After another defeat at the hands of an AFC East rival in Week 11, the New York Jets fell to 2-8 on the season and 0-4 inside their division.
As we always do on Monday mornings, our expert writers Paul ‘Boy Green’ Esden Jr and Michael Obermuller will dive into all the hot-topic questions that are at the forefront of this fanbase right now. After Week 11, that involves lineup changes from Robert Saleh, the future at quarterback, key mistakes from the Miami Dolphins loss and the potential of post-2021 firings.
Before we begin, a look back at our last bunch of Heavy on Jets roundtable discussions.
- Week 12: Week 3 offensive issues, correcting the 0-3 start.
- Week 13: Week 4 Zach Wilson throws, unsung heroes & criticisms.
- Week 14: Week 5 defensive woes, Marcus Maye & Denzel Mims drama.
- Week 15: Expectations after the bye, should Jamison Crowder be traded?
- Week 16: Critiquing the coaches after Week 7, trade deadline chatter.
- Week 17: Takeaways from Bengals upset, is Mike White for real?
- Week 18: Zach Wilson vs. Mike White, grading Joe Douglas at the deadline.
- Week 19: The embarrassment against Buffalo, hopes for the future.
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Week 11 Positives & Negatives
1. Robert Saleh made a bunch of changes to the starting lineup this week, which replacement impressed you most?
Boy Green:
Easily Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. We’ll have to see what the official grades said but man it was so refreshing to hear that Sunday morning. Sometimes we fans say things, like hey change this or that and the team never listens.
The Jets are starting Laurent Duvernay-Tardif at right guard and benching Greg Van Roten, as @Connor_J_Hughes reported earlier. That’s one of two lineup changes, including making S Jarrod Wilson inactive after he started last week.
We all can universally agree that Greg Van Roten has been terrible, but throughout most of the season, the Jets didn’t have a better option to replace him with. That all changed at the NFL trade deadline and at least from the live watch he appeared to be a massive improvement, although in fairness a parked car would’ve been an upgrade, but I digress.
Obermuller:
Agree on the ‘LDT’ change, but I’ll go with linebacker Quincy Williams.
Fans embraced the hard-hitter early in the season but after a couple of ineffective outings and the return of Jarrad Davis, Williams was practically benched in Jeff Ulbrich’s two-linebacker scheme. Remember, despite this being a 4-3 system, the Jets only play two LBs a majority of the time with nickelback Michael Carter II replacing the third one.
In Week 11, Saleh and Ulbrich chose to swap Davis and Williams, with 60 snaps for the latter and only eight for the veteran per Rich Cimini of ESPN. Despite the loss, the results were better with only 3.5 Miami rush yards per attempt and 24 points total.
Quincy Williams has 7 tackles for loss in 5 games this year where he played over 85% of the snaps
That’s 1.4 per game
How good is that? It would put him on pace for 22 TFL per 16 games
The NFL record for TFL in a season by a LB is 23 (Kendrell Bell, 2001)
Williams accounted for a dominant 15 total tackles in this one, with two tackles for a loss (TFL). According to Michael Nania of Jets X-Factor, “Williams has 7 tackles for loss in 5 games this year where he played over 85% of the snaps, [which equates to] 1.4 per game.” The Jets analyst explained that this pace over the course of a full season would put the linebacker one short of the NFL record of 23 TFL.
2. There were a couple of areas that killed the Jets in Week 11, highlight one and explain why/offer a solution.
Boy Green:
I’m going to be super specific here and then highlight that point in general. I wrote about it after the game but John Franklin-Myers cannot under any circumstance commit that horrific roughing the passer penalty in the fourth quarter.
John Franklin-Myers called for roughing the passer. That’s 100% a flag. Hit him way, way late. Just can’t do that. Dump penalty. Dumb. Dumb.
What would’ve been a field goal attempt on fourth down with the game tied at 14 turned into a touchdown putting the Dolphins up 21-14 — an absolute killer. The Jets simply aren’t talented enough to overcome those boneheaded penalties and win football games.
To win they need to play perfectly, have a few things bounce their way, and play disciplined football. They have been unable to do that on any sort of consistent basis in 2021.
Obermuller:
While I’ll certainly toss a head nod to Matt Ammendola and his two missed field goals — plus a delay of game penalty on a third field goal attempt that turned into a punt — I’m going to go with a key injury replacement.
Let me disclaimer this point by saying that I specifically wanted these two guys to get an opportunity after starting cornerback Brandin Echols went down with an injury, but Isaiah Dunn and Jason Pinnock might have lost us this game.
we definitely missed Brandin Echols today. #Jets
Dunn and Pinnock with key mistakes throughout but hey, I’m still glad they gained some experience. wins and losses don’t matter to me as much at 2-7 especially with Flacco starting. I NEED to see these young guys play though.
Dunn was getting picked on ALL GAME and he was at fault on a couple of long gainers that came because of blown coverage. There’s nothing worse than seeing an opposing player wide-open downfield and then watching the replay of the defensive back trip or confusedly guarding the wrong receiver.
Quite frankly, Dunn looked lost out there in a big moment and Pinnock didn’t look much better on his seven defensive snaps (plus a crucial holding penalty). The pair received the two worst defensive grades in Week 11 according to Pro Football Focus.
