New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019nypost.com44
SEASONS OF CHANGE: Adam
Gase has seen some positives with
his team, like the development of
second-year quarterback Sam
Darnold, but will have to work on a
few things once the season starts,
like getting his new-look offensive
line including Ryan Kalil on the same
page. Getty Images; Bill Kostroun (2)T
HE Jets have less than two weeks to go before
opening the season against the Bills at
MetLife Stadium on Sept. 8.
This week a portion of the team shifts into regu-
lar-season mode preparing for that game with
Buffalo while the other part
prepares for the final pre-
season game on Thursday
against the Eagles. Many of the
players in that game will be
fighting for jobs. The Jets must
cut their roster from 90 to 53
by Saturday afternoon. Then,
they can claim players cut
from other teams. Expect plenty of roster move-
ment this week.
With training camp over and the regular season
fast approaching, let’s take a look at what we
learned over the last month after watching prac-
tices and three preseason games:3 REASONS TO HOPE
1
Sam Darnold has looked great for most of
camp. The second-year quarterback has shown
a command of new coach Adam Gase’s offense, a
confidence that was not there early last season
and greater velocity on his throws. If you are a Jets
fan, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about
Darnold’s future. It appears the team has finally
landed a franchise quarterback.
Darnold’s development will be the major sto-
ryline of the 2019 season. It is the reason the Jets
chose Gase to replace Todd Bowles. Jets CEO
Christopher Johnson believes Gase is the right
coach to bring out the best of Darnold. We’ll soon
know if he is correct, but the early returns have
been promising.2
There were three new pieces on offense that
showed a lot of promise during camp. Le’Veon
Bell has not played a preseason snap, but has
looked strong in practice and has shown no signs
of rust. Whether he can mesh with
the offensive line is a question for
another day.
Bell was not the only playmaker
who gave the Jets reason to be-
lieve this summer. Ty Montgom-
ery had a strong training camp
and will be a big part of this
offense. The Jets can
cause havoc for line-
backers with Mont-
gomery and Bell
on the field at the
same time.
Jamison
Crowder is the
third new-comer who will help Darnold this season. The slot
receiver always seems to be open and shows great
acceleration after the catch. The Jets offense will
be much better than last year with these three in
it.3
There has been a lot of hand
wringing about the Jets’
lack of an edge rusher, but the
pass rush has looked pretty
strong this preseason. Leonard
Williams, Quinnen Williams
and Henry Anderson will give
opposing offensive lines trou-
ble. On the outside, Jordan Jen-
kins had a very good training camp.3 REASONS TO MOPE
1
The cornerback situation is scary and could
cost them games. The three starters — Tru-
maine Johnson, Darryl Roberts and Brian
Poole — are guys you can live with, but if
they lose one of them, they are in trouble.
They have no depth at the position. There
are guys on their roster right now who are
not NFL players. Johnson is dealing with a
hamstring injury. The Jets are hopeful he’ll
be ready for Week 1, but that is not guaran-
teed.
Joe Douglas needs to hit the waiver wire to
improve their depth, but it is hard to find
quality cornerbacks in August and September.2
The offensive line has yet to play one snap
together. That should change in practice
next week, but the group will have very little
time to build cohesion. Center Ryan Kalil has
eased his way back in after ending his retire-
ment, but has not played in any preseason
games. Guards Kelechi Osemele (pectoral) and
Brian Winters (shoulder) only played one pre-
season game. Tackle Brandon Shell missed one
preseason game with a knee injury. This could
lead to communication issues against
Buffalo. It is something to watch.3
Tight end Chris Hern-
don has looked really
good in camp. Why is
that bad? Because he is
suspended for the first
four games. The Jets hope
Ryan Griffin can fill the
hole left by Herndon,
but that remains to be
seen. The offense
looks different
when Herndon is
in it.
brian.costello@
nypost.comBrian Costello