Catfight in the Meadowlands: Niners jump the Jets with their own gimmick
Jim Harbaugh won't be content simply to beat the Jets this week. He wants to beat them and mock them at the same time. He's halfway there on both counts, holding a 10-0 head at intermission.
We've seen a little Cat Scratch Fever at the Meadowlands, as Colin Kaepernick and the Niners threw an early curve at the Jets. The San Francisco backup QB took a few snaps as a change of pace, putting two rushes for 24 yards on the board (including a very easy seven-yard touchdown stroll). Kaepernick also has a strong arm, but his judgment was lacking on his only pass attempt; a deep throw to a triple-covered Randy Moss was swatted away.
The Jets weren't going to let the Niners have all the gimmicky fun; Tim Tebow eventually found his way onto the field (cape sold separately). A Tebow jump-pass on third down resulted in a nine-yard gain - and a lost fumble from Dedrick Epps. Tebow also rushed once for two yards.
The starting quarterbacks are having modest days, as most fantasy owners expected. Alex Smith at least has been efficient (9-for-13, 100 yards, 7.7 YPA), though he's taken a couple of sacks. Mark Sanchez is just 5-for-10 for 52 yards, with three sacks and one lost fumble. While the Jets offensive line has struggled to control the Niners pass rush, Sanchez held the ball too long on his one turnover - basically he was waiting for the defense to get home on that play. Here's hoping Sanchez has pocket awareness on his holiday gift list. (And put a rush order on that: Sanchez just threw a third-period pick as I was hitting the "publish" button here.)
Fantasy takeaway to all this? Kaepernick could be a fantasy gold mine if Smith ever ran into injury problems. Meanwhile, the Jets still haven't figured out what to do with Tebow.
