NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS

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1 NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS September 9, 2014 Table of Contents ASSOCIATED PRESS... 2 Jets 'dominated' Raiders, but need plenty of work (Dennis Waszak)... 2 NEWSDAY... 3 Rex Ryan declines comment on Ray Rice (Kimberley Martin)... 3 Rex Ryan upbeat about Jets' prospects (Kimberley Martin)... 4 THE RECORD... 5 Jets know they need to improve (J.P. Pelzman)... 5 Jets report card: Week 1 vs. Oakland (J.P. Pelzman)... 6 Jets: Cornerbacks' play silences critics (Jeff Roberts)... 7 STAR-LEDGER... 9 WR Saalim Hakim on appearing in Jets' defense: 'I feel like I can play any position they want me to play' (Darryl Slater)... 9 Jets' offensive line pairing of Breno Giacomini, Willie Colon was 'a little slow' in opener vs. Raiders (Darryl Slater) Jets vs. Raiders: Grades from the Jets' season-opening win (Darryl Slater) NEW YORK POST Jets rewind: Undefeated and way too sloppy (Brian Costello) Angry Jets didn t do too good and still won (Brian Costello) Why we re about to find out how good the Jets are (Mark Cannizzaro) With Vick in waiting, Geno Smith refusing to slip up (Brian Costello) NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Rex Ryan believes Geno Smith is heading in right direction to become NY Jets franchise quarterback (Seth Walder) Mike Vick says 'there's no room for that' about Ray Rice while NY Jets coach Rex Ryan stays silent (Mitch Abramson, Seth Walder) NY Jets must make most of Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory to have chance to beat Packers (Manish Mehta) NEW YORK TIMES Packers May Be Less Forgiving of Jets Miscues (Ben Shpigel) WALL STREET JOURNAL Offense Puts 2014 Jets in History Books (Michael Salfino) If Geno Smith Is Going to Play This Well, He Must Protect Himself (Alex Raskin) ESPN NEW YORK Things we learned about the Jets (Rich Cimini) P a g e

2 Eric Decker: 'Rooting for other team' (Mike Mazzeo) Good Geno vs. Bad Geno (Rich Cimini) Jets must improve red-zone performance (Rich Cimini) METRO NEW YORK MetLife Stadium plays major role in Jets Week 1 win (Kristian Dyer) NJ.COM Jets studs and duds vs. Raiders: Geno Smith, Antonio Allen, Willie Colon (Dom Cosentino) To slide or not to slide? Jets want Geno Smith to run, but also to be careful (Dom Cosentino) MONDAY S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATED PRESS Jets 'dominated' Raiders, but need plenty of work (Dennis Waszak) Associated Press FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -- The New York Jets were not really in the mood to celebrate their seasonopening win over the Oakland Raiders. Sure, Rex Ryan was happy to be 1-0 and saw some positives. He also knows the Jets should've cruised instead of holding on for a victory Sunday. ''There are a lot of things that we need to get better at,'' Ryan said Monday. ''You're in a great spot, especially when you're coming off a victory that if we get these things cleared up, how much better it could've been and not leaving ourselves vulnerable like that.'' The Jets were called for 11 penalties, quarterback Geno Smith had two turnovers and there were handful of missed opportunities. Those mistakes stuck out in what should have been an easy win, particularly when the Jets outgained the Raiders , including outrushing them New York also held the ball for nearly 10 minutes more than Oakland. ''Quite honestly, you watch the tape, we dominated the game,'' Ryan said. ''I mean, it's almost 3-to-1 in yardage, dominated up front and I think that's where it started. The quarterback, there are so many positive things when I look at Geno.'' That's why it was a bit frustrating to the Jets that they allowed the Raiders to stick around. If not for Greg Salas recovering an onside kick with 1:21 left, Oakland would have had a chance for a last-minute winning score. That would have brought about lots of doomsday remarks, especially with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers up next and coming off a loss to Seattle. Next Sunday's road game kicks off a particularly rough stretch in which the Jets take on some highpowered offenses, including Chicago, Detroit, San Diego, Denver and New England. ''I think we also have lots of room for improvement,'' Smith said, ''as we all can see.'' Getting just one TD in four trips to the red zone was at the top of the list for Smith. 2 P a g e

