Content available exclusively for subscribers
With superstar receiver Davante Adams now in the fold, obviously this is going to help Garrett Wilson draw less double teams.
But also, it’s going to allow Wilson to do some magical stuff from the slot, which we have seen already from him, but this could lead to even more.
The reason Wilson is such a weapon in the slot is because he wins so fast off the snap, it creates an opportunity for a quick throw, wide open pass, for the QB right in front of his face, right in his wheelhouse.
Two examples from the last game:
On the first series, Wilson lined up in the slot and cut across from the left to right side and caught a 24-yard pass.
Early in the second quarter, on third-and-five, Rodgers hit Wilson for a gain of 14 on a cross. Wilson had a quick win in the slot against nickelback Taron Johnson, cutting away quickly to his right.
So with Adams now a Jet, expect even more slot magic from Wilson . . .
Javon Kinlaw might need to lower his pad level a tad on some plays.
Sometimes tall linemen struggle with this, where they pop up too high out of their stance at the snap, and it makes it easier for the offensive linemen to win the leverage game.
On a Ray Davis 14-yard run up the middle, Bills right tackle Spencer Brown pushed Kinlaw all the way to the left, opening a big hole up the middle.
I asked Ulbrich about this play and whether Kinlaw needs to lower his pad level and he said, “All of us can play it a little bit better. Whether that’s our technique, whether
it’s the call, whether it’s alignment assignment, gap discipline, edge, like I said, mindset. We all need to take a step as far as defending the run.”
The word “mindset” is an important word choice. He used “mindset” early in the press conference when talking about run defense. What does he mean by that?
“There’s an element to stopping the run where like it’s going to be on my terms,” Ulbrich said. “We’re going to establish a new line of scrimmage. We’re going to get 11 hats to the ball. You do that consistently and you maintain that mindset and physicality, typically good things happen.”
Kinlaw is a 6-5, 330-pound freakish athlete who perhaps needs to impose his will on offensive linemen more consistently . . .
In the Jets’ loss to Buffalo, their run defense on the first series of the game was horrifying to the point where ESPN’s Joe Buck said late in the drive, “Just running it right down their throats.”
This drive had to make Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich sick. It was a video tutorial on how not to play the run.
Ulbrich has vowed to fix it. Can he do it in the middle of the season remains to be seen, but one thing that will help this week is the state of the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line, which is a MASH unit. Starting left tackle Troy Fautanu and guard James Daniels are on injured reserve. Starting center Zach Frazier will miss the game with an ankle injury, and keep in mind, the rookie was starting at center because former Jet Nate Herbig is on injured reserve.
Not sure some of the Jets’ issues stopping the run can be fixed from Monday to Sunday, but the state of the Steelers’ line should help . . .
Olu Fashanu could probably use a few weeks to get healthy.
He’s currently wearing braces on his left knee and right elbow.
I’m not saying he can’t play with these things, he can, but the kid seems to be a little banged up.
But it’s certainly a good sign for the Jets that their left tackle of the future is willing to put on braces and play through stuff.
A lot of young guys don’t know the difference between being injured and hurt, and there is a difference.
Olu knows the difference.
October 18, 2024
Premium will return by 11:30 pm Sunday from Pittsburgh.