For me the two losses have come as a result of one bad game from the offence and one bad game from the defence, so we are all square now, all tied, let's move on and put some good performances together.
First of all credit where it is due, Miami played their game, they neutralized our strengths and highlighted out weaknesses and I can't say enough for the game planning and execution of the Dolphins, they ran right at us, and said lets see if you can stop it, and quite frankly we couldn't.
I'm a fan of kicking off to start the game, especially when you have as much confidence in your defence as Rex does, but the tone was set on that very first drive and after that some might of thought that it was going to be a very long night, which it certainly was
More after the jump:
First of all I just want to say that it was great to see some of the Dolphins fans get over here last night and be gracious in victory. We had had some problems during the week, but over 95% who visited here last night came in good spirits, didn't try to wind anyone up, and we managed to have a good civil post game chat, so credit there.
Now onto the biggest loser from last night. Calvin Pace. I know it was his first game back but at points I was muttering under my breath, 'Gholston would of made that tackle' in a system that forces the run getting pressure on the QB is not that important, Pace went hard to the outside and he was pushed out of the play.
Gholston might not be flashy and I know he is the popular scapegoat when it comes to disappointment, however he holds his position, he is too strong to be pushed anywhere. If the run goes to the outside he has the speed, and he keeps gaps closed. I know a lot of people don't see much from Gholston, but just because his name is not being read by the scorer doesn't mean that he isn't doing anything.
Another reason why I'm particular annoyed at Pace this morning is for the comments that he made:
Calvin Pace on Henne: "Against a second-year clown quarterback, we didn’t affect him enough. I guess you have to give him credit. The defense lost the game today."
On the Wildcat: "I can’t respect that stuff, all that Wildcat. We’re in the N.F.L. Don’t come here with that nonsense."
Who are you talking about Calvin, that 'clown' who just beat you, the wild cat is a system, you knew it was coming, you knew they were going to run with it, so why are you complaining about it? Don't talk like that just because you were not prepared for it and couldn't stop it. You have been out 4 games for violating the leagues illegal substance policy, and your going to come back, put in a performance like that and then bitch about it, grow up and take some responsibility.
Revis had one of his worst games as a Jet last night, he got beat on that deep pattern but he was also giving up yards in front of him. Nobody likes Revis more than I do, but nearly everytime there was a completed pass, number 24 was standing one yard off the play, he made some nice tackles but his overall play left a lot to be desired and maybe it was Gruden's curse of calling him the best shut down corner in the league.
Bart Scott was worse, he again made some nice tackles, but it looked like he was completely clueless in coverage, several times he took bad angles to the ball, and that included one on the last drive. He didn't seem as vocal as he usually is and I guess that can be expected when you are playing as poorly as he was.
Story of the night for me was the tackling, I understand that Ronnie and Ricky are pretty hard to bring down, but we were missing tackles left, right and centre, and I don't want to continue to pick on Pace but on that first drive I think he missed two. Bryan Thomas, David Harris, Sean Ellis, everyone was responsible last night.
Now lets get to reasons why we should be optimisitc:
Bottom line is that we are still top of the division, the Patriots are not looking that strong and we now go onto a run of games that has us at home to the Bills, down against Oakland and then back up home for the return trip of Miami. All three of those games are winnable, obviously the toughest being against Miami. So sitting at 6-2 after those three games is a real possibility.
Mark Sanchez rebounded from a disappointing game, he wasn't perfect by any means, a couple of times he threw where he thought the receivers were going to be and they broke off in a different direction. I don't know who was in the wrong there because I haven't seen the plays, but that needs to be worked on.
We are keeping it close and not using Keller, we need to use that mis-match in the middle of the field more. Several times he was lined up with a linebacker last night and I like that match-up but Mark threw it over to the sideline and forced the ball. If we can start getting Keller into the game more then we could have one of the best air attacks in the game.
Braylon Edwards is that guy we have been looking for since Keyshawn IMO, he is fast and tall, strong before and after the catch. He made two terrific catches and was a nuisance all night. Remember that he and Mark had just a few days to get on the same page.
Leon Washington looks dangerous, Thomas Jones does not. We need to get Greene more involved in the offence and increase Leon's touches to more of a feature number one back, and then give Jones and Greene the hard yards. Getting a little tired of seeing Jones run on first down and gain a yard or so.
Disappointing loss for sure, but don't loose faith just yet, we are a lot better than what we showed last night.