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The Jets two games left . . .
. . . and both games are absolutely winnable for Gang Green.
Pittsburgh and Buffalo are both underwhelming at quarterback. Both teams have the kind of quarterbacks who Gregg Williams tends to feist on – young guys who don’t see the field very well.
And the Jets are likely to get Jamal Adams back. We all know what a great blitzer Adams is, and you now Williams is going to want to blitz the heck out of Duck Hodges and Josh Allen.
Yes, the Jets are playing of pair of teams with winning records in the last two games, but they have a chance to win one or both of these games.
Because both teams have pedestrian, young quarterbacks, the kind of guy Williams tends to eat for lunch, especially with Adams likely coming back . . .
One other thing about these two games coming up. Yes, Gregg Williams should be able to get his defense to stifle these two pedestrian quarterbacks. However, what will Sam Darnold do against two of the NFL’s better defenses?
People wonder where Darnold is at in his development. These last two games will be a good litmus test on where the Jets’ young signal-caller is at in his maturation process against a pair of terrific defenses, a pair of defenses that have kept both respective teams in playoff contention with their respective issues at quarterback . . .
There is one narrative out there that is a little ridiculous. I’m talking about people making a big deal about the Jets’ secondary injuries being a problem in Baltimore.
Yes, Adams being out is an issue, but to make a big deal about cornerback injuries, when the Jets’ cornerback play has been a problem all year, no matter who has been in the line up, is a reach.
So to make a big deal about all the cornerbacks that were out, I don’t think that was a big issue. The Jets’ cornerback situation has been bad with all the different configurations they’ve rolled with throughout the season.
So stop with cornerback injuries being an issue against Baltimore.
The bigger defensive problems in that game were the lack of a pass rush, Jets defenders doing a bad job setting the edge against the run, and the Adams injury.
And somebody made a bad decision to move Darryl Roberts to safety to replace Adams, instead of using one of the three veteran safeties they had on the roster. Bizarre.
But spare me with the cornerback narrative.
The Jets have a lot of work to do at this position in the off-season.
Bless Austin looks like he has nice potential, but after that, who knows? . . .
I am no special pleader for Adam Gase. He needs to do a better job coaching the Jets in 2020. But when you hear about the player-coach issues in Cincinnati with first-year head coach Zac Taylor, and in Cleveland with first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens, you have to give Gase credit for one thing – the players seem to like playing for him.
And don’t tell me about the brief argument between Gase and Darnold on the sideline. That is meaningless. That stuff happens all the day.
I don’t know how this Gase thing will turn out ultimately, but I’m just pointing out that the players clearly haven’t turned on him, which is happening in other places. Take this for what it’s worth.
December 16, 2019
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