Division Status Check: Dolphins

Edition #656

Good morning! ☕

The Jets social media team posted a video of a giant game of Jenga this week, which probably says everything you need to know about what’s going on with the Jets right now.

Just a couple more weeks and we’re going to be back in our safe space, overanalysing every training camp throw, run, catch and tackle. As always when it comes to training camp, the most important thing is we escape it without any major injuries.

🟢 Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been speaking to the official Jets podcast on facing the 49ers in week one - "I love it, you know," he told Eric Allen during an in-depth chat on "The Official Jets Podcast." "What a great opportunity to play one of the best, if not the best, team in football right now, one of the historic franchises. And then, obviously, for 10 years, and I was raised in that area, so I was a lifelong 49ers fan as well. Could not be more excited. To be the best, you want to play the best. What a great task."

⚪ This was a great quote from that same interview: "You're talking about, to me, the real essence of football, I think that that's what makes us a little different than most. But at the same time, I'd say that we're not so stubborn as coaches, that we don't provide a few wrinkles here and there to keep the offense off balance, pushing ourselves this offseason to grow from a schematic standpoint, so we'll never lose our essence, and that's being based in great technique, great strain, great finish, great toughness, great bonds, but we never lose that. But at the same time, I think our guys have really gotten to the point, because there is a level of mastery that's going to end at this point in the system that we can challenge a little bit more from the schematic standpoint, without compromising the other stuff."

🟢 Robert Saleh is preaching a head-down mentality when it comes to the new season, despite a lot of analysts picking the Jets as a title contender heading into the 2024 campaign - "You trade for a guy like Aaron Rodgers, it sounds silly for any of us to try to hide from it, but the reality is winning the offseason doesn't matter," he said. "We have to win football games, and no matter how much excitement there is around the organization, no matter how much excitement there is around free agency or the draft, none of it matters. We just have to keep our heads down and find ways to get better, continue to have a great offseason. And when we get to the season, we have to find a way to put W's in the win column."

⚪ Tyrod Taylor has been speaking about the energy surrounding the group during the OTA’s: "This is no disrespect to [the Giants] or anything, but when coming in here and being around the guys for Phase One, it was refreshing the energy throughout the locker room," Taylor said. "On the field, just is different. I've been on a couple of different teams and I've gotten a chance to feel that out for a couple of different teams. I think we're in a good space. There's only room to grow and I think everyone obviously wants to be a part of something special, but it's about putting in the work. That's what we're focusing on." You can disrespect the Giants Tyrod, this is a safe space.

🟢 I really liked this quote from new Jets left tackle Tyrone Smith when he was asked what goes through his mind once the ball is snapped - "Block them forever because you never know when the quarterback holds the ball. ... Once you have your guys locked up, why let him go? Because you don't know what's going on behind you. You don't know what's going on down the field. You're just focused on the head of that guy right in front of you." A lot of good young tackles come into this league and don’t sustain their blocks for long enough.

⚪ PFF have been busy ranking their offensive lines as we approach training camp and it’s no surprise to see the Detroit Lions #1. The Jets came in at #5, and based on what we’ve seen over the last few years, if we finish with the #5 unit, I’ll take that all day long - “After performing as one of the worst units of the 2023 season, the Jets' offensive line mightily improved this offseason. Veteran tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses both finished among the 10 highest-graded offensive tackles in 2023 and could form one of the best duos in the league in 2024. The Jets also get back one of the best young guards in the league, Alijah Vera-Tucker, who missed most of the 2023 season due to an injury.”

🟢 Who will end up being the Jets MVP ahead of the new season? According to NFL.com it’s going to be Breece Hall - “Whoa, buddy. I realize this might be a controversial call here, since I'm not only bypassing Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams on defense but also Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson on offense. I can assure you I didn't arrive at this pick easily. Both defenders are terrific, and the Jets' defense might still have to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the team. This also isn't some thinly veiled anti-Rodgers entry, because I think they clearly need him to win. But we might not see vintage Rodgers in a season where he's turning 41, even if he'll clearly help Wilson thrive more as a receiver. Ultimately, Hall looked so good to me down the stretch after an up-and-down start to the season (some of which was clearly not his fault). In the Jets' final three games, he ran for 357 yards and three TDs, caught 23 passes and another TD, and added a 2-point conversion for good measure. Now factor in Hall being another year removed from ACL surgery, and it's not hard to see how he could be a massive part of this offense as a runner and receiver.”

⚪ Aaron Rodgers, in conjunction with a civic organization near his native home in Northern California, donated $100,000 to help wildfire evacuees. The Thompson Fire, which started on Tuesday, has burned over 3,500 acres near Oroville and forced about 28,000 people to evacuate, per CBS News.

A championship campaign starts with being able to hand your own division. You don’t have to win it as Tampa Bay showed in 2022, but the majority of teams who lift the trophy also win their division.

The AFC East is an extremely competitive division. The Jets haven’t won it since 2002, the Dolphins haven’t won it since 2018 and the Bills are currently riding a 4-year division winning streak.

If you read this newsletter, I hope you have a good idea of where the Jets stand. We’ve studied the roster in and out and we’re going to continue to do that throughout August as we build to that season opener.

But where does everyone else stand? That’s going to be our focus over the coming weeks, starting with the Miami Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins

Key Losses

DT Christian Wilkins
OC Connor Williams
OG Robert Hunt
CB Xavien Howard
S DeShon Elliott
EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel
LB Jerome Baker
EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah

Defensive Coordinator - Vic Fangio

There are three names that stand out here above all others, Christian Wilkins who is now in Las Vegas, Robert Hunt who is now in Carolina and Connor Williams who is a free agent after suffering a torn ACL late in the season and who reportedly is considering retirement.