Content available exclusively for subscribers
With Max Mitchell out, the question remains
who will be the starting right tackle this week?
I asked another beat writer on Thursday who he thought would start, and that person said, “Alijah Vera-Tucker.”
Creative idea, but I wouldn’t go there.
Why mess with two positions to fix one? I understand the decision last week in moving Vera-Tucker to left tackle because that is Zach Wilson’s blindside and his first game off coming a knee injury.
Vera-Tucker was a good left tackle in college, so that was a really smart decision for the Pittsburgh game.
Well, this week, they will likely have Duane Brown at left tackle, so just put Vera-Tucker back at right guard, and plug in Conor McDermott, Cedric Ogbuehi, Mike Remmers or Grant Hermanns. They literally have four options.
But here is the biggest reason not to move Vera-Tucker to right tackle – he’s never played there. He told me the two positions he’s never played are right tackle and center.
The idea from the other writer was creative, but I wouldn’t do it . . .
Max Mitchell could be out for a while.
Saw him today leaving the locker room using a crutch to support his knee injury.
On October 3, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport announced that Mitchell dislocated his kneecap.
This probably isn’t a season-ending injury, but watching him using a crutch today, it could be a month or two . . .
Quincy Williams is trying to come back from a high ankle sprain suffered against Cincinnati. He missed the Jets-Steelers game, and will miss the Dolphins game as well.
Saw him running sprints on a side field today, which is a good sign, but one thing about high ankle sprains is that running straight isn’t the biggest issue, it’s cutting on the ankle . . .
Michael Clemons is a conditioning freak. Just look at him. He’s got the body of a Greek God. So it should come as no surprise he was doing pushups in the locker today after practice.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before – pushups in the locker room.
Not sure Duane Brown has seen it either. He walked by respectively smirking at what the kid was doing . . .
It’s going to be really interesting to see what kind of defensive approach the Jets take to defend the Dolphins track team of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Hill runs under 4.3 and Waddle runs under 4.4.
We mentioned yesterday that the uber-talented Sauce Gardner might not be an ideal matchup with 5-8 Hill with his incredible short-area quickness, due to Gardner’s long legs, which can make it tough to transition at times with waterbug-type receivers. I’d have him on Waddle.
So I’d put Gardner on Waddle and double Hill. Because putting D.J. Reed one-on-one with Hill isn’t a great idea either. Reed is a very good player and has had a terrific season, but he’s a 4.51 forty guy, so he might not have the ideal wheels to run with Hill (not many people can).
And when they play zone, they better do a great job of passing guys off, something that was a problem for them last year. It seems to be a little better this year . . .
We can talk all day about what coverages the Jets will play, but this game is probably more about the pressure the Jets front gets on Teddy Bridgewater. This Jets’ defensive scheme is front-driven. The Dolphins have a very good left tackle in Terron Armstead, but he’s banged up. They are playing with a backup right tackle in Greg Little with Austin Jackson on injured reserve. Quinnen Williams should be able to do some things against center Connor Williams, in his first season at the position, after playing guard for the Dallas Cowboys . . .
The Jets are going to take their team photo on Saturday . . .
October 7, 2022
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Sunday.