New York Jets Preseason Week 4: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Aug 28, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Jets running back

Daryl Richardson

(35) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jaylen Watkins (37) at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

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The Jets finished their preseason 2-2 with a 37-7 loss to the Eagles Thursday night. In the 4th preseason game coaches and GMs aren’t looking at the team performance, they are looking for individuals to stand out and, of course, to avoid injuries. The Jets had a few standouts, both positive and negative, and now they have some very difficult decisions to make this weekend that will lead to the final roster that reports to practice Monday morning. Final cuts are due Saturday at 6PM with the waiver claims being awarded the following day. Trades are also a possibility as the deadline nears. The large amount of cap room that some complain about will come in handy this weekend.

The Good

1) Very few injuries – Nick Bellore left with a calf injury that is not considered serious, Josh Bush left with a leg injury, and Johnny Patrick left with a head injury. That’s all of the injuries for the night. Bellore is a key special teams contributor, Bush will probably be cut and Patrick was on the roster bubble so only the Bellore injury was to a contributing player and it is not considered serious.

2) It’s still a preseason game and the Jets start 0-0 just like every other team…and they play the Raiders Week 1 – That is pretty much all that needs to be said about the way that Philadelphia dominated the game, especially offensively. The Eagles hung 568 yards on the Jets with 276 of those on the ground so it was an ugly night to say the least. The Jets rested all of their starters (except Bohanon and Winters) and their key backups so I certainly wouldn’t take this as a representation of how the team will look in the regular season.

3) Offensive standouts – Daryl Richardson continues his push to make the roster with 27 yards rushing and 32 yards receiving. He had 22 yards on a screen pass and another 20 yards on a screen pass that was called back due to a holding penalty on Oday Aboushi. Richardson has good hands, shows good burst and elusiveness in the open field and even pass blocks well. Zach Sudfeld had a great night pass blocking as he saved a number of potential sacks in the 1st half. Among the tight ends pass blocking is a skill that is lacking so the better Sudfeld blocks, the more time he will see on the field. Sudfeld also had two catches for 18 yards. Chris Pantale had a beautiful 50 yard catch and run and finished the game with three catches for 74 yards. Pantale won’t crack the Jets roster but he might have flashed enough to have another team interested in him. Clyde Gates had a 42 yard touchdown catch and drew a 20 yard pass interference penalty to go along with his weekly drop. Gates’ argument to make the roster is as the deep threat, which the Jets do not have right now other than Decker. Jalen Saunders had four catches for 26 yards on the Jets’ final drive. He was open often last night but was either under or over thrown or missed completely. Saunders will have more impact than people think, as he is shifty and gets open quickly. His skill set is very similar to Kerley’s and using them together can be difficult to defend. The Jets’ offensive line played pretty well, only allowing one sack.

4) Defensive standouts – Rontez Miles made his case to make the roster with 10 tackles, six on defense and four on special teams, and a pass defended. He still has some work to do on his game but he hits hard, plays the run and blitzes well and is a key special teams player. Jeremiah George looked good tackling in the open field and playing downhill, both of which are his strength. He had seven tackles, all solo. Trevor Reilly had a couple of tackles and had good coverage on two incompletions. He also played well on special teams and has a chance at a roster spot. TJ Barnes was the only player on the defensive line to stand out. He stuffed a couple of runs and did his job inside as a space eater.

Aug 28, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Jets running back

Alex Green

(25) fumbles the ball after a hit by Philadelphia Eagles

Earl Wolff

(28) and

Chris Maragos

(42) during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

1) The defense rests – The Eagles ran for 276 yards on the Jets backup front seven, who repeatedly could not set the edge and got beaten around end on many occasions. There was no pass rush to mention and Matt Barkley had all day to pick apart the Jets already thinned out secondary. LeQuan Lewis got beat on a 42 yard touchdown where Arrelious Benn beat him by at least five yards, then he got beat by Jeff Maehl who knew enough to turn around and spot the ball thus making an easy 32 yard catch on an under throw. Lewis has been beaten deep 4 times in the last 2 games. Some of them are miscommunications but they are his issues and he isn’t NFL quality right now. Lewis also got blocked out of a number of long runs directed at him. On the positive side, Lewis showed a nice break on the ball with an end zone interception. Ellis Lankster got beaten a number of times and committed two penalties, although Lankster was able to keep the receiver in front of him on the catches he allowed. Josh Bush got beaten in coverage every single time he was thrown at, every single time. Then he suffered a leg injury and didn’t return. Jaiquawn Jarrett had nine tackles and plays the run and blitzes well but he had a nightmare night in coverage, giving up a long touchdown one on one and also allowing many other catches near him. Jarrett will make the roster, Bush won’t.

2) Offensive offensive players – Alex Green fumbled twice, losing one and probably his chance at making the roster. Richardson playing well probably sealed this but Green removed all doubt by putting the football on the ground twice. Stephen Hill had one catch for 13 yards and a drop. His roster spot is on the line and that is all he could muster. He left the game after the 5th offensive series, apparently by design, although he looked still ill from earlier in the week and possibly dehydrated. Oday Aboushi probably lost the left guard job with two penalties, including one that nullified a nice 20 yard screen play. Clyde Gates and Greg Salas also had a drop in the game. Matt Simms was 7 of 17 for 121 yards (50 of which came on one pass to Pantale, who did a lot of the work on the play), he was not as sharp as the other three preseason games and seemed to be bothered by the Eagles’ pressure, which while not sacking him did not make him feel comfortable in the pocket.

3) Special Teams – Ryan Quigley averaged 37 yards per punt on eight punts, including a 30 yard shank, a 26 yard punt from the 41 that couldn’t pin the Eagles inside their own 20, and a low 42 yard punt that was returned 12 yards and another returned 32 yards. Quigley also had a 58 yard punt and pinned the Eagles at their own 6 with another one. The Jets really need an upgrade at punter. The coverage teams were not good, allowing a 32 yard punt return and missing tackles on others. Jalen Saunders had a -9 yard punt return where he continued to go backwards while trying to go forward.