The Takeaway: Week 1 Preseason

1)      Losing Robert Turner for any length of time will hurt this team.

He is the jack-of-all-trades on the offensive line. He can fill in at either position and for a team already struggling with O-Line depth, his loss could prove devastating. Vlad Ducasse did not look ready for prime time as Greg McElroy got hit a few times in the second corner, eventually fumbling the football on a sack and setting up a Texan touchdown. Robby Felix did a solid job, but he’s the third-string center. Do you really trust him to protect Mark Sanchez?

       2)      Mark Sanchez looked OK for the one quarter he played.

Coming into the game, there was talk about how the offense would look considering their struggles in practice. Sanchez would finish with six completions in seven attempts for 43 yards and threw a nice pass to Santonio Holmes running the slant route. He didn’t really air it out, but he was efficient in his passes.

       3)      Ignoring touchbacks, the Jets brought out the ball.

Coming into the final preseason game of Week 1 much had been made about the NFL’s new rule that kickoffs will take place from the 35 yard line. There had been a much higher rate of touchbacks in the preseason this year as compared to last year. That didn’t seem to stop the Jets from bringing the ball out.  It didn’t matter if it was Jeremy Kerley, Joe McKnight or Dan DePalma, they were going to run it. Will this continue into the regular season?

       4)      The kicking battle continues.

Nick Folk was 2 of 2 in field goals, making them from 33 and 40 yards out respectively. Nick Novak made his only attempt from 35. Novak has had a great camp, but I like Folk. I know he was shaky at times last year, but he did come through in the playoffs against Indianapolis.

      5)      I do not envy Rex Ryan’s headset.

The last image I have of the 2010 season is Rex Ryan smashing his headset on the field in Pittsburgh. It almost seems fitting that my first image of 2011 should be Ryan smashing his headset on the field for having 12 men on the field in a preseason game. Ah yes, football is officially back.