Good Morning ☕🇨🇭
Finally we get to see the Jets in live action. It's been 222 days since the Jets walked off the field against Buffalo, putting a wrap on yet another disappointing season.
Since then we've seen a lot of roster turnover, a lot of staff turnover and an influx of talent through the draft that promises to add some excitement to the 2026-27 season.
I don't think anyone has any illusions of grandeur. This isn't a Super Bowl winning roster but the potential to play meaningful football into December is certainly a possibility. Tonight we get to see some live game action for the first time and we can start to micro analyse every little detail.
Aaron Glenn has said that the starters will play, but for how long remains a mystery. Maybe seeing Joe Burrow get sacked ln his first dropback last night may change the plans slightly, but i doubt it.
So here are five things I'm looking for from tonight's game.
David Bailey
Seems a rather obvious one but also an important one. Bailey has had an outstanding camp to date but being good in a practice environment and translating it to a game environment are very different. But I'd rather he was dominating in practice than not. I remember covering Vernon Gholston and he struggled throughout his rookie camp, mainly because he had no finesse or pass-rush plan.
Bailey has won with power, speed, secondary moves and a veru attractive spin move. He's also won off the left, won off the right and dominated inside against guards who simply can't handle the explosive first-step. What i would love to see is Bailey get himself an early sack and then enjoy the show from the sidelines. Getting your first one is always the challenge, pre-season or not it'll take some pressure off. Not that being the #2 overall pick seems to have bothered him at all. Like the beat have been saying, his reps are must-watch entertainment right now.
Passing Game
We've heard a lot from Frank Reich about the make-up up Geno Smith. We've heard about the experience, the work ethic, the mechanics, the growth. But in camp we've seen the best and worst of the Jets QB.
Geno Smith is always going to throw interceptions, but it's the ratio of those interceptions compared to the touchdowns that matter. The Jets finally have some complements to Garrett Wilson, so how they operate and get everyone involved is the key.
The passing game has flashed its potential but against the Bucs in joint sessions it floundered. Errors, penalties, drops, innacuracy. If the Jets want to play meaningful football into December the passing game will need to click.
I want to see Geno, but I also want to see if Isaiah Williams can continue his fine camp performance into game action. I want to see how AD Mitchell performs, i want yo see what Omar Cooper Jr can do. I also want to see the TE group, Taylor, Ruckert and Woods have all flashed potential in different sessions. Now it's about seeing how it all comes together.
Cade Klubnik
If you're not excited to see how Cade performs then I don't know what to say.
Everyone loves a backup but It’s been a long time that we had a backup that was worth getting excited about. There have been some pre-season QB heroes before, who remembers Brett Ratliff back in 2008. But there is a difference between a QB who performs well and a QB who performs well while possessing NFL talent.