Content available exclusively for subscribers
One thing I don’t understand is why you would have an undersized defensive tackle on the goalline defense.
You shouldn’t just go with a straight rotation based on when guys need a blow. When it comes to the goalline, or even a third-and-short, or fourth-and-short anywhere on the field, the Jets should always have massive defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw and Leki Fotu on the field.
End of story.
By that way, Fotu had a really nice run stop at Tuesday’s practice, clogging up the middle, and stopping running back Isaiah Davis around the line . . .
Leonard Taylor had yet another impressive play on Tuesday, shooting into the backfield off the snap and stopping running back Xazavien Valladay for a loss.
While he was a little inconsistent during his time with the Miami Hurricanes, he seems to be a better fit for the Jets system, where he can just use his elite athleticism to shoot up field, and not worry about two-gapping or anything like that . . .
I almost feel bad for offensive tackle Austin Deculus when I see him get beat while playing left tackle, like he did yesterday for QB pressure by Takk McKinley
Deculus is not a left tackle. I know that teams want backup tackle to play both left sides so they can be swing tackles, but left tackle is not for everybody.
Deculus is a right tackle, and he can probably be a solid one on the NFL level. It’s the position he played at LSU.
Watching Max Mitchell and Carter Warren, you get the same sense. Good fits at right tackle, but left tackle on the NFL level is a challenge for them.
This is why the Jets drafting of left tackle Olu Fashanu in the first round could turn out to be a masterstroke.
Tyron Smith is a heck of a player, and a future Hall-of-Famer, but his recent history leads you to believe he might not start all 17 games, so to have Fashunu to fill-in for him for a few games is huge.
Mitchell, Warren and Deculus look like better fits at right tackle.
And that isn’t a shot at any of them. Very few men on the planet have the dancing bear feet needed to play left tackle and consistently protect the QBs blindside against NFL-level edge-rushers.
So watching practice, and seeing Deculus beat at left tackle, I’m thinking – “What do you expect?” He’s a right tackle or maybe a guard, but not a left tackle . . .
Aaron Rodgers brilliance dealing with blitzes continues in camp, like on Tuesday, when he it Garrett Wilson down the right sideline for a long gain on an all-out blitz . . .
Watching Adrian Martinez in the first preseason game, scrambling, creating time, and hitting Brandon Smith down the right side for a 33-yard gain to set up the game-winning field goal, and watching him on some scrambles in that game and in camp, I looked up his 40 time coming out of Nebraska.
He ran a 4.55 forty.
This guy has great wheels . . .
With both Martinez and Andrew Peasley looking good, I would keep both of them on the practice squad this year.
Watching Jordan Travis, you get the sense he’s not that close, which is understandable after his horrific leg injury at Florida State last year. It was so bad, he was taken from the stadium to the hospital in an Ambulance. It was on a hip-drop tackle against North Alabama.
When you see Travis on the rehab field during practice, he is running, but it’s more like a light jog. it doesn’t look like he’s sprinting yet.
I would just keep him on PUP or whatever medical list is appropriate for this season and give him a red-shirt year.
Because even if he’s 100 percent, in less say November or December, are you really going to play a rookie QB, if need be, late in the season, who missed all of the spring and summer practices?
August 14, 2024
Premium will return by 9:30 pm (or sooner) on Thursday from Charlotte.
