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John's Midseason Jets Awards

I'm giving my choices for team awards at the halfway point.

MVP: Darrelle Revis

What can you say about Revis this year? The guy has literally cut the field in half for opposing passing attacks. He's completely shut down Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens. You can probably count the number of plays he's looked bad on one hand. This blitzing defense leaves corners on an island. Revis seldom has any help. That makes the job he's done even more impressive. It's a lot easier for this coaching staff to take chances when it knows Revis will blanket his man even if the offense picks up a blitz.

Offensive Player of the Half-Year: Thomas Jones

TJ had a bit of a slow start, but that was due in part to teams stacking the box against a rookie quarterback and his line struggling a bit early. He led the AFC in rushing a year ago, and he's on pace to put up even better numbers this season. Now opponents are stacking the box because they have to. Jones' play is going to be a major asset for Mark Sanchez the rest of the season.

Defensive Player of the Half-Year: Revis

Rookie of the Half-Year: Mark Sanchez

There's not a ton of competition here, but Sanchez has been far better and looked way more polished than I expected. He's had two real stinkers against the Saints and Bills. He had one game where he didn't have to do anything against the Raiders. The other five games were all good to very good performances. There's room to improve, mainly in protecting the ball and not locking on to targets. At the end of the day, it's not easy to even be 4-4 with a rookie starting quarterback. He's one of two rookies to beat Bill Belichick. The other, Ben Roethlisberger, has a pair of Super Bowl rings. He led his team from behind twice in the fourth in a hostile venue on national television against the Dolphins a few weeks ago. Sanchez looks like the real deal.

Coach of the Half-Year: Rex Ryan

This award is a competition among coaches on the staff. Mike Westhoff may have gotten this before last week, but Rex has earned it. He's really transformed this defense. A year ago, one of my biggest complaints was the talent on the defense not being utilized properly. No such complaints this year. The Jets are giving up the second fewest yards in the league and the fourth fewest points (and this includes points off special teams and turnovers; it would be even better if we're talking about defensive points), and Rex's well designed schemes have been terrific. He's also instilled a sense of confidence in this team. Sometimes he'll end up with egg on his face for his swagger if the team doesn't perform, but for the first time in a while you get the impression the Jets are expecting to win every time they take the field. He made great adjustments for the second meeting with the Dolphins after they ran all over him the first time. He can improve in his game management, but overall I've been very impressed. This team has built a strong foundation for the long haul with a promising quarterback and a brilliant defensive mind as head coach.

High Point of the Half-Year: Win over New England

I think this win was from a mental standpoint as good as three wins. The Jets talked all week. They went in expecting to win. They kept Tom Brady out of the end zone, off the scoreboard in the second half, and held him under 50% completing the ball. I always got the impression under Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini the Jets were hoping to beat the Pats when the teams played. This time, the Jets expected to win. It was something of a catharsis game. The Pats are a great team. They'll surely beat the Jets in the future, but I get the impression we'll remember this game as the one the Jets finally asserted themselves as legitimate challengers. There was no backup quarterback like last year. You have to love the way the media has played this win off as the Pats not being sharp at the beginning of the year. The reason they weren't sharp was that the Jets outexecuted them.

Low Point of the Half-Year: Loss to Buffalo

You could argue last week's game against Miami. It's surely frustrating to loss a game when the other team can't move the ball on you all game, and their defense can't stop you in the second half. Regardless of whether the Dolphins end the year with a winning record, though, they're a plucky team and a tough out. This loss to Buffalo was totally inexplicable. The Bills had a backup quarterback and lost to Eric Mangini's Browns the week before, even though Cleveland's starting quarterback was 2 for 17. I don't care that Mark Sanchez threw 5 interceptions. They couldn't stop the Jets on the ground, and New York had a 10 point second half lead. Two horrible penalties in overtime really cost the team.

Best Offseason Move: Trading Up for Mark Sanchez

The signing of Bart Scott deserves consideration, but this move was a franchise changer. The book has not been written on Sanchez, but it looks promising. A miss there by Mike Tannenbaum sets the franchise back for years. It doesn't look that way right now. The Jets look like they have a quarterback, and that move could set the team up to contend for a long time.

Worst Offseason Move: Trading for Lito Sheppard

The book on Sheppard is that he's talented, but he can't stay on the field. That's why the Eagles never gave him the big deal he was seeking. That's played out so far this year. While Lito has looked good, he's played in under half the games. Not only that, but Dwight Lowery, a cheaper internal option during the offseason, has looked good in his place. I'm not giving up on Lito. Don't take it that way. It's just if the Jets had known this, they probably consider holding onto the Draft picks and the money from the new contract and just hand Lowery the starting job.

