Cursed Field - Be Gone
Good morning! ☀️
This week has dragged in the worst way and I’ve also been incredibly busy with work, which doesn’t seem overly fair. So apologies if I’ve not been very good at responding to comments this week, but thankfully it’s the weekend and we’ve got some time to relax, and next week is shaping up to be a lot quieter.
Yesterday it was revealed that MetLife was due for a turf facelift, something we’ve been calling for as Jets fans for some time. They’re still not going back to natural grass, which will always be the best surface according to this stubborn puritan, but they are at least making an effort to change it.
Before we get into that, let’s get to some quick notes, which is packed today.
🐗 Here’s a name we haven’t spoken about a lot here, Ricky Stromberg, the senior center from Arkansas. Jets offensive line coach Keith Carter made the trip to Arkansas yesterday to be there for Stromberg’s pro-day and with the Jets needing a center, there is a natural fit. Stromberg is a nice option between rounds 3-5 where he’s likely to be drafted and while he can be beaten by quick burst DTs, there is a fair amount of power to his game. We’ll talk more about Stromberg below.
🧀 Albert Breer had a column out yesterday and within that piece he wrote about Aaron Rodgers and how any deal for the QB would “certainly” be done by the start of the draft on April 27th, which is something we’ve all believed considering it makes no sense for the Packers to not ask for 2023 assets. He went on to say - “I think it could happen as early as this week, and certainly will get done before the draft. So have patience, Jets fans—your quarterback is coming.” - The only person I’ve seen panicking over this issue is Woody Johnson and Green Bay Packer fans.
1️⃣3️⃣ Another from Albert Breer, this time on Odell Beckham Jr and his reported asking price. According to the report, OBJ is looking for a contract that pays him $15 million/year, and considering it’s often been reported that he was looking for a multi-year deal, it’s possible he’s looking for a 2-year deal for $30 million. That would put him just inside the top 10 in terms of cap number for 2023, but obviously, his cap number wouldn’t be $15 million as I imagine any team that signs him will hand out a big signing bonus to limit his impact on the cap next year. ESPNs Dan Graziano names the Jets the most likely destination, saying OBJ may be waiting for Rodgers to arrive before announcing his own deal.
📈 MCII took to Twitter with a bold exclamation saying he was aiming to be the best nickel corner in the league next year. Carter is already a very accomplished nickel corner having allowed just 2 touchdowns and recorded 2 interceptions and 10 passes defended in two years. He allowed a lower completion %, a lower NFL passer rating, fewer yards, and more defensive stops, but his yards after the catch went from 299 yards on 60 catches in 2021 to 413 yards on 56 catches, so that’s certainly something to work on if MCII hopes to be the best of the best.
🔵⚪ NFL reporter Josina Anderson worried about what may happen if Aaron Rodgers were to suffer an injury: “If Aaron Rodgers goes down, God forbid, that brings me to the backup discussion,” Anderson exclaimed on The Crew podcast last week “The last time I saw Zach Wilson he looked like a deer in headlights. Cam Newton who just had his workout at Auburn, I feel that I would rather have people who I feel like can show me more mental fortitude during adversity.” That’s an underrated concern and one I’ve thought about at times. When you have a near 40-year-old QB, his chance of injury is very real, unless Wilson develops a hell of a lot over the off-season, I don’t want him anywhere near the starting lineup.
🧐 Former NFL linebacker and current Fox Sports presenter Emmanuel Acho thinks the Jets should be worried, despite seeming to completely contradict himself with the explanation as to why: "I want to say why I think the Jets should be nervous, I was thinking about this we all assumed the Jets are going to land him, but that assumption is dangerous. Maybe it's a coincidence, but they're acquiring players that they know Aaron Rodgers would want to play with… it's not done until it's done. So you can think you're acquiring all you want your traded Elijah more for a second-round pick congratulations but until Aaron Rodgers is in that building, it is not done. The quarterback is going to be here but, I don't think it's done until it's done. That's why the Jets should be worried just based on my experience.” So we should be worried that it’s not done, but it’s going to get done. Cool.
🦬 The Jets were also in attendance at the North Dakota State pro-day and the staff personnel from the Jets and Giants ran the offensive line positional drills. Cody Mauch is obviously the star of the show for NDSU, and we’re probably not talking about him enough as we head into the draft month. However, don’t sleep on guard Nash Jensen either.
🐸 According to multiple reports, the Jets are showing strong interest in TCU QB Max Duggan. He completed 63.7% of his passes for 3,698 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions while rushing for 423 yards and 9 touchdowns. It’s becoming clear the Jets want to take a developmental QB to sit behind Rodgers, and as much as they’ll back Wilson, they need to have a plan for if Wilson isn’t the answer.
Metlife has claimed another victim.
The Blue half of New York could be heard chanting that in unison last season as Sterling Shephard went down with an ACL injury. A couple of weeks earlier Kyle Fuller was a victim of the turf for Baltimore as they beat our Jets. The 49ers lost both Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas to major injuries at Metlife back in 2020 too. Few will be sad to see the old turn resigned to history.
