loafers Need Not Apply!

The Jets departed on a two week sortie, and nearly didn't make it back.  Their coast to coast run from New England, to Oakland, then back to NYC was distressing at best - partly due to mechanical in-flight issues, and partly due to several players perhaps fearful of being on the same flight home as Coach Bowles.  Suffice to say the mission was an utter failure.  They came nowhere close to hitting their targets, and returned with casualties to key personnel.

Insult and Injury Sandwich an Otherwise Competitive Effort in Coach Bowles' much anticipated first game at Foxboro as HC of the NYJ.

Week Seven Final

Jets         23

Patriots  30

NYJ 7th straight loss at Foxboro

Ryan Fitzpatrick got sacked and fumbled on the Jets second play of the game.  The Patriots recovered, and immediately parlayed that into an early field goal.

The Jets then short circuited on their very next possession at the New England 2-yard line, after marching 78 yards on 15 plays, only to settle for a tying field goal.

Fast-forward...

After another Nick Folk field goal put the Jets ahead 20-16 with 12:50 left in regulation, New England proceeded to score 14 unanswered points.  The Patriots promptly marched 80 yards in 10 plays to take a 23-20 lead.  Then, with 5:32 left in the 4th quarter, Tom Brady initiated another 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive giving the Patriots their ultimate 30-20 margin of victory.

Meanwhile, the Jets not having Chris Ivory running on all engines was not anticipated.  The power back compromised his hamstring during the Jets very first play of the game.  Were Ivory playing at full strength, who knows what sort of control the Jets could have exacted over the Patriots - as the overall effort and respective play sandwiched between the opening and closing minutes of the game was otherwise competitive.

Generally speaking, though, a hamstrung Chris Ivory is going to mean a compromised Jets attack. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eric Decker, and to a lesser degree Brandon Marshall, managed just enough offense to trick one into thinking potential upset, if only fleetingly.

Chris Ivory's curiously hampered effort:

• @ New England - 17 rushes/41 yards - 2 catches/12 yards, touchdown. 

Ryan Fitzpatrick:

• @ New England - 22 of 39, for 295 yards, with two touchdowns.

Tom Brady very literally performed his usual one man gang routine.  He completed 34 of 54 attempts for 355 yards, with two touchdowns, and was also New England's top rusher.  Tom Statue scrambled for 15 yards on 4 carries, with another touchdown.

Gang Green (in the face) suffered their biggest blow in the closing minute of the game, when center Nick Mangold injured his neck during the Jets final possession of the game.

All told, this game cost the Jets considerable altitude in the AFC East standings, while sustaining injuries to three key offensive players whom touch the ball most - Center, QB, and RB, in that order.

Oh no! Not you again: Geno Smith

Week Eight Final

Jets         20

Raiders  30

Geno Smith emerged from the Black Hole of Oakland only to remind everyone just how little he's improved after three years in the business.  His appearance was made possible when Ryan Fitzpatrick (re)injured his non-throwing thumb that will eventually require surgery.

Moving forward, Ryan's availability will be based on his personal threshold for pain. He's been listed as a go for Sunday's game against the Jaguars.  Taking snaps under center will prove most difficult, with handing off a close second.

I think Jets fans would even favor playing Fitz wearing oven mitts rather than risk falling further behind New England in the standings with Geno at the controls.

• Geno completed 27 of 42 pass attempts, for 265 yards, 2 touchdowns, and one INT.

Not the most terrible looking line, but the visual was easily worse.  Smith has moments when he shines, but the lights quickly go out and his mind fades to black when put under NFL duress.  The Jets better hope Fitzpatrick can gut this out, otherwise Geno Smith will smear his own thumbprints all over the Jets chances for the postseason.

So, is Chris Ivory hurt, or not?

Chris Ivory's performance against the Raiders was even more peculiar than that against the Patriots.   He rushed 15 times for 17 yards - that's no typo folks.  He also caught 3 passes for 24 yards.

So what gives?  Is he hurt or not?

The Jets did not just suddenly forget how to run block.  And while Mangold's situation is certainly a hovering black cloud, I do not think his injury impacted the running game so greatly that the Raiders defense was able to limit Chris Ivory and Zac Stacy to a mere 28 combined rushing yards on 18 carries.

Something else is at work here, and I do not believe it was necessarily the Raiders.

If Ivory needs a week off, better give it to him against the Jaguars.  A proactive rest now could potentially benefit the team later.  I say with great confidence - no Chris Ivory entering December means no playoffs for the Jets.

