{"id":53803,"date":"2020-12-30T11:42:47","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T15:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=53803"},"modified":"2020-12-30T12:39:36","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T16:39:36","slug":"a-long-look-at-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-for-jets-with-new-beginning-on-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2020\/12\/30\/a-long-look-at-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-for-jets-with-new-beginning-on-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"A Long Look at the Good, the bad and the Ugly for Jets With new Beginning on Horizon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your common sense as a football fan told you that it was going to happen all year, but now multiple outlets are confirming the Jets plans to cut ties with abysmal head coach Adam Gase.\u00a0 In over his head from the day he arrived, Gase&#8217;s tenure with the Jets is the only one to rival that of Rich Kotite and fans will soon have their misery come to an end.<\/p>\n<p>Who replaces Gase is an unknown at this point, but no matter who it is, they&#8217;re going to need some players to go to war with on Sundays.\u00a0 Thre will be moves galore this offseason, but let&#8217;t take a look at Gang Green&#8217;s roster from top to bottom as it stands today to see the good, the bad and the ugly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quarberback: Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After Gase admittedly failed in his primary task of developing quarterback Sam Darnold, the position is in limbo.\u00a0 There are those who feel it&#8217;s time to move on from Darnold and others who say he deserves a chance to show what he can do with a (hopefully) competent coaching staff and improved talent.\u00a0 The new head coach will undoubtedly have some say in this area.<\/p>\n<p>Behind Darnold there&#8217;s rookie James Morgan who hasn&#8217;t seen a snap this season and projects as a long-term backup.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Running Backs: Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This group is tough to evaluate as Gase&#8217;s infatuation with dinosaur running back Frank Gore meant limited reps for Josh Adams, Ty Johnson and rookie La&#8217;Mical Perine.\u00a0 Gore predictably banged his way to his paltry 3.5 yards per attempt while every other back on the roster posted a better yards per carry average.\u00a0 The small sample size still leaves us with questions though.\u00a0 Gore was washed up by week 8&#8230;of 2019.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jets RB&#39;s YPC in 2020:<\/p>\n<p>Adams: 6.1<br \/>Johnson: 4.86<br \/>Perine: 3.6<br \/>Gore: 3.49<\/p>\n<p>And which ones keep getting the bulk of the carries?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Glenn Naughton (@JNRadio_Glenn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JNRadio_Glenn\/status\/1343378637106655234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 28, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>If Adams and\/or Johnson continue to produce the way they did this season then the group will be in much better shape moving forward.\u00a0 Perine is viewed as the most likely back to make the roster in 2021, but looked to be a less impactful player than both Johnson and Adams.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wide Receiver: Good<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No eye-popping numbers here and there&#8217;s a big &#8220;if&#8221; in regards to Denzil Mims&#8217; ability to stay healthy but with what he showed in college showed up on Sundays when he was actually a part of the game plan.\u00a0 Mims, paired with Jamison Crowder should very likely give the Jets two very good pass catchers moving forward.\u00a0 Another player will still have to be added through the draft or free agency, but the cupboard is not bare for a new head coach who, unlike Gase, might see the value Mims brings to the offense.\u00a0 Braxton Berrios is a decent depth player and Lawrence Cager showed some promise.\u00a0 And for some reason, despite high hopes for Vyncint Smith, the receiver was nailed to the bench after returning from injury along with the speedy Jeff Smith who showed some promise early on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tight Ends: Bad (kind of)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Based on how the tight ends were utilized this season, it&#8217;s tough to give any fair grade.\u00a0 After talking up tight end Chris Herndon, the team&#8217;s best receiving tight end was converted to a blocking tight end who saw just one or two targets per week.\u00a0 Herndon started to press and became a disaster as a result.\u00a0 The third-year player would seemingly drop or fumble anything that came his way as he tried to make something happen with limited targets.\u00a0 Instead of feeding Herndon to let him work through his issues, the Jets put him on ignore.\u00a0 But recently, Herndon has been more involved and has looked more like the player he was in college and as a rookie with the Jets.\u00a0 A decent head coach should be able to get Herndon back on track and playing like a difference maker moving forward.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Ryan Griffin was completely ignored and Trevon Wesco was a non-factor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Offensive Line: Good<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is nice for a change.\u00a0 The team can still afford to upgrade at both guard spots and right tackle.\u00a0 However, unlike year&#8217;s past, if many of this year&#8217;s starters return, it won&#8217;t be the end of the world.\u00a0 Mekhi Becton is penciled in for the next decade at left tackle.\u00a0 Pat Elflein has done a nice job in the run game but is a liability as a pass blocker.