Scouts Inc. preview of Jets game

[Simon]

Not as good as Lori's but it's something to read when you're supposed to be working.

 

"Why To Watch

Veteran retread quarterbacks are on display in this battle of 2-3 AFC East teams looking to reach .500. Vinny Testaverde, who came out of retirement only two weeks ago, led the Jets to just their second win last Sunday. Now he takes the show on the road, as the timeless quarterback and his timeless running back, Curtis Martin, attempt to exploit an injury-hobbled Bills' defense.

 

QB Kelly Holcomb also looks to make it two-for-two after leading the Bills to victory in his first start of the season versus Miami last Sunday. In order to keep momentum rolling into a looming two-game road stretch (Oakland and New England), Holcomb must maintain his efficiency versus a more aggressive, attacking Jets defense this week.

 

 

When the Jets have the ball

Rushing: This will likely be the facet of the matchup that determines Sunday's game in Buffalo. The Jets were able to balance out their attack a bit more with Testaverde as the starter last week but running the football remains the top priority for this unit. RB Curtis Martin enters this game banged and bruised, but he should continue to handle a 20-plus carry load versus the Bills. And he might not have much of a choice considering that backup Derrick Blaylock is now out with an injury.

 

The Bills put together a solid overall defensive performance last week but they have to be somewhat concerned about surrendering 5.7 yards per carry to the Dolphins' ground game. The biggest area of weakness is at the right defensive tackle position, where the team lost Pat Williams (Vikings) in the offseason and recently lost starter Ron Edwards to a season-ending injury. Tim Anderson is a tough, hard working replacement, but he is inexperienced and continues to struggle with the adjustment to the pro level. The unit also rotates Justin Bannan in and out of the game, but he is only serviceable at best. Also affecting the interior defensive line of the Bills is the lack of overall depth, which will result in aging big-man Sam Adams wearing down late in games. As productive as undersized MLB London Fletcher has been versus the run throughout his career, he is far less effective when forced to sift through traffic as he has been forced to deal with more this season. The unit also is without its best player, Takeo Spikes (injured reserve), and is experiencing a significant drop-off in production with Angelo Crowell at the weak-side linebacker position. With that in mind, look for the Jets to enter Sunday's game with an even greater desire to grind it out on the ground than usual. They might struggle to get Martin on track on the road early on but if offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger can stay patient and get Martin close to 30 carries in this game, the Bills hobbled defensive front will eventually wear down.

 

Passing: All things considered, the Jets have to be pleased with Testaverde's season-debut last week. He was sacked twice, threw one interception and failed to throw a touchdown pass, but he completed 13-of-19 passing attempts and made some big throws on third downs to extend drives. Testaverde also was able to establish leadership and a sense of security for an offensive unit that was flailing over the course of the last few weeks. There's no question that the Jets will remain a run-first offensive football team and will do everything they can in order to prevent putting Testaverde in a position where he needs to win games with his arm. However, Testaverde shows the arm strength and a strong enough feel for the offensive system for the Jets to maintain some offensive balance. Testaverde also seems to have a great rapport with WR Laveranues Coles as the two are reconnecting from both of their previous stints with the team. After watching Testaverde's tendency to rely on Coles, look for the Bills to give the No. 1 wide receiver extra attention, especially when RDC Nate Clements is not matched up against him.

 

The Bills pass defense has been erratic. It is coming up with a lot of big plays -- as witnessed with three interceptions versus the Dolphins last week, but it also is giving up too many big plays. Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray employs an aggressive scheme with a lot of man-to-man coverage on the perimeter. Clements has the physical tools to take opposing No. 1 receivers, such as Coles, out of the game when left on an island, but Clement occasionally will get caught gambling on a pump-fake and fellow starter, Terrence McGee, is far less talented. The big key to this facet of the matchup will be the Bills' pass rush. Look for the Bills to play a lot of eight-man fronts with a safety cheated up as a fourth linebacker-type in order to first defend the run. With a safety cheated up, the Bills will have more flexibility in terms of the blitz. The problem, however, is that the Bills miss Edwards in terms of an interior pass rush and Spikes in terms of his blitzing and coverage ability. As a result, the Jets will use some max-protection schemes in order to protect Testaverde off of the play-action passing series and to give him time to wait for Coles and WR Justin McCareins to get open downfield. Also, if the Bills are forced to blitz too much, RB Martin, FB Jerald Sowell and TEs Chris Baker and Justin Peelle more involved as underneath receivers.

