Those who can completely separate themselves from reality, any semblance of awareness, and the nature of physics, could have convinced themselves that the 1985 Chicago Bears and 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers met on the Florham Park, NJ, practice field Tuesday morning.
The scenario featured Mike Singletary’s Bears obliterating one of the worst offenses in NFL history. Pay no mind to the fact that Buddy Ryan was nowhere to be found; the level of domination reached epic levels.
Fortunately, for head coach Aaron Glenn, that’s great news for his New York Jets defense.
Unfortunately, for the same man, his offense is forced to go back to the drawing board.
A defensive day in Northern NJ
From the jump, all three defensive units dominated each offensive unit. In a stark contrast to Monday’s performance, the Jets’ offensive line could not get anything going.
Linebacker Quincy Williams made an outstanding lower-half tackle early in team sessions, and Quinnen Williams picked up a TFL by plugging one of the gaps at the point of attack.
Interestingly, the rush concepts presented on Monday (and even Saturday) were impressive. The offensive line moved players and created serious room for the backs.
None of that happened on Tuesday morning. Worse yet, Justin Fields had perhaps his worst day this summer.
One of his first throws targeted Garrett Wilson on a three-step concept near the sideline. It was tough to see how much separation he created—as Brandon Stephens remained attached to his hip—but the ball wound up incomplete (along with a tough defensive pass interference call)
The first rotation also featured a Fields vertical attempt that was overshot (perhaps intentionally, due to the tight coverage by single-high safety Andre Cisco). The capper was a Mason Taylor drop.
Though Fields was forced to flush to his right and throw on the run, he delivered it a tick late and behind Taylor. Either way, it’s a play the rookie tight end would want to have back.
Subsequent first-team rotations didn’t go any more swimmingly. Rookie Arian Smith dropped a quick one, on an in-breaker, which interestingly showcased one of the few solid throws in practice.
Fields connected with Josh Reynolds for a nice 25+ yard chunk, but the play would have ended with a sack or throwaway. (Thanks to the nature of practice, Fields was afforded the right to extend the play—despite the reality of the pocket situation.)
The defense’s ceiling
How exactly does a defense that seemingly did not improve in the offseason actually outproduce last year’s iteration? The answer is simple …
Coaching.
Despite the current “Jets’ previous coaching staff stunk” narrative running rampant, and Glenn somewhat alluding and/or attempting to stomp out that momentum in his Tuesday presser, the “coaching” piece to this puzzle is as legitimate as it gets.
- How much higher is Sauce Gardner’s ceiling in a rush-heavy defense?
- How many more quarterback pressures can Quinnen Williams compile when working within more 1v1 situations?
- How much heavier can MIKE Jamien Sherwood play when coached to fill and spill in appropriate situations?
- How well can Will McDonald play in base scenarios if coached the right way to do so?
It’s critical to analyze how each player’s potential changes based on this specific scheme and coaching staff, and that thought hit home on Tuesday morning.
Don’t call it a comeback
The most positive offensive sign of the day happened to cap practice.
Two-minute drills began with Fields’s worst throw of the day. With about 45 seconds on the clock and at the opponent’s 40-ish yard line, Fields appropriately targeted Garrett Wilson, who was floating to the sideline on a quick flat.
Fields’s throw wound up in Parsippany.
The key item to hug tightly is what followed …
After his despondent body signals made everybody aware of his self-criticism of the misfire, Fields hit Allen Lazard on a beauty that resulted in 20+ yards. The ball was intentionally thrown to Lazard’s backside on a dig route to avoid a hospital ball situation.
Fields then found rookie Mason Taylor on a corner-ish route, resulting in a late-game-scenario touchdown to cap practice. It appeared like he took advantage of a soft spot in a particular zone coverage (led away from one of the two deep-half safeties).
So, despite the brutal struggles throughout team sessions, Fields and the offense showed up when it counted most.
News and notes
Sophomore running back Braelon Allen was held out of practice. Glenn provided the media with the information following practice and alluded to the idea that the injury isn’t serious. They simply wanted to give the Wisconsin product an extra day (to go with Wednesday’s offday).
Glenn confirmed the Nick Folk signing, which has nostalgic Jets fans on high alert.
The tackling wheel made its first appearance this summer:
Elsewhere, rookie safety Malachi Moore walked off the practice field with a man who will surely chat him up all season (veteran Andre Cisco):
After an off day, the New York Jets return to it on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