\u00a0 This is where the team could look to add Joe Thuney or hope that Cam Clark is ready to step in next season.\u00a0 Connor McGovern is fine at center and while Greg Van Roten struggled early on, he got much better as the season progressed and you could probably live with him again in 2021.\u00a0 George Fant is the x-factor as he was a steady player but could be displaced if the Jets opt to select Oregon tackle Penei Sewell with the second overall pick.\u00a0 All in all, they have 3 to 4 players who can be counted on to start and one (Elflein) who should be replaced and downgraded to a backup role.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Defensive Line: (Very) Good<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is where things are looking best for Gang Green.\u00a0 Despite plenty of fans jumping ship on Williams after just a week or two in to his second season, he developed into one of the league&#8217;s premiere interior defensive linemen.\u00a0 This, along with the shocking development of John Franklin-Myers who was dominant along the interior Williams and Foley Fatukasi.\u00a0 The team should also be getting Kyle Phillips back next season after missing 2020 due to injury.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t expect Henry Anderson&#8217;s bloated contract to return, but they&#8217;ll be fine without him.\u00a0 Also worth noting is the dramatically improved play of Nathan Shepherd as he has seen increased reps of late.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Another excellent game for Quinnen Williams.  Pushes two blockers back in to the pocket, QB looking downfield but has to dump it off with pressure.  Throw is low and incomplete.  Counted 8 pressures in this game.  PFF credited him with 7.  Either way, a great performance. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HAPy9sB4NL\">pic.twitter.com\/HAPy9sB4NL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Glenn Naughton (@JNRadio_Glenn) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JNRadio_Glenn\/status\/1331345074643496962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 24, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p><strong>Linebackers: Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Where to begin?\u00a0 Jordan Jenkins is likely to depart via free agency after having one of his worst seasons in 2020 as he played with a shoulder injury since week two.\u00a0 CJ Mosley is expected to return but who knows what he&#8217;ll look like after what amounts to a two-year layoff.\u00a0 Neville Hewitt is a decent role player but shouldn&#8217;t have been asked to play as often as he did for this unit.\u00a0 Then there&#8217;s Tarell Basham who for some reason, never saw quite as many snaps as he should have.\u00a0 If given a full-time role, we believe Basham would be a far more productive player.\u00a0 Given the team&#8217;s depth along the defensive line, the addition of a pass rushing outside linebacker would go a long way in getting this unit to show dramatic improvement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Secondary: Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Marcus Maye had a career year but we suspect he&#8217;ll look to bolt to a contender after so many years of losing and Brian Poole may do the same.\u00a0 If they hang around, it goes a long way in getting this secondary to respectability.\u00a0 As of right now, Bryce Hall is the biggest reason for optimism as he appears to have the skills to be a legitimate top-flight corner.\u00a0 Bless Austin should be replaced on the other side and Ashtyn Davis didn&#8217;t show a great deal in coverage as a rookie.\u00a0 The secondary must be addressed this offseason through free agency and the draft.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Special Teams: Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The team doesn&#8217;t have a reliable kicker on the roster and Braden Mann was a solid punter but didn&#8217;t have the gaudy average many expected after being drafted.\u00a0 The punt and kick return units were nothing to write home about and Braxton Berrios took a huge step back from averaging 11.4 yards per punt return last year to just 8.6 this season.<\/p>\n<p>All things told, the Jets need to improve dramatically and it all starts with the quarterback position.\u00a0 So the Jets are in familiar territory as they sit in quarterback limbo, but they have key pieces in place at premium positions with Becton, Williams and Hall with Mims having the skill set to be a legitimate number one receiver.<\/p>\n<p>Joe Douglas has a long way to go, but despite what they looked like on the field this season, all is not lost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your common sense as a football fan told you that it was going to happen all year, but now multiple outlets are confirming the Jets plans to cut ties with abysmal head coach Adam Gase.\u00a0 In over his head from the day he arrived, Gase&#8217;s tenure with the Jets is the only one to rival [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":52334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[2439,3225,2905,3176,3099,3205,2643,3165,3031,2856,3276],"class_list":{"0":"post-53803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured-editorials","8":"tag-adam-gase","9":"tag-bryce-hall","10":"tag-chris-herndon","11":"tag-denzel-mims","12":"tag-joe-douglas","13":"tag-josh-adams","14":"tag-marcus-maye","15":"tag-mekhi-becton","16":"tag-quinnen-williams","17":"tag-sam-darnold","18":"tag-ty-johnson"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Quinnen-Williams.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-dZN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53803"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53825,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53803\/revisions\/53825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}