Tag: new york jets

Preview, predictions, what to watch for

An inside look at Sunday’s Jets-Browns Week 2 matchup in Cleveland.

Marquee matchup

Jets LT George Fant and RT Max Mitchell vs. Browns edge rushers Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney

The Ravens sacked Joe Flacco three times last week and hit him 11 times. It was not a good showing by the revamped Jets offensive line.

Now … they get to deal with one of the best pass-rushing tandems in the NFL: Garrett and Clowney. Garrett had two sacks last week against Carolina and Clowney had a half-sack.

Garrett is a major headache for any team that plays against him. He has already had four seasons with double-digit sacks, and his Week 1 performance made it looks as if he is primed to add a fifth season.

Fant did not play well in Week 1 after moving back to left tackle. Mitchell, a rookie, was OK in his first game, but this will be a much bigger test.

George Fant and Myles Garrett
Bill Kostroun; Getty Images

“Myles Garrett is an absolute problem. He’s a man on a mission,” Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “You could see it least week, you could see it last year. Jadeveon Clowney is always going to be a problem, having to play him in Seattle in 2019, the year [the 49ers] went to the Super Bowl. He wrecked our game. … They’re a problem.”

Costello’s call

Head coach Robert Saleh gave the Jets a rallying cry this week, and now we’ll see if they can prove their coach right that this team is different. A win over a talented Brown team would go a long way toward that. I think the Jets will play inspired defense and get just enough offensively to pull off the upset.

Jets 20, Browns 10

Four downs

On the run: It is no mystery what the Browns want to do on offense. They rushed for 217 yards last week, with Nick Chubb (141 yards rushing) and Kareem Hunt (one rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown) carving up the Panthers.

The Jets did a good job slowing down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ rushing attack last week. This will be another big challenge. The Jets surely will stack the box and try to force backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett to make plays to beat them.

“As far as the run game, we’ve got to go in with our big boy pads on because we know they’re going to run the ball,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said.

This is a different style of running game than the Ravens had, but the keys will again be whether the Jets can keep the backs from popping off big runs and whether they can set the edge against this team.

Long time coming: The Browns won their first Week 1 game since 2004 last week, and now they are trying to start 2-0 for the first time since they were the old Browns in 1993. That team was coached by Bill Belichick and quarterbacked by Bernie Kosar. So, it has been a while.

The Cleveland fans will be fired up for the home opener and the debut of Brownie the Elf as the midfield logo, something that was voted on by fans.

Jets quarterback Joe Flacco knows the Browns well. He is 17-3 in his career against Cleveland and 8-2 at FirstEnergy Stadium, with 11 touchdown passes and six interceptions there.

Hello Mr. Wilson: Jets coaches admitted this week they need to do a better job getting rookie wide receiver Garrett Wilson involved in the game. Wilson had just six snaps in the first half last week before having a bigger role later in the game, when the Jets were playing catch-up. Wilson finished with four catches for 52 yards in his debut. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur praised the effort from Wilson.

“The game is just not too big for him,” LaFleur said. “You never know going into the first game, I had a pretty good idea of how he was going to react.”

Keep your receipts: Head coach Robert Saleh made big news on Monday when he promised to remember what critics say about the Jets by “keeping the receipts.” Now, the Jets have to back up their coach’s talk. A loss to the Browns and you can be sure fans will show up at MetLife Stadium next week waving receipts of their own.

Saleh is adamant that this team is different, but he knows the Jets need to prove it.

“This is not the same old Jets, but until we win, until we prove it, which is on us as coaches and on us as players, the shots will keep on coming,” Saleh said, “so we welcome them, keep bringing them, it’s not going to change our mission and that’s to bring this organization and this fan base a win.”

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Jets’ Breece Hall aiming to put rough NFL debut behind him

Jets running back Breece Hall figures it can’t get any worse.

Hall had some tough moments in his NFL debut last week against the Ravens, with a fumble in the red zone and a dropped pass.

