The defense looked sharp as well. They held the Giants’ offense to a three and out on their first possession and looked stout against a very good offensive line on a first and goal after Sanchez’ pick.

The D gave up nothing on the first two tries but the Giants bulled their way into the end zone on third down.Sione Pouha and Kris Jenkins both did a nice job plugging the interior and gaining penetration on that sequence.

The “ones” continued their solid play on the Giant’s next possession when they held for another three and out. The defense would add another three and out before the half was over as the Jets took a 13-10 lead into the locker room.

Unfortunately, the Jets’ backups did not fare as well and the Giants capitalized in the second half. But more important than the game’s outcome, this match up was about player evaluation and there were a few guys for the Jets who stood out, some for solid performances, others not so much.


Dwight Lowery

One of the standouts for the Giants was Victor Cruz who ate Dwight Lowery’s lunch on a couple of plays. Cruz had 6 catches for 145 yards and 3 touchdowns and made a few big plays against Lowery who looked overmatched against the rookie.

Cruz’ first score came off a 64-yard catch over Lowery.

Lowery is a good player but it is becoming clearer why he has been a back up and why this trend will probably continue. He has good man coverage skills but always seems to just miss making plays on the ball.

On Cruz’ first touchdown, he had perfect position but as the ball arrived he lost his balance and could not get his hands on the ball. Granted, Cruz wrapped his arm around Lowery’s head while the ball was in flight but Lowery could have still gotten there.

Lowery may never be a starter and this game highlighted that fact. He will knock down the occasional ball but far too often he is a split second late.

He does not track the ball well in the air and is often slow to get his head around. This makes him vulnerable to fade routes near the end zone.

He gave up an easy catch on a basic “back shoulder” throw to Cruz in the third quarter. Like Cruz’s earlier touchdown, Lowery seemed to have good coverage but turned to the outside while the ball was thrown to the inside.

His lack of instincts and inability to pick up the football are holding him back and his confidence might be shaken as well.

Recently in training camp he surrendered his spot working with the “ones” to Kyle Wilson. Acknowledging Wilson had a better chance to start and therefore needed the reps, Lowery pulled himself out of the competition.

Most in the media spun this as the ultimate gesture of teamwork but I disagree. Where was Lowery’s competitiveness? He should be scratching and clawing for an opportunity to start.

It is very unusual to see a pro player relinquish his spot like this and indicates that Lowery’s confidence is really shot at this point.


Mark Sanchez

Sanchez forced his first throw and it turned into disaster but he was impressive the rest of the way (13-17, 119, 1 TD, 1 INT). I loved the way he responded to his early adversity.

He shook it off and got back to business and his post game comments revealed how much he has matured. "Maybe last year I would have been really upset (and) down in the dumps. This year, it was easier to (say) no big deal. Let's get back. ... It was more important to move on and get to the next play, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't trying to force anything after that."

Last year Sanchez would have pressed and tried to do too much. This time he settled down and played exceptionally well.

He spread the ball around, hitting seven different receivers and showed a lot of patience and poise. His line gave him a lot of time to throw and he went through his progressions hitting his second and third options.

His accuracy was outstanding and he demonstrated a solid knowledge of protection schemes by checking out of plays at the line and hitting his hot receivers. I really liked the way he moved the offense and how he settled down quickly after a rough start.

Although this was a great start for him, Jets fans should temper their enthusiasm. The Giants were missing a number of starters on defense and they rarely blitzed, common for a preseason game.

Sanchez’ true test will come in week one when he faces a very aggressive, attacking Raven’s defense. That game will tell us how far he has come.


Slauson vs. Ducasse

As the only real battle for a starting position, I paid a great deal of attention to the left guard spot.Matt Slauson got the start but it was when Vladimir DuCasse entered in the second half that I could see why Slauson is ahead in this battle.

He moved to right guard when DuCasse entered and so it was easy to contrast their games. DuCasse is still very raw. His footwork needs work and he is often off balance, particularly on his pass sets.

He looked a little slow out of his stance and did not fire off the ball like I had hoped. He also needs to develop more of a mean streak. I saw him standing around a little too much and wanted to see him finish better.