As I tweeted though, for better or for worse we NEED to see these young guys play. They have to learn and we have to see if they are viable options long-term.
3. Rookie receiver Elijah Moore seems to improve every week, what do you think his ceiling is?
Boy Green:
I love pro-player comparisons, but nothing jumps out perfectly. I think he can legitimately be a WR1.
To me that isn’t Julio Jones or Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson — it’s different for everyone. In Moore’s case, he is a weapon that opponents have to specifically gameplan for and if they don’t, he’ll kill you.
Ladies and gentlemen, @e_moore03.
#MIAvsNYJ on CBS
Speed, route running, wiggle, acceleration — he is such a dynamic weapon. I think he can be a top-10 to 15 WR in this league and that is high praise when you look at all the talent at the position. He is absolutely the real deal and he is getting better and better the more he plays.
Obermuller:
I’m going to pat Paul and myself on the back for a minute because we said this back in June, but I agree with my partner that Moore is in fact the Jets’ best wide receiver. Damien Woody begged for the rookie to receive a snap promotion last week and Mike LaFleur answered the call, playing him on 80% of snaps in Week 11.
Rookie WR leaders
Total TD:
1. Ja’Marr Chase (8)
2. Elijah Moore (5)****
T3. DeVonta Smith (4)
T3. Jaylen Waddle (4)
Total YPG (min. 9 GP):
1. Ja’Marr Chase (88.2)
2. DeVonta Smith (60.4)
3. Jaylen Waddle (56.8)
4. Elijah Moore (50.3)****
Per Nania, Moore is now second in total touchdowns for rookie wide receivers with five and fourth in yards per game at 50.3 (minimum nine games played). There may not be an exact player comparison but I’ll stick to the guy I’ve been saying since day one — Antonio Brown.
The 5-foot-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR (same height) was a former number one with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his prime. ‘AB’ has always been a polished route runner with burner speed and a precision change of pace and direction. Moore has those traits too.
With Pittsburgh, Brown recorded seven 1,000-yard seasons and one 1,800-plus yard season in 2015. That’s Moore’s ceiling, and boy is it exciting to think about.
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Tackling the Future Head-On
4. What direction should the Jets go at quarterback in Week 12 if everyone is healthy?
Boy Green:
Wilson should be the starter for Week 12 and quite frankly for the rest of the season. Their decision in Week 11 was smart and correct on many different levels.
White imploding versus the Buffalo Bills, the No. 1 defense in the league was perfectly calculated. It was likely he was going to struggle which gave the Jets the perfect excuse to go to Joe Flacco if their rookie wasn’t healthy enough to go.
Now it looks like the youngster out of BYU will be ready to go for the road trip versus the Houston Texans. This season is about him, the White thing was fun while it lasted, but it’s over. Flacco held down the fort as a veteran should and now the seat is warm for the rookie.
Obermuller:
This is still a burning question within certain factions of this fanbase and I don’t understand why. It’s Wilson, it’s always been Wilson!!
I’ve publicly stood by the BYU prospect with the rare generational traits all throughout White fever and Flacco mania and even Josh Johnson’s heyday. I’ve stood by him throughout the Mac Jones arguments and biased re-drafts. I even stood by Wilson when Sam Darnold truthers stormed the gates. So you better believe I’m going to stand by him now.
Funny thing is, I was a Justin Fields guy throughout the draft process and in many ways, I still am. I think both of these rookie QBs have tremendous potential. People ask me why I’m so sold on Wilson now and it’s not because I loved him out of the draft. He’s won me over every day since the draft both on and off the field with the things he can do and the way he carries himself. To me, that’s much more important.
5. If you’re Woody Johnson and this team continues to lose, do you fire anyone after the 2021 season (coaches, coordinators, front office all on the table)?
Boy Green:
Absolutely not. They went into this knowing this would be a rebuild and they wouldn’t contend until the 2022 or 2023 season. That isn’t what Jets fans want to hear, but that is the truth.
There is always the chance that they could pop early next year, but this year was always going to be a long shot. Saleh and Douglas are tied at the hip for the foreseeable future. The only change I could possibly anticipate is defensive coordinator Ulbrich if his unit finishes ranked No. 32 and continues to look terrible.
Outside of that everyone should be back in full and that is the correct decision. Continuity is so important and getting a full offseason to perfect and get more familiar with the scheme would be excellent!
Obermuller:
Another debate amongst fans that I don’t quite understand. Boy Green couldn’t have said it better, “Saleh and Douglas are tied at the hip for the foreseeable future.”
LaFleur has definitely put the fire chants to rest and I wouldn’t can Ulbrich either. The defense has had so many injuries and while that shouldn’t be an excuse, asking Ulbrich to operate with first and second-year players — or journeyman backups — in so many crucial areas is kind of unfair. One name to watch could be Brant Boyer. The special teams have not impressed and Boyer was the only holdover from Adam Gase’s staff.
You also cannot afford to fire everyone and start from scratch, because that means a new front office will come in and gut the entire organization once again. That’s not how you build a winner. For better or for worse, we got to ride this Douglas administration out and see what it looks like in two years.
Follow @obermuller_nyj and @BoyGreen25 on Twitter for all the latest New York Jets breaking news, rumors, fresh takes and more!
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