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He might be right.
Josh Edwards of CBS Sports did a feature on the biggest needs for each NFL team following the off-season. Here is what he wrote about the Jets:
“Few teams did as much to upgrade their roster this offseason as the New York Jets,” wrote Edwards. “They upgraded at edge rusher, cornerback, safety, wide receiver, running back and tight end. The one spot that was hardly addressed is one valuable in Robert Saleh’s defense, but widely considered insignificant — linebacker. San Francisco’s defense corralled opposing offenses with a wide 9 front because they had talented players like Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw to handle all that was filtered inside. New York is relying upon a converted safety (Hamsah Nasirildeen), Jaguar cast-off (Quincy Williams) and the once highly-regarded C.J. Mosley to fulfill those same obligations.”
He might be on to something.
There is some hype about the tandem of Mosley and Williams.
Yesterday, the Jets tweeted, “this duo” and it was followed by a photo of Mosley and Williams from the team’s recent media day.
What does “this duo” truly mean?
Is this meant to hype the duo or just point out that they are a duo?
I would assume it was meant to hype them.
But we can’t forget the Jets defense finished 32nd in the NFL last year, and linebackers are obviously, always, a big part of any defense.
Look, I’m not blaming the Jets linebackers for the 32nd ranking last year. There is a lot of blame to go around, but they were part of a defense that did finish 32nd.
There needs to be some improvement here.
They need more plays in pass coverage from their linebackers, and Williams sometimes is too aggressive and overruns play. He’s been very honest this off-season on his need to be a little more disciplined. He’s an incredibly tough player who delivers a lot of big hits, but sometimes he’s overaggressive and takes himself out of plays.
“That’s my thing, going for the big hits, but with doing that I was missing out on turnovers and stuff,” Williams said.
Mosley is a great leader, and is terrific against the run, but how is his range in coverage at 30, after seven seasons in the league? Remember, he was signed by Mr. Coffee to play inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. This is a totally different system that calls for more range. Last year, in 16 games, Mosley finished with two passes defensed and no picks. Those are pedestrian pass coverage numbers for a linebacker.
As for Nasrildeen, we will see how he does in his second year as a linebacker after playing safety at Florida State. Right now, it’s unclear what the Jets have, just like with Jamien Sherwood, who made a similar transition with the Jets last year, before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury at New England.
Other players in the mix are Marcell Harris, Del’Shawn Phillips, Javin White and D.Q. Thomas. Harris, a former 49er, might have the chance at the most playing time from the group.
Edwards might be right. They might need to add another player or two at linebacker. Free-agent Kwon Alexander is a possibility. He played for Saleh in San Francisco.
June 22, 2022
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