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East Rutherford – Let’s get into a few things from the New York Jets loss to the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium . . .
The Devin Smith fumbled kickoff return in the second quarter, with the score tied 3-3, was the turning point of the game. Duke Williams returned it for a touchdown. It changed the tenor of the contest.
You can say kickoff return doesn’t matter much with the new rules.
It certainly mattered tonight with the Jets.
Smith is not a good kick returner. He wasn’t at Ohio State and he isn’t now.
And he’s also not very strong.
You might say that doesn’t matter on kick returns, but it does.
He took a big hit, and he coughed up the ball.
This guy is in dire need of a full off-season strength program. He’s thin as a rail.
By the way, Zac Stacy broke his ankle tonight on a late first half kick returner.
He shouldn’t have returned one kick for the Jets this year.
He’s a very good #2 running back to spell a starter, but he doesn’t have the skill-set to return kicks, and it probably contributed to his broken ankle. He’s not elusive. He’s not an open field player. It’s not his game and returning kicks ended his season.
Mike Maccagnan has done a good job in a lot of ways, but his handling of the kick return position leaves a lot to be desired.
I give him an “F” in this area.
And punt coverage isn’t much better.
Lorenzo Mauldin can’t cover punts and kicks. He had another whiff tonight. I like his potential as an outside linebacker (especially when he plays against Jacksonville Jaguars right tackle Jeremy Purnell). But I don’t think he’s not a good player in space (tight hips) and he’s a core special team’s player for the Jets. That’s a mistake . . .
The Bills are going nowhere with Tyrod Taylor. The guy is allergic to the pocket. Yes he made some plays tonight, but he really didn’t get a lot done against a patchwork secondary.
It it’s any consolation to Jets fans, let’s be honest, where is Rex going with this QB?
I think the Bills lose their next two games at New England and at Kansas City (they are playing a lot better).
So let Rex celebrate tonight his Super Bowl win tonight. He seems to be treating this win that way . . .
Calvin Pryor told Jets Confidential tonight he will be ready for the Jets-Houston game . . .
Good job by the Bills’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman (an Atlantic City-native) late in the game, going with a spread passing game, but mostly running with Shady McCoy. With defensive backs spread out, it opened up big running lanes for McCoy, who had some big runs late that really hurt the Jets’ chances . . .
On the pick by Ryan Fitzpatrick to Corey Graham in the second quarter, he was throwing Brandon Marshall open. There is a risk-reward element to these kind of plays, and this was an example of them getting burned . . .
For the Jets to see what Jeff Cumberland did last week against Jacksonville, showing amazing speed for a tight end on his 44-yard catch-and-run, and not throw to him tonight, is being gone deaf.
I’m not putting him in Canton, but when you have a tight end who runs 4.45, and you don’t throw one pass to him, you are missing an opportunity . . .
November 13, 2015
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