In-depth analysis: Bollinger Bowl XV - Jets at Eagles
Yesterday's game - a low scoring affair that the Jets lost in the last 20 seconds - was frustrating to watch. However, from the rotations and the film perhaps we can glean some clues about what the Jets might do with their roster.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks - The not-very-big bad Wolford
Yesterday's game gave us our first look at newly-signed quarterback JOHN WOLFORD, who is hoping to land a spot on the practice squad. Wolford made a few nice passes, but really struggled in the red zone, ultimately finishing with just eight completions for 89 yards on 20 attempts.
Wolford lost a fumble, threw an interception and was sacked three times. He also missed several throws, the most egregious of which was to a wide open back in the flat for what should've been an easy touchdown. The 5'11" Wolford's lack of size affected him there as a defender jumping into the passing lane disrupted what should have been an easy throw.
JOSH MCCOWN made the start and got a few series of work, but his receivers didn't help him much as four of his passes were dropped. The only other incompletion was deflected at the line. Virtually every pass he threw was a quick release, so he was never in any jeopardy of getting injured.
SAM DARNOLD was rested, leading to the obvious conclusion that he'll start the game in Detroit in 10 days, although Todd Bowles stubbornly refused to announce that after the game.
Running Backs - A West is as good as a change
With their top two backs - BILAL POWELL and ISAIAH CROWELL - not playing and ELIJAH MCGUIRE still injured, four Jets running backs combined for a pedestrian 72 yards on 25 carries.
Once again TRENTON CANNON got the most work, impressing on a 16-yard burst up the middle. However, his other 10 carries netted just 13 yards. He did impress with a good blitz pick-up on a third down conversion though. However, he got pushed back into the quarterback on another pass protection snap.
THOMAS RAWLS had one of the best runs of the day as he span down to the goal line for a 14-yard gain. However, he lost the ball at the end of the play which, even though his knee was down, was another sign of his questionable ball security throughout camp and preseason. Also, his other four carries netted just one yard, including a fourth down run that was stuffed at the goal line.
GEORGE ATKINSON gained 13 yards on four carries, but had a play where he messed up in pass protection. He blocked the same player as the right guard, leaving a blitzer up the middle free to hit the quarterback.
New addition CHARCANDRICK WEST showed some shiftiness on a couple of runs, but ended up with just 15 yards on five carries.
Surprisingly, in a game where the Jets had a vanilla gameplan throughout, they didn't manage to complete a single pass to a running back. Wolford missed a wide-open West in the flat on what should have been a touchdown pass and Cannon dropped both of his targets.
At fullback, LAWRENCE THOMAS and DIMITRI FLOWERS didn't play much again, although Thomas did have a couple of catches including one where he rumbled for a first down. Neither made an impact with their blocking.
Wide Receivers - Charone Peakes at the wrong time
The Jets predictably rested their top four wide receivers - QUINCY ENUNWA, JERMAINE KEARSE, ROBBY ANDERSON and TERRELLE PRYOR. Without them, the Jets offense did not look very dangerous. The only wide receiver to catch more than one pass was CHARONE PEAKE, who caught three passes - all of them dump-offs to the flat, although he did well after the catch to get 24 yards on those three plays.
Otherwise, CHAD HANSEN caught an eight-yard pass for a first down on an in-breaking route and TRE MCBRIDE also caught a short pass in the flat. That was it for statistical production from the wideouts.
The other two active wide receivers came up empty, as CHARLES JOHNSON dropped one and was overthrown on third down and ARDARIUS STEWART drew a pass interference penalty on his only target. McBride also had a drop and a third down pass where he was open but the ball deflected short. Hansen was targeted unsuccessfully five times, including one that was intercepted.
ANDRE ROBERTS was also rested, suggesting he is locked in as the return man unless someone more tempting shakes loose elsewhere.