3 ''That's not up to our standards,'' he said. ''We want to do a lot better there. So just picking up everything, concentrating a little extra harder to clean up those penalties. Then, ball security is always the main focus.'' Smith had a mostly good game, finishing 23 of 28 for 221 yards with a touchdown and an interception - which came on a terrific diving play by Charles Woodson that helped set up the Raiders' first touchdown. His 82.1 completion rate was third-best in team history. ''The thing about Geno is he's poised,'' Ryan said. ''He's like, 'All right, let's go.' It doesn't affect him the next play. He'll try to learn from it. He'll try to protect it. I see the arrow going up on him. ''I'm so encouraged by him.'' The second-year quarterback lost a fumble on a play near the goal line in the second quarter. He also took an ill-advised sack that lost the Jets 19 yards early in the fourth quarter and knocked them out of fieldgoal range. ''All of those things were detrimental to our offense and were a direct result of us only scoring 19 points,'' Smith said. The 11 penalties were a bit alarming, especially with seven coming in the first two quarters. Guard Willie Colon was called for three: a hold in the first quarter, a false start in the second and a facemask in the third. ''I was upset, I was embarrassed by it,'' Colon said. ''But I've got to clean it up.'' On the bright side, the Jets' makeshift secondary was an overwhelming positive. They started a career backup in Darrin Walls and safety Antonio Allen at cornerback against the Raiders. For Allen, it was his first career start at the position, but both held their own and made some impressive open-field tackles. ''Shoot, I know we've got major issues there,'' Ryan said sarcastically. ''We've been talking about it forever, but you never heard me talk about it. For me, the game went how we thought it would (with the cornerbacks) and how we wanted it to.'' NOTES: Ryan ''absolutely'' hopes CB Dee Milliner, recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered Aug. 10, can play Sunday at Green Bay.... The Jets had just one injury of note: backup LB A.J. Edds hurt a hamstring.... Ryan on lining OLB/DE Quinton Coples out wide to chip a receiver seven or eight times: ''There are more ways to skin a cat,'' a smiling Ryan said. ''I've been trying to tell you guys for a while. It's not the first time I have ever done that.'' The Jets also used WR Saalim Hakim on defense, once as a blitzer and another time dropping him into coverage. NEWSDAY Rex Ryan declines comment on Ray Rice (Kimberley Martin) Newsday FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Rex Ryan steered clear of the Ray Rice incident, which culminated in the former Rutgers running back being suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday. The Ravens terminated Rice's contract hours after a video surfaced on TMZ.com showing him knocking out his then-fiancée during a February argument inside an elevator at an Atlantic City hotel. 3 P a g e

4 Ryan said he didn't see the video but acknowledged he knows Rice from his time as the Ravens' defensive coordinator. Ryan declined to speak about the incident or offer his take on domestic violence. VIDEO: Rice responds REACTIONS: Players react on Twitter OPINION: Only one real issue to talk about "I think the questions are better suited for Baltimore than me," he said. Browns coach Mike Pettine -- Ryan's former defensive assistant in Baltimore and the Jets' previous defensive coordinator -- did talk about it. He said he understands why the Ravens released Rice. "Deeply disturbing, especially as a father that has two daughters," Pettine said of the video. "There's just no place for that behavior in our society." Pettine also said it would be difficult to coach Rice after watching him hit a woman. "I wasn't surprised [the Ravens cut him] after watching it," he said. Jet streams Ryan said he hopes cornerback Dee Milliner (high ankle sprain) can suit up Sunday in Green Bay... Speaking of the secondary, Ryan still is miffed about the criticisms of his unit. "Shoot, I know we've got major issues there," he said sarcastically. "It's been talked about forever. But you never heard me talk about it. To me, the [Raiders] game went how we thought it would and how we wanted it to go. We emphasized to our DBs how we had to make sure we protected the vertical passing game and I thought our guys did a great job."... Asked about using return man Saalim Hakim as a blitzer and lining up linebacker Quinton Coples over receivers seven or eight times, Ryan joked: "There are more ways to skin a cat. I've been trying to tell you guys for a while." Rex Ryan upbeat about Jets' prospects (Kimberley Martin) Newsday FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Rex Ryan was full of optimism as he stood behind the lectern Monday, rattling off reasons to be encouraged by his work-in-progress Jets. It was a departure from his surly disposition Sunday, when he harped on the missed opportunities in a season-opening win over the Raiders. "Quite honestly, you watch the tape, we dominated the game,'' he said Monday, referring to a edge in total yards, including on the ground. Although the score didn't mirror the lopsided stat sheet, Ryan and his players believe they're on the verge of being a really good team as long as they eliminate mental mistakes. "We're optimistic about what we can do,'' guard Willie Colon said. "We know we have a great offense. Geno [Smith] is going to get better, we're all going to get better. "That's what motivates us. If we eliminate the penalties and eliminate the turnovers, the sky's the limit. We can do some good things.'' 4 P a g e

5 Ryan seemed most encouraged by the play of Smith, who completed 23 of 28 passes (82.1 percent) for 221 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception and lost a fumble inside the Raiders' 5-yard line. "I don't know how many times that's happened,'' Ryan said of his quarterback's accuracy. "But I can't remember that happening with me being a head coach, anyway. "Nobody's perfect. You make mistakes no matter how long you play the game. But he's learning. And the thing about Geno is, he's poised. Man, I see the arrow going up on him. I'm so encouraged by him.'' The Jets rattled rookie quarterback Derek Carr, and Chris Ivory (71-yard touchdown run) and Chris Johnson (13 carries, 68 yards) got their ground game going. But the Jets also committed 11 penalties for 105 yards and failed to record any takeaways, and if they do that again Sunday in Green Bay, it will be more difficult to overcome. "The next week's going to be a battle, man,'' linebacker Calvin Pace said. "That's a good team,'' added Colon, who committed three penalties. "They're always in the playoffs. We know their history, we know their resume. It's up to us to play top-notch ball.'' Ryan praised the play of his defense and his much-maligned secondary. But when asked if he's as confident about his secondary going up against the Packers, he smiled and said: "No, 'cause I haven't seen the tape yet. Aaron Rodgers can make anybody look bad. "It's certainly going to be a different type of challenge. But I think whoever we'll have out there will play well.'' Smith acknowledged his mistakes and said the Jets have to improve their red-zone efficiency. He spoke of the Charles Woodson interception ("I think I may have been trusting my arm a little too much''), his fumble that Oakland recovered and his fourth-quarter sack that pushed the Jets out of field-goal range with a 13-7 lead. But despite their miscues, Ryan & Co. feel good about where they can go -- if they allow themselves to get there. "I think you take away what we can be, what we're capable of being,'' David Nelson said Sunday. "But it's a sobering fact that we also have to realize what we can do to ourselves.'' THE RECORD Jets know they need to improve (J.P. Pelzman) The Record September 9, FLORHAM PARK One day later, Greg Salas still was ruing the one that got away. But at least for the Jets, that was not a team-wide theme. But it was close. Salas' dropped pass in the end zone was one of numerous mistakes that kept the Jets from putting up a victory more impressive than the win they eked out over Oakland on Sunday. And the Jets know they won't be able to afford such errors when they visit high-powered Green Bay on Sunday. The Packers, favored by many people to win the NFC North, have three extra days to prepare for their home opener after losing at Seattle on Thursday. 5 P a g e

