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***FREE ELIJAH*** Chitmini: New York Jets need playmakers, so why isn't Elijah Moore getting the ball?


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Free Elijah!!! 

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- One of the biggest disappointments in the New York Jets' 1-4 start is rookie wide receiver Elijah Moore, who was so dazzling in the spring and early in training camp that team officials were giddy with the belief they had stolen him in the second round of the NFL draft.

He still might turn out to be a steal, but his slow start has tempered the buzz. The numbers: four games, 20 targets, eight catches for 66 yards.

No impact.

"Elijah Moore is a baller and his time is coming, just like the rest of us," said quarterback Zach Wilson, another rookie. "I wish I could get him the ball more; I know that's part of my job. I know he's a dominant player. I need to get him the ball more. It's just buying into the process, knowing it's going to take time."

This isn't a Denzel Mims situation. Unlike Mims, Moore is getting plenty of playing time, but it's not translating into production.

Some of the factors are obvious: No preseason action due to a quadriceps injury, inconsistent play from the quarterback position and the typical college-to-pro transition, although the latter reason doesn't carry as much weight when you consider his SEC peers are lighting it up.

Jaylen Waddle (Miami Dolphins), DeVonta Smith (Philadelphia Eagles), Ja'Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals) and Kadarius Toney (New York Giants) are producing solid numbers for their respective teams. Moore, a prolific pass-catcher who averaged 149 receiving yards per game last season at Ole Miss, has managed only two first downs.

What gives?

For one thing, they're playing him out of position. In college, 75% of Moore's production came out of the slot, but the Jets said on draft day that he's more than a slot receiver -- and they're trying to prove their point. Moore and Corey Davis are the outside receivers, with Jamison Crowder in the slot.

Moore has run more than twice as many pass routes outside (69) than from the slot (31), but he has the same number of receptions in each position (four apiece), according to ESPN Stats & Information research. It's a small sample size, but maybe it tells a story.

Asked if Moore is struggling with coverages on the outside, where his size (5-foot-10) could be considered a disadvantage, coach Robert Saleh acknowledged that's "a good discussion." He quickly added that Crowder and Braxton Berrios are capable slot receivers, essentially saying there's a logjam.

"You're trying to get your best players on the football field," Saleh said.

Saleh said plays were called for Moore in Sunday's 27-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but he was targeted only twice (zero catches) because that's what the coverage dictated.

For months, they talked about his ability as a gadget player, someone who could run a jet sweep, a la Deebo Samuel of the San Francisco 49ers. Moore got his first chance in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, but he suffered a concussion on the play and missed a game. They didn't go back to it against the Falcons.

"There’s always going to be a player who wants more of the ball, but there’s one ball, limited plays, how do you get them all involved?" Saleh asked. "And we can start by having a 70-play game."

 

Coaches use that rationale when trying to explain why certain players don't get more touches, but it makes little sense. The Jets are averaging only 59 plays per game on offense, which makes it hard to spread around the ball, but maybe they'd be getting more plays if they got the ball to the right people. It's the chicken-egg argument.

The Jets could open two spots by trading Crowder, who is in the final year of his contract, by the Nov. 2 deadline. They could slide Moore into the slot, creating playing time for Mims on the outside. Crowder is a good player, but the Jets have to think about the long term, especially if they're out of contention by then.

In the meantime, the Moore Watch continues.

"I think, as time goes on, we’re just going to keep getting more comfortable with each other," Wilson said. "He’s obviously someone I’m always looking to get the ball in his hands because he’s very dominant."

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No matter how excited we were it’s not that rare for a wide receiver to acclimate slowly to the NFL. Throw in an offense that isn’t being necessarily working due to a myriad of reasons and another rookie at QB it puts you where they are. The kid needs to play in the slot and we need to get the ball in his hand. Honestly I put most of this on LaFleur, the line and Zach still not progressing at all. I think if Moore played the position he’s meant to he would be contributing more than he is now. FREE ELIJAH-We Need MOORE!
I agree with this ... but in today's new NFL the ascent should take half the time.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


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10 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

I think that true in the pure sense, but we know we aren’t winning anything this year. It’s obviously all about developing Zach and of course we saw how he played better against Tennessee with Crowder out there. Yet, at some point we need to put Elijah in a position to succeed as well. It would also be nice if LaFleur could get Zach, Elijah and Denzel to start gelling  together by the end of the year. 
 

