Please help cure my offensive line paranoia...

Discussion in 'New York Jets' started by HackettSuxTNG, Apr 30, 2022.

  1. HackettSuxTNG

    HackettSuxTNG Well-Known Member

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    Among the lowlights of the 2021 New York Jets offensive Line:

    1. 4th worst in the NFL in sacks allowed with 53 - Most Sacks Allowed 2021 By Team | StatMuse
    2. 6th worst in the NFL for total rushing yards. I understand that this team doesn't have Curtis Martin anymore but the offensive line definitely plays a role in this - 2021 NFL Team Total Offense Stats | ESPN
    3. When opponents brought four or fewer pass rushers, Jets’ quarterbacks were pressured 36.1% of the time, the second-worst rate in the league. - 2021 NFL Offensive Line Rankings, by Positional Unit | Sharp Football (sharpfootballanalysis.com)
    4. 6th worst in the NFL in Team QB Sacked Percentage, and the 4th worst in the NFL over the final three games - NFL Football Stats - NFL Team QB Sacked Percentage | TeamRankings.com
    With all this in mind, how in the world can I feel confident that this offensive line is going to protect Zach Wilson well enough in 2022 for the Jets to be able to fully evaluate his talent? I understand that they signed Laken Tomlinson in the offseason, but as good as he is, he alone is not enough to correct an offensive line with the putrid stats I provided above.

    I think that is why I disliked the Gardner pick so much (BTW, I really, really hope I am wrong about him, and you all make fun of me for many, many years). They could have had their choice of any offensive lineman in the country, and they passed. Then, they did nothing to bolster the line until just one of their final picks. Its almost like this team is ignoring how big a problem this is.

    Taking into consideration all of the above, please tell me why I shouldn't worry about this line?
     
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  2. Mogriffjr

    Mogriffjr Well-Known Member

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    They must have faith in Becton in that sense. They seem to be aiming to protect Zach’s blindside with the addition of Laken and Fant now on the left side. McGovern is a solid center. Now you hope AVT/Becton can make that move over to the right side. The kid they drafted seems like a scheme fit but the step up in competition may be a question. The concerns are valid.
     
  3. Will-I-Am-Not

    Will-I-Am-Not Well-Known Member

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    Your concerns are valid. Our guard play should be excellent, Fant was good, not great, last year, our center is adequate, so ultimately it will come down to Becton's ability to get in shape and stay on the field, and avoiding injuries, because our depth is nonexistent.
     
  4. KY Jets Fan

    KY Jets Fan Moderator
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    The main reasons should be Becton and Tomlinson.

    To be fair, Becton is a bit of a question mark himself but if he can play at the level he did his rookie season or even improve then our OT’s are in good shape.

    Tomlinson replaces our weakest link in GVR, well technically AVT does because he’s sliding to RG, and that’s the name of the game on the OL. Not necessarily having 5 studs but having no weak links. Looking at the line now, the only weak link we could have is Becton but hopefully he comes back ready to rock for OTAs and dispels any concerns about him. I concede that’s a rather large “if”, no pun intended, but he was also a 1st round pick so the talent and potential is there.
     
  5. Jets79

    Jets79 Well-Known Member

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    That’s my feeling too…I have almost zero faith in Becton’s maturity, conditioning, and ability to stay on the field. I would have gone Ikey or Neal or Cross at 4 …

    not gonna say we don’t need a lock down corner, because we can use that, but I was more concerned with OT than CB

    but still not gonna fret too much about getting the top corner in the draft
     
  6. HackettSuxTNG

    HackettSuxTNG Well-Known Member

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    I get that they made a couple of moves, but it was the equivalent of beating an elephant with a fly swatter. This offensive line was really, REALLY bad last year, and as great as JD did in this draft, he all but ignored the problem.
     
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  7. ouchy

    ouchy Well-Known Member

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    You should worry about the line. We are one injury away from shaky at all 5 positions. Becton is still a question mark. GVR is still on the roster. It was neglected with our prime picks. But we did bring in a good FA guard and maybe our 4th rounder will be a steal.

    Don't get sucked in by our WRs yet. We were ranked near the bottom of league, and lost Crowder and Cole, and added Garret WIlson. Wilson is likely to become a solid #2. Will he be better than Crowder? Hard to say. But we still probably don't have a guy who scares teams.

    Do be excited about TE. We got two quality vets and one promising rookie. This will be great security for Zach.

    Do be excited about RB. We got a good prospect, better than MC. At pick 36, he is the highest running back we've drafted in 32 years (Blair Thomas).

    Do be excited about QB. Because you have no other choice.
     
  8. The Dark Knight

    The Dark Knight Well-Known Member

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    First of all, with all those stats, they include having the worst right guard in football and then having an average one when LDT joined. Tomlinson really will improve the entire O-line.

    Becton returning is also huge for the team. AVT has another year under his belt and should continue to be great. Fant is a really solid left tackle, and McGovern is a pretty good center.

    Add in all the talent the Jets have added at the skill positions, and the experience that Zach Wilson has gained, and I think all of those stats will improve without spending a 1st round pick on OL.
     
  9. Attackett

    Attackett Well-Known Member

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    The oline improved throughout the year to the point it was a very competent unit by the end of year, that was without Becton all year. Adding Becton back & adding a pro bowler to fill the biggest OL void should take this unit to another level this upcoming year.
     
