Game Observations (DEN)

[KRL]

It was ugly, the ball security was loose (4 fumbles, only 1 lost shockingly)
and the defense started off slow.  But the Jets hung in, the running game got
going and the "fumble gods" allowed the team to recover 3 DEN miscues to secure
a 31-21 win.  Let's take a look:

(Stats from: https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401547461)

Special Teams

- Poor red zone execution (0/5) made Greg Zuerlein crucial and he came up
big time with 17 points (5/5 FG 2/2 XP).  Without his accuracy this game is
a loss

- Thomas Morstead thankfully only punted three times with a 52 yd avg.  He
put one inside the 20 (which led to a safety) and another of his punts led
to a DEN fumble and a FG.  So you could say he was responsible for 5 points

- Xavier Gipson had a 20 yd avg. on KO's and a 7 yd avg. on punts.  But he
put the ball on the ground twice, he was bailed out by Will McDonald on one
recovery.  And Quinton Jefferson nullified the other as he immediately recovered
a botched DEN end around.  He has to tighten up his ball security

- Irv Charles was brought up from the practice squad and displayed his special
teams ability as he caused a fumble as the gunner on the coverage unit

Defense

- Total up and down performance from the defense, when you produce 4 Sacks, 3 TOs
and a TD it's hard to complain.  But there needs to be more consistency:
  * They started off slow as Wilson and McLaughlin gashed them on runs and screens
    early
  * They recovered and shutdown DEN for the majority of the second half
  * But then gave up a quick TD and 2 pt conversion to allow DEN to close the margin
    to 24-21
  * Then rebounded to close out the game strong with a 2 sack, scoop & score final
    series 

- Nice to see Jeff Ulbrich "break his pattern" on defense by allowing Sauce Gardner
to flip sides in coverage.  And with the game on the line dialing up the blitz with
Quincy Williams

- Strong game by the secondary especially with two CBs out (DJ Reed & Brandin Echols).
Sauce Gardner had 5 Tkls and 2 PBU and Bryce Hall had 4 Tkls and the game ending TD

- I posted it last week and will say it again, Quincy Wiliams is becoming a star.
He generated another 9 Tkls, 2 Sacks, TFL and 3 QB Hits as he was all over the field.
Great work by Williams and the coaching staff to sharpen his technique, awareness and
to harness his speed.  No longer is he flying around missing tackles or biting on 
misdirection plays

- CJ Mosley had "nice stats" for the game: 13 Tkls, 2 TFL and a PBU.  But he was poor
in the first half as he was missing tackles and was washed out of a number of running
plays.  Mosley recovered in the second half but his first half was bad

- Props to Al Woods for bull rushing the interior DEN OLine and generating a safety
as he caused Wilson to commit an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone

- Jermaine Johnson and Bryce Huff continue their ascent as edge rushers and show why
Carl Lawson was a healthy scratch.  Johnson had 3 Tkls, Sack, TFL and a QB Hit while
Huff had 2 Tkls, Sack, TFL and 2 QB Hits.  It will be interesting to see what Joe
Douglas does at the edge position as the trade deadline approaches:
 * Will he extend Huff?
 * Will he try to deal Lawson to a contender for a mid round pick?

Offense

- Nice offensive production as they accumulated 407 total yards.  Particularly strong was
the ground game with 32 carries for 234 yards and a TD.  But to have any chance to beat
PHI next week the red zone execution must improve, 0/5 and a bunch of FGs just won't cut it.
And getting no points at the end of the first half is inexcusable.  Good for Nathaniel 
Hackett to get a bit of redemption, but with the effectiveness of the running game I'm
shocked he didn't dial up more play action passes

- With the injury to Alijah Vera-Tucker and Mekhi Becton going out for a few plays, credit
to the OLine for being flexible.  Multiple times Max Mitchell and Billy Turner had to step
in at OT but they weren't noticeable (which is a good thing).  You hope Vera-Tucker isn't
hurt long term, but watching the tape he struggled in pass protection from the very first
snap.  I wonder if he was banged up to start the game?

