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Should it have been . . .
kicked out of bounds?
Talking about the Braden Mann punt at the end of the New England game? It was returned for a touchdown by Marcus Jones, giving the Patriots the win.
“I’m not going to get into specifics what was talked about, but the bottom line is it doesn’t matter where that ball is and where it’s placed, if that’s in the middle, if it’s outside the numbers, if it’s out on the sideline, or wherever the hell it is, we’ve got to be able to cover it, and like I said, I’m the coach, it’s 100 percent on me,” Brant Boyer said.
It does matter where the ball was kicked.
It should have been punted out of bounds.
And the Jets personnel on that punt cover team was not an ideal combination.
Of course Justin Hardee was double-teamed, so we aren’t talking about him, but three of the other guys who were the first three down to try and tackle Jones.
Three of the guys that ran down to stop Jones, and he got by all of them, were players that aren’t ideal punt cover guys – tight ends C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin and defensive end Michael Clemons.
And don’t take this as a shot at those players, who all do solid jobs handling their regular positions, but their skill sets aren’t necessarily ideal for punt coverage.
Having two large tight ends, and a long-legged defensive end, running down on punt coverage, and expecting them to deal with a quick, speedy returner in space, is probably asking too much of them.
Granted, there are personnel restrictions on game day with just 46 guys dressed, but still, to have this trio, as some of the first people down the field to deal with a 5-8 waterbug like Jones, who is electrifying in the open field, is asking for trouble.
So not only was it a mistake to punt down the middle, but the personnel used on this play was far from ideal, and the Jets need to change this group moving forward . . .
Robert Saleh did a very good job explaining his decision to sit Zach Wilson for Mike White. The bottom line is he feels the player needs a timeout to improve his mechanics, which are a problem right now.
While Saleh did a very good job explaining his decision for the most part, the only thing I question is this part –
“The intent, the full intent, is to make sure Zach gets back on the football field at some point this year,” Saleh said. “When that is, I’ll make that decision. I’ll take that day-by-day. ”
I have no issue with the coach saying that they expect Wilson to get back on the field at some point, but not sure it’s ideal to say “at some point this year.”
First of all, you just made White the starter, but you are telling him that you expect Wilson to get back on the field this year. This year only has about a month left to it. It’s going to be really hard for Jets coaches to fix Wilson’s mechanics in a month. You are trying to change his muscle memory, which has contributed to some of his poor throwing mechanics. Do you really expect to change entrenched muscle memory issues in a month?
Clearly if White plays well and keeps them in playoff contention, they aren’t going to go back to Wilson. But if they struggle, and fall out of contention, you could see Wilson late in the season, getting him more experience in “meaningless” games.
But if he does come back late in the year if they fall out of contention. it’s hard to imagine that his mechanical issues being gone at that point. That is likely going to more time, like an entire off-season of schooling.
November 24, 2022
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