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This player could really be an X-Factor for the Jets this season . . .
I’m talking about Henry Anderson.
In the 2019 off-season, he got a pretty nice contract, landing a three-year deal for $25 million with $17 million guaranteed.
And then last season, he had little impact.
There were two issues. He hurt his shoulder early in the season, and it was a problem the whole campaign. He missed some games, but even when he came back, he wasn’t truly healthy.
Also, the way often used him wasn’t ideal, having him line-up almost like a 4-3 end over offensive tackles. Anderson’s game isn’t beating tackles. He’s not quick enough to take the edge and isn’t going to bend the corner under offensive tackles at 6-6, 298 pounds.
He earned that sizable contract lining up inside, often over guards, who he could overmatch with his length and superb technique.
So now it looks like two things have been fixed. Not just his shoulder, but letting him play more inside. You get the sense early in camp, he will go back to a more conventional 3-4 end position this year, lining up more over interior linemen.
His shoulder feels much better after a full off-season of rehab.
“That injury – I felt it throughout the season when I came back,” said Anderson. “I did a lot of stimulation work on it this off-season, getting all my shoulder stability (back).”
The prideful Atlanta-native didn’t like how last season went one bit.
“It’s uncomfortable for me to not be producing,” Anderson said. “I’m used to being around the ball. It was rough treading. I worked hard this off-season to fix some of the stuff I wasn’t doing well last season.”
And what he does well is playing the 3-4 end spot, where lines up inside of the offensive tackle, not on his outside, and shoots gaps on the interior.
If they can line him up, with an end or outside linebacker, like Tarell Bashem or Jordan Jenkins out of side of him, he will be a lot more comfortable and productive.
And if you have Quinnen Williams and Henry Anderson as interior rushers, that could really work out nicely for the Jets, kind of like when Anderson and Leonard Williams worked well together, and played off each other nicely, in 2018.
My gut tells me Anderson is going to get back to his 2018 form in 2020 now healthy and now being used in a more pragmatic fashion . . .
The Jets had a very light practice today, essentially a walk-through with no contact, and players not wearing pads.
You get the sense that Adam Gase, Gregg Williams, Joe Douglas and company want to ease the players into more high-level intense football practices to avoid a rash of injuries. They already saw a bunch of guys get hurt at the beginning of camp.
Honestly, I think the NFL-NFLPA made a mistake making teams cut back from 90 to 80 guys early in camp. Perhaps it was done to cut down on the number of guys working on the field due to Coronavirus, but it’s leaving some of these teams short-handed, with many injuries around the league, like myriad pulled muscles, which are common at the beginning of every camp.
Don’t think having 9o players on the roster for a few weeks would have really put anybody in extra danger.
August 18, 2020
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