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The last time the Jets played the Dolphins in late September, their tight end Darren Waller, caught two touchdown passes.
He had been out a month before returning for the Dolphins’ win last week over New Orleans, and in his return against the Saints, he had two catches, including a 34-yarder.
Expect the Dolphins’ uber-creative play-caller Mike McDaniel to make Waller a big part of the game plan this week.
Not only is he a unique talent, a 6-6 tight end, who is more like a receiver, with his ability to threaten all parts of the field, and the Jets have not been great at covering tight ends.
A couple of weeks ago, I asked Aaron Glenn about the team’s inconsistency covering tight ends, and he shot down the premise. He doesn’t feel they are inconsistent.
Last week, Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts had seven catches for 82 yards.
Waller, the great-grandson of music legend Fats Waller, could be a nightmare for the Jets on Sunday if they don’t have a good plan to deal with him . . .
Speaking of pass coverage, the Jets have no interceptions in 12 games, which is somewhat startling.
Even their cross-town rivals, the New York Football Giants, a team that doesn’t have a particularly good defense, have five picks.
But you could argue it’s a little unfair to blame the game plans or coaching for this issue.
One long-time Jets observer commented that he noticed this year, they haven’t even been close to a pick.
You know, like one of those plays, where a defenders reads the QBs eyes, jumps a route, and just drops the pass. Look, there might have been one of those, but it’s hard to think of one off-hand.
Glenn was a great ballhawk during his career as an NFL cornerback, finishing with 41 picks during his NFL career.
Also, their cornerback coach, Dre Bly, had even more picks during his terrific career in the NFL as a cornerback, with 43.
So two of their main teachers in Florham Park know a thing or two about hauling in interceptions.
The problem is two-fold.
For one, they don’t have a great pass rush, so guys are forced to hold-up on islands too long. We all know that the pass rush is a big part of a good pass defense because it often forces quarterbacks into bad throws that can be pick opportunities.
Secondly, they have too many see-and-go reactors, especially their linebackers, who are too often late to the crime in coverage. Seeing it and then running over, as opposed to seeing it before it happens and jumping the route.
The Jets could actually have a pretty good cornerback combo now and into the future with Brandon Stephens and AZ Thomas, but they definitely need to add a linebacker and safety with elite cover skills next offseason. . . .
Former Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was asked about the key to his success in Dallas before the team’s loss to Detroit last night.
“The guys next to me man,” Williams said. “You got Kenny Clark, (Osa Odighizuwa), young rookie (Donovan Ezeiruaku), Dante Fowler, Jadeveon Clowney, I mean all the guys make it easier for me, just to do my job on the field. It’s super fun to be able to play with those guys.”
Some people perceived this as a shot at his former Jets teammates.
I’m not sure he meant it that way, but some perceived it as such.
Recently, on the radio show I do on SiriusXM NFL Radio, we had a Dallas Cowboys beat writer on, and in one of my questions, I asked him about Williams having the best interior DT partner of his career in Kenny Clark.
And this is true. He never played next to somebody as talented as Clark during his time with the Jets, and maybe not even somebody as good as Odighizuwa, who rotates with Williams and Clark and just got a big contract.
The Jets never had an ideal partner for Williams inside. Solomon Thomas, who gives you everything he’s got, and is a great human being, is too much like Williams, at 6-2, 280, so when they played next to each other with the Jets, they were often handled with just one blocker each, and this led to myriad big runs up the middle. Ironically, Thomas is now a backup in Dallas.
And it wasn’t just Thomas, there were other tag-team partners for Williams in the middle with the Jets, and none were on the level of Clark and Odighizuwa, so I do think that is helping him in Dallas . . .
The Jets will be without nickel back Jarvis Brownlee this week due to a hip injury that has forced him to use crutches, so they will be down to their third nickel back of the season, with the trade of Michael Carter to Philly.
The new nickel back could be rookie Jordan Clark (#33), who handled that position last year for Notre Dame, after transferring from Arizona State. He is son of former NFL safety Ryan Clark, who is now a sports/political analyst for ESPN.
Jets safety Tony Adams is dealing with a groin injury. If he can’t play, you would likely see veteran Isaiah Oliver at free safety. The versatile, cerebral Oliver can essentially play any position in the secondary.
December 5, 2025
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