It might be time for the New York Jets to call an audible at the line of scrimmage.
At least that was the opinion of NFL analyst Will Parkinson who joined me on my podcast on Monday, December 12.
He was asked whether or not the team should consider demoting running back Michael Carter after his recent struggles versus the Buffalo Bills:
“Yeah, he hasn’t looked great. I think Zonovan Knight is RB1 and then Michael Carter and Ty Johnson can split reps or whatever you want to do for third downs and things of that nature. Zonovan has to be the lead feature back. He has been the best back since Breece Hall went down and they can have a damn good backfield that can go against anyone next year. I would agree with you though Knight should be more than the workhorse of this backfield and [the other guys] can split the remaining reps.”
Michael Carter Has Been Underwhelming for Jets
Carter missed the Week 13 matchup versus the Minnesota Vikings due to an ankle sprain. The former North Carolina product made his return to the lineup in Week 14 and delivered some putrid results.
Carter toted the rock five times for five yards which is a not-so-healthy one-yard-per-carry average. To make matters worse on one of his runs late in the fourth quarter he fumbled.
While that mistake didn’t cost the Jets points, it did cost the team valuable time.
The Bills took over with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. Buffalo took an additional 2:21 off of the clock in three plays before punting it back.
By the time Gang Green got the ball back, there was only 3:13 remaining on the clock down 20-9.
Jets Must Evaluate Other RB Options Moving Forward
Carter didn’t look right.
On my podcast, Parkinson openly speculated whether it could be due to offensive line struggles. Maybe a lingering injury?
Whatever it is, Carter wasn’t good enough against the Bills.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic told me on a separate podcast that he doesn’t think it’s fair to judge MC1 based on that poor Buffalo performance:
“I think it’s a little unfair to Michael to put everything on this past game. I do think he can be a solid backup running back. He obviously didn’t have a good game and he was trying to do too much on that fumble in part because he was struggling.
It is pretty clear to me from the way Bam is running the ball at the end of games that you have to keep feeding him. I didn’t really agree with the decision to pull out Knight for Carter. MC1 doesn’t fumble a lot so you hope he can bounce back from that. I think you trust him more than a guy like Ty Johnson and James Robinson.”
The only other running backs on the roster that the Jets can turn to are Johnson and Robinson. Ty has been incredibly inconsistent and Robinson hasn’t looked right when he has been out there.
Gang Green needs to figure it out soon though because a strong running game is going to be paramount down this stretch run for the Jets offense.
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Analyst Calls on Jets to Demote Talented Playmaker Amid Struggles