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East Rutherford, New Jersey – Checking in from MetLife Stadium with some random thoughts on the Jets win over the Atlanta Falcons . . .
Wesley Johnson has clearly moved ahead of Dalton Freeman for the backup swing job. Johnson played extensively tonight as the team’s #2 center and Freeman was #3.
The arrow is pointing up on Johnson, a Vanderbilt product who has the versatility to back up at any position on the line . . .
Joe Mays had a nice PD late in the first half on a slant to RB Terron Ward. Jabari Lattimore had a pick tonight. Erin Henderson sat out the game with an MCL sprain, and a strong performance last week. In these three guys, the Jets have three very good backup ILB’s. All three deserve to make it. It will be interesting to see who is the odd man out or if they keep all three . . .
Buster Skrine had an illegal contact penalty late in the first half. He needs to cut down on those. It was a problem last year in Cleveland . . .
Backup RT Brent Qvale was beat for a sack late in the first half that caused a fumble. Sometimes he has feet issues. He also had a false start in the third quarter. He was also illegally down field in the third quarter on a screen. He has some things to clean up. Another backup swing tackle candidate, Ben Ijalana, hurt his knee late in the first half. It’s shame. He was having a very good half. He has a history of knee issues. It’s interesting he walked off with no limp and walked into the locker room with no limp. But when you’ve had all the knee issues this guy has had, you know when something is wrong . . .
Late first half, Bryce Petty did a terrific job of selling a screen to Zac Stacy. He did a nice job of looking right, and then dumping left, and the play gained seven.
Petty hit DeVier Posey for a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The thing you have to like about Petty is that he’s a quick learner. He had a bad game in Week One, learned from it, and took a step in the right direction in Week Two. He’s still got a lot to learn, but he clearly took a positive step from Week One to Week Two. Not everybody does that . . .
While the Falcons played a lot of backups after the first few series, their starting offensive line played the entire first half, which makes Leonard Williams first half dominance even that more impressive.
Williams had a nice stop on Ward on his first carry of the game and then stopped Ward for a loss of four on the last play of the first quarter.
Williams ended a second quarter drive with a sack and then recorded a safety.
Williams tied for the Jets lead with five tackles, three tackles for losses and three quarterback hits.
Best player in the draft. What the five teams in front of the Jets in the draft were thinking is beyond me . . .
Rontez Miles stopped runner for a loss of six early fourth and also returned a fumble for a touchdown. He has a good chance of making the team, but the question is still about his coverage. He’s excellent in the box. We need to see more in space . . .
Steve Maneri had a nice catch in the second half and a terrific stop on a punt. Kellen Davis had penalty issues tonight. I give Maneri a slight edge for the blocking tight end job. Davis is too inconsistent . . .
Dexter McDougle was a tick slow reacting in coverage tonight . . .
August 8, 2015
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