6 "There's a lot of things that we need to get better at," coach Rex Ryan said Monday. Quarterback Geno Smith had two costly turnovers: one that deprived the Jets of at least a chip-shot fieldgoal attempt, and another that set up the Raiders' first touchdown. The Jets also had 11 penalties for 105 yards. They also cost themselves a touchdown when a wide-open Salas dropped a sure scoring pass from Smith in the first quarter. Although the ball was a bit high, Salas said, "I've got to make that catch for Geno. He threw a perfect ball. That's totally on me 100 percent. You got to reward Geno for making throws like that. I've got to do a better job, and I will next time." Salas ultimately sealed the too-close-for-comfort victory by perfectly fielding Oakland's onside kick after its second touchdown, allowing the Jets to run out the clock. "Untimely errors on our part really cost us a lot of points," Salas said. "We went over the corrections and we'll be better next week." They'll have to be in order to win Sunday, and Smith certainly knows that. "I think we also have lots of room for improvement," Smith said, "as we all can see." Smith's lost second-quarter fumble at the Oakland 4, plus a drive-killing sack he took for a 19-yard loss in the fourth quarter, were two reasons why the Jets scored only one touchdown in four trips to the red zone. "That's not up to our standards," Smith said. "We want to do a lot better there. So [it's a matter of] just picking up everything, concentrating a little extra harder to clean up those penalties. Then, ball security is always the main focus." Of the 11 penalties, three were whistled against right guard Willie Colon. He was called for holding in the first quarter, a false start in the second period and grabbing a facemask in the third quarter. The facemask pushed the Jets back 15 yards after they had a first down at the Oakland 18. "I was upset, I was embarrassed by it," Colon said of the penalties. "But I've got to clean it up." As for the offense, Colon said, "If we eliminate the penalties and we eliminate the turnovers, the sky's the limit." BRIEFS: Ryan lined up OLB Quinton Coples at cornerback on several occasions to get a body on a receiver and redirect his route, which was one of the ways Ryan tried to help his decimated secondary. "There are more ways to skin a cat," Ryan said with a smile. "I've been trying to tell you guys for a while. It's not the first time I have ever done that." WR-KR Saalim Hakim was used as a defensive back, including once on a blitz. "He has some defensive abilities and we're just going to utilize" that, Ryan said. Ryan said there was only one significant injury for the Jets during the game. Reserve linebacker A.J. Edds hurt a hamstring. Jets report card: Week 1 vs. Oakland (J.P. Pelzman) The Record September 9, Rushing offense: A 6 P a g e

7 The Jets were effective running the ball throughout Sunday's game, and the contrasting styles of veterans Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson will give opponents something to think about. Johnson (68 yards) was quick to get to holes, and Ivory's 71-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter helped put the game away. Geno Smith's 12-yard scramble led to a third-quarter field goal, but he also lost a fumble at the Oakland 4. Passing offense: B-plus Smith was an efficient 23-for-28 for 221 yards, but his one INT set up the Raiders' first TD. He also took a sack that moved the Jets out of field-goal range in the fourth period. Newcomer Eric Decker had team highs in receptions (five) and yards (74), but Greg Salas dropped a catchable ball in the end zone in the first quarter. Rushing defense: A-plus Oakland couldn't run the ball to take pressure off rookie QB Derek Carr, finishing with a measly 25 yards. OLB Quinton Coples manhandled Maurice Jones-Drew on the first play of the second half, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Carr for an 11-yard loss. Passing defense: B Carr averaged only 4.7 yards per pass attempt as a ferocious pass rush forced him to hurry his throws and focus on short patterns, instead of trying to exploit the Jets' inexperienced corners with deep balls. CB Darrin Walls, making his fifth start as a pro, had excellent coverage on James Jones' 30-yard TD. Jones made a spectacular catch. Special teams: B-plus Saalim Hakim's 44-yard return of the opening kickoff led to Nick Folk's 45-yard field goal. Folk was 2-for- 2, also connecting from 42 yards. P Ryan Quigley looked solid with a net of 38.8 yards and two punts inside the Oakland 15. Rookie punt returner Jalen Saunders had five fair catches, but at least he handled every kick flawlessly. He averaged 7.5 yards on two returns. Coaching: B-plus Coach Rex Ryan was quite creative on defense, using Coples at CB a few times to jam receivers and utilizing the speedy Hakim, a WR by trade, as a blitzing CB on one play. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg got a bit too cute at times, especially inside the 5. But his call on the third-down shovel pass that resulted in Smith's TD flip to Johnson was an inspired one, as it took advantage of the inside charge of former Giant Justin Tuck. Jets: Cornerbacks' play silences critics (Jeff Roberts) The Record EAST RUTHERFORD Darrin Walls heard all the talk. He was nothing but a career backup. Antonio Allen was a safety, not a cornerback. And the Jets covermen were ripe for the taking. But that doesn t mean he and Allen listened. They silenced their critics Sunday in the Jets victory over the Oakland Raiders in the season opener at MetLife Stadium. 7 P a g e

