I know TGG has diverse opinions about the importance of pre-season, they range from "I don't give a rat ass, means nothing to the season, to it will tells us plenty about the team's performance come September " Hell may be the answer is somewhere in the middle, who knows, but those of us hungry for Jet football might see plenty of value as it regards the down selection towards the final 53 man roster and in particular hopping to see those young players on the fringe we have gotten to root for perform well and make the final cut. I think Cincinnati will be a good test for us. If nothing else might help flesh out some areas of strength and weaknesses. IMHO it might shed some light on at least three things: 1- How adequate is our secondary versus their great WRs (Milliner non withstanding) 2- How improved is our WR core against their talented, young and deep secondary 3- Will it narrow the selection of key fringe players on our roster while keeping a keen eye on CB possibilities from Cinci. With our draft heavy class this year, new faces added and returning players on the bubble, some key decisions will be leveraged on the strength of pre-season performance. As such to me this game and the next has plenty of value. With the CB situation still in flux, our receiving core riddled with question marks past Decker and Kerley, a surplus of key talent up front defensively, and some talented youngsters at LB and safety fighting for at least special team action makes for an interesting preseason. Who do we keep, trade or pick up? As I see it, here are some Jet fringe players that merit some watching against Cincinnati : Chris Pantale Quincy Enunwa IK Emankapali Trevor Reilly Rontez Miles Tevita Finau Josh Bush Greg Salas Jacoby Ford In addition, can't wait to see how AA fairs in his temporary role, Amaro's development and Pryor first real performance. I'm beginning to like pre-season more and more. How do you guys feel about it?
On Offense, the pre-game just said that Ivory, Cumberland, Decker, and Saunders are all out. Maybe we'll see someone step up and get one step closer to earning a spot unexpectedly.
I know there are a few guys I'll be watching in particular tonight On the OFFENSIVE side of the ball... S. Evans Q. Enunwa G. Salas O. Aboushi D. Dozier J. Amaro And on the DEFENSIVE side... AJ Edds TJ Barnes Q. Coples D. Walls R. Dowling R. Miles C. Pryor Most of these guys (other than Amaro, Pryor, and Coples) are slated to be backups and/or fighting for a spot on the team. Would love to see the young guys show sings that they deserve larger roles and playing time in general. Been hearing Enunwa's name a little bit more from the beat writers lately, could see Idzik keeping him on as a 6th received - especially if he can play a role on ST... I thought I remembered hearing Evans was a possible IR candidate, but haven't heard anything since then Obviously, the biggest concern - and what most of us will be watching tonight - will be how the secondary holds up. Seeing Allen at CB should be interesting, but I'll really be watching Walls and Ras-I Dowling to see if either of them can force their way into the rotation and be a competent 2nd CB across from Milliner once he comes back. Pretty sure Lankster is starting tonight, so I'll be keeping an eye on him too.
Last seasons Bengal game was the story of our season. Our secondary was torn apart as the Bengals passed at will, our OL was dominated especially in the interior, our special teams gave up a big play and our QB started turning the ball over once we got far behind. It will be interesting to see if our OL has improved. Last year we got killed by teams with dominant DL's like the Bengals. Hopefully we will see a better performance.
Aboushi is starting at LG, Nelson and Hill are starting at WRs. I hope we can see Salas out there too - someone has to step up at WR with Decker out. Also with Cumberland out, time for Sudfeld and Amaro to bring it! Let's go JETS.
I remember the 2010 pre-season and right after getting Cro to go with Revis and how many were convinced we suddenly had an ironclad 'Star Wars-type' defense against any opposing team's aerial game. You can have Lem Barney and Deion Sanders paired together for all I care, but the fact remains: on offense, the name of the game is "protect your quarterback" and on defense it is "kill the quarterback," period. "49-9 bitches!!" See this red-headed stepchild? I want to see if our 'beastly', run-stuffing front-7 are going to generate any sort of consistent pass rush without Rex having to sell out with his blitz packages. I say blitz packages because of that regular season stretch of QBs we'll be facing, many of whom would lick their 'experienced' chops at the prospect of countering a blitz (with the vacated 'hot reads' they create). Get to Dalton before his receivers (esp. A.C. Green) get a chance to run deep or double-move patterns (also picking up Gio coming out of the backfield as well). Big test on both sides of the ball as Cincy's more talented overall, but myself, I'm going to focus in particular on the rush to see by extention if we're going to be able to handle hi-powered offensive talent (and also to see if Antonio Allen at CB is just a silly pipe dream).
Greg Salas Trevor Reilly IK Enemkpali AJ Edds Rontez Miles Those guys really showed up. Salas should definitely stick around....IK has certainly put it out there on the field. AJ Edds is EVERYWHERE making plays...he could be REALLY nice depth. Reilly has been an impact special teams player (But I don't think he makes the roster) Rontez showed up a little (I also don't think he makes the roster though)
