The Jets opened the 2003 preseason on Saturday morning as they took on the Tampa Bay Buccanneers in Tokyo, Japan.
QB Chad Pennington completed all of his 4 passes, including a 42-yarder to free agent acquisition WR Curtis Conway. This pass set up LaMont Jordan's 1-yard TD run and lifted the Jets to a 7-0 lead. That was it for the first team offense that looked pretty good moving the ball through the air but obviously struggled to get any running game going.
The first team defense, that also played just one series, failed to apply any pressure on the Bucs' QB Brad Johnson. Rookie DT DeWayne Robertson did not impress, although he was being double-teamed quite often. FS Jon McGraw clearly got beaten in the end zone, but, luckily, a Bucs' player juggled the ball and it was ruled incomplete.
QB Vinny Testaverde did not play, so it was rookie QB Brooks Bollinger the rest of the way. Most of the time Bollinger looked poised in the pocket, making right decisions and hitting his receivers. He finished 8 for 13, 98 yards, with a touchdown pass to TE Gabriel Reid in the fourth quarter.
The backup defense looked absolutely awful and poorly prepared, as they allowed a few long, time-consuming drives, and failed to make any big plays. Just like last year, we saw missed tackles, blown coverages, and definitely lack of preparation.
On special teams P Dan Stryzinski looked pretty god, and it sure looks like the Jets punting game won't degrade compared to last season. On kickoffs, however, it was quite obvious that the Jets would miss John Hall. CB Tyrone Carter had two perfect opportunities to down the ball inside the Bucs' 5-yard line, but failed both times.
Well, the Jets looked rusty and lost 14-30. Their backups were outplayed for the most part, but did show some flashes. There are still four preseason games on the schedule - plenty of time to get ready for regular season. Let's hope that the Jets' coaching staff will make the right corrections after the Tokyo fiasco, so we won't witness yet another terrible start of the season.