We have been pretty positive about this teams upgraded talent throughout but its time to measure up against another team. Chris Nimbley of Jetsinsider.com, while on the Playlikeajet podcast measured correctly last year that during joint practices with the Eagles they were thoroughly outclassed. He was right, what about this year? In these joint practices, against this Falcons team, the difference in talent especially on offense was staggering. Elijah Moore, Corey Davis and Garrett Wilson all shined brightly. Even the offensive line was stellar. Moore”s plays were like highlight reels, Wilsons body control is a super power and Corey Davis looks like the guy we all thought we were getting when he was snagged away from from the Titans. Breece Hall had a couple incredible runs showing off his shiftiness and speed.
On defense Carl Lawson and Jermaine Johnson made plays rushing the passer while in coverage Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed had great coverage against the the tight end cheat code Kyle Pitts. One constant stand out in the back up lineup has been Will Parks. His steadiness has been rewarded with more snaps by the coaches. Chris Streveler has outperformed his position on the roster in the last few practices after his preseason game winning drive. He is a lot of fun to watch but most likely won’t make the roster. Acknowledging how much better this team looks is one thing but context is needed here, This Falcon team is a bottom-tier organization right now so all the Jets did was prove that they’re better than a bad team.
In the actual game the second string players had a horrible showing. Mike White was underwhelming but wasn’t helped by the skill position players unable to get open and a back up offensive line who struggled in both the run and pass game. Bryce Hall was the fall guy in coverage displaying poor technique and the Falcons welcomed the opportunity to pick at him numerous times. These plays though a small sample size might justify why the Jets signed Dj Reed and drafted Gardner instead of keeping Hall as a starter. Lamarcus Joyner also had a pretty bad play where he just lost focus. Might be rust since Joyner has been injured and is working his way back. Chris Streveler brought more of his magic into this pre-season game bringing the Jets back in the fourth quarter. Bradley Anae who had been very disciplined on a lot of the misdirection play calls by the Falcons finally struck gold when Felipe Franks on what looked like a boot keep got tripped up by Anae, fumbled the ball, Anae scooped the ball up and brought it back for a touchdown. A better second half screams what Robert Daleh has preached all offseason, be strong enough that even when you feel like you dinner have anything left you have sixty percent in the tank. That’s what creates a 24 point unanswered half that led to a Jets win in the end.
