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Saw this headline on the internet and it caught my attention – “The New York Jets got some rough news.”
It was about the Justin Fields injury, knocking him out of action this week in Tampa Bay.
Is it rough news?
Of course, it is related to the player’s health. You don’t want anybody getting hurt, and concussions are very serious matters and should not be taken lightly. So that is rough news for the player and his family.
Concussions suck. Wouldn’t wish that on anybody.
But from purely a football standpoint, which I want to make it clear, because I’m not minimizing concussions; this isn’t necessarily rough news for the Jets.
This is not one of those typical situations where, when an NFL starter gets hurt, and there is a precipitous dropoff to the backup.
Not at all.
In fact, you could make two arguments here:
1)Tyrod Taylor’s talent is tantamount to Fields.
2)Tyrod Taylor is better than Fields.
Taylor is 28-28-1 as an NFL starter, and Fields is 14-32.
While not all of the 32 losses were Fields’ fault (like the Jets opener, which was on their pass defense), in his four-plus seasons in the NFL, you could argue his play has been somewhat up and down.
His last game, the Jets’ blowout loss to Buffalo, perhaps wasn’t his best performance.
So the Jets being without Fields this week is horrible for the player and his family, because nobody would wish a concussion on anybody, but the Jets going to Taylor as their QB is not a downgrade, which is often the case when you go from a #1 to #2.
And against this opponent, Taylor might be the better answer, since Tampa Bay likes to blitz a ton and Taylor has a history of making quicker decisions than Fields, which is so important against an attacking style of defense . . .
It’s well-documented the Jets’ run defense wasn’t very good last week against Buffalo, giving up 224 yards.
I asked Aaron Glenn a couple tough questions about the run defense on Wednesday, and perhaps he didn’t love the queries, but to me, what we saw against Buffalo was not an AG run defense.
Don’t care if it’s just their second game, and they are in the early stages of a new program, new culture.
You can’t play run defense like that two games into a new program or two years.
And I think AG will fix it this week.
The man has forgotten more about defense than most of us will ever know.
Aside from all the work on the scheme and technique to fix it this week, something else that could help is the opponent.
Yes, Tampa Bay is a very good running team; however, they are ravaged on the offensive line right now, with possibly three starters out this week – Luke Goedeke, Cody Mauch, and Tristen Wirfs.
You gotta take advantage of that, and if those three players are all out, my guess is the Jets will.
Wirfs, their franchise left tackle, is almost definitely out, because he’s still rehabbing from a knee scope this summer, and they seem to be targeting an early October return.
So they moved center Graham Barton to left tackle. The Jets should be able to take advantage of that, especially with Will McDonald and his elite edge-quickness and bend.
It would also help them if they got Jermaine Johnson back. Will they?
Hard to tell right now because he didn’t practice on Wednesday with an ankle injury he suffered against Buffalo, but saw him in the locker room on Wednesday, and he was walking in flip-flops, with no wrap on either ankle, and without a limp.
Now, that is just anecdotal evidence, not a medical analysis, and perhaps means nothing, but if he had a serious ankle injury, would he be walking in flip-flops with no wrap or limp, or would he have on a walking boot, or have it heavily taped?
They could really use him back. Their depth at defensive end is a tad dubious right now, and was clearly an issue last week in the Jets-Buffalo game, in which the Bills dominated the Jets’ defensive line on the ground.
September 18, 2025
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