Content available exclusively for subscribers
Enough of the hype, let’s start to see how it looks . . .
It’s time for some action.
In other words, football games.
You get to a point after a long off-season, and then the first few weeks of mostly flag football in camp, where you want to see the real thing, real tackle football.
You want to see how the team’s new additions look in actual football games. You want to see if the young players retained from the previous season, have progressed.
There has always been hype, but social media has created hype on steroids.
And some of these social media millennials can get pretty braggadocio with this stuff.
Can’t wait for Friday night to see how a lot of these players perform in real football.
There was a highlight from Jets practice that went viral on social media the last few days.
It was Zach Wilson making a sidearm throw, off-platform, to Elijah Moore dashing over the middle.
Fun play to watch.
Like the 53-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis against Tennessee last year, when Wilson ran around to create time and then launched a rocket down the field to the receiver.
That highlight was all over social media the entire off-season.
But let me ask y’all a question: Was there another play like that throw to Davis the rest of the season? That play was in Week 4 of last season.
Not saying Wilson didn’t have a lot of other nice plays, just asking was there another play where he scrambled around, bought time, and connected on a deep touchdown pass?
Can’t remember one.
The point here is simple – whether it was the practice pass to Moore that went viral on social media, or that deep pass to Davis, these are like grand-slam home runs. They happen sometimes, but not a lot.
Most work at the QB position should be doing conventional stuff from the pocket, like going through your progressions, throwing accurately, throwing with anticipation, manipulating defensive backs with your eyes. All that kind of stuff.
Starting in Philly, Wilson needs to show this stuff has improved from his first season – all of it.
Speaking of “all of it” – that is what the Jets must improve on defense – all of it.
“Those [defensive] numbers last year were historically bad,” said former NFL GM Mike Lombardi on VSIN. “Defense – 32nd points allowed, 32nd yards gained, 32nd rushing attempts, 32nd touchdown runs. Every time the (opposing) offense got the ball, they were #1 in the percentage of allowing scores. Those numbers are horrendous.”
Some would say that Lombardi is being too negative, but the way I look at it is it’s “blunt force trauma” as Rex Ryan used to put it. Deal with the reality of the situation, and go out there and fix it.
And Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas went out this off-season and did a lot of heavy-lifting to fix it.
We’ve heard a lot of nice things said about young defensive backs who played last year, but actions speak louder than words. The entire starting secondary could be different than the end of last year. However, in fairness, two young corners should still see action this year – Bryce Hall and Michael Carter.
They also needed to improve their defensive line depth, and the additions of Jermaine Johnson, Jacob Martin and Solomon Thomas should help a great deal.
The return of Carl Lawson is also huge. He’s a different cat. You watch him in practice, and the power and fire he plays with is unique.
So while preseason games don’t count in the standings, the Jets’ defense needs to take a big step from last year in these summer games, because in the NFL, confidence is based on evidence.
Starting Friday night, whether it’s the QB, or the entire defense, it’s time for a little less conversation and a little more action . . .
The Jets signed Duane Brown. The announcement was made by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Some people assume they will move George Fant to right tackle and plug in Brown at left tackle, his career-long position. Why would you move the younger (30), more athletic Fant to right tackle, and plug in the soon-to-be 37-year-old Brown, coming off a rough year, to protect the QB’s blindside? Fant has the quicker feet and kick slide at this point. I would see if Brown can play right tackle. Often older left tackles, who have lost a little twitch, move to the right side, like Riley Reiff.
August 11, 2022
Premium will return by 11:30 pm on Friday.