Tight Ends - A Walford in sheep's clothing
The Jets rested ERIC TOMLINSON and NEAL STERLING for this game, perhaps suggesting that they're the two top tight ends. CHRIS HERNDON may also be in the top three but played because he needs the reps. He was unable to generate any production though, ending the preseason with no catches.
JORDAN LEGGETT had a nice 18-yard catch down the seam and a couple of decent blocks, but he also made several mistakes as a blocker and he had his hands on another pass late in the game, but it was knocked out by a big hit, leaving him shaken up.
CLIVE WALFORD made a good case for himself, though, leading the team with 40 yards on three catches. He had a couple of tough catches down the seam but struggled at the point of attack when blocking. He also had a drop, although that was on a tough, diving attempt while tightly covered.
Offensive Linemen - Travis' Swansong?
The starters were rested this week and we got our first look at most of the third unit, as they played the second half with GINO GRADKOWSKI at center, DAKODA SHEPLEY at right guard, DARIUS JAMES at right tackle, ANTONIO GARCIA at left tackle and ALEX BALDUCCI at left guard.
The two undrafted rookies, James and Shepley, saw their first action of preseason and each had some initial struggles. James got beaten off the edge for two sacks - one of which was a strip-sack - and called for a hold, while Shepley had a false start, got beaten a couple of times in pass protection and allowed his man to blow up a run.
Each of them did a good job on this play though, perhaps showing the potential that they hope will earn them a spot on the practice squad:
As for the other third-stringers, Garcia won't have impressed Bowles with his dead-ball unnecessary roughness penalty and also had a hold and got beaten a few times. Balducci also had a hold and had some negative run blocking plays. Gradkowski was pretty solid though, although he allowed penetration a couple of times.
Let's turn our attentions now to the second-unit, who started the game and played the first half. BRENT QVALE had a false start penalty and a few plays where his man got into the backfield, but set the edge well a couple of times and held up well in pass protection, although for as long as McCown was in, they never had to hold their blocks for more than a few seconds.
Even though he had been starting at left tackle, Qvale played right tackle with the second unit, as DAKOTA DOZIER played on the left. Dozier hasn't played many snaps at guard this preseason, so it's unclear if the Jets see him as one of their main back-ups or just a utility guy. He also held up in pass protection, but allowed his man to get downhill and in on a couple of tackles against the run.
JONOTTHAN HARRISON seems like he's one of the main back-ups that the team trusts, but you'd like to see him dominate against back-ups in a game like this. Playing at left guard though, Harrison was very disappointing, as he allowed his man into the backfield a handful of times in the running game, including on a goal line run that was blown up. He also gave up a pressure and a quarterback hit.
TRAVIS SWANSON got the reps at center this week and had mixed results in the running game but no real issues in pass protection. Has the veteran done enough to make the roster, though?
The Jets could just as easily have had Swanson and Dozier as their guards with Harrison at center and BEN BRADEN at right tackle, but opted not to. Braden played right guard and other than one play where a defender leveraged his second level block into the path of the runner, he fared well.
DEFENSE
Defensive Line - Quicker than a Reyes of light
One of the interesting things about this game every year is how it tends to demonstrate the current difference between experienced players and promising youngsters. We've already noted how Gradkowski was one of the better offensive linemen and Walford outshone the younger tight ends. KENDALL REYES was another example of that, as he was dominant against the Eagles back-ups.
Reyes had a sack and a handful of other pressures and bottled up a couple of plays near the line of scrimmage, as he showed an ability to exploit younger players that the likes of NATHAN SHEPHERD and FOLEY FATUKASI simply don't have yet.
If you were selecting the roster based solely on this game, you'd pick Reyes ahead of Fatukasi, who was in one on run stuff, but also driven off the line a few times. Of course, that's unlikely to happen because of Fatukasi's superior potential, but it still gives us some idea of how much Fatukasi still needs to improve to be a significant contributor.