“Obviously, I felt like I could have done a lot better,” Hall said. “I had a dropped pass and a fumble and everything like that. I felt like I had all my rookie moments in one day. It was good to get that out of the way. Just knowing that the coaches still have faith in me, they still want to get me the ball whenever I’m in the game, it feels good.”

The Jets need Hall and his fellow back Michael Carter to both have strong games Sunday against the Browns. Cleveland’s pass rush, led by Myles Garrett, could make it a long day for the offense. But if the Jets can run the ball effectively, they could slow down the rush.

“We’re going to have to stay ahead of the sticks,” Hall said. “We’re going to have to slow those guys down, get chips on those guys, try to confuse those guys in any type of way. That’s going to be big for us this week. It’s going to be big for me and [Carter] to run the ball.”

Breece Hall fumbles the ball after getting hit by Ravens safety Chuck Clark during the Jets’ Week 1 loss.
N.Y. Post: Bill Kostroun

Head coach Robert Saleh said last week was a learning experience for Hall and all the rookies.

“They’re not trying to make a mistake, they’re not trying to fumble, he’s trying to fight for extra yards, he spins out of it, you just got to remind him this league is different than college,” Saleh said. “The players are too fast, they’re too smart, they’re too ball-focused, so a great lesson for him.

“There was even one he was just talking about, he saw a crease and big Calais [Campbell] just grabbed him, and he’s like, that’s never happened to him before. So it just grabbed him, just to stop and he’s like, ‘Jeez,’ but for him, it’s just all of these guys, just that lesson. He didn’t realize how strong these guys are, so there’s just a different mindset when you’re trying to hit those creases, where in college he probably would’ve been gone.”

Hall said his coaches’ belief in him has kept him confident.

“I feel like they want to make me and [Carter] the identity of our offense,” Hall said. “Just knowing that they have that faith in me feels nice. I’m just focusing on the little things, squeezing the ball, protecting the ball, catching the ball and just let my natural ability take over. I’m not too worried about anything. I know I’m going to progress week by week.”

The Jets elevated OL Grant Hermanns and TE Kenny Yeboah from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.

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Jets’ abysmal offensive day isn’t shaking belief in Joe Flacco

Joe Flacco had been a sitting duck behind a makeshift offensive line and those Jets fans still awake and trapped watching a three-yards-and-a-cloud of dust offense flashed back to last Halloween when Mike White (405 yards, three touchdowns) showed up one afternoon as Cinderella.

And so the “Mike White” chants began with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter of Ravens 24, Jets 9 on Opening Day.

I asked running back Michael Carter if he heard the “Mike White” chant.

“No. I think that’s bulls—, though,” he told The Post. “I love Mike White. I love him, and I know he can spin it and know everything, but you gotta believe in the guys that are rolling out there. I know Mike White would have done a good job, but it is like disrespectful to Joe.

“And you see this in the NFL where vets, and guys who are super-accomplished, the NFL tries to throw ’em to the side. Because it’s a quote, ‘young man’s league.’ He doesn’t deserve that.”

Flacco did not. But when you are the quarterback of a Sominex offense with all the energy and urgency of a turtle, it is inevitably your fault, and

It is rite of football Sundays that when the starting quarterback cannot for whatever reason sniff the end zone, the backup quarterback becomes the people’s choice.

Woe Flacco.

Quarterback of the ALL BRAKE NO GAS offense.

Take Flight?

No. Take Fright.

Jets
Joe Flacco is sacked during the Jets’ loss to the Ravens.
Bill Kostroun

Flacco finished 37 of 59 for 307 yards, one garbage-time touchdown and one interception. Flacco was under siege, an anachronism in a league designed for mobile quarterbacks, and victimized by fumbles by Breece Hall and Tyler Conklin, and a slip over the middle by surprise starting tight end Lawrence Cager on his pick.

“We gotta keep him off the ground,” Carter said. “It goes back to that. We gotta keep him off the ground. He is a great quarterback when he’s upright, just like all the quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, he’s great when he’s upright. Josh Allen, he’s great when he’s upright. Zach Wilson, he’s great when he’s upright.”

Wishful thinking there on Wilson, who would have been more effective running for his life than Flacco, to be sure.