This is why I put a lot of it in on LaFleur and Zach. It’s LaFleur’s job to figure out how to get the ball into his playmakers hands and adapt to whatever it takes to make his young QB and future receivers to get some sort of Chemistry and it’s Zach’s job to start making some progress in making the routine throws creating more reps for everyone.
 

It’s also on the receivers to “ Catch the damn ball” when it gets to them to move chains and create more reps.  I’d like to see this team in a position to actually play 4 entire quarters and then turn it up in the stretch rather than playing against a defense just keeping stuff in front of them. The ineptitude of this offense is making it impossible to really see how guts are playing, 

I do completely understand, I just don't know how you can take Crowder off the field.  It's obvious how much better he is than the others.  ZW needs as much help as he can get.

Moore is a tricky one, I mean they're trying to get him reps by putting him on the outside...it doesn't seem to be working, but we really don't know if that's him, ZW or ML...likely a bit all three.

Now, Mims is another question entirely.  From what I've seen of Davis so far and what I've seen from Mims.  Mims is a better player than Davis (I have been thoroughly disappointed in Davis) Cole is a jag and Mims should clearly be playing over him.  knowing the offense or not, that is clear at this point.

 I'm not nearly as down on ML as just about everyone else. There are plays to be had - it's either ZW is missing them either with bad throws or not seeing them (for a myriad of reasons) guys are dropping passes everywhere and seem to be at the most inopportune times like 3rd downs and I count at least three INT's that went through both hands of a WR -  or there are free rushers (been better as of late). Let alone no push at all in the running game.  

This mess so far is on JD.  He did not put together a team to lift up Zach, he's asking Zach to lift the franchise.  Feels like Deja Vu...

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Can we get in a time machine and go back to when we were clowning the Bengals for drafting Chase because he was dropping things when games didn't matter?

Hey, at least Waddle is sucking in Miami too!

 

PS. WR is one of the slowest developing positions in the NFL. Yes, there are some Justin Jeffersons, but most guys do not do well in their 1st years. 

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1 hour ago, 68JET11 said:

Maybe if he was in the slot like he should be that would change.

What we need to see coming out of the bye week is Davis/Cole/Mims rotating on the ends. Crowder/Moore/Berrios rotating at Slot, and more spread formations with quick slants, crossing routes, defensive mismatches, wide receiver screens and of course the long bombs to open up the running game, so play action might actually work. Also getting him out of the pocket more often. Right now the passing game should be tailored around getting the ball out of Wilson's hands quickly. I believe that will allow him to get more comfortable, which will in the long run will improve his decision making. I don't see him as a one dimensional drop back passer.

Completely agree. I'd add that this will also expand the passing game to the RBs because of all the attention it will bring to the middle of the field and the receivers, occupying the safety and allowing a guy like Carter to catch the ball out of the backfield against a LB one on one. Complete mismatch. 

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1 hour ago, The Crusher said:

No matter how excited we were it’s not that rare for a wide receiver to acclimate slowly to the NFL. Throw in an offense that isn’t being necessarily working due to a myriad of reasons and another rookie at QB it puts you where they are. The kid needs to play in the slot and we need to get the ball in his hand. Honestly I put most of this on LaFleur, the line and Zach still not progressing at all. I think if Moore played the position he’s meant to he would be contributing more than he is now. FREE ELIJAH-We Need MOORE!

Trade Maye AND Crowder for a draft pick to a contender that needs a safety and slot WR. Nice combo for a team that have those needs. How about a 2nd rounder for both. You now slide Moore into the slot  and go Davis and Mims as the wideouts. 4 wide - Mims, Davis, Cole, Berrios. They have to get Moore in the slot and just leave Mims out there to get playing time. This is supposed to be a year to PLAY the kiddies and gain experience- so do it. And I don’t want to hear they’re not ready. Maybe/maybe not but that’s not stopping them from playing Zach now is it. And he’s surely not ready. But they’re going ahead with that strategy so might as well plug in Moore and Mims as well. 