Taxing his barking hammy for a third straight week could spell trouble.  Take that to the hangar Jets fans.

Otherwise, if the Jets thought they were going to abandon the run, and match Tom Brady in a shoot-out, then what a colossal mistake it was.

Adversity at the Gates: Todd Bowles negotiating his first Gang Green crisis.

Todd Bowles is pissed off - and that's good.  A return to health, a little luck, and constructive well directed anger can potentially transform the Jets into a fearsome second half opponent.

Half way though the regular season, though, they're already running low on margin for error.

As a defensive minded coach, Tom Brady's overall performance must have been an assault upon his senses.  Everyone on the east coast knew Brady was either throwing, or running the ball himself - because that's all he did!  What a ponderous game plan, or genius if you consider the source.  I digress.

The Patriots made no secrets; employed no deception.  Brady and Belichick effectively said here's what we're doing, we defy you to stop us.  And, well, the Jets failed in that endeavor, crushingly, late in the game.

We are, after all speaking of a capable defense though.  The recipe to beat Brady is public knowledge. You must hit him, often.  The Jets sacked Brady three times, and hit him another five times through most of the game - just not late when they needed to most.  But, hey, it's not like they lost to Steve Grogan.

What transpired the following week in Oakland, however, inspired Todd Bowles to utter a word I haven't heard used by a head coach in decades.  Bowles dropped a #loafing bomb when summarizing their deplorable defensive effort against the Raiders.  Indefensible lapses in brain function, poorly executed and missed tackles were all topic one.  I'm sure the Defense was incredulous and embarrassed when presented the game film.  If they weren't already, I'm sure Coach Bowles humbled them with haste.

Moving forward, the last two games were on the players.  That damage is now a matter of recorded NFL history.  The next game will reflect on Todd Bowles more than anyone.  That's just the nature of the beast.  The previous two weeks called for corrective measures, attitude adjustments, what have you...  So, the next move was his to make.

That said, adversity is designed to knock one down.  How one recovers is what matters most.

I like Todd Bowles.  I like his demeanor and style.  But that doesn't win games.  Players win games, just ask Rex.  I would add Bowles is far more poised and adept at administering discipline, and generally concerning himself with all aspects of the game than Ryan ever was. Two weeks does not a season make, and this is already a smoother flying Jet than its been in a few years.

After spending a week back in the Hangar getting lubed and retrofitted by Todd Bowles, I can't wait to see how the Jets respond this Sunday at home against the Jaguars.

A loss would incite a home crowd maelstrom - victory, a hero's welcome.

N.Y. Jets: Rex's Last Stand

From the desk of:  WALT MICHAELS' REVENGE

New York Jets: Woody Johnson Dropped The Hammer; Announces The End Of D-Generation Rex.

The top five reasons Rex Ryan is no longer head coach of the Jets are Bret Favre, Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow, Michael Vick, and Geno Smith.

Next on the list are two bean counters hired as general managers.

Further down the list: talking Braylon Edwards away from Marc Sanchez, trading Darrelle Revis - losing both Revis and Antonio Cromartie without bringing in competitive replacements, and Rex's overall disconnect with the offense.

So what happened?

Rex took Eric Mangini's and Mike Tannenbaum's team to another level with back to back AFC championship game appearances.  Then ground and pound lost its juice, Mark Sanchez regressed, personnel decisions failed to keep pace, and Geno Smith has yet to satisfactorily fill the position as the next, next guy (no matter what you think of his performance against Miami).

After Mike Tannenbaum was fired, you might say GM John Idzik effectively conspired against his head coach - the one forced upon him by Woody Johnson.  That right there was a recipe for disaster. Idzik wound up hoarding tons of salary cap money, and entered office already predisposed to firing Ryan after the 2014 season no matter what.

John Idzik also had 12 draft selections at his disposal last draft, and exhibited absolutely no creativity with them, not to mention, that in a draft rich in wide receivers, Idzik couldn't pick one.

On that note, Eric Decker and Geno Smith waited till Rex Ryan's final game to have their best days as Jets.

John Idzik most definitely needed to get fired.  Maybe this will finally clear the air traffic over the Jets practice facility.

Rex Ryan?  I'm not so sure.  Yes, he had his flaws, but his strengths were clear.

There's no escaping however, a team in regression screamed for changes.

Woody Johnson did the right thing.  Now he just needs to make better decisions.




Mike