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Sometimes the player makes the decision for you . . .
There was talk that Bryce Hall was competing against Sauce Gardner for the cornerback job opposite D.J. Reed.
But Hall had a rough first half tonight, to the point, where you’d have to think Gardner is going to win the job.
Early in the game, Hall got beat on a double move by tight end Kyle Pitts for a long gain, and then got beat on a crossing route for a touchdown by WR Olamide Zaccheus, his former UVA teammate. He also had a holding call.
Perhaps some people viewed it as a window-dressing competition since Gardner was picked fourth overall in the 2022 draft, but however you viewed it, tonight pretty much locked it up for Gardner.
Not writing off Hall. Not by any stretch. He’s actually had a pretty good camp, but sometimes he runs into trouble because he’s not a speed merchant, and has average recovery speed.
This is one area Gardner, who runs under 4.4, has a big edge on him.
He will make a good #3 CB for the Jets . . .
Mike White did not have a great outing. His best play was late in the half stepping up in the pocket, and hitting Denzel Mims over the middle, to put the Jets in field goal range.
I’m not here to make excuses for White, but his supporting cast wasn’t very good in terms of playing with all backups. But nonetheless, he needs to play better.
Chris Streveler was better than White in this game, also playing with backups, and here is why:
White is very meticulous, and he’s trying to run Mike LaFleur’s offense to the letter of the law with backups, some who might not be as up on the playbook as he is.
Streveler is a out there playing street yard ball, running around making plays, playing with reckless abandon, having fun.
Streveler is a much better fit for the imperfect world of preseason football, and for the second straight game, did a heck of a job out there . . .
One of the better defensive plays of the first half was on a bootleg right by Marcus Mariota, that defensive end Bradley Anae did not bite on, and he got in the quarterback’s face in the red zone forcing a throwaway. Then he had one of the better plays of the second half, sacking a scrambling Feleipe Franks, who fumbled, and Anae returned it for a touchdown.
The Jets are going to have some tough decisions to make at backup DE, perhaps choosing between Bryce Huff and Anae.
Anae has a lot of talent. The former fifth-round pick of Dallas had 13 sacks as a senior at Utah in the Pac-12, a pretty good conference. At least it used to be . . .
Second-year defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall had a heck of a game, making plays all night.
His hard work is paying off.
He’s consistently one of the last players off the practice field.
The advantage he has over Nathan Shepherd, a Saleh favorite, is he’s quicker and more athletic. It will likely come down to Marshall, Shepherd and Tanzel Smart for two of the last three defensive tackle spots . . .
You have to give La’Mical Perine a lot of credit.
He hardly played last year, and didn’t say a word – just kept working.
Then the Jets picked Breece Hall, and Perine looked like a goner.
But he just kept his mouth shut and kept working.
Now he’s had a terrific preseason and looks like he might have a future in green after all.
It goes back to the cliche you hear from players all the time – “just control what you can control” . . .
Rough game for guard Isaiah Williams with three penalties.
Even though the Jets really like him, that’s tough for a bubble player.
August 22, 2022
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