If Coach Mangini learned anything from his time with Bill Belichick it was to never play anyone you are counting on in the final exhibition game.  He followed that rule and still beat the Eagles in Philly last night.  Kellen Clemens took a few snaps to start the game and he completed both of the passes that he attempted for 12 yards.  Marques Tuiasosopo followed Clemens in the game and he completed 9 of 18 passes for 78 yards and he also carried the football 5 times for 18 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Brad Smith finished up the game completing 2 of 8 passes for 29 yards and he also carried the football 3 times for 13 yards (4.3 ypc).  Stacy Tutt had his night in the spotlight as he led the Jets in rushing with 48 yards on 12 carries (4.0 ypc).  Undrafted rookie Danny Ware also got his work in with 12 carries for 33 yards (2.8 ypc).  WRs Frisman Jackson (3 rec, 51 yards) and Chansi Stuckey (4 rec, 47 yards) both pitched in catching the football.  The Jets finished the game with 113 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.4 ypc) and they completed 13 of 26 passes for 93 yards.

The Jets played a bend but don’t break defense as they gave up a lot of yards but only 11 points.  The Eagles rushed for 77 yards on 23 carries (3.3 ypc) but they completed 28 of 43 passes for 261 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270830021

The Jets have cut running back Tony Hollings who carried the ball 2 times for 9 yards and he also caught 1 pass for 14 yards.  Undrafted rookie Danny Ware took the job as the #3 running back on the Jets because of his excellent pre-season to date.  He has carried the ball 38 times for 150 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also has caught 1 pass for 18 yards.  Fan favorite Tim Dwight has been cut in favor of rookie WR Chansi Stuckey.  Stuckey has carried the football 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc) and he has also caught 7 passes for 29 yards (4.1 avg).  Stuckey will also return kicks for the Jets.  He has returned 3 punts for 26 yards (8.7 avg) and 2 kickoffs for 46 yards (23.0 avg).

The Jets played a pretty solid all-around football game in beating the Giants over the weekend.  Chad Pennington looked much better this week as he completed 5 of 11 passes for 89 yards with 1 TD pass.  Kellen Clemens also was efficient completing 6 of 8 passes for 122 yards and a interception.  Marques Tuisosopo made a brief appearance completing 2 of 3 passes for 4 yards and he also carried the football 3 times for 20 yards (6.7 ypc).  Undrafted rookie RB Danny Ware was solid carrying the football 15 times for 57 yards (3.8 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 18 yards.  Leon Washington didn’t run the ball well only rushing for 6 yards on 7 carries (0.9 ypc) but he caught 3 passes for 86 yards (28.7 avg) with a long TD grab from Chad Pennington.  The Jets finished up with 85 yards on 28 carries (3.0 ypc) but they threw the ball well completing 13 of 22 passes for 194 yards.

The defense had some issues stopping the Giants’ offense.  The Giants ran the football 30 times for 136 yards (4.5 ypc) and they completed 23 of 38 passes for 175 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825019

The Jets got rid of a headache by trading veteran guard Pete Kendall to the Washington Redskins.  He was sour in camp and earning a place in Coach Mangini’s dog house when the Redskins came calling.  The Jets will receive a 4th round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft from the Redskins for the 34-year old offensive lineman.  I’m sure the Jets where covering up the phone so the Redskins’ front office couldn’t hear their laughter.

