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The Jets’ defense has a lot of things it needs to improve upon from last year.
From a cultural standpoint, they need to stop overhyping the defense from a 7-10 team.
Somebody needs to talk to the person who runs the owner’s social media account. Too many moral victories on there.
On Tuesday, there was a tweet that read: “Only team in the NFL that has 2 linebackers in PFF’s Top 10.”
This message was posted with a picture of Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley.
The problem with a team’s social media wing promoting PFF grades is the coach’s grades are often different. PFF doesn’t have access to the playbook or the game plan and doesn’t always know what players are asked to do.
As Jeff Ulbrich once said when asked about an analytic from an outside company, “These companies that are now evaluating the NFL statistically like that, they don’t necessarily know what we’re calling all the time, so I don’t put a ton into that.”
So you are not only promoting individuals after a losing season, and the 13th straight year the Jets missed the playoffs, and these grades might not even be a proper reflection on how the player is playing based on his assignments, so this is a double whammy.
Culture, culture, culture.
There are no moral victories.
But here is the deal, and I’m sorry if this offends some people, but this position needs to improve moving forward.
C.J. Mosley is a solid player, but his contract is not commensurate with his skill set at this point, especially in coverage. You saw what tight end David Njoku did with Mosley in coverage in Cleveland. But it wasn’t just that game. The problem is after almost a decade in the league, he just doesn’t have the wheels to keep up with some of the guys he’s asked to cover.
And I know the Jets and their fans are very high on Quincy Williams, and they should be for a lot of reasons.
He is tough as boot leather, a big-time hitter, and delivers some inspiring strikes on opposing ballcarriers. He also always plays hurt. He’s also a great guy and teammate.
And to his credit, he did improve in coverage from the season before, where he had 1 PD and no picks in 15 games. He had a pick and 10 PDs last year. To his credit, he’s worked hard on reading his keys better in coverage, and you saw the results.
However, there is a slight problem, and it’s not his fault. He’s a little under 5-11, and weights 225 pounds, and while has some awfully impressive run stops, there are also too many plays where he gets engulfed by big blockers on decent gains against the run. He sometimes tries to run around blockers, taking himself out of play. This happens more than you realize. Look at the film.
Look, to quote Bill Parcells, “I’m just going by what I see fellas.”
So while the Jets linebacking corps did a lot of nice things this year, I have no idea how PFF grades, and there are improvements needed here. And the team finished 7-10, so let’s not put anybody in Canton.
February 7, 2024
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