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This is my least favorite couple of days on the NFL calendar, the cutdown to 53.
The summer isn’t about open competition anymore, but more about confirmation bias and self-fulfilling prophecies.
And that isn’t a Jets-centric point. It’s all over the league.
I’m a big fan of pure, unfiltered open competition which means I’m basically living in Never Never Land. It ain’t happening.
On Saturday night, defensive end Michael Clemons didn’t play, but defensive end Takk McKinley did.
McKinley finished the game with 2.5 sacks.
Now granted, it was against backups, but when did Clemons have 2.5 sacks against backups in a preseason game? And since arriving in 2022, he has played against a lot of backups in preseason games.
Who’s the better player? I’m not going to lead the witness. You decide for yourself.
But aside from not understanding why McKinley played so much and Clemons didn’t play at all, why was McKinley playing in the fourth quarter after he wrecked the game in the first three quarters?
At some point, maybe you think that this guy is playing at a high level right now, we might need him once the season starts with the Haason Reddick holdout, so let’s get him out of the game.
And McKinley suffered a hand injury against the Giants and needed X-rays after the game. Perhaps it’s not serious, but why was he playing so late into a final preseason game?
The Jets cut a safety Al Blades today.
He seemed to do some good things this summer, but the only way this guy was making the team is if he played like Troy Polamalu in camp.
Entering camp, the safety decisions were made – Chuck Clark, Tony Adams, Ashtyn Davis and Isaiah Oliver.
Are any of those guys transcendent talents? Not sure, but there was nothing Blades could do if those four stayed healthy.
A fifth-round rookie running back, Isaiah Davis, didn’t play against the Giants. How often are fifth-round rookies essentially inactive for a preseason game?
Is he better than Izzy Abandikanda who played extensively?
Jeremy Ruckert didn’t play in the third preseason game. Is Ruckert better than Kenny Yeboah, who did play? Really no evidence of that up to this point. And that isn’t a shot at either player. I’m just saying I don’t see a difference in their talent levels right now.
Linebacker Jamien Sherwood didn’t play against the Giants.
Is he better than Chazz Surratt, who played extensively?
Not sure there is evidence of that.
Once again, not a shot at Sherwood, just saying you can make a strong argument he’s not better than Surratt, so if Surratt played against the Giants, why didn’t Sherwood?
Look, I understand not playing Aaron Rodgers, Tyron Smith, Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, C.J. Mosley and some other established vets in this game.
But some of the other guys put in bubble wrap was illustrative about how the fix is in on most roster spots before camp starts.
And I’m not a fan of that.
But I’m looking for a football player personnel utopia and that doesn’t exist.
August 26, 2024
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