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Florham Park – Should keep it interesting . . .
I’m not predicting a win, but the Jets should able to hang around in this game, and I will tell you why.
With their cornerback issues, and sans a great pass rush, the Jets tend to struggle against quarterbacks who are very good at reading defenses and finding soft spots and blown coverages. You saw that against New England’s Tom Brady and Philadelphia’s Carson Went.
Dak Prescott isn’t one of those quarterbacks, and that is why his contract demands are crazy.
Prescott is system QB who needs a running game to sell play-action fakes to play on a high level. His stats on play-action passes are outstanding.
But injuries to both Dallas offensive tackles could make running the ball a little harder for the Jets this week . . .
The following is an example of why NFL football is a tough sport to cover. I don’t mean like a tough job. I’m not complaining about the job. What I mean by “tough” is it’s often hard to discern how certain players are truly playing, regardless of stats.
Most fans and reporters don’t think Leonard Williams is playing great this year based on his stats, but Jets DC Gregg Williams raved about him today, and I mean raved.
I don’t think Leonard Williams has been bad, but I don’t think he’s been great either.
But I will give him credit for one thing – the Jets have the seventh-ranked run defense in the NFL, and when Williams takes up double teams, he often frees up players like Neville Hewitt to make unencumbered tackles . . .
Reading the tea leaves, you get the sense that Adam Gase doesn’t feel like he’s a coach doing a bad job, but more a coach who was dealt a bad hand with injuries and a pedestrian roster, mostly assembled by the previous GM.
I could be wrong, but that is the vibe I’m getting.
But my take is he was dealt a bad hand, but also isn’t doing a great job. Neither concept is mutually exclusive . . .
Gregg Williams is certainly captivating on the practice field and in his press conference. He commands a room as they say.
After watching Williams press conference today, one reporter cracked, “That guy should be the head coach and Gase should be the offensive coordinator.”
I highly doubt they will switch positions . . .
The following comment isn’t meant as a shot at Jets fans, just a dose of reality – the Jets are likely playing the next three games on the road.
Expect Dallas and New England stadium takeovers at MetLife Stadium the next two weeks, and then the Jets play at Jacksonville.
The Jets can play that irksome siren all they want the next two weeks to fire up the fans (which I don’t think it does), but you can write this down – that stadium is going to be loaded with Dallas and New England fans.
And do you really blame some Jets fans for selling their tickets on StubHub for these games? It’s hard to watch a team with the 32nd-ranked offense that is barely functionable on that side of the ball. While Darnold might improve things for them offensively, let’s not forget he wasn’t lights out in the opener either. So it remains to be seen if he will truly improve things for the Jets’ offense. We shall see.
October 11, 2019
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