Gang Green’s starting offense committed three turnovers and all three came at critical junctures.Mark Sanchez threw a second quarter interception that ruined a Vernon Gholston fumble recovery to start the drive.

Two series later Santonio Holmes fumbled away a 23-yard catch that would have put the Jets in great position at Washington’s 34. Then, on the Jets’ final drive, with 4 minutes left and clinging to a 2-point lead, Joe McKnight coughed it up. Washington scored on the ensuing drive.

The first string offense looked out of sync, particularly in the passing game and sustained only two good drives all night – their first, which resulted in a field goal and their last, which resulted in a Dustin Keller 10-yard touchdown.

The starting defense played pretty well, especially against the run but they gave up too many easy throws to Rex Grossman and John Beck. Without Donovan McNabb I expected the Jets’ D to dominate but it did not happen.

The Jets’ starters gave up only 40 yards on the ground in the first half but against the pass they allowed too many underneath passes for first downs. I thought Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson played okay, not great.

Cromartie was thrown at 5 times and allowed 1 reception. But there were two plays where Cromartie had been beaten but the QB could not deliver the ball on target. Had McNabb been playing, Cromartie would have been beat on both. He also was flagged for holding that negated his interception.

Wilson was targeted four times and all four were completed. In fairness to him, none went for big gains and one he tackled Joey Galloway short of the first down marker to force a punt. Wilson also contributed half a sack

Overall the Jets played a sloppy game. In addition to the turnovers, there were a number of miscues and penalties. Bart Scott was flagged for a personal foul soon after Cromartie’s interference call and both combined to give the Redskins easy yards, which they converted into a field goal.

Jets fans should not worry about the defense. Absent from their game plan were a lot of the blitzes they like to use on obvious passing downs and that made it easy for Washington’s QB’s to sit in the pocket.

The Jets also went with more zone coverage then they will use in the regular season and that led to some easy completions. But the play of Cromartie and Wilson, although not terrible, was nothing close to the shutdown ability of Darrelle Revis.

This game could swing leverage in Revis’ favor as the team tries to get its star into camp.



Here are other developments that stood out when watching film from last night’s game.



Sanchez is Regressing

Mark Sanchez did not play well and remains the biggest question mark on this team. For two games straight he has looked uncomfortable in the pocket and has been unable to move the offense with any kind of consistency.

Should we write this off as preseason rust? Perhaps but I saw things in his game that were reminiscent of the miscues he made last season.

His decision-making was questionable. He forced a ball into double coverage in the red zone that resulted in an interception and wiped out any possibility of the Jets coming away with points after an impressive drive. That cannot happen.

To make matters worse, the interception came on a third and 8 play. He has to know that getting points in that situation is more important than trying to convert a low percentage play.

He showed similar poor judgment last year and if it resurfaces in the regular season, the team’s hopes of winning the most games in the league will be nothing more than a pipe dream.

Sanchez played well down the stretch last year and into the playoffs but there is no guarantee that automatically carries over into this season. His issues right now are mostly mental and predicting how long they will last is hard to predict.

Going into this game, I said Sanchez needed to go through his progressions, slide in the pocket when he gets pressure and find his secondary targets but he did a poor job in all these areas. When the pocket breaks down he has to keep his eyes downfield and instinctively slide out of the way.

Instead, his eyes are focusing on the rush and he is moving right into the pressure itself. He is not sensing the pressure early enough and is panicking once it is right in his face. He does not look comfortable going through his progressions and is not throwing the ball downfield.

For Sanchez to be successful he needs to calm down. Feeling the pressure and sliding to avoid it requires that he relax and trust his instincts. Right now that is not happening.

He is also making bad decisions. He should have had a second interception when he threw late to Tomlinson who was well covered in the flat.Deangelo Hall dropped an easy interception that should have been an easy “pick six”.

Coming into this game I wanted to see Sanchez and Santonio Holmes develop more chemistry since Holmes will be out on suspension soon. But the two looked out of sync on a third down pass where Holmes was open. Sanchez threw low and outside and the Jets had to punt.

