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They really missed this player last year . . .
And even though we didn’t see much of him, they need more like him.
Talking about safety LaMarcus Joyner, who the Jets re-signed on Thursday.
He suffered a torn bicep in the Jets opener against Carolina last year ending his season.
The reason they missed him is the veteran safety is an instinctive cover guy with sophisticated eyes. That is why he was franchised by the Los Angeles Rams one year, and then signed to a big-money deal by the Las Vegas Raiders the year after that. And he was the epitome of a ball hawk at Florida State.
The Jets should be on a mission this off-season to load up on instinctive defenders, because last year their defense finished 32nd in the league, and gave up a lot of big plays, because of myriad blown assignments.
A player can run a good 40, but if he’s out of position, that 40 goes out the window.
Recently, Robert Saleh did a conference call with season ticket holders, and was asked by one – “What do you attribute success of 2021 draft class to and how can you do it again in 2022?”
That might be painting with a broad brush. Three offensive players look like home runs in guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, receiver Elijah Moore and running back Michael Carter. The rest of the class the jury is still out on. They can hype Zach Wilson all they want on social media and on their website, but he clearly has a lot of work to do. And he might be great in time, but right now, all we can go on is 9 TD’s, 11 picks, 55.6 completion percentage and a 69.7 QBR in 13 games. So chill out with the hype. It’s not healthy. Let him roll his sleeves and get to work to fix his accuracy, footwork and mechanics. He’s a very hard worker, so let’s see if he can fix this stuff that has little to do with weapons and linemen.
But aside from AVT, Moore and Carter, how successful was the rookie class as we sit here right now? Of course, that could change moving forward with potential improvements. But the team finished 4-13 and in last place in their division. As Bill Parcells always said – “You are what your record says you are.” Here is Saleh’s answer to the fan’s question:
“Last year’s draft class was pretty cool in the sense that the character of the individuals that we brought in here are as good as any that you can find. You look at Zach Wilson and his love for football, AVT who eat, sleeps, breaths football, Elijah Moore same thing, just all the way down the line. Both Michael Carters, Sherwood, Naz, Echols, Pinnock, Jonathan Marshal, I’m sure I’m forgetting someone. But the entire group as a whole from the character standpoint represent and embody everything that you’d love out of a professional. Their work ethic, the way they study, the way they train, the way they practice, the way they care for their teammates.”
It’s awesome that they have great character and are good teammates, but man, does this team need to improve on defense, and a lot of those players named were on defense. There were too many guys out of position leading to big plays by opposing offenses.
This needs to change – big-time.
And that is why I brought up Joyner – he’s got excellent instincts. You can name every rookie. and not want to leave anyone out, but some might need to be replaced moving forward, if they don’t read their keys better.
So to me, as we sit here now, there are three players from that rookie class that look special, and the jury is out on the rest. Some could be fine. We shall see.
But let’s be honest, when you are 32nd in defense, obviously it doesn’t get worse than that, and a lot of the named players were on defense.
March 11, 2022
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