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The debate rages . . .
Should Sauce Gardner cover Tyreek Hill?
The answer is he shouldn’t follow him around, that is for sure.
Of course he’s going to cover him sometimes, but not full time, and here is why:
Gardner is a long-legged 6-3 corner. Hill is a 5-8 receiver, with a lower center of gravity, who changes directions effortlessly.
Not an ideal matchup. Hill is a very difficult matchup for anyone, but especially for long-legged corners for a short-area quickness standpoint.
Gardner is a tremendous talent, and you saw how well he did last week against tall targets. In the second quarter, Gardner had a PD down the left sideline on 6-3 George Pickens, and then late in the game, he had great coverage on 6-5 tight end Pat Freiermuth on a tipped pass that Michael Carter picked off.
But the 5-8 Hill – not a great matchup. Sometimes, yes. All the time, no . . .
Zach Wilson is limited with an ankle injury. Not sure when it happened, but one play that could not have helped was in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh, on the drive that made it 20-17. On 3rd-and-13, Wilson scrambled left, and after gaining six yards, he got leveled, but not one, not two, but three Steelers – safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Cam Heyward and nickel back Arthur Maulet.
As announcer Greg Gumbel described it – “He got crushed.”
Not a hit that is good for one’s health at the QB position . . .
Jets right tackle Max Mitchell has a dislocated knee camp. The announcement was made by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Tough injury for the kid, but that Jets should be okay at the position with Mike Remmers, Cedric Ogbuehi or Conor McDermott. Mitchell, who has a lot of potential, had a rough one in Pittsburgh before the injury.
In the first quarter, OLB Alex Highsmith sacked Zach Wilson. He shed Max Mitchell, but also messing up pocket was Cam Heyward pushing back Nate Herbig on that same side.
In the first quarter, Highsmith shed Mitchell, pressured Wilson, and the QB threw it away.
In the second quarter, OLB Malik Reed beat Mitchell, forcing Wilson to roll right and throw the ball away.
Mitchell has a nice upside, but he might have been rushed based on necessity due to injuries, though Grant Hermanns was another option, who was a little further along, but not a draft pick . . .
Big challenge this week for the Jets covering Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki from Manahawkin, NJ.
Sauce Gardner has done a good job on these kinds of tight ends, like last week on his PD on Pat Freiermuth that led to a pick by Michael Carter, and he did a good job in the Baltimore game on Mark Andrews.
However, with Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the outside, can they afford to put Gardner on Gesicki?
The Jets linebacker coverage on tight ends has been suspect this year, though they did have their first PD of the year from a LB, when C.J. Mosley broke up a pass to Freiermuth over the short middle, but there Freiermuth had several key catches as well.
But considering the Jets’ inconsistent play covering tight ends, expect the Dolphins to feature Gesicki this week.
October 5, 2022
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