Here’s how the Post grades the Jets’ 2010 season position by position. Let us know what grades you would give.
QUARTERBACK: Mark Sanchez (278-for-507, 54.8 percent, 3,291 yards, 17 TDs, 13 INTs, 1 lost fumble, 75.3 rating) didn’t wow anyone with gaudy statistics, but he’s proven to be a winner. Sanchez engineered comeback wins over the Broncos, Lions, Browns and Texans and played his best in the biggest games (a win over the Steelers and two in the postseason). These are highly encouraging signs. The best improvement he made was reducing his turnovers (23 in his rookie year, 14 this season). That alone kept the Jets in games even when he was not at his sharpest. The two areas Sanchez will be working on this offseason will be improving his accuracy (his completion percentage remains too low) and finding a way to get off to faster starts (the Jets scored a total of 36 points in the first quarter in 19 games this season and ended the year going the last 15 games without producing an offensive TD in the opening 15 minutes).
GRADE: B
RUNNING BACK: LaDainian Tomlinson (219 carries, 914 yards, 4.2-yard average, 6 TDs rushing; 52 catches, 368 yards receiving) came out of the gate fast, rushing for 435 yards in his first five games. But he finished the season rushing for 479 yards in the last 11 games with no performance of more than 55 yards. Tomlinson had a terrific playoff game in Indianapolis, but was a complete non-factor in Pittsburgh. Shonn Greene (185 carries, 766 yards, 4.1-yard average, 2 TDs rushing; 16 catches, 120 yards receiving) never turned out to be the No. 1 back he was expected to be. Other than his 117-yard game against Buffalo, Greene never ran for more than 72 yards in a game. Rookie Joe McKnight (39 carries, 189 yards 4.8-yard average) had a lost year, with his only true playing time coming in a garbage time game against the Bills in Week 17. Jets backs produced three 100-yard rushing performances all season (one each by Tomlinson, Greene and McKnight) and they all came against the lowly Bills.
GRADE: B
RECEIVER: Braylon Edwards (53 catches, 904 yards, 17.1-yard average, 7 TDs) had a strong season, dropping one pass and making numerous clutch catches. Santonio Holmes (52 catches, 746 yards, 14.3-yard average, 6 TDs) proved to be the biggest playmaker despite missing the first four games serving a drug-related suspension. Holmes set up the winning TD in Denver and Detroit and caught the game-winning pass in Cleveland and against Houston. He made a spectacular TD catch in New England in the playoffs. The only complaint is, he drops too many passes. His drop in the end zone against Miami lost the game. Concentration is clearly an issue for him at times. Jerricho Cotchery (41 catches, 433 yards, 10.6-yard average, 2 TDs) had an off year, dropping an uncharacteristic number of passes for him.
GRADE: B
TIGHT END: Dustin Keller (55 catches, 687 yards, 12.5-yard average, 5 TDs), like LaDainian Tomlinson, started off hot, catching 19 passes for 254 yards and 5 TDs in the first four games. He would not score again in the regular season and, though he made some clutch catches along the way, was too quiet. Ben Hartsock (1 catch, 7 yards) is not a pass catcher but a valuable blocker who was instrumental in the running game.
GRADE: B
OFFENSIVE LINE: This remained a strength despite the team not bringing back LG Alan Faneca. His replacement, Matt Slauson, played well and made the transition seamless. C Nick Mangold and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson were both voted back into the Pro Bowl and played well. Ferguson quietly had a standout season, keeping opponents’ big-time pass rushers quiet. Sanchez was sacked 27 times in 507 attempts. When RT Damien Woody hurt his knee, backup Wayne Hunter proved to be a revelation. He played well and essentially finished the season for the Jets. Robert Turner was a valuable backup C and extra TE in the jumbo package for the run. The Jets ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing, but it didnt feel that way. Brad Smith’s 299 yards out of the Wildcat skewed those numbers a bit. The Jets werent as dominant with their ground-and-pound as they were a year ago. One complaint about the entire team, but particularly this group: They committed too many penalties.
