Content available exclusively for subscribers
He quietly has done a very solid job for the Jets . . .
Talking about center Connor McGovern.
For some reason, some fans and reporters, painted a less-than-flattering depiction of the player early on, and that has kind of stuck in some circles, but he’s a very solid center, and had a few really important blocks during the Jets’ upset over Buffalo.
In the second quarter, on a six-yard TD run by Michael Carter up the middle, McGovern mauled talented Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Also in the second quarter, on a screen right to Michael Carter for a gain of 10, McGovern got out in front and took out defensive back Siran Neal. In the fourth quarter, McGovern had a great block on massive defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, opening a big hold for James Robinson to gain 16-yards up the middle.
Is he the best center in the league, probably not, but he’s a very solid player, and it will interesting to see what Joe Douglas does contractually with him after the season when his three-year, $27 million contract expires . . .
Speaking of offensive linemen, new right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi has been pretty solid filling in on the right side with the injuries to Mekhi Becton/Alijah Vera-Tucker.
Now some might point to Von Miller’s strip-sack of Zach Wilson in the second quarter, recovered by defensive end A.J. Epeneza as a bad play by Ogbuehi. I don’t know what the analytic sites said about that play, because I don’t subscribe to them (they don’t know the playbook). Maybe Ogbuehi could have done a little better job, but Wilson moved from his natural pocket, and when an offensive tackle is blocking for a certain pocket, and the QB moves, there is no way for him to know because it’s in back of them.
It’s so easy to just blame offensive tackles for sacks without context.
It would be interesting to see how offensive line coach John Benton looked at that play.
Just like it would be interesting to know how receivers coach Miles Austin would look at the incomplete pass from Wilson to Denzel Mims in the second quarter. On third-and-seven Wilson was too high and hard on his throw, and it went off Mims reaching hand.
I am not a subscriber to that old theory you hear a lot – “a pro receiver should catch anything he gets a hand on.”
To me, that is dumb. Obviously, we hold NFL receivers to the highest standard of any receivers playing football, but they aren’t superman. If a pass is way off target, and they reach up and get part of the upper part of their hand on it, that shouldn’t be something they are criticized for not hauling in, as far as I’m concerned.
While Wilson played better against Buffalo, this is a pass he would want back. Mims was open, and the pass was very inaccurate.
These are two examples of why I don’t subscribe or quote analytics sites. I don’t know their criteria for analyzing this stuff . . .
November 10, 2022
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Friday.