A lot has to go right for the New York Jets to be Super Bowl contenders. On paper, Gang Green arguably has one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, but a lot is resting on that. The Jets need the oft-injured Tyron Smith to stay healthy while each of their best five players (Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, and CJ Mosley) stay healthy.
The margin for error is relatively thin for a team that lacks depth at premium positions, and that’s without mentioning the 40-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles injury. The Jets don’t need Rodgers to play at an MVP level, but they certainly need him to be above replacement level. Being better than the worst quarterback in the league for the past three seasons won’t cut it.
Suffice to say that despite some rust, Rodgers still has it. His mobility may be shot, but his arm is still as advertised. Whether he still has what it takes to play the rigors of a 17-game schedule (and then some) remains to be seen.
According to WFAN’s Tiki Barber, the evaluation is that simple. The afternoon drive-time co-host and Fox Sports analyst accused the team’s fanbase of being “very lazy” when evaluating their team. This is also the same Barber who had his former team—the New York Giants—pegged as a 10-game winner in 2023, but we’ll let him get his point across here.
“They kept saying, ‘We have great talent; so much talent. Blah, blah, blah. So much talent.’ First of all, Tyron Smith is 37 years old, whatever he is,” began Barber.
Smith needs to stay healthy; there’s no doubt about that. But he’s 33 years old, and when he is healthy, he looks like he still has it.
“Their wide receiver room is Garrett Wilson, that’s it,” Barber continued. “I’m not saying, and I’m saying it’s Garrett Wilson right now. (Mike Williams) is not going to be a star for this team, I’m just telling you. If you’re talking about how much talent this team has — and that’s all Jets fans wanted to talk about — you better be a star. I’m not saying like a superstar, but you better be a star. Mike Williams is not going to be a superstar this year. Xavier Gipson is not going to be a superstar this year. Allen Lazard is not going to be a superstar this year. It is Garrett Wilson.
“Your running back room is Breece Hall; he could be a superstar. Your offensive line is an old Tyron Smith; I don’t know what John Simpson looks like. (Alijah Vera-Tucker) looked terrible yesterday; terrible. On that third-and-1 that you’re talking about, beat immediately across his face. So that the fullback, tight end, or whoever it was now has to block his guy, the scraping linebacker hits Breece Hall in the backfield. He was bad. He was bad in pass protection, gave up four or so pressures yesterday.”
According to Pro Football, Vera-Tucker, who is coming off an Achilles injury of his own, graded out at 67.5. An average grade for PFF is considered 60, so they ranked him above average. Clearly, he didn’t play at an All-Pro level as he shakes off some rust, but to say he looked terrible just isn’t based on fact.
Vera-Tucker was credited with allowing a sack, but New York’s offensive line as a whole ranked second in pass protection in Week 1, according to The 33rd Team. The rankings weigh rank in pressure, in addition to sack rates. You can see that Gang Green held up pretty well.
“And Morgan Moses, I can’t really evaluate him,” said Barber. “So where is this stud, best offense in football? It’s just not there. You have a great quarterback — and we saw it for a drive — but that’s not making it one of the best rosters in football. And then you look at the defensive side of the football, Jermaine Johnson hasn’t proven it yet. (Javon) Kinlaw was terrible. Quinnen Williams he’s obviously a stud, but what can you do when you’re just one guy in the middle? (Micheal) Clemons, he looked back. Quincy Williams, I really like. CJ Mosley, he got banged up. Sauce Gardner, he got hurt, and the rest of your secondary was sketchy.”
Barber’s co-host Evan Roberts said the ex-Giants running back ripped apart the Jets like they were a five-win team. They previously won 7 games each of the last season despite having the worst quarterback play in the entire NFL. That’s not to say that they’ll magically be better because they have a 40-year-old Rodgers, but they also aren’t as bad as Barber is making them out to be after Week 1 — word to Kyle Brandt .
“I’m just telling you these people that are lazy wanted to tell you that this roster looks great,” continued Barber. “Maybe because you know every name, it sounds great, but you gotta prove it. You gotta do it consistently to be called a ‘great, top of the world roster.'”
[ WFAN ]
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