- Breece Hall = Adrian Peterson, with no more limitations he made the entire offense go with
177 yards on 22 carries and a TD.  Here's hoping the Jets can re-create the formula from
last year before he got hurt (5-2 record) where Hall would generate "splash plays" on offense
and make things eadier for Zach Wilson

- Strong game from Tyler Conklin with 4 catches for 67 yards and dragging 4 DEN defenders on
a big 3rd down catch as the offense tried to end the game

- Garrett Wilson had 3 catches for 54 yards as he had a tough matchup with Surtain

- Xavier Gipson didn't have any catches but his pre-snap motion on fake jet sweeps seemed to
pull DEN defenders out of position in the run game

QB

- Decent effort by Zach Wilson as he was 19/26 (73%) for 199 yards and an INT.  You have to be 
pleased that he was able to increase his completion percentage from last week (71% - 73%).
And the INT he threw was an incredible play by Surtain, I'm still shocked on how he picked it
off.  But he has multiple things he has to tighten up as PHI is coming in:
 * Ball security in the pocket, he put it on the ground twice
 * Situational awareness, you can't end the first half not getting at least a FG attempt
 * Red zone efficiency, you can't go 0/5 and expect to beat good teams

[Augustiniak]

Avt is not a Rt. They need to use that first rounder to draft a true LT and move becton back to Rt so avt can slide inside. 

[Jets723]

Great Analysis!

[Larz]

Gipson has one more fumble or muff and you have to go to Hardman.  

[Bronx]

Joe Douglas has a lot of work in 2024. 

QB (Zach will be a career backup) both tackle positions (move AVT back to guard) and Center (Keep Tippman at G). 

QB, OL, WR in that order in 2024 draft. 

[56mehl56]

11 minutes ago, Larz said:

Gipson has one more fumble or muff and you have to go to Hardman.  

I disagree, Gipson can be a weapon and I'd take him any day over Hardman.

[FactsOnly]

Great take, spot on

[jamesr]

18 minutes ago, KRL said:

- I posted it last week and will say it again, Quincy Wiliams is becoming a star.
He generated another 9 Tkls, 2 Sacks, TFL and 3 QB Hits as he was all over the field.
Great work by Williams and the coaching staff to sharpen his technique, awareness and
to harness his speed.  No longer is he flying around missing tackles or biting on 
misdirection plays

 

Quincy has managed to address the issues in his game without any apparent loss in his strengths, which doesn't happen often. His aggressive / full-speed approach made him susceptible to misdirections and over pursuit, especially against shiftier backs. He seems to have fixed that without losing the full-speed part of his game.

I'll be interested to see how he looks against Philly next week - they'll have noticed him on game film by now and will see him as a challenge they need to plan for.

[jamesr]

17 minutes ago, Larz said:

Gipson has one more fumble or muff and you have to go to Hardman.  

He needs to work on ball security for sure. Against KC on his jet sweep he lost the ball on contact as he went out of bounds. It's becoming a "thing" and needs to be addressed before it hurts us in a bigger moment.

[Larz]

42 minutes ago, 56mehl56 said:

I disagree, Gipson can be a weapon and I'd take him any day over Hardman.

Weapon for the opponent if he puts it on the ground. Parcells would send him to Siberia after yesterday 

[peekskill68]

56 minutes ago, KRL said:

 * Will he try to deal Lawson to a contender for a mid round pick?

The Raiders are looking for Edge help with release of Chandler Jones.  I've seen several posts proposing a Carl Lawson for Hunter Renfrew type deal...

[56mehl56]

1 minute ago, Larz said:

Weapon for the opponent if he puts it on the ground. Parcells would send him to Siberia after yesterday 

Parcells ways weren't always the best. ironically his trusted Vet Keith Byars cost us the championship game against Den with a fumble deep in their territory. 

