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Based on what Jeff Ulbrich said on Wednesday, it doesn’t look good for Breece Hall this week. He’s dealing with a knee injury.
Hall is a heck of a player, but the two rookies who replaced him both had good games last week and there wasn’t much of a dropoff.
That isn’t mean as a shot a Hall, just the reality of the situation.
Braelon Allen ran 11 times for 43 yards, and Isaiah Davis went 10 for 40. Allen had 4 catches for 30 yards, and Davis had 3 catches for 27.
It looks like the Jets hit on two high-quality mid-round running backs in the 2024 draft.
Of course, they miss Hall, who is very talented, but you could argue that their loss to Miami had little to do with his absence.
This is a perfect example of why running backs have a hard time getting the big bucks in free agency.
There is no shortage of running backs on Planet Earth, and as long as you have quality backups, and block effectively for them, you generally can keep the train running with backup running backs in the lineup.
People will be fast to point out the impact Saquon Barkley has had in Philadelphia, no doubt it’s huge, but the Eagles might have the best line in football, and if Barkey was still on the Giants, with the state of their offensive line and team overall, how many more wins would they have than two? Probably not much.
So unfortunately for Hall, this is illustrative of why teams haven’t gone crazy with running back contracts the last few years . . .
In the first quarter of the Jets’ loss to Miami, the Dolphins running back Devon Achane had a two-yard TD run to the left side.
The two defensive linemen on that side were Michael Clemons and Will McDonald. Clemons moved inside to defensive tackle, and McDonald was at end. As we have written before, it makes little sense to have a defensive end like McDonald on the goalline defense. None. Very good situational edge-rusher. Very good. He has 10 sacks on the season. But he should not be on the jumbo package on the goalline. Too slender. On the play, McDonald was locked up by Julian Hill, a second-year undrafted free agent out of Campbell University. The 251-pound Hill easily handled McDonald. Backup left tackle Patrick Paul, filling in for Terron Armstead who got hurt on the first series, mauled Clemons, and Achane ran in easily.
I asked Jeff Ulbrich about a month ago why McDonald is sometimes on the goalline defense at his size, and the coach said he had bulked up, and is not at his listed 236 pounds, and is now in the high 240.
However, you could still argue, that he’s still not big enough to be the end in the goalline defense.
I’m not trying to be disrespectful and act like I know more than coaches, but this makes little sense to me.
You don’t not use Will McDonald on the goalline defense! End of story . . .
Garrett Wilson made news after the Jets’ loss to Miami by saying, “Mindset is right, process is right but at the end of the day we gotta stop being losers.”
He has every right to be frustrated, and he is the least of their issues. He’s a major asset. However, I don’t agree with him about the process.
“The process” to bother a famous phrase from the NBA, needs some repairs.
And some of the problems here come from the former GM and coach.
I know it sounds like I’m picking on them, but there were things about their process, from a player personnel standpoint, I did not love, and while they are gone, it’s hurting interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
It’s this idea of sticking with certain players, coming off last season, into this season, almost disregarding the film, and rolling with people, because you love the person, clouding your judgement, is shortsighted.
I don’t want to get into names, but the fingerprints of this approach are all over the Jets defense.
Enough already. No more rosed-colored glasses when watching film. It’s time for them to run a meritocracy.
While I don’t want to get into names today, I will say this team is in dire need of a safety with tremendous instincts who sees things before they happen. When was the last time they had one?
And how do you go into the season with three undrafted free-agent defensive linemen on the active roster? All three deserve to be with the team, but on the practice squad.
The process needs to change in Florham Park, especially from a player personnel standpoint, replaced by one that goes 100 percent by film, not propaganda.
December 11, 2024
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