It is no great surprise that Flacco could not elevate the players around him against these Ravens. For the Jets to win a game like this, Flacco needs greater support from his protectors and playmakers and his defense and special teams. Because he is not Lamar Jackson, or Allen, or Mahomes.

“There were plays when we weren’t helping Joe,” Robert Saleh said, “and there were plays when he wasn’t helping either.”

Ominously, the psychology of results tells us that a team teaches itself what it is on the field (thank you, Bill Parcells), and Ya Gotta Believe has yet to make its way into the franchise.

“I just keep going back to just the belief in ourselves that we’re good,” Flacco said, “and I’m talking to myself too. I think every time we take the field we just have to truly believe that we’re capable, ’cause we are. And I think that’s kinda why we’re missing some of that little juice here and there to kinda get us over the hump. And like I said, I’m talking to myself, not just young guys and things like that.”

Breece Hall fumbles the ball during the Jets’ loss to the Ravens.
Charles Wenzelberg/N.Y. Post

Meet The Losing Syndrome. Try your best not to listen to Same Old Jets.

“When you have young guys that haven’t played in this league, and then when you have a bunch of veterans that just haven’t won consistently over the last couple of years, you have to learn how to win football games, and create that winning culture, and winning on Sundays is a big part of that.”

Of course Flacco did not point a finger on his first-half interception.

“I’m gonna just wish that I just took some of the 5-yard checkdowns earlier in the game,” he said. “The safety [Marcus Williams] was driving, and you have a little miscue on running the route and next thing you know you’re in a bad position.”

Of course he did not throw his offensive line under the bus.

“Those guys fought all day and I thought they played really well together,” Flacco said. “We all have to make little improvements like I talked about for us to take that next step.”

One Jets fan can hardly watch the team’s loss to the Ravens on Sunday.
Charles Wenzelberg/ NY Post

Conklin leaped to Flacco’s defense.

“He’s the same player he was, he can make all the throws, he’s smart, he’s a leader, we all love playing with him,” Conklin said. “We gotta be better for him too.”

Getting dynamic rookie WR Garrett Wilson more playing time in the first half would be a good start, and Forgotten Man C.J. Uzomah as well. Conklin fumbled away an early first down at the Baltimore 21 and Corey Davis had an early drop and Hall a fourth-quarter fumble and time for a talk already.

“We had a talk in the locker room after the game,” Uzomah said. “We’re not going to let it happen again.”

Conklin: “It’s not the same s–t. We got a good team.”

Positive Vibes Only more than ever.

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Carl Lawson thrilled his father will be at Jets opener

Sunday will be special for Carl Lawson, but not because it will be his first game that counts in 20 months.

The presence of his father, Carl Lawson Sr., in the crowd is what excites him about the regular-season opener against the Ravens.

“My dad hasn’t seen me play in a long time,” the Jets defensive end said Thursday. “It’s a real big emotion that way.”

After signing a three-year, $45 million deal with the Jets in March 2021, Lawson missed all of last season because of a ruptured Achilles tendon. That was nothing compared to what his father dealt with, nearly losing his life in a battle with COVID-19.

Carl Lawson
Bill Kostroun

Lawson thought Carl Sr., who played college football at Georgia Tech in the late 1980s, would never be able to watch him in action again after joining the Jets. That’s how serious it got. He was in the hospital for, in Lawson’s words, “forever.” SNY reported the elder Lawson was hospitalized for nine weeks, spending a significant amount of time on a ventilator.

“I thought I was going to lose him a while ago, right around the time after I signed my contract,” Lawson said. “I was like, ‘Damn, he’s not going to get to see me play as a Jet.’ That’s why it’s important to me. You never know when your last opportunity for anything is.”

The game Sunday will be Lawson’s first real contest in green, and he will have his family there to take it all in. The Jets are excited to see how Lawson can bolster their front seven after he missed all of last season. His addition should make an already strong defensive front even better. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich called Lawson a “unicorn,” because of his unique body type for his position. Instead of a long, speedy athlete, Lawson is built like a brick.

