Game 17: Jets 31, Falcons 16

Falcons start with the ball at their 20. Joey Harrington at QB, Jerious Norwood at RB. Now, I knew Warrick Dunn was hurt, but did something happen to Michael Vick? What'd I miss?

Harrington hits Roddy White a couple of times, really getting drilled after the second one, to get Atlanta near midfield. But Norwood gets stuffed by Dwayne Robertson on 2nd down and Harrington's throw to Michael Jenkins on 3rd down is off, and would have been too short anyway. GOD, is that getting annoying. Falcons punt.

Jet offense runs the gamut from too-conservative to too-cute early. Thomas Jones runs four times, then on third down, Brad Smith takes the snap, but it's just to hand off to Leon Washington, who gets pulled down for a loss by Jamaal Anderson.

Falcons start from their own 9. Three straight handoffs to Norwood, with Kenyon Coleman stopping him cold on 3rd down to get the 3-and-out.

The Jets are making a point of getting Brad Smith the ball; he starts this series with 9 yards on a reverse. Amazingly, the Jets have opened the game with 10 straight running plays. Is OC Brian Schottenheimer really surprised when a 3rd-and-6 handoff to Leon Washington doesn't get the first down? Bizarre.

Falcons get a first down thanks to a pretty leaping catch over the middle by Joe Horn for 22. On 3rd-and-9, Harrington evades the rush and hits TE Dwayne Blakley for 37. Harrington's getting perhaps a little too fired-up every time he makes a decent play. Norwood runs it in from the 10 pretty much untouched to put Atlanta on the board first, 7-0.

Spectacular work by the wedge lets Washington break out with an 86-yard kick return to the Atlanta 8. Excellent effort and closing speed by David Irons temporarily saves the TD. Kellen Clemens takes over at QB (Why? Starter Chad Pennington never even threw a pass!) as the first quarter runs out.
Thomas Jones wriggles in from the 1 to tie the game at 7.

Chris Redman at QB for Atlanta. Another one of those dink-and-dunk drives ends when Alphonso Hodge holds Laurent Robinson to a 5-yard catch on 3rd-and-7. ONCE AGAIN THE PASS IS SHORT OF THE REQUIRED FIRST-DOWN YARDAGE. Billy Cundiff hits a 45-yarder to put Atlanta up 10-7.

Washington gets the corner and returns the next kickoff 28 yards to the 37. You know, Joe DeCamillis isn't the Falcons' special teams coach any more, and it already shows. DeCamillis, the best special teams coach in the league, went to the Jagwires, while the Rams, who also (re)filled the position this offseason? Hired a high school coach.

In what I consider a bit of an upset, Brad Smith has taken over at QB for the Jets. He scrambles twice for 10 and 7 yards. The Jets even try a fake punt with Smith as the up man, but he misses a running lane he could have taken off into for a first down and throws way behind Stacy Tutt for an incompletion that gives Atlanta the ball at their own 42.

The Falcons do nothing with the good field position after Roddy White does what Atlanta WRs do best... drops the ball, on third down. Three-and-out.

Jets open the drive from their 20. Clemens is back at QB, and underthrows a bomb by a good five yards, but Justin McCareins comes up with it for a 41-yard catch, somehow avoiding an OPI while throwing Alan Rossum aside to make the catch. Not only that, Rossum gets a DPI. Humorous.

Considering the skills he has, and that he plays for a New York team, it's surprising Washington doesn't get a lot more hype than he does. On 3rd-and-9 from the Atlanta 15, he sprints off with a screen pass down to the 2. TE Sean Ryan makes a diving catch in the back of the end zone for the score; 14-10, Jets.

Good kick return by Adam Jennings, out to the 37, gives Atlanta a good chance to drive for at least a FG in the last 0:47. White makes a nice leaping catch at the 24 and gets Atlanta's last timeout called with 0:01 on the clock. Cundiff hits the 41-yarder at the gun. Nice drive by Atlanta. 14-13, Jets at halftime.

