The New York Jets have finished their first preseason game under Adam Gase and there was a lot action tonight from the green and white. Here some of the main things I took away from the game tonight.
Jets need Cornerbacks badly
The Jets front seven looked very solid tonight throughout the entire game, but the secondary was a different story. The New York Jets secondary had an abysmal game, giving up almost 400 passing yards, the majority coming from third-string QB Alex Tanney.
The Jets were testing out who would be the best fit to fill their No.2 cornerback spot. Derrick Jones and Kyron Brown looked woefully unprepared, consistently getting burned by Giants wide receivers. It became apparent that cornerback is the most pressing need for the Jets, and it can cost them when they play top-level talent in the regular season. The Jets need to scour the trade market to find anyone to play cornerback for them after Morris Claiborne signed with the Chiefs for $1.5 million dollars. A couple of names to watch could be guys like Artie Burns from the Steelers and Trae Waynes from the Vikings.
Chandler Catanzaro NEEDS TO GO!
This might be a little bit of an overreaction, but it really isn’t. Chandler Catanzaro was so putrid tonight that there is no excuse for the Jets not to bring in any competition. Catanzaro missed three extra points and has been terrible throughout training camp, if the Jets want to win, they need to bring in his replacement. Several names to watch out for on the market could be guys like Ross Martin or Kaare Vedvik, who had a great game.
Sam Darnold flashes again
Its no secret Sam Darnold has all the talent in the world, but against the Giants, he looked like the franchise QB the team has been waiting for. On his only drive of the night, Sam Darnold completed 4 of 5 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Darnold’s best play was his 32-yard pass to Chris Herndon on third and four where he throws downfield after he steps up in the pocket on a broken play.
Blake Cashman looking great
Blake Cashman has been on a roll lately and continued tonight by putting on a show on defense. Cashman has been sharing times with the starting defense in practice and he showed why tonight being a very solid force in the middle of the field. If Cashman continues this progression don’t be surprised to see Avery Williamson on the trading block later this season of in the offseason.
Offensive Grade: C
Sam Darnold didn’t play enough for me to give a fair evaluation of how he was in the offense but the other three QB’s looked bad. Trevor Siemian looked like a very solid backup for the Jets today and commanded some nice drives including a touchdown pass to Elijah McGuire. The same can’t be said about Luke Falk and Davis Webb who both looked atrocious under center.
Defensive Grade: D+
The New York Jets defense gets a D+ and not an F because the run defense was pretty good, and they got some solid pressures in. The secondary needs help ASAP or else this defense might get burned whenever they come out to play on Sundays. With Marcus Maye’s future looking dicey and no legitimate cornerbacks past Trumaine Johnson who is injury prone, the Jets will have to make sure that they bring in the best they can possibly get to help.
Special Teams Grade: D
We don’t need to continue talking about Chandler Catanzaro I’ve already spent to much time venting about him. Lachlan Edwards, on the other hand, is doing very well and winning his punting battle against Matt Darr, punting 3 times for an average 52.3 yards with a long of 67. Trenton Cannon absolutely needs to make the roster, he’s so good as a gunner on special teams and gives the Jets an element of speed that they don’t really have.
Overall Grade: C-