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It wasn’t always pretty . . .
but the Jets scrapped there way to a 34-27 win over the Football Giants.
“Good team win,” Jets GM Joe Douglas told Randy Lange after the game.
It really was – a little offense, a little defense, a little special teams, a lot of ugly football mixed in, but they figured out a way to get the job done . . .
Cornerback Nate Hairston had a rough game and was benched in favor of Bless Austin, who did a better job, even though it was his first NFL start.
One reason Austin might have been better than Hairston, even though it was Austin’s first NFL game, is Austin is more comfortable in his cornerback skin.
Remember Hairston was a wide receiver for a big chunk of his career at Temple, and is still getting comfortable as a corner.
Austin was a four-year cornerback at Rutgers. He missed time due to knee issues in college, but he was always a corner.
Hairston is a very tough player willing to throw his body around (remember that hit on Cleveland tight end David Njoku which ended his season), but his positional instincts still need a lot of work.
And like I said several times, no team is going to trade you an elite cornerback in August. The Jets were desperate and sent a sixth-round pick Indianapolis for Hairston. Teams don’t get true answer at corner out of the building in the middle of training camp. It’s too hard to find corners, and the position is very injury-laded, so you need a lot of depth.
Austin could be a real nice addition for the Jets if he can stay healthy. He’s tall, athletic, fast and smart. He would have gone a lot higher than the sixth round if not for his two knee injuries in college.
No knee issues, this guy is probably a third-round kind of player, or maybe even higher . . .
The Jets’ pass rush came to life against the Giants, but keep in mind, the Giants were missing three starters on their offensive line. The entered the game without right tackle Mike Remmers and center Jon Halapio, and then left tackle Nate Solder left the game early with an injury.
The Jets really took advantage of backup Giants left tackle Eric Smith, who was with the Jets late last season and through the 2019 off-season and summer.
He’s not an NFL left tackle. His only shot is on the right side. He doesn’t have the feet for left tackle. The Jets had six sacks, and three of them came against Smith – two by Jordan Jenkins and one by Nathan Shepherd. Smith said after the game he got no practice reps at left tackle during the week.
It’s great to dominate an over-matched backup left tackle, but if the Jets want to have a big-time pass rush, you need to beat front line offensive linemen, something they haven’t done much of this year . . .
As much as reporters tried after the game, no Jets players seemed to give a hoot that they beat their “cross-town rival.” They were just happy to get a win. This rivalry is so dead . . .
Kelvin Beachum’s return from a high ankle sprain certainly helped the Jets offensive function better. His return allowed them to return Chuma Edoga to his more natural right tackle position, and Edoga had the Jets’ best run block of the day, locking up linebacker Alex Ogletree on a 13-yard run to the right side by Bilal Powell . . .
Chris Herndon didn’t play a ton today in his return. You have to wonder if he hurt his cause a little in the second quarter when he didn’t do a good job on blitz pickup, and the man over him, LB Markus Golden, sacked Darnold . . .
November 10, 2019
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