Jets final report card -- 2012: Disarray across the board

The 2012 Jets had hoped to return to their AFC Championship form of 2009 and 2010 after an 8-8 2011 season. It was not to be.

By Lisa Zimmerman

Jan 3, 2013 at 2:11 pm ET • 3 min read

Rex Ryan stuck with Mark Sanchez through most of the season and it was costly. (US Presswire)

The 2012 season was a big disappointment, especially with the splash the Jets made with their trade for quarterback Tim Tebow. They had hoped to return to their AFC Championship form of 2009 and 2010 after an 8-8 2011 season. It was not to be and they finished at 6-10; the first losing record in coach Rex Ryan’s four years as head coach.

Offense: D+

It was a bad season for the Jets’ offense. They ended in 30th place overall in the NFL, where they spent much of the season. Quarterback Mark Sanchez threw 18 interceptions and turned the ball over a total of 26 times. He threw just 13 touchdowns, all of which led to the
team’s franchise quarterback being benched by Ryan after the week 15 loss to the Titans. They lost their best receiver, Santonio Holmes, to a Lisfranc injury in week four and tight end Dustin Keller, Sanchez’s safety net for three years, missed a total of eight games, first with
a hamstring injury and then with a sprained ankle. The offensive line struggled with pass protection. And the Tebow wildcat experiment was a bust. He rushed for a total of 32 times for 102 yards and spent much of the time on the bench. Although referred to as the team’s backup, Tebow was passed over for third-string quarterback Greg McElroy when Sanchez was benched. The running game with Shonn Greene leading the way (he rushed for his second straight 1,000 yard season) was satisfactory and second year player Bilal Powell showed a spark although he was hampered by a shoulder injury.

Defense: B-

The defense managed a significantly better year than their offense. They broke the top 10 finishing eighth overall. There were more bright spots here than anywhere else.

DL Muhammad Wilkerson had a solid second season (5 sacks) and rookie DE Quinton Coples showed continued improvement, finishing with a team high 5.5 sacks. DL Mike DeVito was
also one of the most consistent players on the front seven. However, they struggled all year against the run. CB Antonio Cromartie and S LaRon Landry held up the back end admirably after the team lost CB Darrelle Revis to an ACL injury and both players earned a Pro Bowl
berth.

Special teams: C

It was a rough final season for special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff. They had three field goals blocked, two kick-off returned for touchdowns, two blocked punts returned for touchdowns and a punt returned for a touchdown. They did manage one punt return for a
touchdown (Jeremy Kerley) and one kickoff return for a touchdown (Joe McKnight). They did have a couple of successful punt fakes with Tebow as the personal protector. Punter Robert Malone had a solid season with a net average of 38.5 yards per punt. Folk was actually one of
the team’s most consistent players making 21 of 26 field goal attempts. He made 3 of 4 over 50 yards. But weekly missed assignments added up to one of the worst seasons of Westhoff’s 30-year career.

Coaching: D

Wildcat. No wildcat. The Jets said they had a plan, but never followed it. The quarterback situation was a constant point of controversy. Why did they trade for Tebow and rarely use him? Then they benched Sanchez but elevated McElroy? They lost Holmes, but were never able to come up with anything to use the players they had. The defense played
reasonably well, but struggled against the run all year long. So many big plays against the special teams unit was perplexing. They did the best they could on defense, but were light on pass rushing and the ferocity of a Ryan defense seemed dampened.