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New Jersey – A lot going on around Jets camp today with all the injuries and the prep for Thursday’s game against Buffalo . . .
Somebody wrote today, “Rex Ryan made Jets relevant in his 6 years.”
What on earth does that mean?
The only thing that makes a team “relevant” is winning, and Ryan’s Jets program went backward over his time in Florham Park.
Frivolous attention-grabbing statements or stunts don’t make a team relevant . . .
For some reason, a lot of people in the media have become obsessed with how many snaps each player receives.
They ask about it and they write about it.
Maybe my years covering Parcells and Belchick impacted my thinking, but I really don’t care.
Whatever it takes to win. How much each guy plays in irrelevant.
If you ask about a guys limited snaps after a win, you are just being a troublemaker.
Todd Bowles was asked today about Devin Smith just getting two snaps against Jacksonville.
Who cares how many snaps Smith had against Jacksonville?
He’s a raw rookie who needs to get stronger and work on his route-running.
And honestly, Kenbrell Thompkins is the better player right now.
So if the Jets force Smith into the lineup, and take snaps away from Thompkins, they are playing politics.
It doesn’t matter where Smith was picked.
Play the best players.
I think Smith will be good in time, but now, there is no reason to force things . . .
The Jets have a problem at safety.
Both Calvin Pryor and Dion Bailey are going to miss Thursday’s game with high ankle sprains.
With Jaiquawn Jarrett and Antonio Allen already on IR, the position is awfully thin right now.
The Jets only have two healthy safeties on the active roster – Marcus Gilchrist and Rontez Miles.
And honestly, Miles really isn’t starting material now, so if he starts on Thursday, you know Rex Ryan is going to target him. He knows Rontez well. He was on the practice squad last year. Miles is a great kid, who has overcome so much in his life, but he’s strictly a box safety. He struggles in coverage and space because he’s very stiff athletically.
The Jets could probably use Ronald Martin off their practice squad, but they have so many other roster moves to make, it’s could be tough to promote Martin right now . . .
The Jets are having a very important personnel meeting tonight featuring Todd Bowles and Mike “Mr. Coffee” Maccagnan.
Man, do they have some tough decisions to make.
Nick Folk is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a quad strain.
Do you keep him on the active roster, and sign another kicker? That could be tough. But what if they sign another kicker, and the guy isn’t good. Folk is like money in the bank, and they might need him in December.
Remember, they need to activate Dee Milliner in the next couple of days or he goes on IR for the season, so they have to cut somebody to make room for him.
Also, they are shorthanded at safety, as we mentioned above.
So who can they release to clear one or two roster spots?
I’d release T.J. Barnes and move him to the practice squad.
It will be interesting to see what they do over the next 24-48 hours.
November 9, 2015
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