Getty New York Jets linebacker CJ Mosley playing against the Atlanta Falcons in London.
Everyone has opinions in 2021. With the advancement of social media, every single person has a platform to spew any take that crosses their mind.
Obviously, there are a lot of pros and cons to that and most recently the New York Jets fell victim.
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Hot Take for the Ages
On Monday, October 18, Chris Roling of Bleacher Report listed the top six moves that struggling NFL teams need to make.
The Jets were prominently featured as a squad that should bench one of their key defensive cogs in linebacker CJ Mosley.
Roling called him a “sour point” and criticized him for his “brutal 35.7 PFF grade” and his perceived weakness in pass coverage (23 catches on 27 targets).
The analyst added that benching Mosley wouldn’t “save” the Jets’ season at 1-4, but he’s a player that offenses apparently circle on their sheet heading into the matchup to take advantage of according to the breakdown.
Analytics have their place in football, it can often be a valuable resource to take a next-level look at the game. With that being said, that isn’t the only tool at our disposal to evaluate whether a player is playing poorly or great.
There’s another thing called the eye test.
@szantz Tell me you haven’t watched the Jets without saying you haven’t watched the Jets…
This hot take had a lot of Jets fans saying, tell me you haven’t watched a Jets game without saying you haven’t watched a Jets game.
CJ Mosley Has Done the Impossible
Not only should Mosley avoid the bench, but quite frankly he may be deserving of the team MVP award through six weeks of the 2021 campaign.
Two years ago the 29-year-old reset the linebacker market in free agency with an $85 million contract. He would then get injured in the season opener and barely played the rest of the year. Fast forward a year later and Mosley chose to opt-out of the 2020 season.
Heading into this year it was hard to know what expectations should be for a talented albeit aging player.
When Jets head coach Robert Saleh was hired he was admittedly unsure how Mosley (predominantly a 3-4 linebacker) would fit into his 4-3 scheme. Despite those questions, the former Alabama star rededicated himself to the sport and changed his body to fit the defense.
A slimmed-down Mosley showed up to training camp at a svelte 231 pounds, the lowest weight he has been since college.
After gaining the coaching staff’s trust he proved why he was so highly thought of by learning the defense and becoming a captain. Now each week he is responsible for making sure everyone is lined up properly and even showed coach Saleh “why he is an All-Pro”:
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said he’s ‘infatuated’ w/ LB CJ Mosley (@TreyDeuce32RTR) & told a great story from #Titans game saying CJ changed a playcall & they were screaming what are you doing?! He ends up getting a sack & Saleh says, ‘well that’s why he’s an All Pro’ 🤣 #TakeFlight
To the outside observer, Mosley may not pass the sniff test, but to any Jets fan or regular viewer of these contests, he’s been an integral key to the surprising success of this defense in 2021.
If you would’ve asked any Jets fan prior to the season what they were expecting out of Mosley this year, you likely would’ve heard, “maybe 50 percent of what he was in Baltimore.”
Realistically through the first six weeks of the season, the Jets have gotten closer to 85 percent and that’s unbelievable.
Mosley currently leads the team in tackles (45) and the Jets are set to hit the road in Week 7 when they play the New England Patriots.
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Analyst Says Jets ‘Need’ to Bench Their Defensive Captain