  10. NYJFOREVER

    NYJFOREVER Well-Known Member

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    GVR was just that bad and a lot of the offensive line woes in the beginning of the year could be linked to Zach being indecisive and holding onto the ball for too long.
     
  11. HackettSuxTNG

    HackettSuxTNG Well-Known Member

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    Even if the two of them are at their absolute best, how much statistical improvement can you realistically expect?
     
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  12. ouchy

    ouchy Well-Known Member

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    I can see Becton coming back and starting. I can also see him on IR a lot. Our new guy will almost for sure see real action this season.
     
  13. Jets79

    Jets79 Well-Known Member

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    yes but that was with Moses and Fant. We lost Moses. So it all comes down to Becton…if he plays like he showed he can, it’s good, but if he misses a lot of time, then we are worse off than last year. My issue is that I don’t have much faith in Becton to show up.

    So I’m concerned
     
  14. KY Jets Fan

    KY Jets Fan Moderator
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    I think a decent amount. Also remember that last year was everyone’s first year in the new scheme.

    We return 3 starters and a guy who would’ve been a starter all year if he hadn’t gotten injured. Those guys should be more familiar with their assignments and playing alongside one another.

    Then throw in Tomlinson who has experience in a very similar, potentially identical, scheme and I think some good progression is very realistic.
     
  15. HackettSuxTNG

    HackettSuxTNG Well-Known Member

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    With all due respect to everyone who has responded to this thread, all I seem to be hearing is "Tomlinson and Becton". I am taking nothing away from Tomlinson, but IMHO, we needed three players of his quality to make this line remotely solid. As for Becton, even at his absolute best, I do not think he was as good as you are all making him out to be. He was a professional quality lineman, no doubt, but he wasn't exactly all pro.

    This line simply needs more help than just the two of them.
     
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  16. KY Jets Fan

    KY Jets Fan Moderator
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    I know everyone and their mother keeps coming back to them but look at the Bengals OLine last year. They were awful. A lot worse than what we have coming into the year and they went to the SB.

    Granted, they have Burrow and are much better off at their skill positions than we are but still if they can trot out the unit they did and make the playoffs, that makes me a lot more confident in ours.
     
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  17. Noam

    Noam Well-Known Member

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    A lot has changed.

    The OLs biggest problems last year were:

    1. To OL line started the year in a new system not having practiced together and it took them 4-5 games to get better.
    2. The OL suffered a lot of injuries at the end of the year and was not whole.
    3. The Jets started the year with Michael Carter and Moore coming off injuries and not ready for a big role. The first 5 games they had little impact.
    4. Carter and Moore were injured the last half of the year and we had no healthy skill players the last 3 to 4 games.
    5. It took ML some time to adapt but around week 6 he started running th Jet Sweep and that changed everything for the OL. Once the Jets were able to get to the edge with carter, Berrios and Moore suddenly the DL had to slow down and hesitate on their pass rush. This made the OL a lot better instantly.
    6. ZW did not trust his reads to start the year, lost confidence and held the ball too long.
    7. GVR started more tahn half the year, Becton missed the entire year, Fant got banged up at the end of the year as did McGovern.
    8. The team had no help from it's TEs in blocking.
    9. ZW struggled in play action to start the year. MLF adjusted the second half by having ZW run a lot of PA out of shotgun where he could face the defense. This helped a lot.
    10. we had the worst defense in the league putting pressure on the offense all day.
    11. Our receivers were awful in getting separation against man coverage and our division has great man coverage defenses.
    12. PFF said Zach played against the hardest defenses in the league of any QB last year.
    13. Our receivers dropped the highest percentage of passes of any team putting us in a lot of bad situations.

    Reasons to be excited:
    1. MLF is in his second season and we are in the second season of a new system.
    2. We will be threatening the edge all day long every game with Hall, Carter, Berrios, Moore and Wilson.
    3. Tomlinson is a huge upgrade over GVR.
    4. The OL has no weak links.
    5. ZW showed the ability to process a lot faster at the end of the year. The ability to read defenses faster and the skill to get the ball out faster.
    6. We will have 3 competent receiving and blocking TEs.
    7. We have a dual threat backfield that are both receiving threats.
    8. G. Wilson should help against man coverage.
    9. ZW should be better.
    10. Our defense should be improved. Hopefully by a lot.
     
    #17 Noam, Apr 30, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2022
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  18. Attackett

    Attackett Well-Known Member

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    Moses individually was average at best, a healthy Becton should have no problem matching his production and should exceed it.

    The key is no longer having that one extremely weak link which was the problem last year. Just look at how much better the OL was after replacing GVR with LDT who was only average at best. Now we are replacing him with a pro bowl talent.
     
  19. Stevied

    Stevied Well-Known Member

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    A-why is GVR still on the roster? Maybe km wrong?

    b-LDT is still out there right? The fact that he is means he must be low on options and thus we can get him baxk?
     
  20. LogeSection2RowJ

    LogeSection2RowJ Well-Known Member

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    Nicely done. Several of your examples should be in bold. Specifically the ones pointing to TE blacking and ZW's experience which really does effect the stats.
     

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