Getty New York Jets starting guard Greg Van Roten going through some drills during training camp.
The 2021 season has been a rollercoaster so far for the New York Jets.
It has featured mostly down moments, but things reached a new low in Week 3 vs the Denver Broncos.
Not only did the Jets drop to 0-3 on the season, but they were embarrassed in a 26-0 shutout loss.
One of the biggest topics of conversation following the contest was one of the Jets’ key cogs in the trenches.
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Analyst Called out a Key Offensive Lineman
No one knows offensive linemen like Duke Manyweather. He is arguably the greatest guru in the trenches on the planet right now.
He has a background in offensive line scouting and is the owner and operator of OL Masterminds.
During the Jets vs Broncos game on Sunday, Manyweather tweeted out that, “I try to stay OL positive, but man the Jets have to upgrade RG (right guard)! 62 is a liability!”
His eyes don’t lie, No. 62 (Jets’ starting right guard Greg Van Roten) didn’t play well on Sunday and hasn’t played well this season.
GVR has been the weakest link on the green and white offensive line. He has allowed 15 pressures this season, that’s the second-most in the NFL among right guards, and that’s just one fewer than George Fant, Morgan Moses, and Connor McGovern COMBINED, per Michael Nania of Jets X-Factor.
Then after the game, he had the audacity when asked about what needs to change to throw his quarterback, Zach Wilson under the bus:
“He has to learn this is the NFL and you need to get the ball out. You can’t hold on to it and try to make a play deep down the field.”
.@Connor_J_Hughes asked #Jets OL Greg Van Roten (@its_GVR) what needs to change b/c Zach Wilson (@ZachWilson) is taking a beating out there, GVR used this opportunity to throw his QB under the bus, ‘he’s gotta learn this is the #NFL you got to get the ball out’: #NYJvsDEN
When crap hits the fan, it’s up to the veteran leaders to not point blame others, but take a long look in the mirror and try to see how they can improve to make things better. GVR didn’t do that and it’s extremely disappointing.
Speaking of that, David Wyatt-Hupton of Gang Green Nation shared some advanced analytics on the disaster of a day/season for not just GVR, but the entire offensive line:
- Zach Wilson’s average time to either get a pass off or for the pocket to collapse was 1.7 seconds.
- Sacked 15 times this season (most in the NFL)
- Hurried 14 times (second-most in the NFL)
- Pressured 33 times (most in the NFL)
- Wilson has a pressure percentage of 27 (second-most in the NFL)
Pickings Are Pretty Slim
Van Roten has been bad, we can all agree there, but the problem is when you want to fire someone, the next question is, who are you replacing him with?
That’s a complicated question to answer at the end of September in the middle of an NFL season.
The free-agent options are scarce:
- David DeCastro
- DJ Fluker
- Joe Dahl
The only other way to fix the issue immediately would be via trade and no NFL team in their right mind trades good offensive lineman.
We explored one option they should consider, but that likely wouldn’t be an immediate option (more so a long-term play) and even if it was, Isaiah Wilson plays right tackle. Unless you completely play musical chairs up front shifting pieces around, that’s not realistic.
For the 2021 season, the Jets are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They have to live and die by general manager Joe Douglas’ decisions upfront.
This is his hand-selected offensive line and its’ successes or failures fall at his feet.
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NFL Analyst Calls on Jets to Replace ‘Liability’ on O-Line