Report Cards - 2/2 - Turn On The Jets

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Santonio Holmes

Today we continue our series of evaluating how each player on the Jets performed this past season, along with looking forward to what their role on the team will be next year…up today, wide receiver Santonio Holmes

Stat Line – 52 receptions, 746 yards, 6 touchdowns

Playoff Stat Line – 9 receptions, 127 yards, 2 touchdowns

Best Moment – This isn’t an easy selection, considering Holmes had three game winning catches this season. However, I am going with his touchdown against New England in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Patriots had just cut the score to 14-11 and the Jets were facing a third and goal. If they had to settle for a field goal (also keep in mind Nick Folk had already missed a chip shot), who knows how that fourth quarter could have went? Fortunately, Holmes made an immensely difficult catch to extend the Jets lead to 21-11.

Best Game – Holmes put on a show against the Houston Texans in week 11, pulling in 7 receptions for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner.

Overall Evaluation – Holmes was the clutch playmaker the Jets traded for last off-season. He did have occasional drops and lost two fumbles, yet overall brought a big play dimension to an offense that has been lacking it for years. When the game was on the line this past season, Holmes consistently stepped up his game and provided some of the year’s most memorable moments. (A-)

Future – Holmes received a first and third round tender from the team last week. The team will now work on locking him down to a long term contract. The reports have been pretty consistent about Holmes being the Jets top free agent priority now that David Harris is franchised. I would anticipate seeing Holmes in Green and White for the foreseeable future.

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Mark Sanchez

Stat Line – 278/507 (54.8 completion percentage), 3,291 yards, 17 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 75.3 QB Rating, 3 rushing touchdowns.

Playoff Stat Line – 54/89 (60.7 completion percentage), 616 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 interception, 95.5 QB Rating.

Best Moment –It is hard to argue with him outplaying Tom Brady is his own building to lead the Jets to a divisional round upset victory. However, Sanchez also put together game winning drives in three consecutive November games against Detroit, Cleveland, and Houston.

Best Game – Considering the situation, his best game was against New England in the playoffs. Statistically, his best performances were against New England in week 2 and Miami in week 3 when he posted quarterback ratings over 120 in consecutive weeks, throwing 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

Overall Evaluation –You can see the best part about Mark Sanchez’s game by looking at his regular season stats compared to his post-season stats. When the spot gets bigger, his elevates his level of play which is a terrific characteristic for any quarterback to have. He also made strides in protecting the football, alluding the pass rush, and becoming more of a team leader. Sanchez still needs to improve his overall accuracy and consistency but there is no reason not be very optimistic about his future as the Jets franchise quarterback. In two years as a NFL starter, Sanchez has a 19-12 regular season record and is 4-2 in the playoffs, with all four wins coming on the road. (B+)

Future – He is the future of the Jets offense and this team will ultimately go as far as he takes them. It will be interesting to see if the Jets start moving to a more pass happy approach and how Sanchez handles it, if they ultimately decide to.

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Shonn Greene

Stat Line – 185 carries, 766 yards, 2 TDs, 16 receptions, 120 yards

Playoff Stat Line – 45 carries, 198 yards, 1 TD, 1 reception, 9 yards

Best Moment – Goodnight New England…maybe the best moment of the entire Jets season came from Greene. You really can hear the tears flowing from Nantz and Simms in this clip.

Best Game – Statistically his best game was against Buffalo in week 4, when he finished with 117 yards on 22 carries (the only game he received more than 20 carries by the way). However, I thought the best he looked was in week 16 against the Bears when he finished with 70 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown and in the AFC Championship Game when he racked up 52 yards on (inexplicably) only 9 carries.

Overall Evaluation – It was a disappointing overall year for Greene. Most of us expected him to seize the lead back role after his run in the 2009 post-season but he was never quite able to do it. I would argue the coaching staff didn’t give him enough work down the stretch run, however he has his slow start to blame for that. Fortunately, LaDainian Tomlinson played better than expected which helped compensate for Greene’e lower than expected output. Two total touchdowns in the regular season just isn’t cutting it either. (C+)

Future – Hopefully Greene will be motivated by last season and grab the lead back role by throat in 2011. He should be given the chance to even if Tomlinson returns for another year. The coaching staff needs to get him more than 20 carries on a much more consistent basis.

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Dustin Keller

Stat Line – 55 receptions, 687 yards, 5 touchdowns

Playoff Stat Line – 14 receptions, 121 yards

Best Moment – I am going with Keller’s game clinching touchdown against the Patriots in week 2, which gave them a 28-14 lead late in the fourth quarter. Keller had completely dominated the New England secondary all afternoon and his touchdown was an exclamation point on a terrific game.

Best Game – It is too hard to pick between these two but he looked like a legitimate All-Pro in back to back weeks against New England and Miami early in the season. Between week two and three, Keller pulled in 7 receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots and then followed with 6 receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns against the Dolphins.

Overall Evaluation – Keller was a beast for the first month of the season, with five touchdowns in the Jets first four games. However, when Santonio Holmes returned from suspension his role in the offense was marginalized and he never scored the rest of the season. He still had an occasional productive game but only went over 50 yards in three other regular season games. Keller has improved each season in his short career which is a good sign and has become a much more capable blocker. (B+)

Future – There is a very good chance that either Santonio Holmes or Braylon Edwards won’t return in 2011, which should open up more opportunities for Keller in the passing game. If he continues to progress at the rate he has been, he should receive a long term deal from the team following the 2011 season. It has helped Mark Sanchez’s development to have a reliable pass catching tight end that he has good chemistry with. It remains to be seen whether Keller can ever take the next step towards being a Pro-Bowl caliber player for an entire season.

