Inherent contradiction?
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- October
- 20
If you go look at the tape, you can see pretty clearly that the games where quarterback Brett Favre has done well are the same games the offensive line has clicked. There are four first-rounders on that line, and millions invested in them.
But with new pieces, it might take a year for Alan Faneca, D’Brickshaw Ferguson, Damien Woody, Brandon Moore and Nick Mangold to play as a unit. That’s NFL conventional wisdom—that it takes a full season for an offensive line to cement.
But Favre has only committed to the Jets for a year.
Against the Patriots, the line couldn’t keep Richard Seymour out of the pocket. Yesterday, Favre got so much pressure in the pocket that it limited his ability to run the offense.
Favre (Above in an AP photo with owner Woody Johnson after he signed) would be a fool to say it, but you wonder if he has gotten beaten up this much in past seasons. If you want to convince a 39-year-old quarterback to celebrate his 40th birthday as a Jet, you have to keep him healthy.
Forget the coaching mistakes, field position and all the other loss-inducing elements of yesterday’s game, this may be as simple as timing. Before Favre arrived, this team was a win-next-year program. It’s win-now with Favre, but if the line can’t do some kind of magic time-lapse on the process, that just might not be possible.
End of rant.
UPDATE: Here’s what Eric Mangini has to say about the line.
“I’ve been happy with the O line,” Mangini said. “I think it’s a good group. I think it’s a group that works well together. I think it’s a well coached group. I think that as you look at some of the things that they’ve been able to do, one game you have six touchdowns throwing the ball, another game you have close to 250 yards rushing with the average that we’ve had, you want to be able to do all those things and do all those things in the course of a game – run the ball effectively and pass the ball effectively.”
This entry was posted
on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 1:32 pm by Jane McManus.
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Jane McManus 
What Time is Mangini pRESSER Today?
Someone finally making sense. Favre got killed yesterday- what do people expect from him??? It was a dis-appointing game from him, but the blame cannot be totally placed on him.
His long streak of consecutive games will certainly come to an end if the O line plays like they did yesterday. They showed no “heart” at all!!! They consistently got man handled.
Favre had a poor game, but he sure was not the only one.
If the line does not play with more pride, and protect the 39 year old- the Jets might not win 6 games!!
Favre is effective because the opponents know that he can throw the bomb at any time. If the opponents can force Favre to pass quickly, the bomb threat disappears and Favre starts to look like Pennington.
Don’t give him a free ride. He has to take some responsibility for the way he played. Another RED ZONE INT. How many is that for the season (5 or 6). Now they are saying it takes a year for the OL to jell. Always excuses for this team. There is no way in hell that Woodrow J. is going to open his new stadium with this staff. Always a big build-up for the season. And always a bigger let-down. The way they are coached and are playing they may not win another division game this season. Buffalo is much better than us, NE owns us and Miami is due. Being a JET fan is like going out with the ugliest girl in school. Everybody laughs at us. Our team is a disgrace to the NFL.
I still hold the coaching accountable for some of it. How many straight plays did they leave him back there in an empty backfield to start the game? I’m guessing it was something like 7 straight plays and after the first 3 or 4, when it started to get obvious, the pressure stepped up and he got hammered on a couple of them. The run game was clicking, once they finally started with it, so they could have probably handed the ball to Jones an additional 5 times for decent results. They could have also kept a back in more often to help in the pass protection. I don’t think those unreasonable adjustments to expect from a professional coaching staff.
I blame the coaching staff for 90% of what happened yesterday. Under no circumstance should this team lost to the Raiders….The O – line was awful and the team seemed ill prepared to deal with the pressure that they brought. Now the Jets are in the position, because they lost this game that most likely they will have to win 2 games that no one expects them to win just to have a chance to make the playoffs. I’m going to say that they will have to find a way to beat the Bills in Buffalo and the Pats at their house in order to make it. Just real disappointed, don’t know what else to say.
Great column! This line stinks. Its more than a little frustrating knowing how much better the Jets could be if Favre had a chance to throw. The line is horrible. The play calling is as bad. And on the other side of the ball – where the heck is OUR pass rush?
Or better yet. It is like going out with the ugliest guy in school.
There will always be Jets games like this, a proven fact over the decades. Every time the Raiders put the ball on the carpet, it bounced nicely up into the hands of a Raider. Jets not so lucky on their miscues, right? And Baker falls down at exactly the wrong time, not his fault but typically occurring at the wrong moment.
I still have hope for this squad. I really do think they can come together enough to make the playoffs. Playoffs?! I hear Mora’s voice in the back of my head, but I’m ignoring it. My team still has ten games left. Let’s see if this season can be different. A few fewer empty seats at home might be a start.
Alex, I like a “glass half full” kind of person, as I’ve always tried to keep that same outlook. I still have some high hopes, but am increasingly frustrated by the coaching staff’s inability to react on the fly. It’s not a new problem for these guys and I find myself feeling like they are starting to steal gulps out of the bottom half of my Sunday beer mug.
Only 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions in his last 2 games. Now he may do better against the Chiefs, but lets see what he does against Buffalo. This move stunted the growth of this team. We should have gone with the youth, and let the OL get to know each other for one year. Except for the Cincy game 6TD 1 INT, he has 5 TDs and 7 Int in the othe four games. This season is just about over. If my memory serves me right they have only been to the AFC championship game twice since 1969. Everybody thought that when Woodrow J. purchased the team things would change. Not so. Why do you think Peyton Manning decided to go back to college rather than be the #1 pick of the NY JETS. We are a cursed franchise. Long time fan, but just angry the way things are going, including PSLs, with this franchise. Ticket holder since 1966 and I will not pay to keep tne seats I bought for all those years gone buy to support minor league football.
Does Mangini even believe the bs that comes out of his mouth?....He should also stop gwelling on the offensive performance against the Cardinals. That game is looking more like a fluke than something they can do with any consistency.
gwelling…...i meant dwelling
David,
I agree about the coaches not making good adjustments, especially after halftimes. It’s been a problem at least as long as Mangini has been in charge, despite the initial 10-6. And yes, it is REALLY frustrating. Will they learn on the fly (looking at the season as a whole)? We’d better hope so!
Alex..They have been flying like this for the last 22 games. This coaching staff doesn’t have a clue. Just look at the 2nd half of the St. Louis game. The only game they didn’t have a scare in was Cincy. Miami took us to the wire. And we did squat at Oakland. Everybody thinks that Favre is the Messiah. Think again. This franchise and its fans myself included will again, as usual, be dissapointed.