[KRL]

In the pre-season Hackett dialed up a ton of TE pass plays in the
red zone for TDs.  We haven't seen that and after 0/5 yesterday
we need to

[ChewyandtheJets]

Nice post.  Agree on being confused why we didn't run more off of play action when it is clear it makes ZW the most comfortable.  Broke it our in a big way against KC and with our running game cooking defies logic why we didn't use it more yesterday.  They need to get back to that immediately.

 

[frankiepapa]

In the pre-season Hackett dialed up a ton of TE pass plays in the
red zone for TDs.  We haven't seen that and after 0/5 yesterday
we need to

This reminded me of the Minnesota game last year with the red zone issues... just hope the punt return issues don't get into Gipsons head

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[IndianaJet]

I'm in no way a Wilson defender but the play calling in the goal to go situations was horrible yesterday.

We had first and goal from the 9 on three drives.

On first and second down in those situations we went run, short pass, run, run, run, run, putting Wilson and the offense in impossible 3rd down situations where the defense could tee off on the obvious passing down.

 

[Ruby2]

Great write up as always. We are not quite there yet, but every week we get closer to being able to view Qunicy Williams as a make up for our Demario Daivs debacle.

[Augustiniak]

4 minutes ago, IndianaJet said:

I'm in no way a Wilson defender but the play calling in the goal to go situations was horrible yesterday.

We had first and goal from the 9 on three drives.

On first and second down in those situations we went run, short pass, run, run, run, run, putting Wilson and the offense in impossible 3rd down situations where the defense could tee off on the obvious passing down.

 

My rule is that the ball should cross the goal line each time you get inside the 10 at least once. You have to put pressure on the defense there.  

[peekskill68]

Not getting a lot of note, but Laken Tomlinson's play has improved subsantially.  Many of those Breece runs were helped by one of his blocks...

[FidelioJet]

7 minutes ago, IndianaJet said:

I'm in no way a Wilson defender but the play calling in the goal to go situations was horrible yesterday.

We had first and goal from the 9 on three drives.

On first and second down in those situations we went run, short pass, run, run, run, run, putting Wilson and the offense in impossible 3rd down situations where the defense could tee off on the obvious passing down.

 

Hackett, Zach...the OL - whatever. 

Just figure it out.  Truth is - if they put up TD's instead of FG's - this is a blow out.

And if they're going to have ANY chance to beat Philly - those will HAVE to be TD's.

[oatmeal]

1 hour ago, Bronx said:

Joe Douglas has a lot of work in 2024. 

QB (Zach will be a career backup) both tackle positions (move AVT back to guard) and Center (Keep Tippman at G). 

QB, OL, WR in that order in 2024 draft. 

This

you don’t rely on a rookie tackle next year, you go get your QB in round 1 and address the o line via FA or trade.

 

[Jets723]

1 minute ago, oatmeal said:

This

you don’t rely on a rookie tackle next year, you go get your QB in round 1 and address the o line via FA or trade.

 

No way they get a QB in round 1 with AR coming back.  They will address the OL

[FidelioJet]

2 minutes ago, Jets723 said:

No way they get a QB in round 1 with AR coming back.  They will address the OL

Depends on where they're picking but I wouldn't bet against them taking a QB.  Rodgers has one more year and they need a QB.

This will give a rookie QB a year to play under Rodgers and be ready to go.  Makes a ton of sense to draft the best QB you can get.

You really should get two Tackles for next year - but if you can just find serviceable ones - nothing special in FA's...

[Jets723]

Just now, FidelioJet said:

Depends on where they're picking but I wouldn't bet against them taking a QB.  Rodgers has one more year and they need a QB.

This will give a rookie QB a year to play under Rodgers and be ready to go.  Makes a ton of sense to draft the best QB you can get.

