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One of the issues with Sam . . .
Darnold is he rarely throws with anticipation . . .
People blame Adam Gase for Darnold taking a step under his guidance. I’m not 100 percent sure I buy that. Gase hasn’t done a great job in his first year as Jets coach, but I personally can’t blame him for the QB locking on his first, not going through his progressive scans that well or forcing passes. There is only so much a coach can do to help a QB in these areas. Ask Matt Nagy . . .
The Jets lack of an edge rush is killing their defense.
With all due respect to Henry Anderson and Jordan Jenkins, who are good guys and give you everything they go, when you use that pair at defensive end, you aren’t going to get a ton of pressure. It is what it is.
Anderson generally can’t beat tackles because he’s not quick enough to take the edge and not powerful enough to bull rush them. He’s a 3-4 interior player who should always be over guards. I have said this myriad times. He was re-signed by Mike Maccagnan with a different system in mind.
As for Jenkins, he is tough as boot leather, gives you everything he’s got, plays hurt and has great character, but he has little speed or quick twitch. He had a sack yesterday, but he was unblocked on the play and Fitzpatrick rolled to his side, so it was a gimme sack. When you play defensive end in the NFL, which Jenkins is now doing (he practices with the defensive line, not the linebackers), you have to be able to beat blockers with edge quickness and great bend to take the corner, Jenkins has trouble doing either, which isn’t his fault. He just wasn’t blessed with much athleticism.
Like I said yesterday, the combination of starting cornerbacks who should not be starting, with no edge rush, is a recipe for disaster.
Gregg Williams really has his hands tied in so many ways . . .
There was some speculation that Kelechi Osemele started to play up his shoulder issue when he felt he was going to be benched for Alex Lewis. Obviously, it’s hard to prove this, but it’s out there.
But Lewis hasn’t been much of an upgrade. He had a rough game in Miami, including a false start on the first series, a hold on the second series bringing back a nice run by Le’Veon Bell and then giving up a sack in the fourth quarter to Davon Godchaux.
You have to wonder if his injuries are catching up to him . . .
If Le’Veon Bell doesn’t make more of an effort on blitz pickup, he should be benched or having his playing timing reduced. That is what good cultures do – they are meritocracies. Your name doesn’t matter.
Let’s not forget, one of the reasons Gase traded Jay Ajayi in Miami was he wasn’t running plays properly. So why should Bell be different?
Two weeks in a row – two horrendous offensive plays for the Jets caused by his lousy blitz pick up.
In Jacksonville, Bell didn’t pick up blitzing linebacker Austin Calitro up the middle, forcing Sam Darnold to roll out out left and he threw a pick.
Then against Miami, early in the fourth quarter, Bell failed to pick up blitzing cornerback Nik Needham, who sacked Darnold for a loss of seven. It was also a big hit on Darnold since Needham hit him full speed with nobody even chipping him. Why didn’t Bell pick him up? Was it a business decision? Does he not know all his assignments after not attending the off-season program (aside for the mandatory mini-camp) in his first year with new team in a new offense?
Maybe the lobbyists in the media who think Bell needs more touches should check out the Needham sack.
Maybe it’s time for a reporters to step up and ask him about his blitz pickup which is lacking.
There is a report today he is getting an MRI on his knee.
For his sake, hopefully he’s okay, but if Bilal Powell has to play, the Jets should be fine, and Powell is better at picking up blitzes.
October 4, 2019
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