8 The maligned starting cornerbacks stepped up in the absence of the injured Dee Milliner and following Dimitri Patterson s release, limiting Oakland quarterback Derek Carr to 151 passing yards and 3.9 per pass in his NFL debut. Allen admitted he "was little nervous" before his first career start at corner. But he and Walls defended well. They tackled well. And they sent a message. "We take it as a challenge," Walls said. "I think it gives us a little bit to play with as far as they doubt us, they don t think we re any good. "We don t listen to what other people have to say." Yes, Carr was playing in his first pro game. Yes, the Oakland receiving corps is average. And yes, the Jets front seven dominated the Raiders, resulting in a confused Carr (20-for-32, two touchdowns and zero interceptions mostly thanks to a series of short, underneath throws early in the game). But the Jets "under-the-radar guys" as Walls called them allowed only 90 passing yards until the Raiders garbage-time final drive against a prevent defense. And they mostly did it in one-on-one coverage. "There were a couple times we had them clamped down, and the quarterback was back there struggling looking for guys," Allen said. Not everything was perfect of course. The final Oakland drive ended with a spectacular, one-handed, 30-yard touchdown catch by James Jones over Walls with 1:21 remaining. The other Raiders touchdown came on a first-quarter pass to Rod Streater when Walls was picked by Jones on a 12-yard score. "Those guys stepped up big," said safety Calvin Pryor, who dropped a likely pick-six interception near midfield in his debut. Raiders coach Dennis Allen admitted Oakland had some deep passes planned but to no avail. "[We] couldn t get the ball down the field," he said. Jets coach Rex Ryan tweaked the media s harping on his cornerbacks this week. "I thought they played better than most thought they would," he said. There was more to their performance than coverage. Allen, 25, made three open-field tackles in the fourth quarter, stopping receivers from gaining yards after the catch. Two came on third down. "This just in: [Number] 39 is a decent tackler," Ryan said. But things only get harder. The Jets will face Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Matt Stafford and Jay Cutler this season. Sunday, they travel to Green Bay to face Aaron Rodgers. The status of Milliner (high ankle sprain) remains unclear. 8 P a g e

9 "He s a great quarterback," said Walls, 26. "But it s another game for us. We get another opportunity to show the world what we have." And maybe they won t have to hear how bad they are. "Right," said Allen, a smile creasing his face. "But I think we ll have to do it again. You got to do it every day. Every week." They certainly will have to if the Jets want to beat Green Bay. STAR-LEDGER WR Saalim Hakim on appearing in Jets' defense: 'I feel like I can play any position they want me to play' (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger e_i_can_play_any_position_they_want_me_to_pla.html FLORHAM PARK Sometime before the Jets season opener Sunday against the Raiders, coach Rex Ryan watched Saalim Hakim cover kickoffs in practice. Ryan s mind started to churn with ideas about how he might be able to utilize the speed and tackling ability of this player on the fringe of the roster. We can use this guy some on defense, Ryan thought. The Jets retained Hakim, a wide receiver, primarily to serve as their kickoff returner and gunner on punt coverage. Hakim, who entered the NFL in 2012, had just two touches in a regular season game before Sunday. Both came last year, when he had two rushes in three games with the Jets. Hakim on Sunday returned two kickoffs, including the opening kickoff of the season for 44 yards. Ryan also followed through on his preseason idea and used Hakim for two snaps on defense, in the Jets nickel package. Hakim had not played defense since 2007, his senior year in high school the first year he ever played organized football. Hakim was a safety back then. He lined up in a safety/nickel back role during his two snaps Sunday. On one of them, he blitzed rookie quarterback Derek Carr, but Carr was able to get the ball away, for an incomplete pass. On Hakim s second defensive snap, he immediately ran back into the deep part of the field, in case a pass went there. On Hakim s blitz play, he lined up to Carr s right, in the slot area. It was third-and-25 at the Oakland 26- yard line, on the Raiders first drive of the second half. In the image below, look for No. 15 in the white jersey, at about the 25-yard line. (We have circled Hakim in red, to help you spot him.) Hakim was able to get into the backfield unblocked, but running back Darren McFadden stuffed him before he could reach Carr. Still, Hakim enjoyed his experience. It felt good, trying to get me a sack, he said. But the play frustrated Ryan because it didn t unfold like he envisioned. The bad thing is, if we run the blitz right, golly, Ryan said Monday, shaking his head. It just bothers me because it was one of those things that kind of set up in the preseason and I was like, Ah, if we get him on this one. And we don t run the darn thing right. 9 P a g e

