New York Jets: Thoughts on the Saturday Cuts and 53 Man Roster

Aug 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Headshot of New York Jets wide receiver

Stephen Hill

(84) during a game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning Jets fans. Now that we have had some time to reflect, time to chime in on the cuts yesterday, and the roster as it stands to this point.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. The only thing as obvious the fact that Stephen Hill was going to be cut was the announcement that Geno Smith was the starting quarterback. Maybe that picture above, with Hill looking confused, was a picture of his reaction when Sanjay Lal tried to teach him to catch the ball with his hands. There must have been some part of it that he didn’t understand, because he never got it. It’s sad, because he had a lot of potential. Hill just never got any better, so the Jets had to move on. Congratulations to Jets’ rookies Quincy Enunwa and Jalen Saunders for making the team, as well as Greg Salas, a big underdog.

Two surprises right off the bat were Matt Simms and Daryl Richardson. Many of us remember when Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler were injured in the same game. It does happen, the Jets’ have been caught in this before. I am not surprised that Tajh Boyd didn’t make the team, but we have seen that Matt Simms can come into a ballgame and do a serviceable job. Keeping three would have been safer.

Similarly surprising to me was the keeping of only three running backs. Bilal Powell, Chris Johnson, and Chris Ivory could all see action during a game, so all have the potential to be injured. Alex Green had fumbling issues in the final game, but Richardson ran quite hard, and was a threat in the screen game as well. It seemed prudent to keep four running backs, and with all of the cuts, that could still be in the plans for the Jets. We will find out over the coming days.

There weren’t any other major surprises on the offensive side of the ball. I did think that Chris Pantale made a case for himself to stick around. He seems to have nice hands and good route running ability. Personally, I would have considered four tight ends, and to me, he didn’t really fall behind Zach Sudfeld by very much. Maybe Chris can be brought back to the practice squad.

Aug 28, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Jets inside linebacker Jeremiah George (53) hits Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Will Murphy (84) at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 37-7. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

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On defense, Jeremiah George and Trevor Reilly were two guys that worked their way up and made the team. As Craig Hoffman wrote yesterday, A.J. Edds made an excellent case to make this football team ahead of George. The Jets seem to feel that Jeremiah George has a higher ceiling so he was the choice. They will miss A.J. Edds, because he certainly put enough on tape to be signed by another team. Congratulations to I.K. Enemkpali for making the team, as he was doing an excellent job before he was injured.

I 100% agree with Craig yesterday about the keeping of only six defensive backs. They definitely believe that Antonio Allen and Dee Milliner will be ready to play on Sunday, and that Allen will be at cornerback for the Jets. Expect that a move will be made for the depth chart as well. I actually thought LeQuan Lewis didn’t look terrible for the Jets in the final game. He made his mark on special teams, and other than the long touchdown the coverage wasn’t that bad.

Ryan Quigley is the Jets’ punter for now. That has an excellent chance of changing, sooner rather than later. With Brian Moorman becoming available, as well as Zoltan Mesko sitting at home out of work, Ryan should not get too comfortable. The Jets’ style makes field position extremely important, they must have a consistent punter and Ryan Quigley just isn’t it.

What do you guys think about the roster? Surprises? Happy? Let me know in the comments section.

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