jvill 51

I was getting tired of having to deal with the Francesa mush. Finally, things are going our way!

One thing is for sure, we’ll get a good early look at what I think most of us consider the two biggest weaknesses/question marks: run defense and Zach Wilson. All those AFC North teams are gonna want to run it, and all of the pre-bye opponents have at minimum a solid defense.

Sounds like there's a chance Peters is not going to be ready Week 1? Anytime you can avoid dealing with a guy who switches seamlessly between talking about himself in the third and first person like that, you take it.

This is so smug that I’m expecting Daniel Jeremiah to call in to Rich Eisen to comment on your off the charts off-season smugness

Really should be a home opener this year considering we've opened on the road the past 2 and 4 of the last 5 years. Bears, Jags, or Lions would be ideal, though I have a feeling either Bears or Jags will be a Thursday night game (bad teams from last year that they can run with the 2nd year QB matchup storyline). If it's a division game, give me Miami at home with all of their roster/coaching turnover. Should also mean we won't play them down in Miami until the weather cools off a bit.

Lol this sounds more like an apology than a criticism

Good points. I think a few other things factor in as well and tie into what you said above. First of all, the scheme puts so much emphasis on the DL getting upfield quickly that it often left them out of position in the run game. That puts more pressure on the LBs and safeties to step up and fill gaps. Like you said, the Davis and Davis combo were particularly bad, and while maybe you can get away with that in a 2 gap scheme where the DL aren’t as aggressive off the snap, this scheme punished them for it. I think in this regard, the loss of Fatukasi is overrated while the addition of Whitehead is underrated. And tying into what you said above about the additions at corner allowing a safety to come down into the box, Whitehead’s impact should be compounded. Another factor was the overall inexperience at linebacker. Outside of Mosley and Davis, you had a mid season addition of a young player in Quincy Williams and two rookies who were converted safeties getting a lot of reps. Hamsah and Sherwood often got washed out in the run game not just because of their lack of size but also because their inexperience made them slow to react and take poor angles. When the DL is letting offensive linemen get to the second level so frequently, that is a death knell for undersized LBs. I have no idea how much those guys will improve in this area, if at all (see Darron Lee), but hopefully if they do make the roster and get reps the added experience will help. That said, relying on improved play from that group is extremely dicey because we never saw much improvement last year. I’d be very surprised if they don’t add a veteran at LB to the mix before training camp. And finally, hopefully all the improvements across the roster in general will make the run defense deficiencies less glaring. An improved offense will mean teams need to pass more, and an improved secondary will allow heavier boxes, cash in on third downs, and maybe even force some damn turnovers for once. If they can just be mediocre against the run, I think that will be good enough.

Listened to that this morning. Here’s the full Mims quote below. Could be (probably?) standard offseason fluff or trying to pump up trade value, but I’d rather be hearing this stuff than not.

Yup. And to add to this, forget starters for a second. How many roster spots, realistically, would have been available to those additional rookies? All seven picks they made are very likely to make the roster. Would the two late 5th round picks have even been guaranteed to make the 53? I think you could make a strong argument that 40+ of the eventual 53 man roster is already set in stone when you factor in the recent draft class, and a good number of those open spots are overwhelmingly likely to go to experienced backups, either those already on the team or late FA additions. Add in UDFA signings they’d have to compete with and the fact that this draft was already light on talent as it is, and you’re essentially saying that the Jets had a “below average” draft because they didn’t get to make two additional dart throws on guys who I’d say are just as likely to be cut in camp or relegated to the practice squad as they are to even make the bottom of the roster (where the odds are even greater still that they’d be replaced in the next year or two anyway). Maybe its just me, but I’d say those dart throws are better spent on securing the guys you believe in and have a clear plan for.

True, but I do think Wilson possesses traits that give him the potential to become an elite route runner, or at least a great one. Understanding leverage, attacking the DBs blind spot consistently, start/stop ability, body control. The physical and mental tools all seem to be there, he just sometimes looks like he gets out over his skis a little bit. Curious as to your thoughts on it.

Agreed 100%. Can’t say I watched much of the RBs this year because I didn’t think/didn’t want us to take one this high given the system, positional value, etc. etc. But I also did not think it was possible that they’d come away with three highly rated players at premium positions of need in the first round. When you look at the roster after the first round, where are the immediate needs? LB and S for sure, backup swing tackle/Becton insurance ok, run stuffing DT yeah. Not exactly dire needs at premium positions where you can’t get veteran stopgaps or developmental pieces in the later rounds or UDFA. And I will say, after actually watching the tape I’m pretty sure Hall in this system behind a line with this potential is gonna be a sh*t ton of fun. And I haven’t had fun watching this offense in ages. I like fun, and I’m ready to have some again please.

Thank you JiFapono! Thank you!!

On paper this roster is competitive, dare I say even good in certain areas with the potential to be good/great in others. A suddenly very deep group of corners, a dline that should be able to get to bring pressure from each position, a solidified oline with potential to be great if Becton rebounds and AVT builds on his rookie year, and a nice mix at the skill positions of young players with exciting upside and above average vets who should be in/hitting their prime. Still some glaring weaknesses, notably LB outside of Mosley, S outside of Whitehead, and OL depth, but if they stay reasonably healthy for once there’s enough there to finally play an exciting, competitive brand of football for the first time since forever. It all comes to down to Zach.