The Vikings kicked the Jets butts, plain and simple.  The Jets were awful on offense as the Vikings scored 3 TDs off of turnovers last night!  Chad Pennington made his pre-season debut last night and he couldn’t have played much worse.  He completed 7 of 10 passes for 40 yards with two pickoffs.  Both of his interceptions were returned for TDs by the Vikings’ defense.  2nd year man Kellen Clemens looked pretty good again as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 56 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Marques Tuiasosopo also played in his first game last night and he did a pretty good job completing 5 of 10 passes for 64 yards with a TD pass.  Brad Smith did a little bit of everything last night as he completed 4 of 6 passes for 21 yards and he also carried the football 4 times for another 21 yards (5.3 ypc).  Leon Washington led the way for the Jets with 52 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.7 ypc).  Undrafted rookie Danny Ware had another solid performance with 11 carries for 45 yards (4.1 ypc).  WR Justin McCareins looked sharp last night with 3 grabs for 52 yards (17.3 avg) including a TD catch where he put an outstanding move on a player to get to the End Zone.  TEs Jason Pociask (3 rec, 35 yards, TD) and Sean Ryan (4 rec, 34 yards) each had good games.  The Jets ran the ball great gaining 148 yards on 31 carries (4.8 ypc) but they looked awful throwing despite completing 22 of 35 passes for 167 yards.

The defense didn’t play that great either.  They held the Vikings to 63 yards passing as they completed only 8 of 18 passes but that’s because they didn’t have to pass.  Not when you rush for 167 yards on 31 carries (5.4 ypc).

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270817020

 

The Jets need more production from their TEs but they did nothing about the position in the off season so it’s unlikely that things will magically get better.   Chris Baker played in 16 games (14 starts) last season and he caught 31 passes for 300 yards (9.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  That is probably the ceiling for Baker because of his lack of speed.   He has now played in 68 games (23 starts) in his career and he has caught 83 passes for 902 yards (10.9 avg) with 9 TD grabs.

Sean Ryan has been mostly a blocker so far in his career.  He played in 16 games (3 starts) last season with the Jets and he caught 6 passes for 44 yards (7.3 avg).  Ryan has now played in 25 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught those same 6 passes for 44 yards (7.3 avg).

James Dearth is almost exclusively a run blocker.  He played in 16 games last season and he didn’t catch 1 pass.   In 98 career games (1 start) Dearth has caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.

The New York Jets have a very underrated collection of WRs.  Laveranues Coles had an outstanding season as Chad Pennington found him early and often last season.  Coles played in 16 games (all starts) and he caught 91 passes for 1,098 yards (12.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc).  Coles is the Jets’ best deep threat but Pennington’s lack of arm strength restricts what he can do.  Coles has now played in 109 games (99 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 506 passes for 6,599 yards (13.0 avg) with 31 TD grabs.  Coles has also run the ball 33 times for 212 yards (6.4 ypc).  Look for Coles to be Pennington’s favorite target again in 2007.

Jerricho Cotchery emerged as the #2 receiver on the Jets with a huge breakout season.  He doesn’t have the speed that Coles has but he makes up for it with his hands and toughness.  He played in 16 games (all starts) last season and he caught 82 passes for 961 yards (11.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he ran the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc).  Look for Cotchery’s numbers to improve in 2007 as his QB’s confidence grows in him.  Cotchery has now played in 44 games (17 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 107 passes for 1,272 yards (11.9 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 6 times for 29 yards.  The special teams are probably a thing of the past for him but he’s returned 17 kickoffs for 467 yards (27.5 avg) with a TD and he has returned 23 punts for 182 yards (7.9 avg).

Justin McCareins got in Coach Mangini’s doghouse last season and he’s probably still in it as they tried to trade him all off-season.  Still, McCareins is a decent #3 WR and the Jets are a better team with him on it.  He played in all 16 games (7 starts) last season and he caught 23 passes for 347 yards (15.1 avg) with a TD grab.  It would be better for his career to move on but the Jets will likely keep him now.  He has played in 84 games (51 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 191 passes for 3,032 yards (15.9 avg) with 16 TD grabs and he has carried the football 6 times for 34 yards (5.7 ypc).

