Thank God there's only one more of these preseason games left.
Brett Favre looked solid in his second start in green and white, the defense registered eight sacks and Brett Ratliff hit Paul Raymond on a pretty 24-yard touchdown pass with 6:08 remaining in the fourth quarter as the
Jets slipped past the Giants 10-7 at the Meadowlands.
This contest didn't exactly set football back 50 years (it was close), but it sure didn't look like either team was ready to begin the regular season. Still, it's better to work out the kinks when the games don't matter. Let's take a quick look at the highlights.
Favre watch. Brett Favre continued to digest the offense and looked fairly comfortable in his second game as a Jet. Favre played the entire first half and led the Gotham Green on four possessions. The Jets stuck mainly with short to intermediate passing plays, but No. 4 did hit Jerricho Cotchery for a 49-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. Unfortunately, that score was nullified by a penalty. Still, a pretty decent night. Favre finished 9 of 12 for 96 yards and was sacked once.
Battle for the clipboard. Kellen Clemens started the third quarter and put together his best game of the preseason. He didn't get the Jets into the end zone, but he did engineer a 17 play, 72 yard drive that ate up 9:18 minutes and ended in a Mike Nugent 24-yard field goal. KC overcame four penalties and converted two fourth downs during the series. Brett Ratliff came in with 2:29 remaining in the third and tossed an interception on a 3rd-and-7 from the Jets 23-yard line. That led to the Giants only score of the game. Clemens came in for the next series, but Ratliff got a chance for redemption with 6:47 in the fourth and the Jets at their own 49-yard line. No. 5 connected with Jason Pociask on a nifty 27-yard gain and then hit Paul Raymond for a 24-yard touchdown. The kid's definitely got guts. Clemens finished 9 of 12 for 83 yards. Ratliff finished 2 of 4 for 51 yards, one touchdown and one interception. I think Clemens will get the No. 2 spot behind Favre, but Ratliff has really opened eyes this summer.
D-fence! A lot of prognosticators are giving the Jets a chance to be competitive based on the arrival of Favre, but the defense will be the real key. And it could be a good season if they play the way they did against the G-Men. Gang Green finished the night with eight sacks and three of them came against the Giants first-stringers. That's a great sign. Calvin Pace recorded two and David Harris had the other. The Jets blitzed a lot in the second half and backup QB David Carr holds on to the ball a loooong time. Still, it was good to see the D get at someone. Pace looked great and Drew Coleman finished with a sack and a pick in the fourth to seal the win.
Too many hankies. There was a lot of yellow flying around the Meadowlands and they weren't canaries. The Jets were called for a mind-boggling 12 penalties, 10 of which came on offense. How bad was it? The Jets had a touchdown taken away because of a penalty and their third quarter started like this: illegal formation, false start and another illegal formation. A 1st-and-10 from their own 22-yard line turned into a 1st-and-25 from the 7-yard line without running a play. Unacceptable -- even for preseason.
MIAs. Shaun Ellis and Laveranues Coles missed another preseason contest. Coles is nursing a leg injury and is also involved in a bit of controversy. For some reason, No. 87 isn't talking to the media. The speculation is that LC is bitter because the Jets waived his buddy Chad Pennington. I don't think that's the case and neither does
Rich Cimini. Coles isn't the easiest guy to figure out. Ellis is still out with a hand injury (I heard a report that it was broken), but supposedly it isn't considered serious. I think both guys will be ready come September.
Back in the saddle. A.J. Schable returned to the playing field after suffering a scary injury in the preseason opener in Cleveland. Schable was immobilized and carted off on a stretcher in that game. Schable sustained a concussion after colliding with Cliff Louis during a kickoff return, but it could have (and looked) much worse. I don't think the backup tight end will make the final cut for the Jets, but it was good to see him back in action.
Injuries. Turns out wide receiver
David Clowney broke his collar bone last week against the Washington Redskins and will be out for a while. It's a shame, Clowney was having a really good preseason.
Justin Miller injured his foot against the Giants, but it looks like he's going to be OK.
Cause for concern? The Jets have looked pretty good in pass protection this preseason, but their rushing attack has been nonexistent. Thomas Jones' longest gain so far this summer has gone for five yards and the team's longest rush was authored by Jesse Chatman and went for only 17 yards. Hope this isn't going to carry into the regular season.
The Jets will take their meaningless 2-1 record into Philadelphia and finish up against the Eagles on Thursday night. Favre is pushing to get in for a series or two, but I don't see that happening. Injuries are always a danger, something
Osi Umenyiora and the Giants learned first-hand after this game. Game 4 is usually played by guys trying to make a last impression on coaches.
And I think everyone is quite familiar with what Favre can do.
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