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Some interesting stuff to get into today . . .
Sam Darnold got some work today.
I have noticed a pattern around here with the handling of injured players in recent years.
The week before they return, the Jets medical people/football decision-makers, have them transition from not practicing at all, to practicing on a limited basis. They end up not playing that week.
Then the week that follows, they often go to practicing full and playing.
I would suspect that that is the plan for Darnold, to return against Buffalo.
And that is what NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport basically announced on twitter on Sunday, “Sam Darnold likely won’t be back until Week 14 against the Buffalo Bills.”
This stuff usually comes from the player’s agent or somebody in the building looking to advance their career by having an NFL insider talk about them when job openings happen (leaked info = insider love in print). So I believe the report . . .
I refuse to fire Todd Bowles in print or on the radio. I don’t like to do that.
But what am I hearing?
I heard from a league source that he’s gone, and the Buffalo game was the final straw, the point of no return . . .
Two major issues with the Jets’ run-defense were on display late in the third quarter on James White’s 27-yard run off right tackle against New England.
Outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins was taken to the ground, and Darron Lee was taken out by a pulling offensive linemen, and the combination of these two things opened up the gaping hole that White ran through. Jenkins is on the ground way too much, and Lee struggles getting off blocks – this combination taking place on the same side can lead to a big problem.
I tweeted today, “There’s a difference between a blown assignment and an inability (skill-wise) to execute an assignment.”
Lee’s struggles getting off blocks isn’t necessarily his fault – he’s way too small and not strong enough for the 3-4 ILB position – he doesn’t have the requisite size and power to shed huge linemen. He doesn’t the “body armor” of guys like David Harris and Demario Davis.
Jenkins is what scouts call, “a better football player than athlete.” He’s heavy-legged and lacks quick twitch, neither his fault, and this leads to a lot of plays where he’s on the ground. Any scout will tell you a defensive lineman or linebacker on the ground too much is far from ideal.
The coaches continues to say the Jets’ gap control is about better execution. Perhaps, but some of it is related to players who might be better suited to backup roles, who are being used as starters.
Other writers and the Jets can continue to generalize about the Jets’ run defense issues, but I don’t live in that world. I try to be specific.
The gap control issues can continue when you have these two players struggling due to shortcomings that aren’t their fault, and a rookie defensive linemen (Nathan Shepherd) being forced into the starting lineup WAY before he was ready. Three important run defense spots.
Maybe one day, somebody from the Jets will explain to me, what the rush was to get Shepherd, an incredibly raw player from Fort Hays State and Simon Fraser, into the starting lineup; he was anointed a starter in the spring. This made no sense then, and it makes no sense now. I think Foley Fatukasi came in raw, but you could make an argument, after playing in the Division 1 American Conference, he was further along in his development than Shepherd, who basically played against no NFL quality offensive linemen in college.
So the Jets don’t need coaching cliches to fix their run defense, they need to tweak their lineup.
But it’s unlikely this is going to happen. Todd Bowles is amazingly loyal to his starters.
November 28, 2018
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