10 Saalim is supposed to be the last guy through (on the blitz), not the second guy through. And if he is (the last guy through), and if we had another player run the thing right, nobody would ve seen him. He would ve been wide open on it. It s unfortunate because he was ready. He runs a 4.2 (in the 40-yard dash). He would ve been on top of (Carr) before he even knew what happened. Hakim returned to the nickel package in the fourth quarter, on third-and-11 from the Raiders 19. He again lined up in the slot area, this time to Carr s left. But this time, Hakim turned and ran deep, right after the ball was snapped, to defend a potential long pass toward the middle of the field. Just in case they try to throw it deep, I m going to go intercept it, Hakim said. Carr did throw to Hakim s side, but it was an 8-yard completion that cornerback Antonio Allen handled tackling duties on. (Hakim) has some defensive abilities, and we were just going to utilize it, Ryan said. There had been a lot of uncertainty about the Jets secondary, particularly their cornerbacks. Ryan responded not only by saying he wasn t concerned about the secondary, but also by adding a couple wrinkles to keep the Raiders honest. A bigger wrinkle quite literally came in the form of rush outside linebacker Quinton Coples, who moved into a cornerback role a couple times, in order to chip a receiver as he came off the line of scrimmage. It was a creative attempt by Ryan to slow down the Raiders receivers, and help out his team s cornerbacks. But it was not unprecedented. There s more ways to skin a cat, Ryan said with a Cheshire grin. That s what I ve been trying to tell you guys (reporters) for a while. It s not the first time I ve ever done that. I ve had guys with similar ability go out there and jam receivers. We re not just going to line up there and play the coverage you want us to. Ryan said he probably called the Coples cornerback package seven or eight times Sunday, but indicated the Jets did not need it every time. It depends on really what your (offensive) formation was, Ryan said. Part of that call (is) based on a certain formation or group that he ll be out there. It was probably called at least that many times, but based on what you give us, sometimes we don t need it out there. While Coples was a lock to make the roster, Hakim had to fight his way onto it, with his special teams ability. (He does not figure to be a major part of the Jets passing game this season.) Hakim said before the season that he would do anything the Jets coaches wanted him to do. I do it all, he said of his versatility. After Sunday s game, Hakim sounded a bit surprised that someone noticed him out there for those two defensive snaps. You seen it? he said. I told you, I m here to do whatever they want me to do. Hakim indicated that Ryan installed his defensive plays last week in practice, though it sounds like the idea was in Ryan s head before then. We ve got different things that I m going to do, Hakim said. Hakim s response when Ryan told him he was going to play on defense? I was like, Yes, sir. Let s go, Hakim said. I feel like I can play any position they want me to play, so I m going to go with the flow. 10 P a g e

11 Jets' offensive line pairing of Breno Giacomini, Willie Colon was 'a little slow' in opener vs. Raiders (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger n_was_a_little_slow_in_opener_vs_raiders.html FLORHAM PARK Willie Colon looked into the camera and started asking questions. It was Monday afternoon in the Jets locker room, a day after a season-opening win over the Raiders. Colon was working on a video package for the Jets website, for which he was about to interview Breno Giacomini. The piece apparently had something to do with advice about going to college, or memories of college. Colon and Giacomini got to talking, with Colon recounting how his microwave in college had its own flavor, because he never cleaned it. Put pizza in the thing, and it would come out smelling like chicken, Colon said. He and Giacomini had a good laugh during the interview, which lasted a couple minutes. The offensive line mates clearly get along well. They are both outgoing, talkative guys. Colon has the sort of candor and charisma that would play well on television in an analyst role, after he retires. (Colon is 31.) But on the field, the Jets right guard, Colon, and new right tackle, Giacomini, are still developing a rapport. After watching film of Jets-Raiders, Giacomini had mixed reviews for how the right side of the Jets line played. It was a little slow, he said. We ve got to get better on tons of stuff. Penalties crushed us early. But the double teams (blocks) were there. They re getting better. We ve just got to keep working with each other. Communication is there, so that s good right now, right away. Now it s just: How is this guy going to play this, versus this? Among Colon s detailed tendencies that Giacomini is trying to pick up: Where he lines up when we go on a silent count, Giacomini said. On the Jets first drive, Giacomini was called for a false start and Colon drew a holding penalty. Colon got flagged for a false start in the second quarter, and then a face mask in the third quarter. One reason Giacomini and Colon are still trying to familiarize themselves with each other: Colon didn t get to work with Giacomini until training camp, because Colon had arthroscopic surgery on his knee in the offseason. Even after Colon returned, the Jets worked Oday Aboushi their universal backup guard with the starters, in order to get Aboushi work and give Colon s knee some rest. The downside to this is that Giacomini and Colon got to spend less time alongside each other during practice. It s good to rotate guys in on the offensive line, just in case something does happen, Giacomini said. But the more reps you get with somebody (who you are actually going to play alongside), the better it is. You know how it is. O-line play, it can be tough, especially when we didn t have a full offseason together. Colon said developing a rapport with Giacomini is just a feel thing. I ve been in and out because of my knee, and it s just us growing chemistry, getting better. It s just going to take time, but we re working at it. Colon knew, even back when he first started practicing during training camp, it would take some time to get clicking with Giacomini. The Jets use of double-team blocks on power run plays something Giacomini rarely did in Seattle was going to be one significant hurdle the duo would have to overcome. 11 P a g e