 

When the Bills have the ball

Rushing: The Bills have done a good job of maintaining patience with their running game. RB Willis McGahee has yet to put up huge numbers as a ball carrier this season, but he is averaging nearly 22 carries per game and is coming off a 31-carry performance against the Dolphins last week. McGahee might not be racking up big yardage per carry, but his ability to handle a heavy load on the ground is allowing the team to dominate time of possession and keep its defense fresh. Despite Holcomb's strong debut last week, expect much of the same out of the Bills' offense this Sunday.

 

The Jets will play an aggressive defensive scheme with their No. 1 priority being placed on defending the run. DC Ty Law has re-established himself as a shutdown man-to-man cover corner, which gives defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson a lot more freedom with his safeties. Rookie SS Kerry Rhodes has been inserted into the starting lineup and will continue to be used in a versatile role as a "rover" type SS/OLB this week. Rhodes does not have great toughness or strength, but he has the size and tackling skills to help support the run in what essentially will be a base 5-3 front. Look for Rhodes to line up on the strong side behind SLB Victor Hobson, who will move up onto the line of scrimmage and act as the units' fifth down lineman on first and second downs. The Jets will then use Jonathan Vilma at the MLB position and Eric Barton on the weak side.

 

Until Holcomb and the Bills can prove capable of consistently beating the Jets in man-to-man coverage in the passing game, look for Henderson to maintain this aggressive eight-man front in order to keep McGahee bottled up.

 

Passing: Protecting Holcomb is the top priority for the Bills in this matchup, and it will not be an easy goal to achieve. For starters, LOT Mike Gandy will be in way over his head versus Jets' DE/OLB John Abraham. Gandy gave up two sacks last week versus a similar athlete, Jason Taylor (Dolphins), in a similar 3-4 hybrid scheme. Abraham has outstanding initial quickness, as well as the athletic ability to keep Gandy guessing in his sets. After watching Gandy's struggles versus Taylor and the Dolphins last week, it would be difficult to imagine the Bills failing to adjust their pass protection scheme this week. Assuming Gandy gets consistent double-team help, it should open up some room for the rest of the Jets defensive line to exploit one-on-one matchups, as well as gaps for linebackers and safeties to exploit when turned loose on the blitz. As a result, Holcomb will need to make a lot of quick decisions and accurate throws under what promises to be constant pressure.

 

The Jets will likely wind up in a lot of man-free coverage with Law being left alone on an island against either of the Bills WRs Eric Moulds or Lee Evans. In order to give RDC David Barrett help on the other side, FS Erik Coleman will be frequently cheated over to Barrett's side. That will put a lot of pressure on Evans and Moulds to get open quickly against man-coverage on the perimeter, but it also will open up some room down the middle for TE Mark Campbell to operate. The Bills do not need huge production from their passing attack but they will need some big plays against the aggressive defense in order to come out of this game with a victory.

 

 

Scouts Inc. ( Friday, October 14, 2005 ). Teams seeking to reach .500.

Retrieved Friday, October 14, 2005 from espn.go.com: http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/scouting?gameId=251016002

[nick in* england]

Thanks good post.

 

However:

 

Cliffs Notes: It's like versus like in this tight AFC E game. We don't know who's favourite.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Passing: Protecting Holcomb is the top priority for the Bills in this matchup, and it will not be an easy goal to achieve. For starters, LOT Mike Gandy will be in way over his head versus Jets' DE/OLB John Abraham. Gandy gave up two sacks last week versus a similar athlete, Jason Taylor (Dolphins), in a similar 3-4 hybrid scheme. Abraham has outstanding initial quickness, as well as the athletic ability to keep Gandy guessing in his sets. After watching Gandy's struggles versus Taylor and the Dolphins last week, it would be difficult to imagine the Bills failing to adjust their pass protection scheme this week. Assuming Gandy gets consistent double-team help, it should open up some room for the rest of the Jets defensive line to exploit one-on-one matchups, as well as gaps for linebackers and safeties to exploit when turned loose on the blitz. As a result, Holcomb will need to make a lot of quick decisions and accurate throws under what promises to be constant pressure.

