The New York Jets had a cast of contributors as they collectively handled the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, handing them an old fashioned 32-3 beat down at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. On the other side of the country in Los Angeles, Hollywood was preparing to hand out their biggest awards for the Silver Screen. Aside from my pleasure in seeing ‘Modern Family’ take home five Emmy’s and my insane rage that ‘Broadwalk Empire’ got beat out by the likes of ‘Friday Night Lights’ and ‘Mad Men’ I had a great night. How can a show that features booze, mobsters, Atlantic City and overall chronicling of the high-society crime in a [then] modern day Sodom and Gorromah be beat out by one show on A&E and another that’s a glorified teenage angst movie?
Anyway I’m pretty sure I’ve strayed way off the topic of this article. Well, kinda sorta. With the collective efforts by defense and special teams and the offense making the most of their opportunities, there’s a lot of love to go around. Well, not all around. (Not everybody, sorry Wayne Hunter). I have major concerns about this offensive line, something I never expected to say with this group. But it seems only to make sense to have an Emmy-laced Official JetsInsider.com Morning After Report. We’re handing out awards to everybodyI hope everyone breaks a leg. (Sorry Nick Mangold, too soon?)
A little bit cheesy, right? I’m caking it on heavy today and so was Rex Ryan, who gave out some of his own awards after last night’s performance. Check out Chris Nimbley’s article to see who got game balls from Sunday’s Jags game.
BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE IN A MINI-SERIES: Jason Hill, WR, Jaguars — *Chris Carter voice* C’mon, man. How are you going to call out the best cover corner in the game…and then not even be active in the game to back it up? Revis didn’t even know who he was. In trying to stir up a little national media attention for the small-market Jaguars, he might’ve woken a sleeping giant. The Jets didn’t let the Jaguars in the end zone, surrendering only a field goal in the first quarter. Talk about your all-time backfires.
BEST COMEDIC SERIES IN A GAME: Jaguars First Offensive Possession, 11:32 in 1Q — Three plays. Total yardage – negative eight yards. Time of possession – one minute, one second. Result – safety. Maurice Jones-Drew rushed to the right for a gain of one. Luke McCown threw an incomplete pass to the right. McCown is sacked by Muhammed Wilkerson. McCown is sacked for a safety. That’s literally how the Yahoo! Sports play-by-play read. Can’t really think up a worse way to start an offensive series.
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A GAME & BEST COMEBACK PERFORMANCE: Antonio Cromartie, CB, Jets — Yesterday was his day. Two interceptions — one that was this close to being a touchdown. He averaged 40+ yards in the return game, creating a shorter field for the offense to take advantage of. He nearly single-handedly won the game for the Jets in the process of showing that he has one of the most electrifying skills sets in the NFL.
All this came after getting burned for two touchdowns to Dez Bryant and Miles Austin and taking the heat from the New York media. Couple that with the team leaving him on hold while they tried to sign Nnamdi Asomugha and tell me that there’s someone more deserving of these fake awards? No one, I say, no one. Cromartie told reporters on the first day of training camp that he was coming in to this season with a chip on his shoulder. He showed it yesterday.
BEST DRAMATIC SERIES: Jets First Offensive Possession, 14:53 in 1Q — Six plays. Sixty-six yards. Three minutes and fourteen seconds elapsed. Highlighted by a 33-yard reception by Dustin Keller and the 17-yard strike from Sanchez to Santonio Holmes, this drive ended their first quarter touchdown-less drought at 16 games. Ryan, who always has a flare for the dramatics, challenged his team to come out and break the streak on their first offensive possession — and the team responded.
BEST OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE IN A GAME: Dustin Keller, TE, Jets: He’s proven to be the fluid cog in an offensive motor that often shows rust. His six reception, 101 yard, 1 TD game fueled the offense and Sanchez, as Keller accounted for a third of the quarterback’s completions. The 33-yard connection in the first quarter to help snap the aforementioned ugly streak was only topped by his touchdown catch for 11 yards, fighting defenders in the middle the entire way.
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A GAME: Plaxico Burress, WR, Jets: He had one target on Sunday, and that came late in the game. He didn’t even record a reception. Then why give him an award, you ask? What is this? The end of the summer camp celebration where every one is a winner, you say? No. But his presence alone demanded rolling coverage and double teams on the outside. That left plenty of open space in the middle of field for Keller to do his work and have a Pro Bowl type day. Did he complain after the game? Nope. Did he complain during the game? According to Ryan, nope. Plaxico Buress; supporting his teammates one non-reception at a time.
BEST DIRECTING IN A GAME: Mike Pettine, defensive coordinator, Jets: The guy nearly pitched a shut out after getting worked for 390 yards last week against Dallas. He was clearly a snub for ‘Comeback Performance’. Hell, he’s used to it. Being the defensive coordinator of a Rex Ryan-coached team is like being Stedman to Oprah: You get to play with all his toys, but you never get anything of your own. Not that Ryan hogs the spotlight, but he gets so much credit for this defense while it is Pettine’s unit.
After letting the Jaguars hang around in the first two quarters, the defense turned up the heat in the second half. Posting three interceptions, four punts and one turnover on downs, the Pettine’s defense morphed from the Titans of New York back to that nasty Gang Green defense in that second half.
Sorry for the lack of Jaguars’ players, but most of their performances were a bit to low brow for my high brow taste. Any snubs? Did I miss any other awards? Let me hear it. I’d love to get a head start for the Morning After Report: Oscar Edition.
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