You really should get two Tackles for next year - but if you can just find serviceable ones - nothing special in FA's...

I think it’s very possible they take a QB just not in Rnd 1

[oatmeal]

2 minutes ago, Jets723 said:

No way they get a QB in round 1 with AR coming back.  They will address the OL

Okay? 
 

AR is not the future of the jets, this is a deep deep QB class where alot of talented guys will be available, you take one period. The O Line can be addressed before the draft this is not rocket science. 
 

BESIDES 

tackle is one of the hardest positions for rookies to step in and play good regardless of draft position.

PLUS

Do you really think rodgers would like relying on a rookie tackle protecting him coming off an achilles at 40 years old???
 

You guys need to think 😉

[KRL]

13 minutes ago, peekskill68 said:

Not getting a lot of note, but Laken Tomlinson's play has improved subsantially.  Many of those Breece runs were helped by one of his blocks...

Good point

[56mehl56]

12 minutes ago, peekskill68 said:

Not getting a lot of note, but Laken Tomlinson's play has improved subsantially.  Many of those Breece runs were helped by one of his blocks...

Have Becton by his side has helped, since Brown was clearly not ready for action. 

[Biggs]

6 minutes ago, Jets723 said:

No way they get a QB in round 1 with AR coming back.  They will address the OL

The only way we don't take a QB is if Zach gets a lot better.  Rodgers is a 40 year old QB coming off a major injury who's contemplated retiring 2 years in a row who looked like he wanted no part of playing when the gun went off before he blew out his foot.  Not taking a QB if we have a chance to take a highly rated one and Zach was still playing the way he is would be insane.  

[Jets723]

1 minute ago, oatmeal said:

Okay? 
 

AR is not the future of the jets, this is a deep deep QB class where alot of talented guys will be available, you take one period. The O Line can be addressed before the draft this is not rocket science. 
 

BESIDES 

tackle is one of the hardest positions for rookies to step in and play good regardless of draft position.

PLUS

Do you really think rodgers would like relying on a rookie tackle protecting him coming off an achilles at 40 years old???
 

You guys need to think 😉

Calm down…you need to think 😂.  Again i think it’s not out the talk of possibility that they take a QB I just don’t think it will be in the first round 

[Jets723]

Just now, Biggs said:

The only way we don't take a QB is if Zach gets a lot better.  Rodgers is a 40 year old QB coming off a major injury who's contemplated retiring 2 years in a row who looked like he wanted no part of playing when the gun went off before he blew out his foot.  Not taking a QB if we have a chance to take a highly rated one and Zach was still playing the way he is would be insane.  

Again not saying they won’t stop just don’t see it in Round 1 currently 

[OilfieldJet]

Fair and accurate, thanks KRL.

[OilfieldJet]

4 minutes ago, Biggs said:

The only way we don't take a QB is if Zach gets a lot better.  Rodgers is a 40 year old QB coming off a major injury who's contemplated retiring 2 years in a row who looked like he wanted no part of playing when the gun went off before he blew out his foot.  Not taking a QB if we have a chance to take a highly rated one and Zach was still playing the way he is would be insane.  

If Zach Wilson averages the last 2 games over the rest of the year, do you feel the same? The QB class for the next draft is looking very strong. 

[OilfieldJet]

7 minutes ago, 56mehl56 said:

Have Becton by his side has helped, since Brown was clearly not ready for action. 

Criminal neglect by Joe D. 

[batman10023]

1 hour ago, Augustiniak said:

Avt is not a Rt. They need to use that first rounder to draft a true LT and move becton back to Rt so avt can slide inside. 

he keeps getting hurt at RT.  is that because he's out of place? or just bad luck.

[Biggs]

Just now, OilfieldJet said:

If Zach Wilson averages the last 2 games over the rest of the year, do you feel the same? The QB class for the next draft is looking very strong. 

Of course.  Hopefully we have a new HC from the offensive side of the ball helping make the decision.