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/scouting?gameId=251016002

475630[/snapback]

 

Why do these people get paid?? Gandy has faced the best DE's in the game (Rice, Grant, Kerney, and Taylor) and has given up only 1 sack which came against Taylor last week. The other sack Taylor had was against Jerman. Rice and Grant got Sacks, but Gandy wasnt blocking them at the time.

 

Just keep up the good work Gandy, people doubted you from the start and are waiting for you to fail.

[Coach Tuesday]

Also I don't think there is any mention of the fact that the Jets' speciality has always been their ability to pull their guards and especially their center Mawae to block downfield in the running game, and that they've had a very, very difficult time doing that so far this year. Something is wrong with Mawae - he's either injured, or his age has finally caught up to him. Kendall has been a disappointment. As a result, they're using more zone-blocking this year, and CuMar hasn't been as effective under that scheme. This just isn't the same Jets offense we've seen in the past - for whatever reason, it's less physical and less athletic.

[bluv]

Why do these people get paid??  Gandy has faced the best DE's in the game (Rice, Grant, Kerney, and Taylor) and has given up only 1 sack which came against  Taylor last week.  The other sack Taylor had was against Jerman.  Rice and Grant got Sacks, but Gandy wasnt blocking them at the time.

 

Just keep up the good work Gandy, people doubted you from the start and are waiting for you to fail.

475661[/snapback]

While I agree that Gandy has done a better than expected job he has given up 2 sacks; the one Rice got in Tampa cam against Gandy; but that is all the noise he made the entire game! He has done a much better job than most people expected and should be commended for it. It seems a lot of people just assumes he is bad and waits for him to give up a sack to say see I told you he sucks. But if the guy he is blocking rarely is a factor then all those nay sayers need to shut up! Maybe you can point a finger at Teague, Villereal, or Anderson (if you want to be picky) but while Gandy is not a Pro Bowl franchise LT (not every team has one), he has played very well this season. If Big Mike comes back then I hope the pass protection is as good as it was in week one and most of the game against Tampa; who knows if he didin't get hurt JP might still be playing QB!

[AKC]

Leave a seat open for me on the Gandy bandwagon- he's been a far superior run blocker to the previous tenant at the position and he works so hard on passing downs that he in a lot of ways makes up for his lack of good pass protection wheels.

 

I suppose we'll have to continue ignoring all the talk about replacing a guy working as hard as Gandy is since the OLine is getting the blame that should be falling on the coaching staff and front office for using their talent poorly and failing to address the void at blocking TE in the offseason, a position that can be easily and economically filled in FA. If you're going to play two TE sets for your run game you need AT LEAST two decent blocking TEs- we have one in our whole system.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

While I agree that Gandy has done a better than expected job he has given up 2 sacks; the one Rice got in Tampa cam against Gandy; but that is all the noise he made the entire game! He has done a much better job than most people expected and should be commended for it. It seems a lot of people just assumes he is bad and waits for him to give up a sack to say see I told you he sucks. But if the guy he is blocking rarely is a factor then all those nay sayers need to shut up! Maybe you can point a finger at Teague, Villereal, or Anderson (if you want to be picky) but while Gandy is not a Pro Bowl franchise LT (not every team has one), he has played very well this season. If Big Mike comes back then I hope the pass protection is as good as it was in week one and most of the game against Tampa; who knows if he didin't get hurt JP might still be playing QB!

475702[/snapback]

 

Your right, he did give up a sack to Rice, I just meant to say the sack was because of JP. I think JP was running around on that play or ran right into Rice.

 

The OL needs improvement like you said, Teague, CV, or Anderson, but Gandy is not the weak link so far, In fact I would say he has performed better than Jennings.