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This time of year, you see a lot of this.
I don’t get too involved in lists, rankings and comparisons.
I find them a waste of mental energy.
And how much do they really matter in football, the ultimate team sport, with so many moving parts attempting to work in unison trying to win games.
One thing you see a lot of these days is countdowns on things like the “Top 25 Jets.”
I’m not going to get into that, but I will get into who I think some of the best players on the team are, not based on hype and perception, but on my own two eyes being around the team a lot.
I’m not going to rank them in any particular order, just get into a few guys who are the biggest difference-makers on the Jets have.
And you win in the NFL with difference-makers.
The Jets haven’t had a true #1 CB the last few years, and now they have one in Trumaine Johnson, who they signed this off-season.
How good is Johnson? You don’t use the franchise tag two straight years on a player unless they’re darn good. That is what the Rams did that in 2016-17. They couldn’t do it again this year because they needed to use the tag on Aaron Donald, so the Rams let Johnson walk. Over his six years with the Rams he had 18 picks and 67 pass-defensed. He’s a long, athletic CB with great ball skills.
When healthy, Leonard Williams is a difference-maker. When he came out of USC, there were comparisons to Kevin Williams (former Minnesota Viking) and Reggie White. So far he’s been like Williams (who was very good), but now it’s time to get closer to White.
I thought Williams looked terrific this spring shooting gaps beating offensive linemen off the snap. Look, I’m not here to make excuses for Williams, but I think his wrist injury from last summer really hurt him last season. Hey, defensive linemen need to use their hands an awful lot, and Williams didn’t have the power he needed in his left hand due to the wrist problem. It’s hard to stack-and-shed consistently with a messed up wrist.
That wrist is healthy now, and Williams is in the best shape of his life, and I think this 6-5, 300-pounder with the feet of a dancing bear is ready to dominate this year.
I think Jamal Adams is ready to emerge as a star player. Last year he had his moments, but he was learning on the job, so it was kind of a trial-by-fire. I think now he knows the whys and wherefores of being an NFL safety. He’s also in much better shape now. He looked terrific in the spring, breaking on the ball with more confidence.
Aside from taking a quantum leap as a player, I also think Adams will also do that as a leader in 2018. It’s hard to be a leader when you are still trying to figure out your job. Now he’s comfortable, and alpha dog DeMario Davis is gone, so it’s Adams time to lead the Jets’ defense, and I think he will.
We will have Part II of this feature on Tuesday.
July 23, 2018
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