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It’s time to empty out the notebook from the Jets-Eagles preseason game. A lot of good stuff to get into. Let’s go . . .
Adam Schefter announced today the trade of Sheldon Richardson to Seattle for WR Jermaine Kearse. The Jets save about $4 million in this move. Richardson makes around $8 million this year, and Kearse around $4 million. The Jets also get a second-round pick. Kearse isn’t great, but he’s very good – he has superb hand-end-eye coordination and he’s in his prime. And he’s well-versed in the West Coast system, a scheme he’s been for five years in Seattle.
Seattle is a good landing spot for Richardson because he’s perfect fit for the three-technique position in their 4-3 defense. He’s a better fit in that scheme than the Jets.
Aside from having two really good ends already in Mo Wilkerson and Leo Williams, what also made Richardson expendable was the emergence of Lawrence Thomas and Claude Pelon, two defensive ends who are ascending.
You have to give Mr. Coffee (Mike Maccagnan) credit. He was very patient. He was getting low-balled on the Richardson trade front for months. He wanted a premium draft pick and player, and he ended up getting a second-round pick and Kearse. AND, he got a team to pick up Richardson’s entire salary. Other suitors wanted Richardson to take a pay cut.
The Seahawks are going for the brass ring this year, and Maccagnan got them to ante up what he wanted to get a defensive tackle who could push them over the top.
Good job of playing poker on a high level by Mr. Coffee . . .
While there the Jets got a heck of a scare on Thursday night when their starting quarterback, Josh McCown, went down hurt after getting hit by a blitzing linebacker, Joe Walker, there was a happy ending for Gang Green on two fronts.
First off, McCown just got the winded knocked out of him. While that is scary at hell at the time, it’s not serious. Secondly, McCown made a great decision/read on the play. Just as he was being hit, he hit Austin Seferian-Jenkins on a shallow cross, and the tight end took it for 20 yards.
The problem was Bilal Powell, who is a good blocker, didn’t block/chip Walker long enough, and he got a big hit on the quarterback.
But aside from the injury scare, it was a heck of a play, and shows you the kind of decision-maker McCown is. His field-vision and decision-making, after 16 years in pro football, is on a different level than Christian Hackenberg/Bryce Petty. I’m not saying Hackenberg/Petty won’t get there in time. They very well might. But right now, they aren’t on McCown’s level in terms of field vision and manipulating defenses with their eyes . . .
The really smart football coaches, general managers, reporters, fans and so forth, know when evaluating preseason games, you need context, context and more context.
It’s no secret the Jets need an improved edge rush. As you know they claimed Kony Ealy on waivers earlier this week. He had a sack against the Eagles. A lot of Jets fans are excited. Maybe he can be the panacea for their struggling edge rush, but keep in mind who he beat for the sack – Eagles backup left tackle Dillon Gordon, who a year ago was a tight end. He was a tight end at LSU who the Eagles signed as an undrafted free agent, and moved to offensive tackle in training camp. He’s one year into the experiment. The Eagles talented starting left tackle, Jason Peters, was a college tight end at Arkansas, who has turned into a heck of a NFL left tackle. The Eagles hopes this happens with Gordon.
Like a lot of young offensive tackles, Gordon over set to the outside worried about getting beat off the edge, and Early took advantage with a swim move to the inside, beating the kid for a sack.
By the way, long-shot OLB Frank Beltre beat Gordon for a sack with the same move.
So my point is simple. Ealy might help the Jets, but don’t get too crazy about this play. He’s going to have to beat much better tackles than Gordon in regular season games. Context, context, context . . .
I love the way Shamarko Thomas plays football. I almost went over to his locker after the game to tell him, but I thought that would be a little weird. He’s a superb kick/punt cover guy who runs down field every time like it’s his last play – like he won’t be denied. And when he hits you, you feel it. He’s the kind of guy you want on your roster because he sets a toughness tone.
Now, I don’t think he’s a starting safety due to coverage limitation, but in terms of special teams and backup safety, I’d want this guy around.
The Jets will have a tough decision here. Obviously they will start the two rookies at safety, and recently acquired Terrence Brooks will be the #3. Rontez Miles currently has double-vision from a scratched cornea, and it’s unclear when he will return – short-term IR is a possibility here.
But if I were running the Jets, I would not release Thomas.
I love how this cat plays.
September 1, 2017
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