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It’s time to leave him alone about this . . .
One of the worst things for an athlete coming back from a serious injury is to constantly be asked about the injury.
It’s like when you have a bad back, and somebody asks you about your back, and you start to think about it more, and might feel a twinge because of the question.
There is a physiological element to this.
Breece Hall is facing that challenge this week.
In Week 7 last season, Hall suffered a season-ending knee injury, tearing an ACL and meniscus. It happened in Denver, so a big story this week is his return to Denver where he suffered the injury.
Why does that even matter?
Is he supposed to go into the game seeking revenge against the field?
It’s such a foolish angle. It doesn’t mean anything.
If you want to mention it in a story, that is fine, but why ask him about it? What is he supposed to say?
And he’s at the point now where he’s back in a groove after four NFL games playing on the surgical knee. Why, now, does he need to revisit where the injury happened and how his knee feels?
Perhaps the big story this week that he’s no longer on a snap count, contributed to knee stories this week, but he was never on a snap count, according to the coach.
Before the season opener, Robert Saleh said, “It’s not that we’re putting a snap count on it.”
But the bottom line is players hate being asked about how they feel coming back from a serious injury, especially four games into their return. If they just came back, and you ask them how they felt out there, that is one thing, but it’s time to leave Hall alone about his knee. It’s in the rearview mirror now.
Once again, this is so bad from a sports psychology standpoint to bring up medical stuff that they are trying to keep out of their minds so they can play with a free mind.
Players hate this crap. I’m dead serious . . .
The Jets will be without their second (D.J. Reed) and third (Brandon Echols) outside corners. The Jets signed three corners to their practice squad this week, so there is clearly some concern with the numbers at the position.
When the Denver Broncos lost wide receivers Tim Patrick and K.J. Hamler both for the season during training camp, there was some concern about their depth at receiver, but it hasn’t been a problem.
They are still loaded with Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton and rookie Marvin Mims, a former Oklahoma star, picked in the 2nd round of the 2023 draft, with their first pick (they had no #1 pick due to the Russell Wilson trade).
They also have Brandon Johnson, who they really like, who caught a Hail Mary against Washington early in the season, and Tre’Quan Smith, who played for Sean Payton in New Orleans.
And the Broncos have a good offensive line, so Russell Wilson should have time to throw, against a Jets pass rush that has been okay, not elite. Bryce Huff has been the biggest standout so far. He’s earning himself a ton of money next off-season, either with the Jets or somewhere else.
We all know that Denver’s defense isn’t very good, so perhaps the Jets should be able to put up a lot of points if Zach Wilson continues his solid play from last week (though we have seen him have good games before, like Pittsburgh last year, but it wasn’t sustained).
But don’t assume the Jets’ defense, which gets a lot of media praise, is going to shut down Russell Wilson and the Denver passing attack with the brilliant play-calling of Payton, especially with the Jets dinged at cornerback. This is going to be a huge challenge for the Jets’ pass defense.
So who will the fourth corner be, with Sauce Gardner and Bryce Hall starting, and Michael Carter in the slot? Likely veteran Craig James, who was released late last month, but was re-signed this week. He was with them last year, and they clearly told him he would be back, because he stayed in the area after he was cut last week to make room for Trevor Siemian. Maybe special team’s ace Justin Hardee gets some reps at cornerback. Remember, he was with Payton in New Orleans, so he’s comfortable facing that system.
October 6, 2023
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