PW4: Studs, Duds & Notes

This is it, for some players it was the last time they either played a snap in the league or at least a snap as a Jet. Later today we'll have the final cuts and our 53 man roster for the regular season. This preseason felt better than the last few years, we have a lot more depth and just scheme wise we were on a better flow than in the past. It started out rough but the team made good progress over the next ~3 weeks and fixed some of the issues. With our banged up guys ready to rock in week 1 I feel pretty good about this year. But let's get to the Eagles game. Both QB's looked okay IMO, not great or bad. Flynn had a couple throws that were just...awful but for the most part he looked like a capable backup QB especially considering this was his first game since I don't know when. The INT was terrible and he also missed Enunwa a couple of times and almost got him injured. Enunwa had a beautiful one handed grab because the ball was thrown behind him although I'm not sure if that was Flynn or Josh Johnson. Johnson looked decent against ~4th stringers, very quick, strong arm, but I don't see him beating out Flynn who is a lot more experienced and better suited for a backup job.


STUDS

CB Darrin Walls
The last time a corner had 2 picks in one preseason game for us was almost 40 years ago, so this was pretty special. He showed good coverage last night, was always in good position to make a play and when the ball came his way he showed good ball skills and made some plays. I think he probably pushed McDougle off the roster with his performance. He can also play safety and he's a good special teamer with starting experience so I have him making the team. Good backup corner.

WR's Chris Owusu & Walt Powell
I think he might be a better option than Kerley at this point. I really like him and I think he'd put up great numbers in NE, DEN or SEA but here I don't see it. Kerley seems lost in this offense, he doesn't seem happy, I don't think he's a fit here anymore unless they really get him involved and have big plans for him which I doubt. Owusu, when healthy, looks like he could be a better version of Kerley in this offense. He's got great speed, he runs good routes, has good hands, the only question with him is whether he can stay healthy and that's a big one because the concussions can't be fixed through surgery, he'll always have this issue unfortunately. Against the Eagles however he looked good as always when he steps on the field. If he can stay healthy he's one of my breakout guys this year. Between him, Enunwa and Devin Smith, maybe Kerley and Powell as well, we have a bunch of capable backups with plenty of upside. The days of starting guys like Greg Salas or Stephen Hill are long gone thank God. Powell in Camp I thought was already gone, there's no way he'd make the team. But right now I think he locked up a roster spot for himself with a couple of good preseason performances. He's Justin Miller like on Kick Returns (almost broke another long one, got called back), he can punt return and he's OK as a receiver, not bad, but he can stretch the field. And with Devin Smith & Owusu being banged up I'd like for him to stick around to spell those guys or just keep defenses on their toes and not stack the box.

OLB's Trevor Reilly & Deion Barnes
Reilly gets better every time he steps on the field. Very disruptive, makes plays behind the line, decent edge rusher. He probably doesn't have All Pro potential, he's more of a blue collar guy who just gets the job done and every team needs those hard working guys who don't care for being in the spotlight. I think he's a lock to make the team, even if Bowles decides to go with Babin as well who I wouldn't mind cutting to be honest. Deion Barnes had a nice sack, he's got some potential. I think Reilly could take over Babin's spot and Deion Barnes could be our new Reilly, I'd like that actually. But Bowles will probably go with the vet (Babin) and stash Barnes on the practice squad, if he makes it through waivers.

LG Oday Aboushi
Capped off a strong preseason with a dominant performance last night. I think he could have handled those Eagles defenders with one arm, that's how effortless it was for him. He doesn't belong out there with the backups, he's a starter. I mentioned this yesterday but I think the only reason he's not starting for us is because of the suspension. Bowles wasn't going to have him win the starting job when he wasn't even going to be around on week 1 to start for us. It's his own stupidity and he'll learn from it but maybe halfway through the year if Colon struggles or gets injured, or at the latest next year he will be our starter again. Dozier by the way also looked decent late in the game when he took over for Aboushi. Wes Johnson was decent at Center. Not sure where Ijalana stands right now, I'm not sure he even played a snap. Either he's a lock or he's as good as gone.

ILB's Joe Mays & Jamari Lattimore
Unfortunately for Erin Henderson he got hurt and he really wasn't able to compete for a roster spot even though he had a good shot. With him out Mays & Lattimore really stepped their game up and they complement each other perfectly well, and they're identical to Harris & Davis. I think it's a perfect duo to back those two up. They can also blitz pretty well. Two really nice finds by Bowles & Macc. I thought Mays was just a camp body when we signed him, I didn't even think he had just a tiny shot to beat out Henderson, but he really impressed me. Great run stuffer, great tackler, he can also blitz, he's great on special teams, he still has some gas left in the tank and he doesn't make much money. Henderson I think is close to being done, too injury prone and probably not a special teamer at this point anymore. Lattimore is a rangy guy and good in coverage. So those two I hope they make the team, would be a shame if they didn't. I'm rooting for them.

DUDS

RT Brent Qvale
It wasn't really a bad performance overall, but he looked outmatched at times. Especially the one time where he looked like he was skating on ice for the first time, he got beat pretty bad for a sack by some nobody. I still think he makes the team if we don't bring in a quality backup tackle via FA, I'm sure there will be some that should be available. We really have zero depth at tackle.

