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Atlanta – As you all know by now . . .
Avery Williamson hurt his knee in the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons. It was surprising he was still out there with the second team.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport announced Williamson is out for the season. The Jets should be okay with Neville Hewitt and James Burgess, who both played very well last night. They are both experienced, instinctive and know what they are doing out there.
And both Hewitt and Burgess are better in coverage than Williamson. Gregg Williams had Williamson in a role that required a lot of coverage, not his strength. Remember, in 2017, while with the Tennessee, Titans defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau often took Williamson off the field on passing downs. So while the injury is devastating for Williamson, the Jets should be okay at the position. Also, Blake Cashman is good in coverage, but I didn’t include him because he’s currently injured, and I have no idea when he’s coming back. Since Rapoport didn’t announce it was a season-ending injury for Cashman, he should be back soon. So with Hewitt, Burgess and Cashman, the Jets should be fine at the ILB position next to C.J. Mosley . . .
Somebody asked C.J. Mosley after the game about missing a tackle on a screen to running back Ito Smith that gained four yards.
It thought that was perhaps a little too nit-picky to go there after a preseason game.
And when the play happened, I actually viewed it as a positive play for the Jets.
The play showed Mosley’s amazing instincts. He totally read the play. The QB pretended he was going to the other side, and then turned left to throw to Smith. Mosley didn’t fall for the fake for one second and was in perfect position. Smith made a great move to get by him. Hey, it happens.
But hey, this is the preseason, to get the kinks out, so this was totally not a big deal.
And once again, it showed how instinctive Mosley is . . .
I have been a little critical of the Jets on Twitter for running Trenton Cannon between the tackles in the preseason. And I’m equal opportunity on this one – I criticized the old staff last summer for doing the same thing.
Fans say to me on twitter, “What is the big deal?”
Well first of all, he’s just 185 pounds so he’s not built for it.
And I know some people will say “The results don’t matter because it’s the preseason, so just let him do it.”
But to me, the most significant concern here is the injury-risk.
He’s a tough guy, but not a big guy, and he’s taking some very big hits, and he doesn’t have the body armor to be a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust inside grinder.
This guy is a valuable player to the Jets as a kick returner, kick/punt cover guy (where he’s excellent) and as a receiving back.
Look, I don’t want to pretend to have all the answers, but I wouldn’t use him this way. It’s too risky and he’s taking too many big hits . . .
I will say one thing about the Jets’ defensive back room coming out of last night’s game – they might not be loaded with elite man-to-man cover guys (who are really hard to find), but this group will hit you.
Whether it was backup cornerbacks or safeties, the Jets’ defensive backs were flying around last night bringing the wood, even some of the smaller corners like Alex Brown. There were myriad big hits from Jets defensive backs last night in all four quarters. I think part of this is the Gregg Williams factor. He has the defensive players highly motivated with his fiery coaching-style.
August 16, 2019
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