Most Improved Player: Sione Pouha

One thing that stuck out to me even before Kris Jenkins' injury was how much better Pouha was playing at the point of attack. Last year, he was consistently losing matchups, and the run defense took a hit once Jenkins left the field. This year, Pouha has been much stouter and done a good job demanding double teams. If he continues to improve the rest of the way, this team still has a chance to do things this season. His play is a credit to the coaching staff. Rex was known for the way he maximized the output of his stars in Baltimore, but there's been a stark improvement in the play of guys like Pouha, Mike Devito, and Eric Smith (and the development of Jamaal Westerman) with this new regime.

Most Disappointing Player: Kerry Rhodes

Kerry was supposed to play the Ed Reed role on this defense. He was supposed to be all over the place making plays. Jim Leonhard taking over making calls was supposed to free him up. I can't remember too many impact plays Kerry has made this season. In 2006 and 2007, he was a play making machine. He hasn't been the same guy since he got his contract.

Agree? Disagree? What awards did I miss? Let me know below.

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Comments

Display:

Revis

Just to clearify, Revis did have help on Moss,Johnson and TO. They showed the help with the Safty over the top on all the replys. Im not saying he cant cover those guys and that he isnt a great corner. Im just being real. I agree with pretty much every award you gave. I think this team could be 6-2 right now if it wasnt for some fluke plays(Sanchez’s 5INTs and both Miami games) The rest of the sched looks soft enough where we can make it into the playoff.

That is all, carry on!

by JEDIJOKERS2 on Nov 7, 2009 9:40 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Welcome to the site

TO’s not really a vertical threat so I guess that’s kind of academic, but against Johnson and Moss, the Jets played a ton of Cover 1. That leaves one safety, yes, but there’s still an extraordinary amount of pressure on the corners with that kind of scheme.

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by John B on Nov 7, 2009 9:58 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

thanks, you’ll be hearing aton from me. :)

by JEDIJOKERS2 on Nov 8, 2009 3:33 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Nice write-up

I was really hoping for more out of Rhodes this season. I haven’t seen a lot from him in coverage and he’s been beat bad a couple of times (Ted Ginn’s fourth quarter TD in the first Miami game comes to mind). Beyond that, I’m really happy so far. All things considered, this is a good start to the season. We haven’t been really out of any of the games we’ve played. We just need to tighten it up a little on both sides of the ball and we can still contend for a playoff spot.

"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
-Adam Savage

by blueandorange4life on Nov 7, 2009 4:05 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Would agree

Rhodes has definitely been disappointing but he hasn’t hurt the team, and IMO Keller has, was pretty much invisible, running some lousy routes, dropping some passes and really not looking anything like expected. Expected him to just have a massive season, so it’s expectations to contribution. Can’t disagree that Rhodes has been disappointing though, probably more noticeable because he talks about how great he is.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 7, 2009 10:56 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Keller probably would have been my pick a week ago, but after his game against Miami, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope this is the start of big things.

Rhodes as you said hasn’t hurt the team, but relative to what we were expecting, it’s been disappointing.

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by John B on Nov 8, 2009 1:36 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Can we label Gholston a bust now?

Yeah he has done infinite times better than last year but we’re doling out 50 million dollars so he can get 16 tackles through the first 8 games? As for Offensive MVP I agree completely with Jones, but I think Ferguson has really taken the next step and has played great this year, I think he’ll make good on his guarantee to make the pro bowl.

by Jerrad p on Nov 7, 2009 11:33 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Getting close to that stage

I’m notoriously patient when it comes to draft picks, and I really thought that he was starting to turn the corner before Pace got back and his playing time was cut. However it’s getting to that stage where even the most patient of fans have to start questioning him. Willing to give him the rest of the season, because, well ‘why not’.

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by David_Wyatt on Nov 8, 2009 12:06 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

literally

Revis hasn’t literally cut the field in half, but that would be fun to watch.

by JetsFan1991 on Nov 8, 2009 11:23 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Pretty good picks

I would lean towards Keller as most disappointing player. Low point losing Jenkins/Washington in back-to-back weeks. If it was a game I would say against the fins. First of all we win 2 out of the 3 battles and lose to 2 Ginn returns? Plus it’s against the pos dolphins for crying out loud.

by Togaman7 on Nov 9, 2009 12:11 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Our under the radar MVP is

Tony Richardson. Everywhere he goes, the running game improves. You have to give him some credit for opening holes for TJ. The guy is a beast, and despite his age, seems as good as ever.

by Mackey Sasser on Nov 9, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Agreed there

Richardson can go under valued, he really does improve the run game to such an extent. Countless times you see him putting in that block to break off a run for Jones, and only a few times is it ever covered by the analysts. So nice choice there

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Gang Green Nation
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by David_Wyatt on Nov 9, 2009 6:20 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

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