However, it is easy see DuCasse’s potential. He is incredibly strong and when he gets his hands on his opponent, particularly as a run blocker, it’s over. He can just pile drive his guy into the ground.

After a couple more months of technique work with Bill Callahan, DuCasse could be a very dangerous weapon in this offense, especially in the running game.

Slauson, on the other hand, is much steadier. He played pretty well but you could see
where his lack of athleticism will hold him back.

He does not move well and was slow coming around to pull on a trap. The play was stuck for a loss primarily because he could not get to the edge quick enough.

On the positive side, Slauson had a great kick out block on LaDanian Tomlinson’s touchdown (which was called back). Overall he looked pretty good but like DuCasse, he needs work on his pass sets.

He lunges a little too much and does not stay on his blocks consistently. He also struggled at times with his combo blocks, which is due to his lack of quickness. This technique requires that he block rushers on either side but he was slow to rebound to guys on his outside shoulder.

Based on their play against the Giants, I expect Slauson to be the starter on opening day.


Antonio Cromartie

This guy is quite an athlete. Antonio Cromartie made two nice plays on the ball but could not come up with the interception.

He is a ball hawk so I am not concerned with his drops. Where I do worry is with his aggressiveness. He is not a good tackler and he lacks the temperament to stick his nose into the action to make a tackle.

Case in point: On Ahmad Bradshaw’s 51-yard catch and run Cromartie was in position to take him down toward the end of the play but shied away from contact, allowing additional yardage. The play was reminiscent of the “Olay” move he pulled last year in the divisional round of the playoffs when he allowed Shonn Greene to run right by him for the game winning touchdown without ever trying to tackle him.

Cromartie is a talented cover corner and will make big plays in the Jets’ pass defense but Jets fans should consider themselves warned because he will give up plays against the run due to his unwillingness to tackle.

We can only hope this tendency does not hurt us in critical situations.


Santonio Holmes

Working with the second stringers, Santonio Holmes made a solid impression. It is unfortunate that he will be missing the first month of the season.

One play in particular showed what he brings to the Jets’ offense. At the end of the third quarter, the Jets had the ball on the Giants’ 20 and Holmes’ number was called.

He did a great job getting off the line and into his route. You could really see his quickness by his ability to get off press coverage.

He then ran a go route and zipped right by CB D.J. Johnson and gained two steps separation.Kellen Clemens’ throw was slightly off target so Holmes had to lay out for it. The ball was just beyond his reach but I loved the way he competed for the ball.

The Jets have not had a receiver with his combination of speed and fearlessness in quite some time.

When Holmes returns from his suspension and gets comfortable in this offense, I expect him to make big plays down the field and consequently pull attention from opposing secondaries. This should create a lot of opportunities for the Jets’ other receivers and really open up the Jets’ ground game.


Other notes from the game

LaDanian Tomlinson looked good on his apparent TD run (it was brought back because of a hold). He showed excellent burst through the hole and I loved his desire to get in the end zone. He broke three tackles along the way. It is no surprise that he is the all time leader in touchdown average with 1.09 per game.

We did not see much of Kyle Wilson but this was mainly because of the Jets’ time of possession in the first half. The defense was just not on the field much. He looked okay when he was out there but I thought he appeared tentative. But with his first start as a rookie, we need to give him time to work into this role.

John Conner had a couple of nice lead blocks on a few “iso” plays but his highlight reel play was a block he laid on RB Danny Ware on a kick off return. Conner just flattened him on this play. Interestingly enough, Ware would get up to get in on the tackle but the shot he absorbed from Conner is the kind of collision the Jets’ rookie is becoming known for.

Vernon Gholston did not make much of an impact. To be fair, he was seeing double teams when he was out there with the second team. He applied pressure to Jim Sorgi on one pass play but overall he did little to stand out and that is not good. He looks more comfortable playing on the line than at linebacker but I did not see the burst that this guy is capable of. Time is running out on Gholston. If he does not shine in these preseason games, he may not see the field much once the real games start.

Written by Alan Levin