The Jets and 6 other teams (including the Giants) have used slit-film turf over the years, and according to an outsider firm that provides engineering analysis for the league “slit-film has a statistically significant higher risk of LEX [lower extremity] injury than the League average, models suggest there are 2-3 more non-contact lower extremity injuries per season per stadium on slit film surfaces than other types of synthetic turf fields.”
When you think about it, it’s astounding it’s taken this long for the Jets/Giants to act, and like with most things, it comes down to money.
NFLPA Jim Tretter wrote at the back end of the 2022 season: “The injuries on slit film are completely avoidable — both the NFL and NFLPA experts agree on the data — and yet the NFL will not protect players from a subpar surface,”
Slit-film is extremely durable and Metlife is used by two teams and hosts a number of events across the year, maintenance is low and with low maintenance comes a lower cost, in comparison to alternative turf fields and grass.
So what will the new turf be? It won’t be grass, at least not this year. Metlife will need to put grass down for the 2026 World Cup and let’s hope it stays down. John Mara the Giants owner said: “I foresee a day, my hope is we can get to a day at some point in the future when we can have a grass field that we’re able to maintain with two different teams and all the other events we have,” John Mara said Tuesday at the NFL meetings. “I think we can get there at some point, Maybe it’s a hybrid product or something.”
A new FieldTurf CORE system has been installed and it’s the first "multi-layer dual-polymer monofilament fiber."
“The FieldTurf CORE synthetic turf system features a heavyweight infill design, proven to deliver a lower incidence of total injuries compared to various infill weights, and FieldTurf’s unique wide-gauge design (the distance between the rows of stitched fibers), which delivers leading cleat release times.
CORE’s performance and durability are backed by multiple independent certified sources. The system was tested to 200,000 cycles on the fiber wear test by Penn State’s Center for Sports Surface Research.”
Who knows if this is going to be successful, but it can’t be much worse than the old turf that seemed to drag the players down to new depths, or maybe that’s just the talent we’ve seen over the last decade. When doing research for this snippet I found a lot of information about the Giants bringing in samples and asking their players to test it, but I couldn’t find a lot of information on the Jets doing the same thing. Let’s hope this is backed by both teams, you’d imagine it was.
PROSPECT PROFILE
Name: Ricky Stromberg
Position: Center
Class: Senior
Team: Arkansas Razorbacks
Projection: 4th Round
2022 Stats: 0 sacks allowed, 11 pressures, 83.7 run-block grade
Height/Weight: 6’3, 306lbs,
Strengths: Gets good movement in the run game, started his career at Arkansas as a guard, and could play there at the next level too. Made the protection calls for the Razorbacks and showed a good understanding of where pressure was coming from, which helped the QB a lot. Keeps his feet churning and his diagonal drive is right out of the Keith Carter coaching book. Has some good wins on tape with leverage and anchor winning out, is definitely a finisher, and enjoys contact.
Weaknesses: As mentioned in the quick throws, he can get beaten by the burst and quickness off the snap, a little bit of a waist bender which throws his body balance off, but that’s coachable. Hand placement can be very inconsistent and sometimes gets caught outside the pads, which is probably why he’s been called for 23 penalties over the course of his career, including 8 last year and 5 this year.
Final View: Stromberg does have a lot of great qualities. The protection calls are a big plus, and he has a nice balance of strength and athleticism. Technically there are a fair few things to work on which is why he’ll likely go in the 4th or 5th round, hand placement, punch, knee bend, and body control are all aspects he’ll need to improve at the next level. I have faith in Stromberg long-term with the right coaching behind him, and he may be a great option if you can get Ben Jones, allowing Ricky a year to sit and develop. The Jets have an interest because Stromberg is a Keith Carter-type guy, he’s certainly a name to watch come draft day.
I agree - the jets are definitly taking a developmental QB. Why when they have one already makes no sense. They really need to sign somone ike Teddy or Cam. If Douglas was paying attention to the Mets at all - he would see that 40 year olds breakdown. (of course with the Mets like The Jets .injuries are a way of life). Garaunteed contracts like Verlander got, means there is no incentive to play. Then on top of it they get injured and be out for the year. He really needs to sign a veteran backup. Even if they put pillows across metlife field the jets would get injured.
Good morning fellow Jet fans! Well, DWH has given us another excellent start to our day. So let’s get at it. First, the Odell thing. I think he’s a Jet. 2nd, I don’t think he gets anywhere near $15 million a year. He’s a guy that’s gonna get 10 maybe 15 snaps a game. You can’t play him in a full time starters roll. So you can’t pay him like one either. That’s why he’s still out there. The only concern is that if his price comes down too low a team like KC or Buffalo might jump in. The new turf has been a major concern for a while now. Everyone wants to get this right. I like seeing the Jets casting a wide net at the center position. The easy way out would be to re up McGovern. But after watching him the last 3 seasons I think a change is needed. Hopefully who ever comes in helps Laken Tomlinson get back to his 2021 form. Have a great day everyone! Go Jets! U da man David Wyatt Hupton! As always, well done!