EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Happy Monday everybody! So, I started writing this Sunday night which I shouldn’t have been doing because two of the three games I’m going to talk about occurred on Thanksgiving Day. Really, this should have been wrapped up an hour after the Jets/Bears game… but you know it goes against the rules of the Procrastinators Union, so I waited until the last minute. Anyway, here are the topics for today: Mike White Led Jets Win, Bills Win and Giants Lose on Thanksgiving Day
Mike White Led Jets Win
Mikey Blanco is the name and you better say that name with some respect. The decision by Jets head coach Robert Saleh to bench Zach Wilson to start Mike White worked out in the short term. Now, there’s a lot of talk about the future with Wilson and if they are damaging his confidence and/or his growth. However, in this league it’s very much win now and the team – outside of quarterback play – has been very good. That meant something had to happen under center unless the Jets were going to throw away the remainder of the season just for the development of Wilson. With the playoffs a reality, that is not the game plan. In a rainy game, Mikey Blanco looked flawless. Last year he had a game like that and then flopped the next week but we’ll worry about next week when next week comes.
This week he did the simple things and doing the simple things is a quality I like to measure… via the Dilfer Scale (in honor of Trent Dilfer). As per this sacle, I would give White a huge eight of ten. The only thing that brings it down, is this the Chicago defense is horrendous and everybody knew it going into the game. It got worse for the Bears as they lost defensive backs duing the game.
White made the throws that he was supposed to make, or as Saleh sai, “He made the easy look easy.” This is all you ask from your quarterback – if you’re the Jets. – when you have a dominant defense and an above average special teams. Just do a three-step drop and hit the guy in the flat like it’s designed. If it’s a screen, hold the ball, draw the defense in, get it to the runner in flat. If you don’t have any other option throw it away. If the sack is coming, secure the ball and just take the sack. In the world of NFL quarterbacks this is basic stuff that really, if done and executed properly, is all you need.
One stat that really stands out is White hit 10 different receivers. By making those passes,choices and reads, the Bears had to respect the Jets passing. That opened it up for the running game. Using three separate running backs including looking Zonovan “Bam” Knight, the Jets accumulatated well over 125 yards rushing. The special teams did its job, including a team record 57-yard field goal. As alway, the defense did its job holding the opposition to only 10 points including an interception and the turnover on downs. Great work all around just man’s can enjoy this one and we’ll be ready next week for and Angry Ward’s Minnesota Vikings.
Bills Win
The Buffalo Bills won in Detroit for the second time in ONE WEEK but the Detroit Lions did not make it easy. Led by two touchdowns thrown by Josh Allen and another one for Allen on the ground, plus over 70 yards rushing by Devin Singletary, the Bills were able to win. Buffalo’s defense lost Von Miller but they played pretty well, getting a safety in the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was the best part of this game and the last 4 minutes were insane. Buffalo scored with a little over 2 minutes left on a great slant route, where Allen threw it to Diggs but the extra point was missed, so the lead was only three points. This allowed the Lions to drive down and kick the game-tying field goal with a little over 30 seconds left. It would have been a safe bet that we were heading for overtime but these Lions are still a bit of the old Lions and in one play, Alllen found Stephon Diggs for almost 60 yards. Immediately the team was in field goal position with 20 seconds left. The Bills ran a couple more running plays and got closer and then with four seconds left they kicked the game-winning field goal. Thank you for coming, God bless and have a good night. Drive safely and enjoy your turkey.
Giants Lose on Thanksgiving
The Giants loss against the Cowboys showed a couple of weaknesses that the Giants still need to fix. The secondary is not as good as it needs to be, and the pass rush isn’t doing its job to make the secondary’s life easier. The Dallas receiver duo of Lamb and Gallup ate up the d-backs, which freed up tight end Dalton Schultz (What is up with the names of tight ends these days? They sound all like TV Western/gangster characters). Schultz caught two touchdown passes. This opened up the running game being for the duo of Elliot and Pollard. With the Dallas offensive firing on all cylinders, allowing the defense to pressure the Giants on the running game, Big Blue had to try to win through the air. We all know Dan Jones ain’t the one, if you’re chasing a game. The Giants were unable to establish the run because the defense couldn’t stop the pass and it just became one thing, on top of another and eventually insurmountable, although the Giants did get a garbage time TD, it was over early into the fourth.
Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below. Come back tomorrow for Ben Whitney, who will tell me how my take on the Giants game is incorrect.
