Jets Recap; Quinnen, Elfein & What to do in the Draft

By KRL Posted On December 21, 2020

An absolutely worthless, meaningless win that “improves” the Jets record to 1-13 has now probably cost the team a shot at Trevor Lawrence. I’ve never been so ticked off after a win, shame on the Los Angeles Rams for sleepwalking through the first half and then committing huge penalties in the 4th quarter that cancelled two TD’s. If you’re a Rams fan you’ve got to question their staff and the leadership of the players to let an important game slip through their fingers with a 23-20 loss:

– Pathetic middle of the OLine by the LAR. They repeatedly got whipped and allowed the Jets to be in Jared Goff’s lap all day.

– Quinnen Williams was dominant with 4 Tkls, Sack, TFL and a QB Hit. He has grown into his draft status and has become what we saw at Alabama. Now if Joe Douglas can surround him with a couple of edge rushers, watch out.

– Nathan Shepherd was a mirror image of Williams as he also dominated with 3 Tkls, Sack, 2 TFL and a QB Hit.

– Amazing how a young unproven secondary can look decent against an explosive offense when the front puts consistent pressure on the QB.

– Terrific, athletic one handed INT by Bryce Hall as he made his first “splash” play since entering the starting lineup.

– A game saving knock away by Marcus Maye on a potential TD late in the 4th quarter (unfortunately).

– Huge special teams play by JT Hassell (who?) with a blocked punt. And Braden Mann who made an open field tackle on a punt return that was going for a TD (unfortunately).

– I brought this point up in the LV game and it stood out even more today. The combination of Mekhi Becton & Pat Elflein are nasty and should be the long term answer on the left side. They neutralized Aaron Donald and forced him to flip to the right side to create any pressure. Who expected Donald to be a “non-factor”? Not me.

– Chris Herndon had his best game since his rookie year with 3 recs / 48 yards and NO DROPS

QB Present / Future

– Now let’s get to the elephant in the room, Sam Darnold was solid (22/31, 207 yards, TD) with no game changing mistakes. But is he your QB of the future? There was nothing great about his game and the questions about his play and injury history still remain.

– If the Jets got the #1 pick we know Darnold was out of here but with the team staring at the #2 pick, now what do you do? I was firmly in the Justin Fields (Ohio St.) camp until the last two games where I started to notice a lack of pocket awareness on his part. He’s been holding the ball too long and taking too many hits/sacks and with his running ability that shouldn’t be the case. Is this a weakness being exposed in Fields game or with so many players missing from the Ohio St. lineup (virus) did he not feel comfortable with the replacements?

– So what option do you take to address the QB spot? Even with the #2 pick, do you “reset the QB $$$ clock” and still take Fields and trade Darnold? Or do you roll the dice with Darnold (hoping a new HC can “unlock” him) and trade the #2 pick for multiple premium picks and build a team around him? The new HC and what to do at QB are going to define Joe Douglas time as GM.

Could we just get a Christmas gift and have the Jacksonville Jaguars win one more game? Please!