The preseason does not necessarily carry over to the regular season but I am concerned with how Sanchez has played thus far. Facing Baltimore in week one is the last thing any quarterback wants to see when he is struggling and Sanchez will have his hands full against Ray Lewis and company.


Tomlinson Reborn

LaDanian Tomlinson looks like a new man. No longer hampered by injuries, his burst is back and I, for one, was way off on my assessment of his skills.

I did not think he would be much of an upgrade over Thomas Jones since his skills appeared to be diminishing over the last three seasons. But the 10-year vet is playing with a chip on his shoulder and producing impressive results.

He had a beautiful 44-yard run that showcased his elusiveness, speed and quickness. For the record, it is important to note that second year guard, Matt Slauson made a great block sealing the inside linebacker to spring LT on this play.

Tomlinson also showed great vision and cutback ability on a 13-yard run. The play was designed to go up the middle but with no crease, he saw daylight to his left and broke it outside for a first down.

He also showed good improvisation on a third down dump off over the middle. This play was going nowhere until he wiggled and juked his way for a 10-yard gain and a first down. LT not only has a good nose for the end zone, he knows where the first down marker is and fights to get the necessary yardage.

In limited action, Tomlinson has been impressive this preseason. He brings big play potential and the dependability to get first downs. We already knew he was great in the red zone but he looks to still have the goods to get it done in almost any situation.


Pace the Jets’ Best Defender?

With Darrelle Revis sitting out, Calvin Pace might be the Jets’ best defensive player. He was all over the field against the Redskins. In addition to a sack and a forced fumble, he did a great job against the run.

Pace led the team with five tackles (1 for loss) and did a great job shedding blocks and getting penetration. For much of the game, he played on the Redskins’ side of the line and that is exactly what you want to see from your front-7 players.

He is playing with a lot of confidence and aggressiveness, which should only make his teammates better. Kris Jenkins already draws regular double teams and if Pace can divert more attention to himself as well, this will open up opportunities for David Harris, Bart Scott and Bryan Thomas.


Vlad the Impala?

I would like to call him “Vlad the Impaler” but Vladimir DuCasse did not impress against the Redskins and he almost got his top two quarterbacks killed.

He whiffed on a pass block that freed up DT Kedric Golston for a free shot on Sanchez, who was fortunate he did not separate his shoulder. I was surprised Rex Ryan kept the rookie in the game after that mistake.

Sanchez came away only bruised but it could have been worse. DuCasse stopped moving his feet and was caught overextending. This is an area he still needs to work on and is a big reason why the rookie will need to be coached up before he is ready for prime time.

Mark Brunell was also shaken up. DuCasse made a mental error blocking out on a linebacker and ignoring the DE who ran right by him.

Offensive linemen go mostly unnoticed over the course of a game but it takes just one mistake to get their QB hit. DuCasse made two critical errors last night with near-disastrous results.

Slauson has already won the left guard competition. In order to keep making strides, DuCasse will have to show better balance in his pass sets and be more focused mentally on his assignments.

He has had his moments and has shown his physical skills and definitely has the talent to be a starter. He just needs more coaching.


Special Teams

James Ihedigbo is a tackling machine. He had four on the night with two coming on special teams (both solo tackles). He also threw a beautiful block on Joe McKnight’s 27-yard return.

Ihedigbo is not just a tackler. He is a punisher. He really lays the wood when he brings a guy down and that will lead to turnover opportunities.

Brad Smith can always be counted on for solid special teams play and he did not disappoint last night. He forced a fumble on a punt return that was recovered by Vernon Gholston and set the Jets up with great field position.

One guy who did not fare as well was reserve TE Matt Mulligan. A wedge blocker on off returns, Mulligan whiffed on a block that resulted in Smith getting nailed soon after fielding the kick.

On another kick, Mulligan did not finish his block and his guy got in on the tackle to hold the play for little gain. We saw Mike Westhoff trying to get more aggressiveness out of this kid on Hard Knocks but it did not carry over to the game.

As a guy on the bubble, Mulligan’s performance did not help his chances.

Written by Alan Levin