New York Jets at Detroit Lions - First Half Recap

We're going to be doing things a little differently today with our recap. I will be providing my stream-of-conscious reactions to the first half, and our very own sp0rtsfan86 will provide a more detailed second half breakdown, so you can learn more about the fringe players fighting to make the team.

Out: Santonio Holmes, Joe McKnight, Chris Ivory, Lex Hilliard, Josh Mauga, Dalton Freeman, Brian Winters, Titus Ryan

First Quarter

• Nick Folk's got some leg! Kicked it out the back of the end zone, unusual for him.
• Defense is going to start it out for us.
• Quinton Coples with the quick start at OLB, deflects the first pass.
• Defense has gotten some good pressure to start the game off.
• The old guys have a good start. David Harris with the tackle-for-loss, Calvin Pace tackling Calvin Johnson.
• Uhhh, David Harris covering Reggie Bush? Oh no.
• Jeremy "Fair Catch" Kerley back to return punts.
• Mark Sanchez escapes pressure, but throws a poor pass to Powell who isn’t able to hold onto it. The pass was behind him, but Powell should have caught it anyway.
• Ryan Spadola with a nice catch on a crossing pattern. Told y’all.
• Offensive line is getting blown up.
• Sanchez throws a pick six to Ansah. OF COURSE. There was nobody even there!
• Sanchez throws a slant to Hill, it was a low pass. Inaccurate, as usual.
• Tommy Bohanon looked good receiving the ball.
• Clyde Gates’ route running looks significantly improved. Like, significantly.
• Sanchez threw a terrible ball to Winslow, who essentially murdered the dude to prevent the interception.
• Coples has a tackle. Good start.
• Two offsides by the defense.
• Calvin Johnson is good.
• Dee Milliner with a great dee-fense. Knocked the ball down, tracking the ball like a pro.
• Clyde Gates is returning kicks with McKnight out.
• Kellen Winslow makes a nice catch and jump, starts talking trash.
• Bilal Powell with a nifty run. Good sidestep of the defense.
• Offensive line looks sooo bad.
• Sooo many checkdowns.
• On the TD drive, some good passes to Winslow, Kerley, Cumberland.
• Receivers, tight ends look good.

Second Quarter

• Defense has been getting a lot of penetration.
• Geno Smith is in on the first drive.
• Good start, 15 yard pass to Gates.
• Willie Colon has had a rough start. Looks exhausted.
• Powell looks like a different player. He and Gates are the biggest turnarounds so far from last year.
• So, Sanchez went 10 for 13 with a TD and an INT. Proof that stats can be misleading.
• Darrin Walls had some good coverage downfield.
• Smith looks accurate so far. His footwork has been iffy.
• Running game has been fairly weak so far. Gonna need Ivory.
• They barely had Geno do anything in his first two drives.
• Tackling in space needs to be improved.
• Sanchez: "Not the ideal start, but so what?"
• Sanchez: "They scored a touchdown on defense right away, who cares?"
• The Detroit Lions have been testing the Jets downfield, and it’s actually working decently well for them.
• Some phenomenal downfield catches by the Lions over Milliner and Walls.
• Two-minute drill for Geno with the second team.
• The play-calling for Geno is so conservative, it’s a joke. How are you going to evaluate him on this?
• Geno’s been accurate so far. When they throw, he looks good. But they keep handing the ball off. Doesn’t make any sense. Sanchez had a pick-six, an almost pick, and a good TD drive. Smith has had only three-and-outs, but he’s also barely thrown the ball.

Summary

The receivers look good, the offensive line got better as the first half went on. The defensive line looks very good as well, but I'm nervous about the linebackers in coverage. Sanchez's stat line is incredibly misleading, and Smith looked good.