Good news. I wanted to see what Houston can do besides goalline duty, and I honestly feel if Washington isn't too much of a liability in pass protection (should he ever be blocking unless its blitz pickup) , he gives us the best chance to put up some points vs. the colts. Lets pull out all the stops!!
I think both of these developments (Kendall back and Washington/Houston) could help spark the running game to where it can at least be a reasonable compliment in order to enhance the passing attack that much more.
I'm more curious to see how Houston and Washington do. I'm afraid we've seen all Barlow is capable of doing with or without Kendall.
This is a very big deal. Having Kendall back and using all 3 RB's against Indy. LG has been our weakest spot on the O-Line this season. Getting Kendall back just means that we can run to the left side a little more. Barlow will start and get most of the carries, Washington will be the 3rd down back and our change of pase runner. Houston will come in when Barlow needs a break or if Barlow is cold. Mangini will play the hot runner between Barlow and Houston. Washington will just give us the quickness we need against this defense. The Jets HAVE to run against this defense. Or else its gonna be a very long game for our offenses 3 Headed Monster. Getting Kendall back could be a blessing in disquise. Believe it or not the Jets are 2-1 coming back home for a very big game against the 3-0 Colts. With a 2-0 road record and the way they played against the Pats in the 2nd half. This game isnt out of reach in their minds. Im sure Mangini will implement this all week long. We have a legit shot for be in the division lead. With a HUGE home win here. I will be there cheering our boys on all game long. Over/Under on losing voice. 1st Quarter. Youth™
Barlow is a North/South runner. Just a power back. Nothing flashy. Don't hold your breath for him to break one in excess of 20 - 25 yards; probably won't happen. He will always be largely a 3 to 7 yard runner. Some less, some a bit more, but nothing flashy. As long as he doesn't fumble that can be good enough to win some games depending on how he is used. Put another way, I like Barlow over Blaylock. I also like Houston and I am really rooting for Washington. Washington, IMO, has the best chance to be a breakout runner and a real find in the draft. I wouldn't classify him there yet, but he has potential.
We have to have a running game if we want to beat the Colts. That is how we control the clock and keep the ball out of Manning's hands. If Manning is allowed to go head to head against Pennington's arm, even with Pennington's new found strength, Manning will emerge the winner.
The Jets are being over looked and our O-Line is much improved with Kendall over whichever LG. Plus Kendall is the leader of this O-Line. When I say blessing in disquise I mean for this week. Obviously getting our starter back is huge. But getting Kendall back this week vs the Colts. Is a blessing in disquise. Our RB's have slowly been improving and Mangini has finally found each RB's role in this offense. At 2-1 vs the 3-0 Colts. Getting Kendall back and being up against an awful run D. Just is a blessing in disquise that no one will notice. The Jets running game will improve greatly this game. With Kendall comes a legit shot for 3-1 and a big upset. Youth?
I disagree with the statement about barlow. He's a VERY skilled player. He has great quickness and burst from what i've see about 2 years ago in SF. Maybe something happened between then and now
Oh, something happened. He got nailed about 600 times. (No sex jokes, fellas) I agree though. I always liked Barlow as a 9er, and he doesn't look the same. He holds onto the ball though..and he scored a nice TD last week. Don't overlook that. How many games do you watch where teams fail to get into the end zone on a first and goal at the 5? Like, every game! Barlow made a nice little cut on that play. He hasn't been great, but after that play I say he hasn't been terrible either, and he seems dependable.
Great news all around. Having Kendall back is grearnews, and the fact that Leon Washington and Cedric Houston will both be used this weekend is great. Leon & Cedric > Blaylock and Barlow (as far as last week went).
We need to score points, not just run out the clock. So ideally we want long drives that lead to TDs. We don't necessarily need the running game, but if it works it certainly could be helpful. Put another way, even if we rush for 150 yards, we aren't going to win the game because of that. The Bills showed you last week that just having stats doesn't mean you will win a game. My strategy for this game would be to come out passing for the first 3 drives, and then hopefully have a lead before we really start going for ball control. If the D can't even get through one half, we were going to lose anyway.
Man I didn't think Kendall's absence would have hindered the running game, but I think it was a big factor along with the oline cohesion and having smaller,quicker pass block lineman out there. We did show some improvement in Buffalo and with Kendall back I'm confident we can break 100 yards this game.
