Getty Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts warming up ahead of an NFL game.
The New York Jets may have won the war but they lost the battle in the preseason matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons.
During the second week of the preseason on Monday Night Football, the Falcons quickly opened up a 16-0 lead over Gang Green.
On the second play of the first drive of the game, Atlanta quarterback Marcus Mariota ripped a pass to tight end Kyle Pitts for a 52-yard catch and run.
Kyle Pitts is ridiculous.
That ended up being the only catch of the night for the former first-rounder as he had a light day at the office. Although he made a lot of noise on the sideline during the game.
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Yikes
Laura Rutledge served as the sideline reporter during the game for ESPN. Sporadically throughout the contest, she would interview a variety of stars from both the Jets and the Falcons roster.
At one point she found Pitts on the sideline and he decided to go off on Jets cornerback Bryce Hall:
“I just seen the coverage and I seen him scared peddling. I just tried to take off and give him a 1-2 move.”
When Rutledge then asked him what is “scared peddling” he responded, “he didn’t open his hips yet and I said okay I got him.”
Yikes 😳 : #Falcons TE Kyle Pitts (@kylepitts__) called out #Jets CB Bryce Hall (@BryceHall11) after catching a 52-yard pass on him during #ATLvsNYJ game in an interview w/ @LauraRutledge, ‘I seen him scared peddling & I knew I got him’: 🎥 @ESPNNFL #TakeFlight #DirtyBirds
The former Virginia corner got roasted by Pitts in the game and he wasn’t the only player that gave the Jets corner the business.
Gang Green decided to rest the “majority” of their veterans in this contest. According to Connor Hughes of SNY, the Jets ended up sitting “17 of their 22” starters in the game.
So it was very interesting that Hall ended up playing in the game which Rich Cimini of ESPN noted: “tells you his standing on the team.”
That Bryce Hall still is in this game tells you his standing on the team. He’s not battling for a starting job; he’s CB4. #Jets
Insult to Injury
Throughout the game, Hall was picked on by the Falcons.
According to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted four times and ended up allowing four completions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
David Wyatt-Hupton of The Jets Way newsletter said those statistics were based on 17 coverage snaps. The numbers only get uglier the deeper you dive in: allowed 22.5 yards per reception and a perfect quarterback rating against him (158.3).
According to PFF, Bryce Hall was targeted 4 times and he allowed 4 completions for 90 yards and a touchdown, that’s based on just 17 coverage snaps. That’s 22.5 yards per reception and a 158.3 passer rating allowed. Really tough night for Bryce.
After the game head coach Robert Saleh tried to defend him by saying all of his issues are a “simple fix” and doesn’t want this one bad performance to define what has been an excellent camp for the youngster.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh called CB Bryce Hall’s issues tonight in coverage vs #Falcons ‘a simple fix’ + ‘it’s just vision’ + Saleh says he’s been having a ‘good camp’ so you just don’t want this bad performance to ‘define what he has accomplished’: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight #ATLvsNYJ
Saleh also revealed that he plans on announcing who his starting cornerback will be opposite of DJ Reed Jr on the outside this week.
The battle has been between Hall and rookie corner Ahmad Gardner. By all accounts, this seems to be the worst kept secret on 1 Jets Drive as Sauce is expected to claim that gig ahead of the 2022 season.
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