Brian Bassett , theJetsBlog.com

As Will Ferrell once astutely said …

Some observations from last night’s game.

Let’s Take a Collective Breath
I’m not going to write a whole long thing, but there were a number of skill players out, and the Jets were doing their best in a non gameplan situation to made do.  It isn’t time to hit the panic button, but we’re certainly eyeing more than last week.  I’m certainly not pleased with how the night went, but if the Jets aren’t going to even try and convince me that they have depth at a number of positions, you can only imagine that the Harvin talk, maybe even the Tebow talk will start to get put on the front burner in coming weeks.

Wayne Hunter is Atrocious
At least Wayne Hunter knows he is a terrible football player.  Wayne Hunter did three good things all night – (1) pull Mark off the turf after letting him get sacked, (2) clap his hands together forcefully in disgust after letting Mark Sanchez get sacked another time and (3) assassinate himself in the press after the game.

I actually kind of feel bad for Wayne Hunter, don’t get me wrong, I’m mad as hell at how he played, but it’s like even he knows he’s not up to the task, yet the team keeps rolling him out there as the right tackle and half-heartedly addressing the “competition.”  I’m sure Bent will get into it much more detailed later, but the short of it is that Wayne Hunter is completely incapable of making a recovery on a play.  Once it goes south, he’s either mentally checked out or so badly out of position, he can’t do anything to help other than peel his quarterback off the turf.  I watched Austin Howard get beat a few times, and yes it was with and against second teamers, but at least he would give them a shove as they got close to the QB to ride them out of the play.  Wayne Hunter almost never does that.  Wayne Hunter was also solely responsible for the bad block that killed that first half drive that turned over on downs.  Hunter was too far from the line of scrimmage tangling with players while other defensive front seven players flooded the play.

MESSAGE TO MIKE TANNENBAUM, YOUR RIGHT TACKLE WILL CRIPPLE YOUR WHOLE SEASON!!1!!1!!!1!!!!1!!!!!

You Know it is Messed up When Shonn Greene is Pissed
Did anyone else see Shonn Greene react to the fourth down non-conversion that Conner didn’t make?  To be fair, Conner never had a chance.  I don’t remember ever seeing Greene react negatively in that way on the field to anything like that before.  Greene was more measured after the game, but still …. I think that’s saying a lot when the team’s mild-mannered running back is showing his displeasure on the field.  This is not an auspicious start to the 2012 campaign.

Your Obligatory Tebow Update
Tebow looked crisp in his first possession, but the team lost a net of 13 yards in five possessions when the backup was in the game.  In that first series, Tebow had time in the pocket and pulled down the ball and scrambled for some nice yardage.  Up until the drive started to stall down in field goal range, the team hadn’t had a third down on the series.  That said, Tebow was on his back a bunch and as is his wont, scrambling more than he needed to.  He even said as much after the game, according to the Times: “looking back on the pictures, I see I had more room than I thought I did,” Tebow said.

Check-Check-Check!!!
Watching Mark Sanchez last night made me feel like Teddy KGB.  All night he check-check-check!!!! Remember in Mark Sanchez’s rookie year where he was hauling deep balls in the preseason to David Clowney?  Good times … no … but my point is, I don’t think Sanchez attempted any deep passes all night.  Is he just trying to play it safe and keep his receivers safe in the preseason, or is he just so now hard-wired that he’s incapable of throwing one deep anymore?  If Sparano wants chunk plays in this offense, then the check downs aren’t going to work all game, let alone all season.

We Likes The Starting Defense
No surprises here, but the defense looked sharp.  They did a good job of limiting Eli Manning and the Giants early, matching three and outs with their offensive brethren most of the first half.  There were a few extended drives, but the Jets stiffened in field goal range and came up with some timely pressure.  Landry looked great, with his punishing hit of Cruz over the middle as well as his opportunistic interception.  If Landry can stay on the field he can be a force.  YB had a few plays where he over-pursued, but that’s not the worst thing.  I really liked the pressure Mike DeVito was able to get up the front.  It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to a more one-gapping approach this year. Kenrick Ellis also had a nice night in replacement work of Pouha.  This defense looks to be in mid-season form already.

The Replacement D
The backups struggled a little, but I was liking what I saw from Antonio Allen and Josh Bush.  It’s raw, but they could be solid players for the Jets down the road.  As far as the linebackers, Josh Mauga had a great night and made a strong case that he has a place again on the 2012 team even if they trim the LB spot a little more this year than in previous years.