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A few different things to get into today, including a really beat-up position for the Jets that shouldn’t be a cause of concern . . .
Perhaps they made a mistake with the massive long-term contract.
Mo Wilkerson said the ankle tendon bothering him is related to his offseason leg surgery. He’s pictured above not practicing today.
Do you give long-term deals for $17 million to a player coming off a broken leg before he proves the leg is okay?
What do you guys think?
Considering now the leg/ankle are giving him problems, obviously you can question the contract a little now.
How can you not?
He’s having complications.
I’m not being negative. I’m just keeping it real.
Maybe their first inclination to go with the franchise tag this year was the way to go . . .
The Jets will be without three inside linebackers they were counting on this year – Darron Lee (ankle), Bruce Carter (quad) and Erin Henderson (non-football injury list), but I don’t think they will miss a beat.
To me, watching every practice this summer, the best inside linebacker in camp was Julian Stanford.
And I’m including David Harris.
I’m not looking to discredit others, I’m just saying Stanford made the most plays of any of the inside linebacker on the field.
He’s fast, instinctive and is always around the ball. He’s an explosive athlete.
The Jets will be fine with the inside linebacker combo of Harris and Stanford . . .
If I’m the Jets, I’m a little concerned with Jalin Marshall as a punt returner from a tracking and catching standpoint.
It was a problem in the summer, and the last couple of days, he struggled with a few punts.
I’m not predicting any problems. I’m just saying he’s been a little inconsistent with his catching . . .
I’m not here to defend Ryan Fitzpatrick’s rough four-game stretch during the team’s losing streak, but something Blake Bortles said in Jacksonville, I think is applicable to the Jets’ situation.
“At every position, we have to be better,” Bortles said earlier this week about the struggling Jaguars.
Now if Fitzpatrick had said that in New York, he’d probably get attacked by the media, but I think that quote could easily apply to the Jets during their losing streak.
Not only did the Jets face a brutal schedule, but they got bad play and bad coaching across the board.
It was ugly all around.
And keep in mind, two of the defenses Fitzpatrick and the Jets’ offense faced were Arizona and Seattle, two teams that engaged in one of the best defensive battles of the last few seasons, a 6-6 overtime tie. They might be the two best defenses in football.
Once again, I’m not defending Fitzpatrick’s picks, but man did he have a lot of company in terms of bad play. How about the pass defense, the lack of a pass rush, the lack of a running game and some very bad strategic work by the coaches?
With all that being said, there is no excuse for Fitzpatrick the next three games against the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams, one bad two team and two average teams.
He needs three strong games in a row. End of story.
And so do the other players who are struggling.
October 27, 2016
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