Game Week

Edition #214

Good morning!

I could not be more excited to say that game week is finally here. At 1 pm EST next Sunday the 2022 Jets will take the field for the first time for a meaningful game.

At the moment it looks as though Joe Flacco will be leading the team, but we’ll find out more about Zach Wilson this week.

There is hope surrounding the Jets this year, with progress not only needed but expected. We’ll be tested in week one with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens coming to town, but we’ll see how far this team has come.

• The Jets officially announced the signing of Craig James and Chaz Surratt to the practice squad.

• The team also announced that they had signed linebacker Marcell Harris and placed Vinny Curry on the short-term IR list ruling him out for the first four games of the season. Harris had been with the Jets all off-season but fell down the linebacker depth chart with the signing of Kwon Alexander.

• Over the weekend the Jets announced that they had restructured CJ Mosley’s contract to free up some cap space in 2022. The Jets converted $14.88 million into a signing bonus, adding two void years and creating $11.9 million in cap space.

• Troy Aikman is still bullish on Zach Wilson’s prospect even after a poor rookie season, Aikman suffered his own poor rookie season after being drafted #1 overall in 1989: "I like Zach Wilson a lot," Aikman said. "From what I saw of him, I liked him a lot. I expected maybe not to see him struggle as much as he did last year, but I think he's got a chance to be a really good player.

• NFL Network put in their week one prediction and only one analyst had the Jets taking down the Ravens. Daniel Jeremiah has faith in the Jet’s re-build and has been a positive voice in the national media

Baltimore Ravens - Offense

This week we’re going to take a closer look at our week one opponents, starting today with the Baltimore Ravens offense.

Jackson

Lamar Jackson is entering the final year of his rookie deal, by now most MVP QBs would have been locked up long-term but yet Jackson is still waiting for that contract offer. Kyler Murray signed a 5-year $230 million extension with the Cardinals and you have to imagine that’s the reference point for Jackson. Unfortunately for Lamar, he’s coming off a pretty disappointing season by his standards throwing just 16 touchdowns in 12 games, which is a long way away from the 36 touchdowns he threw in 2019.

Saying that, Jackson is still one of the more dangerous players in pro football with his ability to beat you through the air and on the ground. He still rushed for 767 yards last year but his rushing touchdowns (2) were down on 2020 (7) and 2019 (7). If Jackson believes he has a point to prove then facing him in week one is less than ideal, players in contract years always seem to produce, and the Jets will need to be at their best to keep him in check.

Rushing

When you think of the Baltimore Ravens you think of a lethal rushing attack, evidenced by them rushing for at least 100 yards in 43 straight games (ended in 2021), tying an NFL record that was held by the Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-77).

The Ravens finished the 2021 season with the third most productive rushing attack in the NFL averaging 145.8 yards a game, despite losing J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to season-ending knee injuries. Their 4.8 yards per rush attempt ranked them 6th in the league and their 30.4 rushing attempts per game put them 3rd in the league.

Only the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers run 21 personnel (2 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR) more than the Ravens, and I don’t see that changing this season with fullback Patrick Ricard on the roster.

We already know that Gus Edwards won’t be available for the week one game against the Jets as he’s been placed on short-term IR ruling him out until week five. J.K is practicing and there is some optimism that he could play on Sunday, but chances are that we’ll see a mixture of Kenyan Drake, Mike Davis, and Justice Hill.

The Jets were one of the worst defenses in football at stopping the run last season, so the Ravens will present a huge test for this young defense.

Receivers

The Ravens under John Harbaugh are an old-fashioned unit and after losing Marquis Hollywood Brown, their receiving unit won’t scare many teams in the NFL this season.

Second-year man Rashod Bateman is being relied upon heavily in 2022 and he’ll look to build on his 46 catches, 515 yards, and 1 touchdown rookie season. Devin Duvernay is known more for his return ability than his receiving. James Proche has 17 receptions to his name in two years, Tylan Wallace had 2 receptions all year last year, and Demarcus Robinson is coming off a 264-yard campaign with the Chiefs in 2021.

The danger in this passing attack is within the TE room. Mark Andrews is one of the best tight ends in football and is coming off a 107 catch, 1361 yards, and 9 touchdown season. He’s a constant mismatch headache and has an outstanding understanding with Jackson.

Not just happy with Andrews, the Ravens selected two tight ends in the 2022 NFL draft in Isaiah Likely out of Coastal Carolina and Charlie Kolar out of Iowa State. If you read TJW over the draft period, you’ll remember I loved both of those players. Kolar won’t play against the Jets having found his way to short-term IR but Likely will create some issues wherever he’s lined up.

The wide receivers for the Ravens don’t concern me that much considering we have Sauce and DJ Reed on the outside, but the combination of Andrews and Likely gives me headaches. The Jets linebackers aren’t renowned for their coverage ability and LaMarcus Joyner at free safety will have his hands full in defending Andrews, remember Joyner hasn’t played a full game at free safety since 2018.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Jets attempt to double Andrews or move Sauce around to create a better matchup.

Offensive Line

There will be a familiar name on the starting lineup come Sunday with Morgan Moses making his return to New York after signing a free agent deal with the Ravens.

After being cut by Washington, Morgan played a pivotal role in New York last year after the injury to Mekhi Becton, and that allowed him to remind people he still had a lot left in the tank.

GM Eric DeCosta prioritized upgrading the offensive line again this year with a similar vibe to what we’ve seen from Joe Douglas over the last few years.

The Ravens selected center Tyler Linderbaum with the 25th overall pick, and Linderbaum has been described as one of the best center prospects to come out of college in the past few years. He’ll get a good test against the likes of Quinnen Williams on Sunday.

DeCosta also added Daniel Faalele from the University of Minnesota in the fourth round, a player I wasn’t too fond of, but a player who has incredible size. Kevin Zeitler at right guard is an outstanding player and is adept in both pass protection and run blocking and he’ll form a great tandem with Morgan Moses at RT.

Left tackle Ronnie Stanley has been working his way back from injury and his status for the game is up in the air, if he can’t do then veteran Ja'Wuan James who switched to left tackle this pre-season will get the start. If James does start, then I imagine Carl Lawson will be licking his lips. James hasn’t seen significant playing time since 2018.