Let's talk about the P word
Progress not playoffs
š½ Good morning Jets fans. As I patiently wait for the All-22 footage to be replaced later today to take a closer look at Sundayās game, I wanted to touch on why Iām feeling good about the Jets, even with a 2-8 record.
Iāve said it all season, losing isnāt easy. As Jets fans, weāve seen our fair share of losing and then some. But, it canāt be overstated how bad this roster was when Joe Douglas came in. How poor the talent level was when Robert Saleh took the job. This is a process and we are starting to see the signs of building a sustainable and successful franchise, it just may not feel like it on Sundayās sometimes.
Rookie Realm š
š When's the last time you felt this good about a Jets rookie class?
2006 with DāBrickashaw and Mangold? 2000 with Chad, Ellis, Abraham and Anthony Becht? Or maybe even 1979 with Marty Lyons and Mark Gastineau?
Some of those guys started straight away, some you had to wait to see their best, and, while Iām not saying any of the 2021 draftees are guaranteed to hit their levels, the early signs are positive that the Jets have something in this class.
Elijah Moore continues to go from strength to strength recording his first 100+ yard performance of the season. Heās now the youngest Jet to ever record a 400+ yard season. His recent form is something to get excited about. 336 yards and 4 touchdowns in his last 4 games, coming against two of the best defenses in the NFL in Buffalo and Indianapolis, and, letās not forget that all the talk this week was around how Miamiās defense were back to their best.
Moores performance is even more impressive when you consider heās done all this after missing a large chunk of the pre-season, having worked with a rookie OC who took a few weeks to get going, and 4 different QBs throwing him the football. Itās not easy to stay consistent when thereās so much inconsistency around.
There is talk about if heās a slot receiver or a wide receiver. I would just say heās a #1 receiver, we donāt have to categorize it any further than that. A lot of #1 receivers in the league spend time in multiple positions, Moore spent 13 snaps in the slot on Sunday and the rest were out wide, he put up 141 yards. Why do we need to label him as an outside guy or a slot guy, thatās an old fashioned and outdated convention, offenses arenāt as linear as they were even 10 years ago, just be thankful we have a guy like Moore who can beat you from anywhere on the field.
Then you run through the rest of the class. PFF may be low on AVT at the moment and while he does have some issues in pass protection, heās still one of the best-run blocking guards in the league for me, and I have every bit of confidence that his blocking will continue to get better with more reps.
Michael Carter is now out for 2-3 weeks with an injury, but he showed again on Sunday how key he'll be going forward. He has an incredible balance/strength combination that makes him near impossible to bring down on first contact. With good hands out the backfield and improvements in pass protection, heās going to make it very difficult for MLF to continue rotating his backs.
MC2 is still playing at a high level in the slot and while the jury is still out on the likes of Sherwood, Pinnock, and Nasrilideen, if the Jets get three high-level starters at OG, RB, and WRā¦ then Itās a successful draft.
Now the obvious Elephant in the room is Zach Wilson. By default and fairly or unfairly, the 2021 Jets draft class will be judged on the success of the QB. Thatās what happens when you take a guy at the most important position in football in the top-5. There is no escaping it.
Robert Saleh said that he'll make a decision on whether Zach plays tomorrow, and considering he's been through multiple workouts and looked physically ready, if he doesn't play it will likely come down to him not having confidence in the knee, and you donāt want to put a QB out there who likes to scramble, when he doesnāt have confidence in his knee.
Zach Wilsonās development has been cut short by injury, so we havenāt seen his ability to adapt and refine his game. All weāve seen so far is a rookie QB making rookie QB mistakes. The final 7 games of the season are so vital for Zach, and I also think itās important for the fans. How he looks over the final 7 games will determine the narrative, and anyone who follows the team closely knows how controlling the narrative is important for our own well-being.
Coaches To š
š Itās not just the players who have slowly improved, weāre seeing good progress from the coaches as well, in particular Mike LaFleur.
I questioned him in at the start of the year, but always kept the faith in his ability. Sometimes we allow rookie players time to find their feet, but forget to do the same for the coaches.
The Jets offense continues to improve. We can see that in the development of Moore and Carter and the fact we have got solid QB play from four different QBās and different points this season.
There will be growing pains. We saw it on Sunday with the Jets having to burn timeouts due to substitution issues. We saw it with Saleh changing his mind on a FG attempt that later turned into a punt. We will see mistakes, but then weāll see them be aggressive and go for it on 4th down and put up a touchdown. Weāll see them make a change like bringing LDT in for GVR, or Quincy Williams for Jarrad Davis.
Itās a process. Itās progress.
š° News & Notes š
Michael Carter will be out for 2-3 weeks with a low-grade ankle sprain. Itās a blow to Carter and the Jets considering how good heās looked. On the positive side, we will see him again in 2021.
Becton is still not there yet so donāt expect to see him back on Sunday. The big man is getting close though, so maybe a week on Sunday is more likely.
It sounds as though the Jets will be getting Bryce Huff back this week. The Jets pass-rush has fallen off a cliff since the former Memphis man went on IR. So thatās a huge boost to the Jets.
Robert Saleh was understanding of the fansā frustration but said that weād never experienced a rebuild like this, rather quick fixes. Itās hard to argue with that.
8 Jets players have 30+ targets through 10 games, thatās a lot. (Thanks @NYJ_Matt)
Saleh perhaps learning his lesson from the Mike White issue last week didnāt exactly endorse Matt Ammendola after the Jets kicker had a tough game against Miami. Expect to see kickers on the tryout list today.
As always I appreciate you reading. Itās a little bit of a shorter one today to allow me some time to get into the film for tomorrowās newsletter. PFF gave LDT a pass protection grade of 17ā¦Iām willing to go out on a limb and say thatās absolute BS. But weāll find out tomorrow.
Donāt forget that Pro Bowl voting is underway and the only way to heal Michael Carter is to vote for him. I donāt make the rules.
