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A few different things to get into tonight . . .
AP in Cleveland Headline: “Browns could potentially be missing 6 starters Sunday night vs Rams.”
Let’s you tell you something right now. I know the Jets’ loss to Cleveland was a bad one, and they have a lot of stuff to clean up, but I can’t recall the last time I saw a Jets defense hitting that hard.
And some of those injuries are connected to that.
They are far from perfect as a defense, but the energy, tempo and toughness they are playing with on defense is something I have not seen in many years. They were punishing people.
Gregg Williams once described himself as “a culture coach.”
Now I understand what he’s saying.
He has already improved the Jets’ defensive culture.
They are far from the best defense in the league, but man are they hitting people this year and playing really, really hard.
Let me just add one other thing about the Browns injury report related to the Jets game. Cleveland defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is a rising star. He’s listed as “questionable” this week with an ankle injury. Kelechi Osemele was tossing him around like a rag doll . . .
The Jets will have five players out of this game for sure – QB Sam Darnold (illness), LB Jordan Jenkins (calf), LB C.J. Mosley (groin), WR Demaryius Thomas (hamstring, knee) and DT Quinnen Williams (ankle).
I’d say the one who hurts them the most is C.J. Mosley. You saw in the opener what a playmaker he is.
Jenkins is listed as a starter, but is more of a backup. He’s tough as boot leather, but doesn’t run well and is a limited athlete. Not sure he would start anywhere else. Tarell Basham played a lot after Jenkins got hurt last week, and had a terrific game.
Demaryius Thomas being out isn’t a big deal. That fact that he started last week was mind-boggling. To start a player who missed all of practice leading into his first game with a new team is something I have never witnessed before. The Jets acquired him with a hamstring injury and he re-injured it in the Cleveland game. Not the best trade.
The Jets need to push the Quinnen Williams injury into the bye-week. His game is predicated on his great first step quickness, and the ankle injury won’t allow him to do that. Right now, he’s a little bit of a liability against the run due to his size, and having a bad wheel could make him even more a liability against the run because it will hurt his leverage.
As for Darnold, while he’s a terrific prospect, at this stage of the game, he’s work-in-progress no matter how much the Jets’ social media department and the mainstream media overhypes him. I love his potential, but he still has a lot to learn. He was telegraphing a lot passes in the opener. I know I can’t sit at the cool table by saying this, but RIGHT NOW, I don’t see Luke Falk as a big downgrade from Darnold. A couple of years from now, yes, but not right now. As the Jets own offensive coordinator said on Thursday, Falk knows Adam Gase’s playbook better than Darnold. Hey, I go by what I see folks.
So to me, the biggest impact player who will miss this game is Mosley, but you know what, the inside linebacker combo of Neville Hewitt and Blake Cashman wasn’t bad against the Browns. Cashman has plus instincts . . .
New England’s blocking concerns just got worse with the announcement that blocking fullback James Develin is out with a neck injury. So now they will have a journeyman left tackle (Marshall Newhouse), a backup center (Ted Karras) and the right tackle (Marcus Cannon) is a game-time decision.
I’m not saying the Jets are going to win this game, but they should be able to make Tom Brady uncomfortable and be more competitive than many people might think . . .
September 20, 2019
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