Content available exclusively for subscribers
Let’s see if he can take that second-year leap.
Talking about Zach Wilson, who will be back starting at QB for the Jets, after missing the first three games of his second season with a knee injury.
Last season he completed 55.6 percent of his passes.
That must improve.
It’s hard to sustain drives when essentially every other pass is hitting the ground.
He also must do a better job of manipulating defenders with his eyes.
The last time we saw him, he threw a pick into heavy coverage against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022 preseason right before hurting his knee in the same game.
Wilson stared down his primary receiver on this play, and his eyes led Eagles linebacker Kyzir White to the ball and he picked off the pass.
So if he can improve in these two areas, he should take a leap forward in Year Two . . .
Quincy Williams has a high ankle sprain, which is a rough injury for a run-and-hit, speedy linebacker. It’s very hard to cut on a high ankle sprain, and cutting is a big part of Williams’ game.
High ankle sprains tend to be a slow healing injury because that area has blood flow limitations.
But the Jets should be fine with the linebacker trio of C.J. Mosley, Kwon Alexander and Marcell Harris.
The Jets tend to alternate between having two and three linebackers on the field. When they have two it will be Mosley and Alexander, and the three will be Mosley, Alexander and Harris.
As we have written before, the Jets need to improve their linebacker pass coverage, and having Alexander and Harris out there should help them in this area. They are both good pass coverage linebackers. The starting duo of Mosley and Williams had no PDs in the first three games.
In zone coverage concepts, last year, and early this season, Mosley and Williams have often been a tick late arriving to where the pass is thrown. For Mosley, it might be speed-related, and Williams, it could be related to coverage instincts. Williams is excellent against the run and a tremendous hitter.
The Steelers throw a lot to their tight ends and backs, so the Jets must bring their A-Game in coverage at linebacker, and the speedy, instinctive duo of Alexander and Harris should help them do that . . .
This week’s matchup is favorable for the Jets based on last season and the first few weeks of this season.
When they face quarterbacks who aren’t full-field readers and aren’t good at going through the progression scans, they fare a lot better.
When they face elite full field-readers, like Joe Burrow, who see the weak spots of the coverage, they tend to have issues.
They face Aaron Rodgers in a few weeks. That could be an issue – he sees everything.
Mitch Trubisky is an ideal opponent because he doesn’t see the field well and often relies on simple one-read throws dialed up by the offensive coordinator.
Once again, that isn’t meant to be a cheap shot at the Jets, but until the Jets tight up their pass coverage, and communicate better in zone concepts, it’s the reality of the situation.
Sauce Gardner is a work-in-progress with zone concepts, something he did very little in college.
But the bottom line is this should be a close game that could go either way . . .
With both George Fant and Duane Brown out, the Jets signed left tackle insurance by signing Cedric Ogbuehi off the Houston Texans practice squad.
If you were to draw up an offensive tackle in the lab, he would like Ogbuehi – 6-5, 310, arms like vines, big hands and quick feet. Picked 21st overall in the 2015 draft by Cincinnati, he’s got a lot of natural ability.
However, he’s now on his sixth team at the age of 30, so clearly something is amiss, but when you are looking for a starting offensive tackle in late September, Orlando Pace and Jonathan Odgen aren’t knocking on your door.
The bottom line is he can play left tackle, and they need help there.
Though Conor McDermott will likely start at left tackle in Pittsburgh (with a lot of tight end help), now they have insurance.
September 28, 2022
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.