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18 minutes ago, Barton said:

Jets coaches really have no idea what they are doing (Saleh and LaFleur).

You can just see it in Salehs face. They consistently fall behind early in the games every week. A sign that they’re not prepared to play. After 5 consecutive weeks of playing like that it’s definitely on the coaches. And being behind in every first half by more than 2 scores isn’t helping to relieve any pressure on Wilson.

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1 hour ago, FidelioJet said:

Moore is playing on the outside because Crowder is noticeably better.  He’s the best receiver on the team, Moore shouldn’t be taking reps from him. 

Truth is, Mims should be taking his reps out wide too. 
 

I think they should start playing Mims like a TE, maybe a big slot.  Gotta find a way to get more weapons out there.

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30 minutes ago, BP said:

You can just see it in Salehs face. They consistently fall behind early in the games every week. A sign that they’re not prepared to play. After 5 consecutive weeks of playing like that it’s definitely on the coaches. And being behind in every first half by more than 2 scores isn’t helping to relieve any pressure on Wilson.

And the tell is that it’s not just the offense.  The entire team comes out flat. 

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I’ve been saying since training camp started that the best WR set is Davis and Cole outside with Moore in the slot.  That gives Zach two bigger receivers outside and a more versatile slot in Moore.  You could then rotate in Mims for Davis at X and swap Davis for Cole at Z.   
 

Moore gives you a vertical threat in the slot that Crowder doesn’t.   I would be trying to exploit that much more.   I’m surprised they’re forcing Moore into roles he’s not best suited for.  

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6 minutes ago, sec101row23 said:

I’ve been saying since training camp started that the best WR set is Davis and Cole outside with Moore in the slot.  That gives Zach two bigger receivers outside and a more versatile slot in Moore.  You could then rotate in Mims for Davis at X and swap Davis for Cole at Z.   
 

Moore gives you a vertical threat in the slot that Crowder doesn’t.   I would be trying to exploit that much more.   I’m surprised they’re forcing Moore into roles he’s not best suited for.  

Agreed. 

The whole passing game is just a mess right now.  The sad part is that we have actually gotten good pass blocking out of the OL the last two weeks.  I thought Zach had plenty of time to throw against both Tennessee and Atlanta, probably better than anything Darnold saw in his three seasons.  And we still haven't been able to move the ball consistently.  We have some talent on the offense, but don't seem to know how to use it.

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6 minutes ago, Lith said:

Agreed. 

The whole passing game is just a mess right now.  The sad part is that we have actually gotten good pass blocking out of the OL the last two weeks.  I thought Zach had plenty of time to throw against both Tennessee and Atlanta, probably better than anything Darnold saw in his three seasons.  And we still haven't been able to move the ball consistently.  We have some talent on the offense, but don't seem to know how to use it.

I think the staff has done a really bad job with Moore and Zach in how they’ve coached them thus far.  Trying to force Moore outside early on was a mistake IMO, why not ease his transition to the NFL in the slot where he is best suited is more comfortable.   Then they’ve totally coached Zach into a box.   I get the notion to wanting him to execute from the pocket, all we heard during camp was how they were forcing Zach to stay in the pocket.   It seems all that emphasis has now conditioned Zach to the other extreme where he lacks any pocket mobility.   He never scrambles out of the pocket and rarely even climbs up in the pocket.  It’s like they’ve coached the athleticism out of him and are forcing him to be something he isn’t.  
 

 

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2 hours ago, Augustiniak said:

Very stubborn with wr usage.  No mims and playing moore on the outside.  And they sit there and wonder why the offense has no points in the first quarter.  

The answer to fixing the offense, the 1st Q offense is to bench Crowder?  

And to bench Davis, Cole or Crowder for Mims?

