Football starts this week

Edition #446

Good morning! ☕

Welcome to the first week of football. We’ve waited a long time for this, but Thursday night the Jets will take to the field to face the Cleveland Browns and old friend Elijah Moore.

Coach Saleh confirmed that none of the starters will play. Mekhi Becton will start to get some work in, but it’s unclear if he’s considered a starter or not. Zach Wilson will start at QB, and plenty of young players will get an opportunity to show they belong.

🥊 “He (Hackett) is arguably my favourite coach I’ve ever had in the NFL. I thought it was way out of line, inappropriate, and I think he needs to keep my coaches’ names out of his mouth.” - Aaron Rodgers talking to Peter Schrager on Sean Payton’s comments.

Going to kick things off today with this quote from Aaron Rodgers as I have a lot of time for a QB who will stick up for his friend/coach. Sean Payton’s comments were inappropriate and out of line. Rodgers also said that it’s strange for a coach who’s achieved as much as Payton to be so insecure he needed to make these kinds of comments.

The Jets play the Broncos in week five and Sean Payton has put the biggest target possible on their back. Denver better be ready to play that week, because the Jets sure as hell will, especially the offense. I can see Rodgers having one of his best games of the season against them.

Just to link this one together, Allen Lazard was back at practice yesterday, and while he was a little rusty dropping two catches off of Rodgers, he did have this TD catch as well (over Jodan Whitehead). Good to have Lazard healthy and back on the field.

INJURY UPDATE 🤕

✅ Lazard and Becton were both back, Randall Cobb was dressed for the first time but didn’t take part in team drills.

🔜 Garrett Wilson is still out with the ankle, but the Jets expect him back within a week and it’s largely them being cautious. So that’s the best possible news.

🤧 Corey Davis will be back today after missing his second straight practice through illness.

CAMP STARS - SUNDAY ⭐

👍 Bam Knight - If the Jets do sign Cook and they have to cut either Knight or Carter, right now Carter would be packing his bags. Another very good practice for Knight who broke two nice runs.

🙌 Aaron Rodgers - I was considering not including Rodgers as he always seems to have a good practice, but hearing about him having a good session and then spending time with the defensive backs is worth a mention. Apparently, his cadence is also causing issues with the defence jumping offside twice.

📍 DJ Reed - Had a PBU on a deep pass to Taylor. He’ll continue to be underrated by the national media and he’ll continue to be one of the best CBs in the league.

💪 Sacks - Bryce Huff, Jermaine Johnson, Deslin Alexandre and Will McDonald.

Unofficial Depth Chart Released 📊

I never read too much into these, but it’s released by the official Jets channel, so let’s take a look.

Offense

Max Mitchell and Billy Turner being the two top tackles is a little surprising. But Duane Brown hasn’t been able to practice yet and Mekhi hasn’t played in over two years. It’s good to see Max there as the starting RT, I still think he could be our starting RT in week one against Buffalo.

Carter over Bam is likely a seniority thing.

Connor McGovern over Tippmann was expected, and I’m coming around to the idea that he may be the starting centre, at least at the start of the season.

Of all the UDFA’s, It looks like Jason Brownless is ahead of the pack, which isn’t surprising considering the camp he’s had.

Defense

The first thing to note on here is that Tony Adams is listed as your starting free safety ahead of newly signed Adrian Amos. As a result, it’ll be interesting to see if we see Adams on Thursday considering Saleh said no starters would be playing.

Jamien Sherwood is listed as the starting linebacker, and with Kwon Alexander having signed with Pittsburgh, it seems as though we’re going to get a good look at Sherwood this year, which I’m personally really looking forward to.

Micheal Clemons is still listed as an edge, despite the expectation that he’ll play a lot more inside this year. Al Woods is your second starting DT which makes sense as he’ll be the main run defender this year.

SPECIAL TEAMS

No huge surprises here. The returners are as you’d expect with Hardman Jr followed by Gipson and then Erikson.

Dalvin Cook was at the facility yesterday and took in the practice session. This is something the Jets did with both Duane Brown and Morgan Moses, so it’s a tried and trusted approach considering both of those guys ended up signing. Jets fans gave Cook a big welcome and numerous players went over to talk to him. As of writing this, he doesn’t have a deal from the Jets and will likely leave NY on Monday. A lot of people still believe he’s using the Jets to get a better deal from the Dolphins.

Middle Man 😵‍💫

There was an interesting tidbit to come from the Saleh conference about the way the Jets will call plays this year.

Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will be up in the booth, and he’ll be calling plays…down to Todd Downing the passing game coordinator, who will then be calling the plays into the huddle for Aaron Rodgers.

I don’t really understand having that middleman, as for me that just leads to more opportunities for it to go wrong. There must be a reason for it, but I’m not sure it makes the most sense.

Fortunately, we have Aaron Rodgers and if he can’t hear it, doesn’t understand it, or doesn’t agree with it…he’ll just audible to something else anyway. Saleh largely confirmed that he has the authority to change any and every play.

COACH TALK 🗣️

“No, it shouldn’t. We’re focused on us and how can we make ourselves better and how does this all fit and if you check the box of making yourself better, if it’s the right way, and we’re doing what’s best for this organization, then you make the right decision, but to make decisions to spite another team, you’re just asking for it.” - On if he wants to sign Cook to keep him away from Miami.

“Mike, I love his demeanour, his intent. He’s a very violent football player, a very violent man, which you want. The cool thing about him is he knows how to turn it off off the field, but I just love the progress he’s made. He’s gotten bigger, he’s gotten stronger. He’s shown the ability to get inside and kick down inside and play some three-technique, but he’s doing a really nice job. I’m excited to see him play on Thursday. He’s a cool piece for sure.” On Micheal Clemons

Did Robert Saleh tip his hand on the RB situation? Or did he just slip up with his counting? Here’s the quote in full - “Yeah, love the running back room. We do have four really good ones, so there is some competition already between Izzy (Abanikanda), Michael (Carter), and Bam (Zonovan Knight) to try to get that third spot, or the two and three spots if you will, but what I have actually been loving with the run game is our offensive line. They’ve come on strong, they’ve been doing really well, they’re trying to establish a new line of scrimmage, they’re playing with a lot of grit, a lot of fight, so just at this moment, very pleased with where the offensive line is, still a long way to go, but love the way they’ve been playing.”

On the third linebacker spot and Kwon signing with Pittsburgh: “We do have a really good competition going on for that third spot with Nas (Hamsah Nasirildeen) and Sherwood, along with Z (Zaire Barnes). A couple of those young linebackers are coming on strong too, but I love Kwon, I think he’s a fantastic person, brings so much juice and energy to the locker room and on the practice field, always reliable. Love him to death and I’m excited for his opportunity. Pittsburgh definitely got a good player.”