“He is absolutely impossible to replicate,” Ulbrich said. “He brings not only a pass rush and he brings skill, but he also brings this toughness and this effort and this mindset that absolutely rubs off on other people. We missed him last year, we’re excited to have him back.”

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Duane Brown’s shoulder injury puts him in doubt for Jets’ opener

The Jets’ offensive line is already down one offensive tackle, and now the replacement is dealing with a shoulder ailment.

Duane Brown, the starting left tackle, who was signed after Mekhi Becton was lost for the season due to a fractured right kneecap, hasn’t been at practice the last two days.

Head coach Robert Saleh said he was getting his shoulder evaluated, but didn’t offer any further update. Brown’s status for the season opener Sunday against the Ravens appears in doubt, and the question now is whether it is a long-term injury.

Losing the 37-year-old Brown, a five-time Pro Bowler with a strong reputation for his durability, would be a major blow to the offensive line. George Fant, the starter at left tackle who was moved over to the right side upon the addition of Brown, could move back to his original spot.

The two options to start Sunday against the Ravens would be rookie fourth-round draft pick Max Mitchell and veteran Conor McDermott, who missed most of training camp with an ankle injury and didn’t appear in any preseason games. McDermott is practicing with the team, although he was limited in both workouts this week. So was Fant, who is nursing a knee injury.

Jets offensive lineman Duane Brown, working on a drill with a coach earlier in the preseason, is battling a shoulder injury and could miss the season opener.
Bill Kostroun

“We still gotta do our jobs,” offensive guard Laken Tomlinson said after practice Thursday. “Obviously, the stuff going on with Duane, that’s for Coach Saleh to comment on. But I still have a job to do, so I’m focused on that right now. I’m focused on Baltimore.”

He added: “All of our guys I feel like I can play, everyone from veterans to rookie class. So we’re preparing like we’re trying to play and win a game.”

The Jets’ offensive line didn’t play well in the final preseason game against the Giants, but there was hope there was enough practice time before the regular-season opener for the unit to develop chemistry. But that is no longer possible with Brown’s status in doubt, creating more questions than answers a few days before the first game against the Ravens.

“Work is work, we have to come together and be tighter as a group and come out and grind every day,” Tomlinson said. “At the end of the day, every guy has to do their job no matter who is in the position.”

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Jets’ Robert Saleh looking forward to Zach Wilson’s return

The Jets expect to play meaningful games “down the stretch,” and they think Zach Wilson will be a major part of their improvement.

Despite a knee injury that will likely cost him at least the first game of the regular season — if not more — Gang Green’s brass believes the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft is on an upward trajectory.

“Before the injury, he was way ahead of where he was a year ago,” coach Robert Saleh said Thursday. “I know that first preseason game, people put a lot of stock into those series, which is warranted, but that first preseason game isn’t even close to what he’s been showing throughout OTAs and training camp and the way he communicates even now that he’s not a part of the practices, and he’s just in meetings.

“So [I’m] really excited about him getting the chance to get back to the football field to show how far along he’s come. As far as the development and the course that he’s on, we’re excited about it, and we’re excited about his future.”

Jets coach Robert Saleh fist bumps Zach Wilson during training camp.
Noah K. Murray-NY Post

When, exactly, the 23-year-old Wilson returns remains uncertain. He suffered a torn meniscus and bone bruise in his right knee in the Aug. 12 preseason opener against the Eagles, a game in which he threw an interception and was far from impressive. Wilson underwent arthroscopic surgery four days later and is still not practicing, though on Wednesday Saleh said he may not need a full two weeks of practice to return as he did last year after suffering a sprained knee injury.

When asked about that on Thursday, the Jets’ coach stepped back from that statement somewhat, saying that is a question better suited for team doctors.

“It has to do with the return-to-play protocol that’s assigned to the player once the injury has been diagnosed and all that stuff,” Saleh said.

One positive for Wilson is, by the time he is back, the offensive line will have had a lot of time together to jell. The group, which was reshuffled after Mekhi Becton’s season-ending knee injury — 37-year-old left tackle Duane Brown was signed, and George Fant was moved from left to right tackle — struggled in its lone preseason game together. Saleh is encouraged the unit will be more cohesive by the time Week 1 rolls around.

