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Dallas – Some thoughts from Dallas following the Jets 19-16 win over the Cowboys on Saturday Night Football from Jerry’s World.
This is what I wrote after the Jet’s loss in Houston, and I stand by it even more now . . .
“When I saw the inactive list before the Jets-Houston game, I was a little surprised.
“WR Kenbrell Thompkins was inactive, and WR Devin Smith was active.
“Over the previous three games, Thompkins had done a nice job, hauling in a 11 catches, including an important 38-yard diving catch against Jacksonville.
“Thompkins is a polished, savvy receiver, a nice in-season addition by the Jets.
‘He has been awesome,” Ryan Fitzpatrick said about Thompkins a few weeks ago. “He’s a true pro in terms of the way he has come in, learned everything, and knows multiple positions. He’s got a great football IQ.’
“Smith has a lot of potential, but is a major work-in-progress, and needs to get a lot stronger.
“So to me, if a team has Smith active, and deactivates Thompkins, it’s an example of playing draft pick politics. In other words, they picked Smith high in the second round, so he’s going to play come hell or high water.
“That is no way to run a program, and Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles should know better.
“Always play the players who give you the best chance to win on any given Sunday, whether it’s at cornerback or receiver – all positions.
“With all the double coverage that Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker received yesterday, Thompkins would have been nice secondary option.”
Perhaps the most important play of the Jets 19-16 win over Dallas was Kenbrell Thompkins 43-yard reception down the deep right side to set up the game-winning field goal.
And just think, it wouldn’t have happened if Devin Smith didn’t blow out his knee out.
I doubt Thompkins would have been active this week if Smith didn’t suffer the injury (which is very unfortunate).
Just like Ryan Fitzpatrick might not have been the starter if IK Enemkpali didn’t break Geno’s jaw.
Mr. Coffee and Todd Bowles have both done a decent job, but they needed two injuries to help put them in this position.
They need to learn from this.
Where would they be this overall season without Fitz?
And how might this game have ended different if not for Thompkins? . . .
Damon Harrison continues to play on a very high level. He led the Jets in tackles tonight with eight. It’s rare for a 3-4 nose tackle to lead a team in tackles. So often they do the dirty work to allow other players to make plays. Tonight he got the best of a very good center in Travis Frederick . . .
Sheldon Richardson, always a straight-shooter, wasn’t thrilled with how close this game was.
“Truth be told, we should shouldn’t have been in that situation,” Richardson said about the close nature of the game. “We should have beat them a lot more than we did. They made that game too close. Just started out too slow on both sides of the ball.”
He makes a good point.
Considering the Cowboys’ quarterback situation, and how thin Dallas is at cornerback, this game probably shouldn’t have been so close, but nonetheless, the Jets displayed a lot of meddle to come back and win this huge game.
December 20, 2015
Travel Day on Sunday. Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Monday.
