New York Post, Monday, August 19, 2019nypost.com45INSULT TO INJURY: Adam
Gase speaks after Sunday’s Green
and White practice at MetLife
Stadium. Gase took responsibility
for Avery Williamson tearing his ACL
in Friday’s preseason game against
the Falcons (left). The Jets will now
try to cobble together a replacement
for Williamson with longtime backup
Neville Hewitt (right) getting the first
shot. Bill Kostroun (2); AP
T
HE most important person in the Jets
organization this season won’t throw a
pass, won’t make a tackle and won’t call
a play.
He is a man very few fans have heard of
and never gets interviewed by the media.
The most important person for the 2019
Jets is John Mellody, the
team’s head athletic
trainer. Mellody is in his
24th year with the Jets
and is widely revered by
current and former play-
ers for the care he has
given him.
Coach Adam Gase and
general manager Joe
Douglas will be relying on Mellody to get
their players back on the field as quickly as
possible after injuries because the Jets are
about as deep as an inflatable swimming
pool.
If you look at the Jets’ projected starters,
this team looks like it could be in conten-
tion for a wild-card spot in December. If
you remove three or four of those starters,
this looks like a team that could be picking
in the top 10 again next April.
That point is even clearer after linebacker
Avery Williamson was diagnosed with a
torn ACL in his right knee on Friday, ending
his season before it even began. The Jets
will now turn to Neville Hewitt, who has
started 11 games in four years, or Blake
Cashman, a rookie fifth-round pick.
Most teams in the NFL cannot afford
many injuries; the Jets are among them.
Their lack of depth is the ultimate damning
statement on the tenure of former general
manager Mike Maccagnan and his prede-
cessor John Idzik. The bulk of this team
should come from the drafts of 2013-18. In-
stead, there is one player left on the Jets
from each of the 2013-15 drafts. There are
three from 2016 and three from
2017 remaining on the roster.
That kind of drafting left
the Jets swimming in sala-
ry-cap space last offsea-
son, which many fans cel-
ebrated. But if you
look closer, it means
you have money
because you are
not re-signing
your own
picks. Mac-
cagnan
landed some
core players
for the Jets
in the first
round
withLeonard Williams, Jamal Adams and Sam
Darnold, but the middle and late rounds
produced little.
Gase and Douglas both know the impor-
tance of depth on a roster. Gase went 10-6 in
his first year in Miami when he had a
healthy roster. Then, injuries hit, most nota-
bly to quarterback Ryan
Tannehill. The Dolphins
fell apart and Gase was
fired after 6-10 and 7-9
seasons.
Douglas had the oppo-
site experience. The 2017
Eagles were the ultimate
example of the value of
good backups. Nick Foles
famously stepped in for Carson Wentz and
led the Eagles to their Super Bowl win. But
Wentz was not the only key Eagle missing
during the Super Bowl run. Tackle Jason Pe-
ters, running back Darren Sproles and line-
backer Jordan Hicks were all sidelined.
Other than Williamson, the Jets have not
lost any starters for an extended period of
time, that we know of. Cornerback Tru-
maine Johnson (hamstring) and guard Brian
Winters (shoulder) both have situations
that bear watching and could stretch into
the regular season.
The Jets have another week of summer
practices and one more preseason game
against the Saints to get their starters
through (most starters will sit the final
week of the preseason).
Then, it will be time for Gase and Douglas
to hold their breath and hope their team can
stay healthy enough to
contend. They will
be looking down
the bench at Mel-
lody, counting on
the trainer to
keep their play-
ers on the field.
So when you
start listing im-
portant Jets this
season —
Darnold,
Adams,
Le’Veo
n Bell,
Robby
Ander-
son, C.J.
Mosley
... don’t
forget to in-
clude John
Mellody.
brian.
costello@
nypost.comIf injuries hit,
lack of depth
will doom Jets
Brian Costello