Brad Smith opens the second half by returning the kickoff to midfield. Where have you gone, Joe DeCamillis? Falcon Nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Boo hoo hoo. Boo-hoo for the Falcon defense, too, as Washington bounces outside for a 25-yard run on 3rd-and-18. Star in the making, I tell you. DB Chris Houston is injured on the next play, a 16-yard Wallace Wright reception that gets the Jets into the red zone. Chancey Stuckey beats Tony Franklin for a jump pass from Clemens for the TD. Jets 21, Falcons 13.

KickReturnFest '07 tries to continue with Jennings returning the Jets' kickoff across the 40, but it's called back due to a penalty. The Falcons 3-and-out when Redman is almost sacked but gets a screen away to Jason Snelling, who's buried by three guys and loses 4.

Capsule of the Falcons' season to come: the local announcers completely ignore the previously-described possession while interviewing GM Rich McKay about Vick.

Jets take over at their 45, and Clemens engineers an effective dink-and-dunk drive out of no-huddle, finishing with a 10-yard pass to Sean Ryan, all alone in the corner of the end zone for his 2nd TD. Impressively, Clemens hangs in there with a blitzer bearing down on him and gets the pass off as he's getting whacked. 28-13, Jets.

Jennings returns the kickoff across the 40 AGAIN! The kick coverage in this game has been laughable. DJ Shockley taking over as Falcons QB. A holding penalty sets them back, and on third down, Shockley's pass is deflected by Michael Haynes and intercepted by Drew Coleman, who puts the Jets in long-FG position with the return.

The Jets 3-and-out it right back, though, with Clemens attempting a 3rd-down screen to Alvin Banks, who didn't appear to be looking for a pass. Mike Nugent misses a 52-yard attempt.

Jennings tips a pass to Laurent Robinson for a 17-yard gain to start Atlanta's drive. Robinson makes a fine diving catch of a 12-yard pass on 3rd-and-6 to move the Falcons inside the 25, and Snelling gains 10 the next play. As the 4th quarter starts, a false start, good Jet coverage on 1st and 2nd down, and an incomplete pass WELL short of the required distance lead to another Cundiff FG. Jets 28, Falcons 16.

Danny Ware opens the Jets' next drive with 25 on a draw play, and they're right back across midfield. Frisman Jackson makes a leaping one-handed grab of a Clemens pass for 20. The Jets drive down to the 11 before settling for a Nugent FG. An attempted screen pass is knocked down, and the Jets stupidly try to run Ware on 3rd-and-6. 31-16 New York anyway.

3-and-out for the Falcons, after a 20-yard pass to Jennings. Shockley overthrows Vincent Marshall downfield on 3rd down.

Happy to hold serve at this late stage of the game, the Jets also three-and-out, with Ware running three times for one yard. The Atlanta broadcast's choices for the "Coors Plays of the Game" are a couple of Harrington completions in the first quarter. Viva preseason!

Yet another long return by Jennings, this time 34 yards on the punt return, is called back for an illegal block. After a completion to Eric Weems, the Falcons 4-and-out with 2:36 left. They try a quick handoff on 4th-and-2, but Raymond Ventrone breaks it up in the backfield to give the Jets the ball back.

For some reason, the Jets change QBs again, to Marques Tuiasosopo. All they need to do is run out the clock anyway. Which they do. Valuable experience for Marques! Jets win, 31-16.

Two Jets really stood out here: Brad Smith, who is getting the full-blown "Slash" treatment in the Jets game plan, and Leon Washington, who's emerged as a dangerous threat on kick returns and as the third-down back.

The Falcons didn't particularly leave me a lot to go on. Their receivers look ordinary as usual. Harrington's trying to rally the team and be a leader. I wish him luck but don't see it taking. Atlanta's kick coverage units were terrible and could use a lot of work.

That completes Week 1 of the Preseason Challenge. Unfortunately, I'm a good 2 1/2 days behind schedule. The first Week 2 game up will be Chargers at Rams, which I'll be on my way to in a few minutes. Look for that on RamView.