Shepherd started but didn't stay in for very long but he had been handled at the line in the previous game. In a similar situation, if the starting job was handed out on merit, HENRY ANDERSON probably deserves it over Shepherd. Ultimately, one suspects the lure of being able to call your third round pick a starter will be too strong for the top brass to resist. Anderson, who started alongside Shepherd, got into the backfield to disrupt one run and blow up another on third down.
XAVIER COOPER also warrants a mention here, as he got upfield for a few pressures and was unblocked up the middle for a quarterback hit. He also recovered a fumble.
Back-up nose tackle DEON SIMON had good penetration on a few occasions, with one nice run stuff while rookie MYCH THOMAS got into the game in the fourth quarter and moved well lateral to bottle up one run. However, he also had a costly missed tackle in the hole on the final drive.
LEONARD WILLIAMS, MIKE PENNEL and STEVE MCLENDON were rested.
Outside Linebackers - Frankie, my darling, I don't give a damn
The Jets opened up with FRANKIE LUVU and OBUM GWACHAM on the edge as they basically operated out of a 2-4-5 nickel all night. Luvu made a couple of good plays against the run and had probably his most disruptive game so far as a pass rusher, but also had yet another personal foul on a blindside block which negated a defensive touchdown and could lead him to be fined yet again.
Gwacham had made a good tackle in the backfield but didn't generate much in the way of direct pressure and jumped offside late in the game.
BRANDON COPELAND had one of the better pass rushes of the game, picking up a sack as he drove his man back to flush the quarterback from the pocket and then pursued him to the sideline to make an ankle tackle. Copeland was also in on three run stuffs, although he was blocked out of a couple of plays.
LORENZO MAULDIN, DAVID BASS and DYLAN DONAHUE each made a case for being included on the team having not shown much in the previous three games.
Mauldin had three straight plays in the third quarter where he applied pressure, getting around the edge, driving his man back and then spinning off a block. He was officially credited with a team-high two quarterback hits. However, he seemed to run out of steam in the fourth quarter.
Bass applied some decent pressure off the edge throughout and made a couple of plays against the run in the fourth quarter.
Finally, Donahue had a hit off the edge, beat his man with a good jerk move and overpowered his man on a bull rush. He was also in on a late run stuff.
JORDAN JENKINS and JOSH MARTIN, who are presumably considered the likely starters, were rested.
Inside Linebackers - You play to Wint the game
Starters DARRON LEE and AVERY WILLIAMSON sat out this game and KEVIN PIERRE-LOUIS is still injured, so NEVILLE HEWITT and KEVIN MINTER got most of the reps in this game with Hewitt leading the Jets in tackling for the third time this preseason. He also made some tackles underneath but gave up a couple of first downs and the winning touchdown in coverage and was blocked out of a couple of running plays at the second level.
Minter had his most active game so far but was also blocked out of a couple of plays at the second level. He made a couple of plays against the run and a third down tackle underneath.
Rookie ANTHONY WINT gave up a couple of first downs in coverage and was also blocked out of the play on a screen pass that went for a big gain. He did blow up a screen for a short gain later on though.
Defensive Backs - Parry on my wayward son
With the top three - TRUMAINE JOHNSON, MORRIS CLAIBORNE and BUSTER SKRINE rested, the Jets opted to start the game with DARRYL ROBERTS, JUSTON BURRIS and rookie PARRY NICKERSON, perhaps giving us a clue as to the current pecking order.
Roberts didn't stay in very long and wasn't targeted, but Burris remained in the game into the second half. He had good coverage on a downfield incompletion and then intercepted an errant Christian Hackenberg pass and returned it for a touchdown. Unfortunately, that was negated by Luvu's penalty. Replays showed Burris wasn't down on the play because he tripped over his own man and then wasn't touched before he got back up and ran to the end zone.
In his first action of the preseason, Nickerson didn't get beaten in coverage, although there were a couple of plays where he passed off his man in zone coverage and the pass was completed before the linebacker picked him up.