Tim Dwight is Mr. Energy wherever he plays but his all-out style usually keeps him from playing all 16 games in a season.  Last year was no different as he played in 9 games and he caught 16 passes for 112 yards (7.0 avg) and he carried the ball 2 times for 28 yards (14.0 avg).  Dwight also returned 14 punts last season for 146 yards (10.4 avg).  Dwight’s career is winding down but don’t look for him to go down without a fight.  He has now played in 110 games in his NFL career and he has caught 188 passes for 2,866 yards (15.2 avg) with 17 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 51 times for 368 yards (7.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Still, Dwight has made most of his money playing special teams in his career.  He has returned 202 kickoffs for 4,723 yards (23.4 avg) with 2 TD returns and he has also returned 176 punts for 1,719 yards (9.8 avg) with 3 TD returns.

Brad Smith is a converted QB who has moved to WR.  He played in 16 games (3 starts) as a rookie and he caught 9 passes for 61 yards (6.8 avg) and he also carried the football 18 times for 103 yards (5.7 ypc).  Smith also returned 1 kickoff for 4 yards.  Look for the Jets to expand his role in the offense a little bit this season.

The Jets are very pleased with the early play of rookie WR Chansi Stuckey.  The Jets stole him late in the draft as he was projected to get selected in the 2nd or 3rd round by most experts.  Stuckey could push Justin McCareins for his roster spot in the pre-season.

Frisman Jackson is a long shot to make the Jets final roster.  He was last seen in a Cleveland Browns uniform in the 2005 season.  He has played in 34 games (0 starts) in the NFL and he has caught 40 passes for 490 yards (12.3 avg) and he has carried the ball once for 4 yards.  Jackson also has returned 8 kickoffs for 143 yards (17.9 avg).

The Jets pulled a Belichick move as they played 2nd stringer Kellen Clemens most of the game at QB and left Chad Pennington on the sideline.  Clemens looked really sharp last night as he completed 16 of 22 passes for 174 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Undrafted rookie Danny Ware from Georgia was a workhorse at running back last night as he carried the football 12 times for 48 yards (4.0 ypc) to lead the Jets in rushing.  Leon Washington was also busy with 9 carries for 30 yards (3.3 ypc).  Thomas Jones made his Jets’ debut and he looked decent carrying the ball 8 times for 27 yards (3.4 ypc) with a TD run.  Last night the Jets showcased a lot of their young WRs and TEs.  Wallace Wright led the team in receptions with 5 for 43 yards (8.6 avg).  TE Sean Ryan is trying to beat out Chris Baker for the starting TE job and he looked good last night catching 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  7th round pick Chansi Stuckey has been the surprise of Training Camp for the Jets and he kept it going last night with 3 grabs for 20 yards and a TD.  Old vet Justin McCareins pitched in with 2 grabs for 49 yards.  The Jets ran the football 40 times for 146 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 16 of 23 passes for 173 yards which explains the 34:19 that they possessed the football.

The Jets played decent on defense but the Falcons are not exactly an offensive juggernaut.  The Falcons ran the ball 23 times for 86 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 19 of 34 passes for 226 yards.  The Jets need to improve a little bit on defense before the regular season starts……but they have time.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270810020

Darian Barnes will be the likely starter at fullback for the Jets this season.  He played in all 16 games (6 starts) last season for the Miami Dolphins and he caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg).  Over his NFL career Barnes has played in 61 games (22 starts) and he has carried the ball 5 times for 10 yards (2.0 ypc) and he has caught 14 passes for 87 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stacy Tutt will back up Barnes and he played in 2 games last season with the Jets but he didn’t touch the football.

Mike Nugent had a tough rookie season but he rebounded in a big way last year.  He made 88.9% of his field goals and 34 of 35 extra points to finish with 106 points last season for the Jets.  Nugent was 18 for 20 on field goals of 39 or less yards and he was 6 for 7 on 40+ yard field goal attempts.  Look for Nugent to have a big year in 2007 now that he’s earned Coach Mangini’s faith.

Nugent has now played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has made 46 of 55 (83.6%) field goals and he has converted 58 of 59 extra points.  He has now scored 196 points in his NFL career for an average of 6.1 points per game.