 

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2 hours ago, Augustiniak said:

Very stubborn with wr usage.  No mims and playing moore on the outside.  And they sit there and wonder why the offense has no points in the first quarter.  

That one thing is driving me nuts.

This week, after the bye.   Start Mims and Davis on the outside, with Moore in the slot.   I like Berrios, use him to spell Moore, and on special teams.  

Corwder is a nice player, but he will NOT be here next year, so play the players that will be and let them get better with their new QB.

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no guys you dont force a rookie QB to throw to a certain guy. that will cause more INTs. if the defense plays a certain way and hes open then he gets it. if not than no.

i was reading and article on our old friend Sam Darnold. they blame alot of his troubles on going through his progressions and not trusting the system and going to the #1 option on a play. Rhule and Brady told him to do that more then blame that for 2 of his 3 INTs on Sunday. he tried to force it in to a guy who was covered.

now we all know Sam sucks and there is no excuse for a 4th year QB not to know better but im afraid for a rookie QB we might have the same problem. 

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2 hours ago, Dunnie said:

I agree with this ... but in today's new NFL the ascent should take half the time.

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

The thinking used to be 3 years, on a par with QBs.  

Half the time still doesnt equate to 5 games, less when his injuries are taken into account

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Jets fans: let’s try to figure out a way to get the best players on field

Mike LaFleur: we’ll run 12 personnel. It’s a requirement

We should be running 4 WR sets more than any other team in the league. Not just because we have the depth at WR, but also because our TE’s terrible.

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2 hours ago, FidelioJet said:

I do completely understand, I just don't know how you can take Crowder off the field.  It's obvious how much better he is than the others.  ZW needs as much help as he can get.

Moore is a tricky one, I mean they're trying to get him reps by putting him on the outside...it doesn't seem to be working, but we really don't know if that's him, ZW or ML...likely a bit all three.

Now, Mims is another question entirely.  From what I've seen of Davis so far and what I've seen from Mims.  Mims is a better player than Davis (I have been thoroughly disappointed in Davis) Cole is a jag and Mims should clearly be playing over him.  knowing the offense or not, that is clear at this point.

 I'm not nearly as down on ML as just about everyone else. There are plays to be had - it's either ZW is missing them either with bad throws or not seeing them (for a myriad of reasons) guys are dropping passes everywhere and seem to be at the most inopportune times like 3rd downs and I count at least three INT's that went through both hands of a WR -  or there are free rushers (been better as of late). Let alone no push at all in the running game.  

This mess so far is on JD.  He did not put together a team to lift up Zach, he's asking Zach to lift the franchise.  Feels like Deja Vu...

Mims is averaging a 4.9 yards of separation and he is catching practically everything …..

Yes it is a small sample size but that just is an indictment on what is being done while the guys on the field are not getting separation and when the ball is thrown to them dropping it  

Mims needs to be on the field!
 

 

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1 hour ago, heymangold said:

I think they should start playing Mims like a TE, maybe a big slot.  Gotta find a way to get more weapons out there.

I thought this as well but I was thinking that in the run game Mims would have to come out because while he is big, he isn't that big and Mims would also have to learn even more position assignments.....

But I agree with you do something to get players on the field who can make plays, instead of saying so and so doesn't match our system....

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32 minutes ago, doitny said:

no guys you dont force a rookie QB to throw to a certain guy. that will cause more INTs. if the defense plays a certain way and hes open then he gets it. if not than no.

i was reading and article on our old friend Sam Darnold. they blame alot of his troubles on going through his progressions and not trusting the system and going to the #1 option on a play. Rhule and Brady told him to do that more then blame that for 2 of his 3 INTs on Sunday. he tried to force it in to a guy who was covered.

now we all know Sam sucks and there is no excuse for a 4th year QB not to know better but im afraid for a rookie QB we might have the same problem. 

This is the danger of not having a plan for an incoming player and/or a poor OL for the QB...

Indeed any player, especially a rookie QB cannot do it by themselves and in fact can develop bad habits that once established, may not easily undone.... :( 

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