CB Dexter McDougle
Again, he wasn't terrible, he wasn't really a dud, but he didn't look good out there. And to be honest he hasn't the entire preseason. There's a good chance he will be cut today, unless Bowles values potential over skill. I don't think he should make the team over Walls, and Walls is really the bottom guy at cornerback, the guy fighting for the last spot IMO. Revis, Cro, Skrine & Marcus Williams are locks, Dee is a wildcard (PUP or not?), and then you have Walls...and Dex. No way we carry 8 corners around, 7 is probably even one too many. If Dee gets placed on PUP, if Marcus Williams doesn't make it for whatever reason (in which case I'd go ballistic), Dex could make it, but I don't see that happening. Great kid, hard worker, good locker room guy, very talented and has a bunch of upside and deserves more attention, time & coaching, but at this point he's not good enough to make the team. Perfect guy for the practice squad, if he works his butt off there for a year he could play himself in the starting corner conversation next year or in two years if/when Cro gets cut. But again, Rex will probably steal him off waivers, I don't think he'd make it to our practice squad. So what do you do with him? I have no clue.

DE's Stephen Bowen & Ronald Talley
I don't see anything in those two guys. Talley at times shows a little bit of something, but Douzable is twice the player he is. And probably 4 times the player Bowen is. They had a shot to make some plays against the Eagles and they didn't do a thing. Both of them have got to go. They aren't even stout against the run, which is really the least they could do in the 3-4. Give me Douzable all day, heck even the young guy (Jordan Williams), at least he's got potential.

WR Shaq Evans
He could have made the team with a good performance but he looked sluggish out there. His route running was really bad at times, especially at the beginning there was one throw over the left side where he couldn't get open on a deep ball, the nobody that covered him just took him out on that play and Flynn looked a little upset afterwards. Evans is not a speedster to begin with but if he can't run routes well or if he gets jammed at the LOS he really adds nothing to the team. That's the one thing he should be good at. Shouldn't make the team, shouldn't even be on the practice squad IMO but Bowles probably likes him enough to sign him to the practice squad. He showed no effort really. Maybe it just came off that way but if this is his last shot to make the team and have a job here and he doesn't give 110% and doesn't play like his hair is on fire on every snap then there's no need to bother with him anymore. We have better receivers.

Continued...

 

ROSTER BATTLE

QB Matt Flynn vs. Josh Johnson
Like I mentioned earlier, I think Flynn beat him out. He's almost a Fitz clone so you don't even have to adjust your gameplan or the offense if Fitz goes down. Winner: Flynn.

RB Zach Stacy vs. Daryl Richardson
Richardson just won't quit. And Stacy when you think is having a bad game makes a bigplay out of nowhere. This is an interesting battle and it could really go either way. Right now I'd say Stacy makes it because he's more reliable, he's a better fit as a thumper to spell Ivory/Powell late in the game and punish defenders. Richardson is nifty and way more explosive, but I don't see how his game would translate to our offense behind Ivory and Powell. He'd have to be Powell's backup on 3rd downs. I rather have Stacy for insurance but we'll see how this shakes out. Winner: Stacy.

FB Tommy Bohanon vs. FB Julian Howsare
I tried to keep an eye on Howsare and he didn't look that bad. He looked pretty good and physical actually especially for a guy who was moved from OLB to FB a couple weeks ago. Bohanon has no upside, he's just not a good blocker. Howsare at least has some upside, he can get better, he can play multiple spots. He reminds me of that Chiefs linebacker like 10 years ago (Boomer Grigsby) who was also moved to fullback and fought for that spot on Hard Knocks, it was pretty fun. Does either do enough to earn a roster spot for us? I doubt it but Howsare would be a decent practice squad candidate. Winner: Neither.

TE Kellen Davis vs. Wes Saxton
Does it really come down to these two guys? At backup TE? I hope we find at least one more decent veteran TE to start for us (yes, start, not backup Cumberland). Kellen Davis looked OK as a blocker when he wasn't matched up with linemen, but that was against scrubs. And he doesn't add anything to the passing game. He's not NFL material. Wes Saxton is an intriguing guy as a receiver. He's still extremely raw but he made enough plays to at least get a shot on the practice squad. In a year or two he could be what Cumberland was supposed to be for us. Winner: Neither.

S Rontez Miles vs. Durrell Eskridge
We'll probably carry 4 safeties around. We could probably even go with 3 considering our depth at corner and the ability of a couple of those to play both positions in a pinch. But 4 would be my guess. Behind Pryor & Gilly JJ is the 3rd and primary backup. That leaves us with Miles and Eskridge. Both guys have looked decent but Miles is further along and more NFL ready. He's very physical and fits this defense a little bit better as a box safety. JJ is more of a centerfielder, so if he's Gilly's primary backup Miles would be perfect to back up Pryor. Eskridge could stick around on the practice squad. Winner: Miles.

The Rest of the battles I think I covered a little earlier if you scroll up. These are just the ones I hadn't mentioned yet. Can't wait to hear the official cuts later today, and who the new guys are we might bring in. This is another thing we haven't really considered yet. We're not just going to go down to 53. We'll probably cut 2-3 more guys if there are capable guys on the waiver wire, and there will be. So I think there will be a couple of "big names" that might not make this team. Maybe a trade. The PUP thing will also be interesting with Geno & Dee. But that's all from me for now. I probably forgot to mention a couple players again.

 

He's looked great throughout camp and preseason. Last night he was sort of invisible, not because he struggled but because he wasn't really challenged. His versatility and his overall skillset makes him pretty unique in our backfield and he still has a lot of room to grow. He's got almost zero experience, he played like a handful of games so far. And he really has no holes in his game, he's a complete corner. He just has to keep getting better. I think he could be a Sean Smith type guy down the road if he hits his ceiling.

 

The Dirty Dozen?

 

Yeah. Rex then picked him up and developed him on our practice squad for a year before calling him up to the 53 man squad with all the CB issues we had. And he made the most of it. Nice story of somebody working his up and really starting at the bottom.