Content available exclusively for subscribers
Orlando – Time for a heaping helping of post-game thoughts . . .
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers plays the NFC South. They play the New Orleans Saints twice a year, every year. The Jets are running the Saints’ offense under John Morton. What is my point? The Tampa Bay players and coaches have a lot of experience dealing with this scheme, and it showed today. And also, Tampa Bay played New Orleans last week.
Honestly, they were all over almost everything the Jets did offensively.
Their familiarity with that Saints’ scheme was pretty apparent in the Jets loss today . . .
Brian Winters had a poor game today. In fairness to him, he had plenty of company on the Jets’ offensive line, a unit that was perhaps the biggest reason the Jets lost today.
Not quite sure why he started today.
He didn’t practice on Wednesday, was limited on Thursday and Friday, and was listed as “questionable” which means he was 50-50 for the game.
He has a groin issue.
He has a more-than-capable backup in Dakota Dozier.
What was the point of rolling with him? Just go with Dozier, and give Winters the bye-week to get to 100 percent.
You had Gerald McCoy lining up over Winters most of the game. Now it’s only fair to point out that McCoy is one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles and dominates a lot of people.
But one of the things that makes McCoy so good is his amazing quickness for a 300-pounder, and he was beating Winters into gaps with that quickness.
Don’t you think that having a groin injury is going to impact your ability to deal with a quick defensive tackle?
And here is another example of Winters not being himself.
Early second quarter, Winters tried to pull right on a run off right tackle for Eli McGuire, and could not get there to take care of Lavonte David, and the linebacker stopped McGuire for a loss.
I would have gone with Dozier . . .
The Jets were totally out of sync today on offense, and there were so many examples of the today – here is one.
Late in the second quarter – Will Clark beat Eric Tomlinson for a sack. But I’m not entirely sure he beat him. Tomlinson let him in. Because it looked like Tomlinson thought the play called for him to chip Clarke, and then slip out on the left side, and get thrown a pass from Josh McCown.
However, McCown wasn’t looking that way, and got crushed by Clarke.
This play made no sense.
McCown and Tomlinson weren’t on the same page.
This play sums up the kind of afternoon the Jets had on offense . . .
It’s not time to switch to a young quarterback.
The Jets are still in the wildcard hunt. The second wildcard is wide open right now, and if the Jets beat Carolina, at home, after the bye-week, they are right in the thick of it.
But if they lose that game, it might be time to consider going with a young quarterback.
The Jets-Carolina game is huge for the Jets – like a playoff game for them.
If they lose that, I think they are done.
Expert a Herculian effort from Gang Green in that game coming off a bye-week . . .
Marcus Maye (pictured above) got poked in the eye in Tampa.
November 12, 2107
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.