GIANTS 26
JETS 3
That is the reality of life for the New York Jets since they played an inept football game against a World Champion Giants team that looked leaps and bounds better than they; Big Blue ran Gang Green out of the building 26-3 in their annual pre-season clash.
The Jets offense was totally anemic. It didn't matter if the quarterback was Mark Sanchez or Tim Tebow; neither could get this offense to move the football with any consistency. Even when the Jets did something right, it was plain ugly, such as Josh Brown's field goal which hit the crossbar before falling in for the Jets only game three points, kind of like a gift from the football gods.
While Sanchez completed 9-of-11 passes, it was far from spectacular. He dinked and dunked his way to a mediocre outing against a ferocious Giants defense. A lot of his passes would have been incompletions had it not been for some solid grabs by the Jets no-name receivers.
Sanchez was even sacked three times in the game, two of which were his fault for holding the ball a scoche too long when he should have gotten rid of it. The other was the fault of embattled right tackle Wayne Hunter, who was badly beaten off the edge by Jason Pierre-Paul, who, in turn, enjoyed a field day with two sacks.
Overall, the offensive line was once again offensive for the Jets and did Sanchez no favors.
It wasn't like the Jets had their chances. The Giants let Gang Green stay in the game. Leading 6-0, Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw an ill-advised pass up for grabs that was picked off by LeRon Landry. What did the Jets proceed to do? Nada, nothing. They couldn't move the football at all, turning the ball over on downs.
After the Giants once again failed to move the football, the Jets finally got the ball into Giants territory, and Sanchez channeled his inner 2011-self, throwing an interception directly into the hands of Giants rookie Jayron Hosley, who went coast-to-coast for a 77-yard touchdown, giving the Giants a 13-0 lead.
As for Tebow, he wasn't any better. He completed his first three passes and moved the Jets into field goal range, but when he had a guy wide open in the end zone, he was unable to muscle the ball down field for what would have been an easy touchdown.
Soon, the Giants D swarmed all over Tebow, sacking him four times, and making him look quite pedestrian. For a guy who is going to be the Jets back-up quarterback, he left few people confident he could get it done if Sanchez stinks it up or is injured during the regular season.
As for Big Blue, the Jets game was a coming out party for this defense. A group that lost tremendous depth at defensive tackle with the loss of Shaun Rodgers, among others, to injury, they responded with reckless abandon. They punished a Jets offensive line that is clearly one of the worst in the NFL with six sacks between the two Jets quarterbacks. They held the Gang to only 65 yards rushing and never let the Jets test them down the field with long passes.
Offensively, it was a mixed bag. While Eli Manning and Victor Cruz carved up the Jets for 51 yards, there was not much to write home about. The Giants starting unit failed on multiple occasions to put the dagger deep into the hearts of the Jets. They struggled in the running game; David Wilson led the team with a measly 26 yards.
Even Manning wasn't great, completing only 50% of his passes, including an ill-timed pick. That said, nobody expects Big Blue to suddenly become a bloodless offense this year. There is much talent, and when they put it together, the Giants is one of the NFL's top offenses.
However, it is the play of the Jets offense that is the biggest concern coming out of this game. This is a team that has shown no pulse through eight quarters of pre-season football. They have managed only 9 points, all field goals, and both Sanchez and Tebow have failed to move the football this summer.
With only one real dress rehearsal left before opening day, the Jets confront crunch time. If the Jets offense looks this bad against the Panthers next Sunday, the questions about the quarterbacks, the running game and the O-line become that much more critical. The Jets have one week to answer the question before the real season begins.
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