Zach Wilson
Noah K. Murray

“We have time to get the game reps in. We’re having team competitions, so it’s not just going against cards, we’re competing against one another also, but we’ve got to get going,” he said. “There’s an opportunity for us to catch up pretty quick, and we’ve got about five, six practices left.”

The Jets’ roster is improved on paper. This year’s draft class appears loaded, and the defense looks formidable up front, without the issues at cornerback. But for the team to really take the next step, it will need Wilson to rebound from a rocky rookie season, and he will have to do so after missing crucial practice time.

“We’ve talked about him coming back at the end of last year and the jump he made,” general manager Joe Douglas said. “He was having that same level of progression throughout OTAs, throughout training camp. … I’m sure he would like to have that first series back in the Philly game, but he was getting back into rhythm and showing all of those traits and the progression that he had made in that second series, before the injury. We have seen tremendous progress from Zach.”

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Whopping seven waived Jets were claimed by other NFL teams

The Jets have felt good about their roster depth all summer, and apparently the rest of the NFL agrees.

There were a whopping seven players waived by the Jets on Tuesday who were claimed by other teams on Wednesday. It was the most players claimed in the NFL. The Bills were second with four players picked up.

The Jets did not claim any players.

This was another indication of the depth of the roster that general manager Joe Douglas has built. The Jets have rarely had any players claimed after cutdown day in recent years.

The players claimed on Wednesday were: CB Javelin Guidry (Cardinals), OT Chuma Edoga (Falcons), LB Del’Shawn Phillips (Ravens), TE Trevon Wesco (Bears), S Jason Pinnock (Giants), CB Isaiah Dunn (Seahawks) and CB Rachad Wildgoose (Commanders).

Chuma Edoga during Jets training camp on Aug. 9, 2022.
Bill Kostroun
Trevon Wesco during Jets minicamp on June 15, 2022.
Bill Kostroun

The question now becomes whether the Jets kept the right players. Right now, it is viewed as a positive that the Jets have so many players being claimed by other teams. If any of these players become good players for their new teams, the decision to let them go by the Jets will look foolish.

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Joe Flacco dominates, Denzel Mims has highlight reel TD for Jets

Observations from Jets camp on Tuesday.

Way to Joe!

Joe Flacco completed 14 of 17 passes in team periods, with three touchdowns and a two-point conversion to Corey Davis. He was sacked twice. After 10 straight completions, Flacco’s first miss came on his 11th throw. One of his prettiest throws of camp was a bullet pass to wide receiver Elijah Moore on a deep out-cut.

Joe Flacco
Bill Kostroun

Kenny Yeb-d’oh!

Kenny Yeboah, who is on the Jets roster bubble and competing against fellow tight ends Lawrence Cager and Trevon Wesco for a spot, dropped a would’ve-been touchdown pass from quarterback Mike White.

Caught My Eye

In one of his few reps, Denzel Mims had an impressive leaping touchdown grab from quarterback Chris Streveler. The 24-year-old wide receiver went up and over safety Elijah Riley and cornerback Luq Barcoo to bring it down.

Medical Report

DT Quinnen Williams (ankle) was not at practice. CB D.J. Reed (hamstring) participated in defensive drills. RB La’Mical Perine needed medical attention after carrying the ball. DL Vinny Curry (hamstring) returned to practice. OT Mekhi Becton was officially placed on IR.

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Jets’ season already in peril after Zach Wilson’s injury

PHILADELPHIA — All that was ever going to matter for the Jets this season was the quarterback. 

Zach Wilson was all that mattered. Everything revolved around his progress. 

In his second season after a rough rookie year, Wilson was the linchpin to anything the Jets were hoping to accomplish in 2022. 

Sure, there were a few dozen other Jets being evaluated Friday night in their preseason opener against the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field — a thoroughly-inconsequential 24-21 Jets comeback win. 

But Wilson was the only player who really mattered. 

Everyone was waiting to see at least small signs of improvement from him between Year One and Year Two, and Friday night was poised to provide an early glimpse. 