Nice Defense Buffalo

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Bart Scott

Stat Line – 81 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

Playoff Stat Line – 9 tackles, 1 pass defended, 1 all-time interview

Best Moment – Is there even a question? I prefer the auto-tune version…

Best Game –Scott didn’t have any that really jumped off the page. He is more of a steady, consistent player who doesn’t really fill up the stat sheet but is a key component of the Jets run defense. He did have a particularly strong stretch in week 8 and 9 against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Over the course of those two games, he had 13 tackles and one sack.

Overall Evaluation – Scott doesn’t make big plays in this defense and probably talks more than his productivity merits. However, he is an emotional leader on the defense and is very good in run support. Don’t underestimate his overall importance just because of his low sack totals or because he doesn’t lead the team in tackles. (B)

Future: Scott got a monster contract before the 2009 season and isn’t going anywhere any time soon, which is good for the Jets run defense and for reporters covering the team.

Random Update — I tweeted Peter King of Sports Illustrated today to prioritize Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, and Antonio Cromartie if he was Mike Tannenbaum…he responded “Cro-Holmes-Bray, remember Rex LOVES cbs“…take it for what you will but he makes a good point.

Turn On The Jets 2010/201 Report Cards – Sione Pouha

Stat Line – 59 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 passes defended

Playoff Stat Line – 14 tackles, 1 sack

Best Moment – Two moments jump out to me when thinking about Pouha’s season, first was his fumble recovery when Joe Flacco was sacked on the Jets first defensive play of the season and second was his sack of Tom Brady in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Best Game – Despite coming in a losing effort, Pouha had a monster game against the Miami Dolphins in week 14 (sounds similar to Brodney Pool, know?). He racked up 10 tackles and a sack and the crowd got more into their “POOO-HA” chants than usual.

Overall Evaluation – Similar to 2009, Pouha stepped in for an injured Kris Jenkins and did a more than admirable job. He is a quality starter in the NFL and a very good fit for Rex Ryan’s system. I would love to see the potential of this defensive line if Jenkins could actually stay healthy for a season and have Pouha playing alongside him. Pouha’s tackle totals for a defensive lineman are particularly impressive and emphasize how solid he is against the run. (B+)

Future: Pouha will be back with the team next year and probably will be given the starting role as Kris Jenkins works back from yet another injury. If Jenkins can recover, it will be interesting to see how much work Pouha gets at defensive end alongside him. Regardless of how healthy Jenkins does get, Pouha is now at the point where he is going to play plenty of reps no matter what.

Look at the big fella with the scoop

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Brodney Pool

Stat Line – 53 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumbled, 1 interception, 11 passes defended

Playoff Stat Line – 20 tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass defended

Best Moment – It is hard to argue with his second half interception of Ben Roethlisberger in the AFC Championship Game, which helped the Jets nearly pull off their comeback. Pool also had two big stop on third and short early in the Wild-Card game against the Colts.

Best Game – Pool had a monster game in week 14 against the Miami Dolphins, finishing with 4 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Overall Evaluation – Pool is another player who it is hard not to be somewhat disappointed with on the Jets defense. Personally, I thought he was flying under the radar in the off-season and would turn into one of their biggest acquisitions, if not their biggest. Unfortunately, Rex Ryan still must continue to search for his playmaking safety. Pool played better as the season went on but his body of work on the whole was a let-down. He simply didn’t make enough impact plays and was inconsistent in both pass coverage and run defense. (C)

Future: Pool is a free agent and there is a very real chance he won’t come back in 2011. The Jets will basically have to decide between him and Eric Smith for who will start at safety opposite Jim Leonhard. Ultimately, a long term replacement is needed for either Pool or Smith, unless one of them picks it up in a big way next year.

Turn On The Jets 2010/2011 Report Cards – Calvin Pace

Today we start our series of evaluating how each player on the Jets performed this past season, along with looking forward to what their role on the team will be next year…up first, outside linebacker Calvin Pace –

Stat Line – 51 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 3 TFLs, 3 PDs, 1 INT, 1 FF, missed 4 games due to a foot injury

Playoff Stat Line – 10 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FF

Best Moment – His bone crushing strip sack of Tom Brady in the Jets divisional round playoff victory over the New England Patriots, which landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Fast forward to 4:18 to see the play…

Best Game – He didn’t have one that jumped off the page, but did finish with 7 tackles and a sack against both Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Overall Evaluation – It is hard not to be somewhat disappointed with the production from Pace this past year. For the second straight season, he missed 4 games and he had 2.5 less sacks than he did in 2009. There was also a fairly substantial drop off in the number of big plays he caused. The most encouraging thing about his season was that he recorded a sack in each of the Jets three playoff games. Pace remains the Jets best overall pass rusher, which is less of compliment towards him and more of a statement on how desperately they need to add one. He is a very good all-around football player but shouldn’t be relied on as your number one option to get after the quarterback. (B-)

Future: Pace isn’t going anywhere any time soon considering the monster deal he signed before the 2008 season. It would be nice to see him play 16 games this year and when healthy he will remain a key part of the Jets defense for the foreseeable future. Look for the team to attempt to upgrade the outside linebacker spot opposite him, which could help boost his production.

Duck Eli!

Continue the conversation on Facebook and Twitter