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East Rutherford, New Jersey – Here are some of Dan’s post-game thoughts following the Jets win over Jacksonville . . .
The Jets got their best blocking tight end back today, and it paid immediate dividends.
On the Bilal Powell 75-yard TD (the one he fell and got up that was reviewed), tight end Eric Tomlinson had a great block to get the run going on a heck of a player – Jaguars DE Calais Campbell.
Tomlinson is a really good blocking tight end . . .
Jets rookie running back Eli McGuire is clearly a lot better than a sixth round pick. He ran for 93 yards today and caught two passes for 38 yards.
He runs with power and is also good at making people miss.
He had a 16-yard catch-and-run late in the game where he had a heck of a move on Jaguars linebacker Dante Fowler in the middle of the player. Fowler is a very athletic inside linebacker, and McGuire juked him out of his you-know-what.
McGuire slipped probably due to a foot injury that hobbled him his final year in college, but he’s clearly healthy now, and a lot better than a sixth-rounder . . .
If the Jaguars had just average QB play today there is a good chance they win this game.
Aside from the first drive of the game, the most scripted one, the one rehearsed the most, he was way below par, going 15-35 for 140 yards and a 52.5 QB rating.
Late last year, former ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer summed it up on Boston radio station WEEI – “At the end of the day, you have to know how to spin it, you have to be able to control the ball, you have to be able to look in a very small area ahead of where the receiver is and throw it right there the majority of the time. And Blake has a really hard time with that. He’s just not a great passer. I think he’s a great athlete, I think he’s a tough kid, but I think he makes panic decisions and is a terrible passer.”
The Jaguars ran for 175 yards today. When you run like that, that should open up a world of opportunities in the passing game, especially against a team like the Jets who are somewhat inconsistent in coverage. But that didn’t happen for Bortles due to field vision and accuracy issues.
Not taking anything away from the Jets’ win, but they were facing a QB who could be out of the league in a couple of years.
He missed a ton of gimme throws today, displaying very poor accuracy . . .
Punter Lac Edwards is very inconsistent. He was last year. He is this year. He is in practice. Heck of a guy, but very inconsistent. Against a good QB, his 40-yard punt in overtime, from his own end zone, likely would have cost the Jets the game. The Jags got the ball at the 50 and failed to take advantage of this gift.
But it seems like Mr. Coffee is going to roll with this guy no matter what he does. That is becoming pretty obvious.
One long-time special team’s coach told me that Edward struggles when he feels pressure from the rush . . .
The Jets run blocking was very impressive today when you consider how loaded the Jaguars are in the front-seven – two stud free agent defensive tackles in Calais Campbell and Malik Jackson, along with high first round linebackers Myles Jack and Dante Fowler, and at rising star at defensive end in Yannick Ngakoue. The Jets ran for 256-yards against this group. It shows you that the Jets’ offensive line really isn’t a problem after all. That was another false narrative pushed before the season . . .
October 1, 2017
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