A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Oops! Herm Did It Again

1. Whenever the Jets have a chance to win the game on offense, head coach Herm Edwards and his staff do something stupid to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Last night, with 1:15 remaining in the 4th quarter and the Jets at the New Orleans 33, the Jets called a draw play to Curtis Martin, despite the fact that in the second half, Martin and the running game were completely ineffective, while QB Brooks Bollinger kept finding open receivers over the middle.

Predictably, Martin was stopped for a loss, the next play was unnecessarily hurried resulting in a botched shotgun snap, and on 3rd down, the Jets completed a four yard pass, setting up a long field goal attempt.

2. Herm's conservative playcalling was not limited to the final drive. Despite being inside the Saints 35 yard line seven times last night, the Jets scored only 19 points, kicking four field goals, missing the potential game winning kick, punting once, and scoring just one touchdown, giving them a total of one touchdown in their last three games.

Herm cannot be blamed for Laveranues Coles' failure to maintain control of Bollinger's perfect late 2nd quarter pass to the end zone which resulted in the Jets third field goal. But in the second half, the Jets called for several draws to Martin in passing situations as well as a QB draw by Bollinger, none of which succeeded.

3. On the Jets next to last drive, they were in field goal range but on 3rd down, facing a blitz, Bollinger threw the ball away and was called for an intentional grounding penalty, taking the Jets out of field goal range and forcing them to punt. The penalty call was a terrible one, as the ESPN announcers immediately explained.

After the game, Bollinger said about the play, according to today's Daily News: "A miscommunication. I don't know the rules. Pressure was coming, I was trying to get rid of it ... the wrong place, obviously."

Bollinger doesn't know the rules? How is it possible that a quarterback in his third season does not know the rules about intentional grounding? The answer, Jets fans know, is that the team's coaching staff is a joke.

4. It's unfair to kill Mike Nugent for missing the 53 yard field goal attempt that would have won the game for the Jets. Nevertheless, it isn't unfair to label Nugent a major disappointment. He supposedly had an extraordinarily strong leg and a calm demeanor. In fact, not only was his field goal short, so have his kickoffs, and he has missed several high-pressure kicks.

The blame for Nugent has to go to GM Terry Bradway, who appears to have overestimated Nugent's talent in drafting him high in the second round.

5. Prior to Nugent's field goal attempt, the Jets were stopped on 3rd down at the Saints 34 yard line. Once upon a time, that would have meant a 51 yard attempt, since under NFL rules the ball must be placed seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, and then must clear the end zone. But in recent years, teams have routinely moved the ball eight yards back, sometimes even nine as the Jets did last night.

Considering the Nugent's kick looked to be less than a yard short, the foolish practice of moving the ball farther back then required by the rules likely cost the Jets the game.

The only possible benefit I can see to moving the ball back more than seven yards is to reduce the chance of a blocked kick. But that only makes sense for short field goals, not on kicks like Nugent's or Doug Brien's 47 yard miss against the Steelers last season in the playoffs, which hit the crossbar.

6. Once again, the Jets defense played terrible football. The Saints offense has done little this season, but the Jets allowed them three long touchdown drives, managed just one sack and did not force any turnovers.

The Jets defense has a few injuries, but overall is fairly healthy. What exactly is the excuse for the lousy performance of the 2005 Jets defense?

7. Before the game, ESPN's announcers said that according to Herm Edwards, the Jets would make sure Curtis Martin gets 1000 yards this season, because "it would do wonders for the team's psyche."

That statement illustrates the pathetic state of the Jets and their leadership.

8. For two years, I've been disappointed that the Jets didn't give Ricky Ray more of a chance at QB. Ray, an ex-CFL MVP, was on the Jets roster in 2004 but never played. He was released after minicamp last March. Last night, Ray led the Edmonton Eskimos to the CFL Grey Cup championship and was named MVP.

9. Some Jets fans have indicated that they want the Jets to lose, so that they have a have a better chance of landing Matt Leinart or Reggie Bush in the 2006 draft. As much as I'd like to see Bush or Leinart on the Jets, I disagree with this perspective.

In the NFL more than any other sport, losing breeds more losing. If the Jets finish 2-14 or 3-13 yet keep the coaching staff, next season will be deemed a success if the Jets merely win five or six games.

In contrast to this year's Jets team, the 1999 Jets got off to a 1-6 start, but then recovered to finish 8-8. As a result, expectations were high in 2000, and the Jets got off to a 6-1 start before collapsing. But at least the 9-7 season that year was recognized as the failure that it was.

In a league with lots of parity, the difference between a 10-6 season and a 6-10 season is often coaching and the demands and expectations placed on players and staff.

10. In this regard among others, I really hope QB Chad Pennington can come back next year. If nothing else, Pennington hates to lose and demands a lot of himself, a trait that too many others on the Jets - players and coaches alike - appear to lack.
posted on 11/28/2005