12 But by the end of camp, assistant offensive line coach Ron Heller was comfortable enough with the Giacomini-Colon pairing that he could say they look like they ve been playing together for quite a while. After Ryan watched the film, he said Giacomini, the Jets only new starter on the offensive line, had a great game. Obviously, Ryan noted, he could not say the same about Colon, because of the penalties. I know it bothered him big-time, Ryan said. Colon s three penalties reminded Ryan of the start to 2013 season. Colon got off to a slow start with penalties. He had three in the first two games, four in the first three games, five in the first four games and six in the first six games. Then he had another in Week 7. After that, he had just five penalties for the rest of the season. Colon finished the season with 11 penalties (because one of those aforementioned 12 was declined) and he tied for second in the NFL in penalties, largely because of his slow start in that area. To start the season, we had a few too many penalties and then we got better, Ryan said. In particular, Willie did. His hands were inside. Sometimes, when your hands are outside, those things happen. We ve just got to do a little better job. Getting your hands outside of a defender s shoulder pads is the quickest way to get called for holding. Colon already has one holding call this year. Last season, he had four in Weeks 3, 6, 11 and 17. Colon was called for holding eight times in Giacomini is looking forward to eventually getting such a solid rapport with Colon that speaking isn t even necessary, though neither guy minds talking at all. Still, Giacomini would love to get to the point where we can just look at each other, and we know what we re talking about. That comes with a lot of experience together, though. So we ll see how it goes. But it s Week 1. It s early. All we ve got to do is work. We ve got to get a lot better. I m not saying that we played bad, but it looked like a Week 1 film. Said Ryan: They re two physical guys. When all of it comes together, I think that ll be an outstanding right side. I don t think there s any doubt about it. Jets vs. Raiders: Grades from the Jets' season-opening win (Darryl Slater) Star-Ledger The Jets on Sunday opened the season with a win over the Raiders the expected win-loss result for the Jets, even though they looked sloppier than coach Rex Ryan would have liked, on their way to 1-0. Some of that is to be expected in a season opener. But not much of that sloppiness will work in the next six games, when the Jets play the Packers, Bears, Lions, Chargers, Broncos and Patriots. That tough stretch starts next Sunday with a trip to Green Bay. But before the Jets pack their backs and head to the Land of Cheese and Brats, here is how we grade their Week 1 victory over the Raiders: OFFENSE Geno Smith threw an interception (to the ageless Charles Woodson), lost a fumble at the Raiders 4-yard line, and then had another fumble that he recovered. But he also made a quick decision on 5-yard touchdown shovel pass to Chris Johnson, as Justin Tuck was roaring toward Smith on a blitz. Smith 12 P a g e

13 completed 23 of 28 passes for 221 yards. One of those five incomplete passes would have been a 27-yard touchdown to Greg Salas, but Salas dropped it in the end zone on the game s opening drive. So it was a day of mixed results for Smith, whose aggressiveness while running is admirable, though he needs to slide more often, lest he get himself seriously injured. The Jets moved the ball well. They gained 402 yards. They eclipsed 400 just twice last year, twice in 2012 and once in Penalties limited their progress toward the end zone, though. On their first drive, they had first-and-10 at Oakland s 17 and right guard Willie Colon was promptly called for holding. Colon accumulated three penalties Sunday for 30 yards. In the third quarter, the Jets had first-and-10 at Oakland s 18 and Colon again backed them up, this time 15 yards, with a face mask penalty. The Jets settled for a field goal on this drive. Smith foolishly took them out of field goal range early in the fourth quarter, when he took a sack for a loss of 19 yards on third-and-3 at Oakland s 20, after the Jets had first-and-10 at the 27. The Jets had to punt on this possession. When the Jets finally broke through and put the game away on Chris Ivory s 71-yard touchdown run with 8:03 left they didn t need to use their red-zone offense. Maybe that was a good thing. Oh, and Ivory is still quite good at breaking tackles just beyond the line of scrimmage, as he showed on that touchdown run, when he also juked a couple defenders. GRADE: B+ DEFENSE The numbers were impressive. The Jets limited the Raiders to 158 yards and 25 rushing yards. In Ryan s first two seasons, 2009 and 2010, the Jets had six and three games, respectively, in which they held an opponent to fewer than 200 yards. Since then, they had done it just once in 2012, when the Cardinals gained 137 against them. The Raiders had just 85 yards before their final drive of the game, on which they scored a touchdown. The Jets blitzes forced Oakland rookie quarterback Derek Carr to get the ball out quickly though that was probably part of the Raiders game plan going in, too. That approach meant the Jets inexperienced cornerbacks were not tested often with deep balls. Carr threw no interceptions, but he probably should have thrown two. Kyle Wilson and Calvin Pryor each dropped a pick and Pryor s probably would ve been returned for a touchdown. The Jets spent all offseason focusing on getting more turnovers on defense. Last season, the Jets gained just 15 turnovers, which was second-fewest in the league to Houston s 11. The Jets in 2013 recovered just two fumbles. On Sunday against the Raiders, not only did the Jets drop two picks, but they also forced a fumble and could not recover it after a fluky play on which Maurice Jones-Drew almost had his head taken off by Quinton Coples in the backfield, lost the ball and saw it bounce off his foot as he fell backwards. The ball flew straight backwards, and Carr grabbed it. GRADE: A- SPECIAL TEAMS Rookie Jalen Saunders returned two punts for 15 yards, with a long of 12, and had no glaring mistakes. Saalim Hakim brought back two kickoffs, including the opening kickoff for 44 yards, which led to a field goal drive. Nick Folk continues to be precise on his field goals. He made his only attempts from 42 and 45 yards. Ryan Quigley s punt average for this game (just 38.8 yards on five punts) was hurt by him punting a 36-yarder from the Jets 23 in the second quarter. But on his final punt, he booted a 52-yarder, from the Jets 28 to Oakland s 28. The Raiders returned just one punt, for 7 yards. They did have a 38-yard kickoff 13 P a g e

