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Florham Park – A lot of comings and going today at One Jets drive.
I don’t want to bore anybody, but I really don’t have a strong opinion on the Jets naming Sam Darnold their starting QB.
I know that is a mushy take, but I’m truly of the opinion that we need to see him in regular seasons games before we can analyze whether this is the right move.
Facing vanilla defenses, and often backups, in the preseason, is almost like a different sport.
So for me to sit here, and opine, on whether he’s ready to start is foolish.
It’s like a guy going from AA or AAA baseball to the major leagues. You really don’t know how he will do until he actually goes out there against major league competition.
So I refuse to state a strong opinion right now.
But I will give you one strong take – I refuse to lower the bar on the Jets’ season. They have missed the playoffs seven year in a row, and are coming off back-to-back 5-11 seasons. Are we supposed to sit here and act like they don’t need to win this year because they are starting a rookie QB? No way. They need to win.
How can Todd Bowles survive three losing seasons in a row? C’mon now . . .
The Jets signed outside linebacker Jerry “Jerry” Attaochu. He enters the building as the Jets’ best edge-rusher.
He was cut by the 49ers on the final cut down, but I’m not sure why they signed him in the first place. He’s a 3-4 OLB, and they play a 4-3.
Attaochu, a Georgia Tech-product, was drafted in the second-round of the 2014 draft by the San Diego Chargers. He is a 6-3, 252-pounder who ran a 4.58 forty at this Pro Day.
He never could really gain much traction with the Chargers, due to being a backup or injuries. His last two years there he was stuck behind the dynamic duo of Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa.
In the 2015, when he did get 12 starts, he had six sacks.
This signing makes a lot of sense. He’s a true edge-rushing OLB who was truly buried behind a pair of superb players his last two years with the Chargers, and then was a bad system fit in San Francisco this summer . . .
I guess I broke this story.
I don’t break a lot of transaction stories because I don’t deal with agents. The reason I don’t deal with agents is that once you get stuff from them, it’s hard to criticize their clients.
For instance, there is a beat writer who gets a lot of stuff from a high-ranking coach’s agent, so that coach can do no wrong.
So I don’t live up agents butts like most insiders do, so I don’t break transactions. I break other kinds of stories, but not too many of these kinds.
So what story did I break today, kind of?
Early this afternoon, I tweeted that I saw Bronson Kaufasi in the locker room.
The Jets signed him to their practice squad a few hours later.
He was one of the better pass rushers in the 2016 draft coming out of BYU.
The question was where to play him because he had “tweener” characteristics – 6-6, 285, is that a 3-4 OLB or do you bulk him up a little and make him a 3-4 end?
The Ravens went the latter his first two years in the league playing him as an end. It didn’t work out that well, so they moved him to outside linebacker this off-season. He had 10 tackles and two sacks in the Ravens’ fourth preseason game.
Hey, I know the fourth preseason game is against backup offensive linemen, but it’s clear he’s a better fit at OLB, and now the Jets get to continue the experiment with him at that spot.
Seeing him in the locker room today, there is no way he’s 285. He looked 20 pounds lighter than that, probably due to his new position.
Interesting prospect who had 11 sacks as a senior at BYU . . .
September 3, 2018
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