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The Jets will be facing one of the NFL’s most high-octane offenses on Monday Night in San Francisco.
With perhaps the NFL’s best play-caller, Kyle Shanahan, and an efficient point guard under center in Brock Purdy, tossing to myriad weapons, this offense creates quite a challenge for opposing defenses.
If you don’t put pressure on Purdy, he’s usually going to find one of his impressive weapons, including swiss army knife Christian McCaffrey, receiver Brandon Aiyuk coming off a monster season that just got him a monster contract, Deebo Samuel, who is one of the better receivers in the league running after the catch, superstar tight end George Kittle and superb receiving fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
This team is loaded.
So traveling out there to play them probably without your most dangerous edge-rusher is far from ideal.
While Haason Reddick has never played a game for the Jets, based on past performance, he’s the team’s most productive edge-rusher.
Just ask Purdy, who Reddick, while with the Philadelphia Eagles, sacked in a playoff game in January of 2023, knocking him out of the contest with an elbow injury.
Joe Douglas was asked if he was concerned about the depth at defensive end with the holdout of Reddick and the trade of John Franklin-Myers.
“I think when you have a guy like Micheal Clemons, and we have a really deep room with a lot of good players, so there have been a lot of great reps and opportunities for Jermaine (Johnson) and Will (McDonald IV). Takk (McKinley) has been unbelievable,” Douglas said last Thursday. “We’ve got big Mike (Micheal Clemons). He’s such a great teammate and he plays with great strain, effort, and violence.”
They love Clemons, and there is nothing you are going to do to talk them out of them. Love him.
Not sure about the edge-setting against the run, but what the hell do I know.
But even if you are a big fan of Clemons, he’s a totally different player than Reddick, so he’s not going to replace what Reddick can do. Clemons is like a 3-4 end who is good at taking up blockers, Reddick is an explosive pass rusher who can consistently take the edge. Clemons doesn’t have the explosion and bend of Reddick. Clemons has three sacks the last two years, and Reddick has 27.
And we need to stop asking the Jets about Franklin-Myers, a player they had asked to take a pay cut, and when he refused they traded him to Denver. Decent player, but they were ready to move in. Watch the film.
The Jets best hopes to give them Reddick type qualities in the defensive end doesn’t play in Santa Clara McDonald and McKinley.
Maybe they can, but while each did some things in the preseason, you have to look at the tackles they did against. Not taking anything away from McDonald’s and McKinley’s work in the summer, but it was not against a who’s who of offensive tackles, which is often the case with preseason sack production.
None of them are named Trent Williams.
As for Jermaine Johnson, he’s good, but still has more to prove. Recently, on SiriusXM NFL Radio, host Pat Kirwan, described him as “serviceable.” This is the season, we will find out if he can be even more than that.
I’m not saying the Jets can’t win at San Francisco without Reddick if he doesn’t play.
But it’s always ideal to have your best edge-rusher on hand when facing Kyle Shanahan and his well oiled offensive machine.
And right now, even though he has yet to take the field with the Jets, Reddick, is their best pass rusher who has 50.5 sacks over the last four seasons.
September 4, 2024
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