But now, after the concerning non-contact injury Wilson sustained to his right knee on his ninth play from scrimmage, Wilson’s Year Two may be over before it began — though sources told The Post the Jets are hopeful his injury will only cause him to miss weeks rather than months. 

Nevertheless, a Jets season that already carried with it more questions than an SAT exam is in doubt, if not outright peril. 

Zach Wilson is treated on the field after injuring his knee.
Chris Szagola/CSM/Shutterstock

After the game, head coach Robert Saleh was careful not to be overly optimistic. 

“I’m always concerned until you get the final evaluation,” said Saleh, who added the ACL is still intact based on first tests but said the MRI exam will tell the story. “We’ve walked off the field with very positive thoughts, and it’s been opposite. We’ve walked off the field with bad initial readings and it’s been the opposite. I’m just going to let it play out and we’ll see [Saturday]. 

“I just want to let it all play out and I’ll keep saying my nightly prayers and let’s see what happens.’’ 

Despite the fact that Wilson was in the locker room after the game (but not when reporters were admitted), the Jets inexplicably declined to make him available. 

Last season, when Wilson injured his PCL in a game at New England, he was made available to speak to reporters. Clearly, the fact the team shielded him from reporters was a sure sign that the news is not good. 

“He’s in good spirits. He’s fine,’’ Saleh said, putting on a brave face to it all. “A little frustrated, obviously, but he’s as good as you can be in the situation.’’ 

The Jets’ 2022 season flashed before their disbelieving eyes with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter when Wilson got up limping after a scramble and eventually fell to the turf as team trainers rushed to his aid. 

That kind of sequence — the player able to walk for a moment before realizing the knee is too loose to continue — more often than not signals a torn ACL. 

Robert Saleh watches as Zach Wilson is tended to after injuring his knee.
AP

That would be the worst-case scenario. A Jets case scenario. Here we go again. The Jets are in crisis yet again. 

Wilson had just completed a crisp 10-yard slant pass to Elijah Moore on third down when, on a first-and-10 from the Jets 42-yard line, he was flushed from the pocket to his right by Eagles defenders Tarron Jackson and Jordan Davis. 

He outran both of them and was staring down Eagles rookie linebacker Nakobe Dean in the open field near the right sideline. Instead of just cruising out of bounds to live to play another down, Wilson tried to juke Dean with an inside move to gain a few extra (meaningless) yards. 

Zach Wilson is taken off the field after injuring his knee.
AP

Sometimes, great athletic ability, which Wilson possesses, can be a curse. 

Something bad happened inside his right knee joint when he made that move and Wilson’s night — and possibly his season — was over. 

When Saleh was asked whether Wilson should have simply run out of bounds, he quickly responded, “A hundred percent.’’ 

Within minutes, Twitter was alive with medical experts diagnosing Wilson’s injury after simply watching it on TV. 

Zach Wilson throws a pass during the Jets’ first drive.
USA TODAY Sports

There, too, were armchair general managers flooding social media projecting next-step quarterback ideas for Jets GM Joe Douglas in the event Wilson’s injury is, indeed, season-ending. Jimmy Garoppolo’s name began trending. One snide Twitter jokester even suggested the Jets acquire Sam Darnold for a second go-round in green. 

Asked what the next step is if this is, indeed, season ending, Saleh said: “Can we wait until after we get the MRI results before we start talking about that? I don’t want to put that negative juice in there.’’ 

When asked about 37-year-old backup quarterback Joe Flacco, Saleh said: “You guys know how I feel about Joe. He’s a phenomenal football player. He’s having a great camp and he’s got a lot of juice left in the tank.’’ 

Saleh said before the game the plan was to play Wilson and the rest of the starters for a series or two. 

“If they put together a good first series, we’ll call it a day,’’ Saleh said. “If not, we’ll just go out there and try to get a certain number of plays.’’ 

The first series, of course, was an abject failure with Wilson intercepted on his fifth play from scrimmage. Then Wilson made it through just four plays in second series — possibly the final four plays of his 2022 season. 

Now, the Jets only can hope that isn’t the case.

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