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With all the attention on other players who performed well, like Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and Will McDonald, the play of another player perhaps got obscured to a degree, but it shouldn’t have been.
Talking about Jets right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker.
His play in the Jets opener at San Francisco was non-descript, which was understandable. This was his first tackle football game since he went down with a torn right Achilles in a Week 5 game in Denver last season. He didn’t play in the 2024 preseason, so that game at San Francisco was his first game action in almost a year.
So week one at Levi’s Stadium wasn’t the Vera-Tucker we have grown used to seeing.
But after getting the kinks out in his backyard (he’s from Oakland), he took a quantum leap in week two, playing on a high level.
Here are three examples:
On the Jets TD drive to start the second half, Hall ran for 20 yards on the right side, and a key block on the play was Vera-Tucker, locking up defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day. There were other key blocks on this play, but this was the block that got Hall off to the races.
In the middle of the third quarter, on a Hall 8-yard gain up the middle, Vera-Tucker had one of the key initial blocks, locking up defensive tackle James Lynch.
And then on Braelen Allen’s 20-yard touchdown off right tackle in the fourth quarter, Vera-Tucker got his mitts on defensive tackle Keondre Coburn, which was one of the most important blocks on this play which turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.
As we’ve said many times, Vera-Tucker is a solid tackle, when forced to play at that position, but a Pro Bowl-level guard, and he showed that in Nashville . . .
It’s well-documented, that in recent years, the Jets offense has not been considered a well-oiled machine, with myriad complaints about their play-calling and quarterback play.
So considering what we have seen, and the torture this has been to so many Jets fans, there was a play in the fourth quarter against Tennessee, that was so brilliant on every level, and so impressive schematically and execution-wise, I thought I’d dive into a little here.
You all know the play well and have probably seen the highlight repeatedly, it was a third-and-one play, where Aaron Rodgers hit Wilson for a 26-yard gain down the right sideline.
First of all, Aaron Rodgers milked the play clock down to 1 second, dissecting what look the defense was in, and the QB made the requisite changes, which he’s brilliant at.
Wilson and Allen Lazard lined up on the right side next to each other. Wilson was on the inside, and Lazard on the outside. Lazard was about a yard back from Wilson. Wilson and Lazard both start running toward the inside to confuse. Lazard drew a double team on a shallow crossing route, consisting of safety Amani Hooker and nickel back Roger McCreary. Why? Because it was third-and-one in a 17-17 game. They figured Rodgers would go for the first down on a shorter pass. Wilson took a step toward the inside with Lazard, and then pivoted to the sideline, drawing single coverage from L’Jarius Sneed, who is a good player, but covering Wilson with no jam at the line, in single coverage, is almost impossible for most cornerbacks on the planet. So Wilson got a step on Sneed right after he started heading up the field, Rodgers hit him, but didn’t throw it to the outside where Sneed had slightly better positioning, but to the inside.
This play was fantastic from a play-design to a play-execution standpoint.
And after what we have seen in recent years, a new offensive day has dawned in Florham Park and as Robert Saleh said after the game, it’s only going to get better. After all, this was just the second game of the season.
Good stuff.
September 18, 2024
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