14 return to begin the second half, but the ensuing drive resulted in no points. A solid start for the Jets special teams, an area they said all offseason that they wanted to upgrade in GRADE: B+ COACHING Rex Ryan did a nice job of mixing up blitzes to confuse Carr. For instance, on the Raiders second drive of the second half, they had third-and-7 at their own 16. Safety Dawan Landry lined up just off the line, but offset, in the slot area. As the ball was snapped, he scooted in toward the middle of the defense, still behind the line. Landry burst up the middle on a blitz, untouched and unaccounted for. Carr seemed to be looking to perhaps throw deep on this play. But Landry sacked him for a loss of 11 yards, forcing a Raiders punt that led to good field position for the Jets (their own 48) and a field goal drive that extended their lead to Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg got a little cute with his use of backup quarterback Michael Vick in the first half. Vick played three snaps. His lone pass seemed a particularly ill-advised play call. It was second-and-4 from the Oakland 5. Instead of running the ball with Johnson or Chris Ivory, Mornhinweg sent in Vick. Johnson took the direct snap. Vick and Smith lined up in the slots to either side of Johnson, who handed off to Vick when he motioned back into the backfield. Vick s throw to the end zone for Eric Decker sailed long. But on the next play, Smith shovel-passed a touchdown to Johnson. Smith s running continues to be part of the Jets game plan. He ran 10 times for 38 yards, with a long of 17. That is a lot of time in the open field, exposed to hostile defenders. If Mornhinweg is going to continue to call this many runs for Smith or, at least, plays on which he has the option to run then a lesson in sliding is in order. GRADE: B+ OVERALL Not a perfect start, by any means, but the Jets did what they were supposed to do on Sunday, by beating the lowly Raiders. That said, this game should not have been as close as it was. The Jets have a lot of things to clean up between now and next Sunday, if they want to escape Lambeau Field with a victory. These next six games will define the first half of their season. If they eliminate the dropped pass, dropped interceptions, turnovers and penalties that hamstrung them Sunday and continue to move the ball like they did, while preventing the opponent from gaining much ground at all then they stand a fighting in chance in each and every one of these next six games. If not, it could be a long start to autumn for Ryan and Co. GRADE: B+ NEW YORK POST Jets rewind: Undefeated and way too sloppy (Brian Costello) New York Post The Jets notched an ugly win over the Raiders to open the season on Sunday. Here are a few thoughts on the game: 14 P a g e

15 1. There were some troubling signs of last year in this game. The penalties (11), turnover margin (-2) and failure to blow out an inferior opponent all reminded me of the issues that surrounded the 2013 team. The Jets had 108 penalties last year, tied for 12th most in the league, but they had some games where penalties really hurt them. That was the case again Sunday. The Jets took themselves out of some drives with stupid penalties. Now, some were questionable calls, and this seems to be a trend around the league. But Willie Colon can t get three penalties. Colon led the team last year with 12 and now he is lined up next to Breno Giacomini, who picked up his own penalty on Sunday. In the turnover department, I thought the more troubling development for the Jets was not Geno Smith s two turnovers (one a fantastic play by Charles Woodson), but the defense s failure to force any turnovers. The Jets finished -13 in turnover differential last year only the terrible Texans were worse. They only had 15 takeaways, and just two were fumble recoveries. The Jets have stressed creating turnovers in practice, but did not come up with any Sunday. The game plan helped Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr, but Calvin Pryor and Kyle Wilson both dropped interceptions. Finally, there is the point differential problem. The Jets won this game by five points when it felt like it should have been 35. Last year, the Jets biggest win was by 13 points. Five of their eight wins were by a touchdown or less. Sunday s game was a recipe for a blowout. Rookie quarterback, bad team, West Coast team traveling East, home opener but the Jets let the Raiders hang around all day. If the Jets are as good as they say they are, these games should be laughers. You have to go back to October 2012, when the Jets beat the Colts 35-9, to find their last easy win. Now, it s just one game. But these were trends in 2013 the team does not want to carry over into There was a lot to like about the way quarterback Geno Smith played. The biggest development, though, was his accuracy. He completed 82.1 percent of his passes (23-of-28), the highest mark of his career. Smith s completion percentage was 55.2 last year as a rookie. The Jets did not really open things up with Smith. He only took a few shots downfield, but it was still an impressive number. It s the highest percentage by a Jets quarterback since Chad Pennington completed 82.1 percent of his passes against the Bills on Sept. 30, Smith completed his final 11 attempts, the longest stretch of his career. He had eight straight completions in the second half, matching Pennington (Dec. 1, 2003 vs. Titans) and Neil O Donnell (Aug. 31, 1997 at Seahawks) for the most second-half completions without an incompletion in team history. 3. The red-zone offense needs some work. Part of the problem was play-calling from Marty Mornhinweg, part was on execution and part was on bad penalties. The result: 11 plays, negative-38 yards with two penalties, two sacks, a touchdown and a turnover. Here is a look at each play: First quarter (11:56): Third-and-1 on the 20, Chris Ivory 3 yards to the 17 First quarter (11:24): First-and-10 on the 17, Willie Colon penalized 10 yards for holding Second quarter (11:56): First-and-3 at the 3, Chris Johnson 0 yards to the 3 Second quarter (11:16): Second-and-3 at the 3, Geno Smith fumbles, recovered by Raiders Second quarter (1:46): Second-and-2 at the 15, Smith scrambles 4 yards to the 11 Second quarter (1:08): First-and-10 at the 11, Smith pass to Jeremy Kerley for 6 yards to the 5 Second quarter (:39): Second-and-4 at the 5, direct snap to Johnson, pitch to Micheal Vick, incomplete pass to Eric Decker 15 P a g e