Nickerson's worst play saw him collide with teammate KACY RODGERS II, leaving his man uncovered on a third down crossing route, but the pass was dropped:
Nickerson also gave up a late third down conversion, although that was when the Jets were basically in a prevent-style defense and he was playing off. He was right with his man to break up a downfield throw and unblocked off the edge for a sack.
Rodgers was also seeing his first action and was employed as a slot corner rather than, as expected, at safety. Aside from the collision with Nickerson, he also got beaten down the seam on a pass that was dropped. He made five tackles, including a good tackle on a short pass underneath late in the game, though.
The other cornerbacks to see action were TERRELL SINKFIELD and DERRICK JONES, although Sinkfield didn't play much and wasn't tested in coverage.
Jones intercepted an underthrown pass and broke up another deep throw. The announcers suggested the receiver had separation on that interception, but the replay seemed to show Jones was in position the whole way and the receiver only got behind him as he broke towards the ball. He did give up a couple of first downs, both as he was playing off his man while the Jets were in prevent. Jones also had a good stop in the flat.
JEREMY CLARK and XAVIER COLEMAN did not play, as both have been dealing with injuries. RASHARD ROBINSON, who is suspended for the next four weeks, didn't play either.
With starters MARCUS MAYE and JAMAL ADAMS rested and third safety DOUG MIDDLETON getting a start but leaving the game early, there were plenty of reps for TERRENCE BROOKS, JJ WILCOX and rookie BRANDON BRYANT.
Wilcox intercepted an errant pass and also forced a fumble with a good hit, but gave up a few plays in coverage and had two costly missed tackles on the last drive. He also got fooled on an option keeper that went for big yardage.
Brooks had one play where he missed a tackle down the field but did enough to slow up the runner for his teammates.
Bryant showed some promise, as he was productive in run support, including on a big third down hit near the line of scrimmage, and added a pressure. He was a bit late getting over in coverage on a few plays, but broke up a fourth down pass.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special teams were much better last night, but still made an embarrassing mistake as they lined up with 12 men on defense with the Eagles about to punt it back to them on 4th-and-4. It's impossible to tell whose fault that was but it sums up how disorganized and unfocused the unit has been all preseason.
Return game - By George, he's got it
For the first time, the Jets return game actually looked pretty good as Cannon returned a kick-off out past the 30 and had a 31-yard punt return. He still didn't look 100 percent comfortable fielding the punt though.
Atkinson also got the chance to field one, running it back 27 yards as Herndon made a good block.
McBride also got some punt return reps, but let the ball bounce each time, once for a touchback and once as it was downed inside the 10.
Brooks lit up his man on this play as he worked a double team in the vice with Nickerson:
Both return jobs still seem most likely to go to Andre Roberts or a late waiver addition.
Kicking game - Oh Myers goodness!
JASON MYERS definitely helped his case this week as he impressively nailed a 58-yarder to tie his longest kick since entering the league. He added a 43-yarder later on and had touchbacks on all three of his kick-offs. That might be a bit misleading though, as a couple of them were low trajectory kicks fielded in the end zone which might have been returned in a "real" game.
TAYLOR BERTOLET made a chip shot field goal and had a touchback on his only kick-off but seems to have fallen behind Myers.
On punts, LACHLAN EDWARDS seemed to be deliberately aiming all his kicks towards the sideline. This prevented any significant return opportunities but his numbers were down as a result, although he did launch one 56-yarder.
Edwards' numbers would have looked a lot better if one of his punts had been downed at the one-yard line as it should have been, but generally he still seems to land his shorter punts at around the 15, instead of getting them closer to the goal line, which is somewhere you'd like to see him improve.
Kick coverage - Obum shake shake shake the room
With all the kick-offs being touchbacks and most of the punts deliberately kicked towards the sideline, Gwacham was the only player on the team to record a tackle on special teams this week.
Atkinson had a missed tackle after he got downfield well on a punt and also had a bad play where he should have downed the ball at the one yard line but stepped in the end zone for a touchback.
That's it for this week's game. If you'd like us to cover anything in more detail during the week, please let us know.