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Perhaps this is going . . .
. . . to take longer than we thought.
When the Jets made a big splash this off-season bringing in players like Le’Veon Bell, C.J Mosley and Jamison Crowder, the perception certainly was they would be a playoff contender this season.
But this clearly going to take longer than expected.
I know Sam Darnold is out with mono, but not sure how much different Monday Night Football would have turned out if he played.
Especially with the issues left tackle Kelvin Beachum had with Myles Garrett. It was a nightmare match-up for Beachum, who had no answer for the Cleveland Browns’ star pass rusher.
And plus, honestly, Darnold struggled in the opener, and is a work-in-progress. Hey, it might have been a little better with Darnold, but probably not much.
I will tell you what, the Jets really miss Chris Herndon as a weapon in the passing game, a tight end who can stretch the field.
I think Adam Gase made a mistake last night not playing tight end Daniel Brown more. Look, I understand they needed Ryan Griffin out there a lot to help Beachum with Garrett, but when you’re in dire need of more weapons in the passing game, why not use Brown, who is a mobile, athletic tight end who can create mismatches with linebackers? Griffin and Trevon Wesco cannot.
Also, starting Damaryius Thomas, a few days after trading for him, when DIDN’T practice all leading up to the game, is mind-boggling. A new receiver who didn’t practice all week with his new team starting in a game. I have to admit that is a first for me.
This Thomas move was clearly pushed by Gase who had him in Denver. It’s time for Joe Douglas to say – “Adam, you coach the team, I will handle the personnel.”
And why didn’t Braxton Berrios play on offense with the receiver issues?
Defensively, the big news was Trumaine Johnson not playing. I have to admit that came out of nowhere. Not sure if he was in doghouse for something, or it was strictly performance related, but honestly, I though Darryl Roberts was worse in the opener than Johnson. But my goodness, what a debacle this Johnson contract has turned into. He is just two games into his second season of a five-year contract for $72 million with $45 million guaranteed, and he didn’t play tonight. That’s wild. And it’s not like they can get out of this contract anytime soon without taking an enormous cap hit. What a disaster this deal done by the old GM has turned into.
Turning back to the offense, look, I understand that it’s not ideal to lose your starting QB (Darnold) and then his backup Trevor Siemian tonight to an ankle injury, and are forced to play Luke Falk, just signed off the practice squad.
But honestly, I don’t think the offensive play-calling has been great. I expected more from Adam Gase as an offensive strategist than what we’ve seen in the first two games. Thought he was an offensive guru. How many bubble screens are you going to throw?
September 16, 2019
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