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East Rutherford – Let’s get into a few things coming out of the New York Jets-New York Giants preseason game.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick might not have the best arm in the league, but man does he do a good job “throwing guys open,” as they say.
His 22-yard TD to Eric Decker in the second quarter is a perfect example of that.
With the Giants big-money free agent cornerback Janoris Jenkins in pretty tight coverage down the left sideline, Fitzpatrick threw the ball anyway, and completed the TD to Decker.
Fitzpatrick has such a great feel for throwing Decker and Brandon Marshall “open.” It was good last year. It should be even better this year.
And when you don’t have a rocket arm, the import of being able to complete these “50-50” ball is even more important.
And Fitz does a wonderful job in this department . . .
The Jets handling of their QB rotation tonight was a head-scratcher.
I felt they shortchanged Geno Smith and Bryce Petty. They both needed more work.
And they played Hackenberg way too much.
Hackeberg played more than Smith and Petty. Hackenberg finished 6-16 for 105 yards with a touchdown and a pick.
Chan Gailey already said that Hackeberg isn’t going to truly fixed until next off-season when he can thousands of reps to help fix his mechanics.
So why are you short-changing Petty, who is a year further in his development, and needs the work.
And why are you pulling Petty after a Pick Six (on a miscommunication on a screen with Tommy Bohanon). Let him come back one more series and rebound from a confidence standpoint. What a terrible way for a developmental QB to leave a preseason game.
If you are going let Hackeberg play extensively, in this redshirt year, wait until the truly meaningless Philly game.
I didn’t get this one . . .
As I mentioned the other day, expect to see a lot of four-man lines this year for the Jets.
In the first half, the Jets went a lot of four-man defensive lines – Mo Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Leonard Williams and Steve McLendon.
I know there isn’t much game-planning for preseason games, but I think the four-man line caught the Giants offensive line, and Eli Manning, by surprise. They had a really hard time with this look.
It’s not that you watch a ton of film preparing for these game, but the Jets were a 3-4 team last year and in the first two preseason games, so a four-man line isn’t what the Giants expected.
I think Todd Bowles and Kacy Rodgers finally decided that they were getting so little pressure off the edge in the 3-4, they might has well make the move to a four-man line, since they are so loaded with top-shelf defensive linemen.
I think they are going to be like the Patriots – constantly switching between the 3-4 and 4-3 – depending on the opponent.
Lorenzo Mauldin definitely got the message. He’s the Jets top 3-4 OLB, and not being on the field a lot in the first half had to frustrate him. He played with his hair on fire in the second half and made a lot of plays.
I do think all the work Mauldin did against Ryan Clady, an outstanding left tackle, in camp, will help him in the season. Not many left tackles as good as Clady.
August 28, 2016
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