GRADE: A-minus
DEFENSIVE LINE: The run defense, which ranked No. 3 in the NFL (opposing teams rushed for 2,374 yards and a 3.6-yard average) began everything with DTs Mike DeVito (46 tackles, 5 for losses, 2 forced fumbles) and Sione Pouha (46 tackles, 3 for losses, 4 batted passes) and DE Shaun Ellis (27 tackles, 4 sacks, 11 QB pressures, 1 forced fumble). When DE Vernon Gholston (13 tackles, 2 for losses, 3 pressures) played, mostly early in the season, he made a few plays. Veteran DT Trevor Pryce made a handful of big plays late in the season, including a safety in the playoffs.
GRADE: B
LINEBACKERS: David Harris led the team with 119 tackles, 4 for losses, had 3 sacks, 13 pressures and a forced fumble. He was good, but not as good as he was last season. Bart Scott had 94 tackles, 1 sack, 13 pressures and a forced fumble. Both he and Harris needed to make more impactful plays. Calvin Pace (56 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble) was too quiet at times this season, particularly in the pass rush. Veteran Jason Taylor (35 tackles, 8 for losses, 5 sacks, 8 pressures, 2 forced fumbles) flashed with some big plays at times, but was invisible others. Bryan Thomas had the season he always has: not flashy, but solid (41 tackles, 5 for losses, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble and recovery). Overall, a very good group, but not spectacular big playmakers.
GRADE: B
SECONDARY: CB Darrelle Revis’ numbers were, well, limited (no INTs, 35 tackles, 13 passes defensed), but that’s because few threw his way. CB Antonio Cromartie recovered from a shaky start to play well (42 tackles, 3 INTs). It took S Jim Leonhard (66 tackles, 1 INT) getting injured with a month to go in the season to show how much he means to the defense. S Brodney Pool (63 tackles, 1 INT, 1 forced fumble) had been having a nondescript season but picked up his play when Leonhard went down. Pool was a star in the Wild Card playoff win over the Colts. S Eric Smith (57 tackles, 1 sack) showed his value with his versatility and toughness. He, along with Pool, had some pass-coverage issues, particularly against TEs. CB Drew Coleman (34 tackles, 1 INT, 4 sacks, five forced fumbles) had a terrific season, though his coverage is suspect. CB/S Dwight Lowery showed his usual nose for the ball, making 3 INTs. Overall, the pass defense ranked No. 6 in the NFL but gave up too many TDs (24) after allowing 8 last season.
GRADE: B
SPECIAL TEAMS: Brad Smith was second in the NFL with a 28.6-yard kickoff return average and 2 TDs. Jim Leonhard was performing well as a punt returner (11.3-yard average) before he got hurt. After that, the Jets struggled in this area. Jerricho Cotchery (8.3) was the most dependable. When the Jets tried to use Santonio Holmes (10.0) or Antonio Cromartie (7.2) there was calamity. Kickoff coverage was strong, allowing 19.6 yards per return. Their punt coverage wasn’t as good (11.1 yards). Lance Laury led the team with 28 special teams tackles; James Ihedigbo was second with 27.
GRADE: B-plus
KICKERS: Nick Folk finished 30-of-39 on field goals, 76.9 percent — not consistent enough. He was used on some long tries in difficult conditions which dragged the percentage down a bit. He kicked a game-winning FG in Detroit and again in Indianapolis in the Wild Card win. Along the way, he missed a few shorter kicks that made you wonder. Punter Steve Weatherford (42.6-yard gross, 38.1-yard net) had a strong regular season, tying an NFL record with 42 kicks inside the 20. That proved to be a field-position weapon for the Jets. Weatherford was awful in the playoffs, raising questions. He had 4 touchbacks in the regular season and 6 in the first two playoff games.
GRADE: B-minus
COACHING: There might not be a better motivator of men than Rex Ryan. You can question his methods, but not his results. The decision to participate in HBOs “Hard Knocks” didn’t deter from their performance, nor did his bold statements week after week. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer endured some deep valleys during the season (see the 11-quarter TD drought that spanned the 9-0 loss to Green Bay and 10-6 loss to the Dolphins). But Scottenheimer got in tune with Mark Sanchez in the Dec. 19 game in Pittsburgh, where he called his best game of the year, and the offense took off from there. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman combined with Ryan to devise two of the finest defensive game plans of the year for the Colts and Patriots in the playoffs. Special teams coach Mike Westhoff again led one of the best units in the league this season, though it ended in Pittsburgh with a poor performance.
GRADE: A-minus