New York Jets: 5 Up, 2 Down: Looking At Stock After The Jets/titans Game

What a win! What a way to start the season! I’ve spent so many years hoping for the best and reluctantly seeing the worst that it truly makes me emotional when things play out so well. The Jets defeated the Titans 23-10, which makes it look a little better than the 23-3 thrashing that was occurring before a garbage-time touchdown dressed up the score.

I looked at three things and was pleasantly surprised by how well the Jets kept Geno pressured minimally throughout the game. The few times he was pressured, he handled it well and even scrambled when he needed to! The Jets’ run defense was fantastic, and I believe this was the catalyst for the thrashing we saw. There was no room to run for Tony Pollard or Tyjae Spears, and as a result, Cam Ward was overwhelmed and outclassed by the Jets’ defense.

Praise is deserved all-around, from the players to the coaches to the front office, because all their offseason efforts showed up in this game. The Jets gave out game balls themselves, but I’d like to identify a few people as well. Of course, the biggest benefit of this article is that the Jets would never give out a game ball for someone’s stock falling, and in the sea of celebration and jubilee, it’s still important to identify areas for improvement to ensure long-term success. And just in case you missed the first sentence of this paragraph, praise is deserved all-around. I’m just pointing out the ends of the spectrum:

Stock Up

• Breece Hall
• The First Round Rookies
• Qwan’tez Stiggers
• The entire OL
• Jason Sanders

Did you know that stat about Breece? I did, and I’ve known it for years, which is why I’ve been one of the biggest proponents of his contract extension from the beginning. This man is such a catalyst for Jets success, and I’m not convinced Jets fans and the media realize how valuable he is to the franchise’s overall vision. For those of you worried about him taking his foot off the gas now that he’s been extended, he accrued 100 rush yards and a TD in his first game post-contract. He added a couple of catches and plenty of blocks to further solidify his place as the franchise cornerstone bell-cow back he’s been paid to be.

The first-round rookies had impactful debuts with the Jets in their own unique ways. Omar Cooper Jr. only had one catch but made the absolute most of it, racking up 26(!) yards after the catch and showing the playmaking that inspired Darren Mougey to trade up to get him. That one play transformed the drive from a ‘good drive’ to a scoring drive that put the Jets in prime position to score their first opening-drive TD on a Sunday in ten years. That TD was scored by fellow first-round rookie Kenyon Sadiq, who also flashed playmaking prowess in that opening drive. On that touchdown he certainly looked faster than CMC and I can’t wait to see them both get larger chunks of the offense. And of course, praying for the speediest recovery for Cooper Jr.

David Bailey also was no slouch in his NFL debut. The #2 overall pick found himself in the backfield early and often, leading the team with six pressures in addition to the four tackles he racked up. He proved to be a factor in the pass rush and in the run game, which was reflected in his playing more snaps than any defensive end. For comparison, among all D-Linemen, Bailey and David Onyemata played in 35 snaps while Harrison Phillips played 27 and Will McDonald played 25. On Special Teams, Qwan’tez Stiggers definitely made the most of his role and made several plays to nullify the Titans’ return and/or give the ball back to the Jets. Special Teams is way more than just punting and kicking field goals, and having someone like Stiggers has continued to pay dividends.

I swear this isn’t a Geno snub – he was fantastic yesterday. 79% completion, 215 yards, and a 104 passer rating are all things of beauty. The only thing more beautiful was the time he had to throw. According to NextGenStats.com, his 3.04-second time-to-throw was the 8th-longest in the entire NFL this week, yet he was one of the least-pressured QBs. Knowing how badly their QB struggles under pressure, the big five men up front largely eradicated it. They also provided running lanes that led to two rushing touchdowns and a 4.4 YPC from their running backs. The more they can keep Geno unbothered for 3+ seconds, the more beautiful things we’ll see on offense.

We all let out a collective groan when Jason Sanders was announced as the starting kicker for this week’s game, but I must say I was impressed by the final results. Was he perfect? No. Did he score more points than any other player in the game? Yes! Two field goals from 50+ is impressive, considering we didn’t even think he could hit from 40+ consistently. He also hit both extra points. I’m not saying kicking won’t be an issue moving forward, but I think the disdain we had from him leaving the Giants preseason game has already dissipated a bit after this successful performance.

Stock Down

• Mason Taylor
• Clock Management

I love Mason Taylor and am excited to keep seeing him and Kenyon Sadiq as consistent options for the Jets offense moving forward, but I think this past Sunday was an objective disappointment for Taylor. With the advantage of first-team reps all summer while Sadiq worked his way back from surgery, I was expecting Taylor to be the clear TE1 in the early weeks of the season. Instead, we got two catches for -2 yards, and a ‘drop’ that should’ve been called a fumble, but the refs very generously let the Jets keep the ball after review.

On the 19-play drive, the Jets had a 3rd and 1 turn into a 3rd and 6 due to an untimely Mason Taylor false start. What looked like a touchdown drive ended in a field goal. Again, not bashing Taylor, and I may still even include him in my parlay next week, but this week was not a good game for the sophomore tight end.

Also, there’s still more to be desired in this team’s overall clock management. I don’t want to name a specific culprit because I know some of you may be sensitive to criticism of certain people, but usually the head coach handles clock management. Of course, it ultimately didn’t matter because the Jets were such a better team on paper and on the field, but it physically pained me to see that pathetic attempt at a 2-minute drill to end the first half. What makes it worse is that the worst 2-minute drills I’ve seen in my life have all come from this regime’s Jets. In a game that matters, that’s a huge difference that decides games (see: the Giants’ execution at the end of the first half in SNF last night). Here’s to hoping they can get it fixed before it matters. Let’s go Jets.