16 Second quarter (:31): Third-and-4 at the 5, Smith shovel pass to Johnson for a touchdown Third quarter (5:17): First-and-10 at the 18, Willie Colon penalized 15 yards for a face mask Third quarter (3:29): Third-and-4 at the 12, Smith sacked for a loss of 12 yards Fourth quarter (10:15): Third-and-3 at the 20, Smith sacked for a loss of 19 yards 4. We got our first glimpse at how the Jets would divide up the carries among the running backs. It was nearly an even split for Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson. Johnson started and was in for 33 snaps. Ivory had 30 snaps. Each scored a touchdown, Johnson s on a shovel pass. Bilal Powell only had 15 snaps. The Jets ran a three-running back set several times, using a read-option package out of that look. The combination looks formidable. Ivory finished with 102 yards, 71 on his touchdown run. Johnson had 68 yards rushing plus 23 receiving. Revealing number: The Jets had 105 penalty yards in the game. The Raiders had 85 until their touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Game ball: The defensive line was incredible. The Raiders had nowhere to run. Oakland finished with 25 yards rushing as Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison, Sheldon Richardson, Calvin Pace and Quinton Coples kept them bottled up. It was a key to the game, forcing the Raiders to rely on Carr. Most surprising snap count: Rookie TE Jace Amaro got just 21 snaps (30 percent). Jeff Cumberland took the majority of plays at tight end 55 (79 percent). Could it be the Jets are still worried about his run-blocking ability? It s hard to tell. According to Pro Football Focus (which had him at 22 plays), he was in for nine run plays and was asked to block on three pass plays. It will be interesting to see if this number rises as the season goes on. Angry Jets didn t do too good and still won (Brian Costello) New York Post September 9, The Jets spent much of their film review Monday talking about flags, after drawing 11 of them in Sunday s win over the Raiders. The Jets looked at the victory and thought about what might have been if they did not make so many mistakes. If we re not beating ourselves, that game could have been over a long time ago, guard Willie Colon said. We kept them in the game with the penalties and the turnovers. We just have to play assignment, detailed football and no penalties. That s the key. Colon was the worst offender when it came to the penalties, committing three. You just can t have them, Colon said. You hurt the offense. I was just trying to be aggressive. The refs, they have a job to do and if you re holding outside the frame, they re going to call it. I was upset. I was embarrassed by it, but I have to clean it up. The Jets remained encouraged they piled up 402 yards in the game and are convinced they can do big things if they clean things up. 16 P a g e

17 You look at the numbers and you look at the points and you say well, we didn t do too good, tight end Jeff Cumberland said. Then you look at the film and you see us moving the ball, moving the ball, moving the ball and it s just little things here and there that we can critique and get better that. Rookie safety Calvin Pryor said watching his near-interception was painful. Pryor dropped a Derek Carr pass in the second quarter that looked like it could have been returned for a touchdown. Pryor said he s glad he got the drop out of the way, and it won t happen again. It definitely could have been a pick-six, Pryor said. I didn t get too much grief about it. Next time it will be a different outcome. Jets coach Rex Ryan said he hopes CB Dee Milliner (ankle) can play this week. The Jets will know more if Milliner is able to practice at all on Wednesday. Ryan on how his often-criticized cornerbacks played: I know we ve got major issues there, he said, his voice heavy on sarcasm. It s been talked about forever, but you never heard me talk about it. To me, the game went how we thought it would and how we wanted it to go. We emphasized to our DBs how we had to make sure we protected the vertical passing game. I thought our guys did a great job. We had to come up and tackle well. I thought our guys did a tremendous job that way. Ryan avoided a question about Ray Rice, who he coached for one year in Baltimore. Number one, I haven t seen the video or whatever that came out. I think the questions are better suited for Baltimore than me, he said. Why we re about to find out how good the Jets are (Mark Cannizzaro) New York Post September 9, Fans were still spilling into the parking lots after Sunday s season opener at MetLife Stadium and the scoreboards were still illuminated with Jets 19, Raiders 14 and Rex Ryan was already coaching his players up for their Week 2 challenge: This Sunday against the Packers at Lambeau Field. This was the genesis of Ryan s uncharacteristically derisive postgame comments following a win. Drawing some attention away from the Jets victory, Ryan for good reason lamented the two turnovers and 11 penalties his team committed that allowed an inferior Raiders team to stay in a game to the end that it should have lost by three touchdowns. Ryan was at it again Monday, meeting briefly with his players and delivering a similar sobering message to the one he gave them after the Oakland game. His message: That was good, but it wasn t good enough. Quite honestly, you watch the tape, we dominated the game [but] a lot of things need to get better, Ryan said Monday. He showed us: This is how good we can be and this is how bad we can be, said receiver David Nelson. I think there was a lot to coach off of from [Sunday] and Rex identified those things. He wants us to be able to see how good we can be, but he also wants us to see what can limit us from being that good. We don t want complacency to set in with guys thinking, Hey, we had a good game. We put up over 400 yards of offense. He doesn t want to rain on our parade, but he wants guys to see that if we continue to play like this then we re only going to put up 19 points a game. 17 P a g e