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Morris County, New Jersey – I think it’s becoming pretty obvious that the New York Jets are going to
have significant turnover after this season on their coaching staff.
You get the sense, barring an embarrassing performance against Buffalo, Todd Bowles is going to be back. But many of his assistants are probably updating their resumes as we speak.
And it could be easy to move on from a contract standpoint. I was told by a league source, who is friends with a Jets assistant, that the coach’s contract expires after this season, and he’s looking to move on. So it’s fair to assume that most of the coaches have the same contract parameters. In other words, most of their contracts probably expire after this season.
So expect major turnover on Bowles’ coaching staff.
The tough part will be attracting top-shelf candidates with the perception around the league that Bowles will be in a make-or-break year in 2017. Not an ideal landing spot when you might need to look for work again a year later . . .
If you noticed, the Jets signed two pass edge-rusing outside linebackers the last two weeks – Randell Johnson and Corey Lemonier.
They’ve got to get this fixed (the lack of an edge-rush), and they are adding guy with that in mind.
We talked about Johnson, a former Bills draft pick, last week. Lemonier, like Johnson, certainly looks the part, at 6-3, 255. He was a third-round pick of San Francisco in 2013, and after a couple of years there, he’s had brief stints in Cleveland and Detroit. The former Auburn star was considered one of the better 3-4 OLB prospects in 2013 draft, but just hasn’t put it all together yet.
I’m not saying Johnson, Lemonier or Victor Ochi (on the practice squad) will be the panacea for the Jets edge rushing issue, but there is no doubt that by consistently kicking the tires on these kind of guys, the Jets are hoping to strike lightening in a bottle with somebody.
And expect a high draft pick at this position in 2017.
As much as the Jets pass defense is hurting them, the lack of an edge rush isn’t make the life of the deep patrol any easier . . .
We might see Jalin Marshall re-emerge this week as the Jets’ kick and punt returner with Nick Marshall nursing a hamstring injury. Jalin Marshall was the starting kick and punt returner in today’s practice.
I liked Nick Marshall initially as a returner, but upon further review, he needs to be more decisive as a kick returner; hit a seam and go with it. He’s dancing too much. He been better as a punt returner than a kick returner.
Jalin Marshall had a little bit of the same problem as Nick on kick returners earlier this season – dancing too much. Jalin Marshall’s issue on punt returns was more related to catching.
These guys have to understand on kick returns, this isn’t “Dancing with the Stars.” You need to trust your blockers, trust your wedge, and “boom”, hit the seam . . .
December 28, 2016
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