Ny jets confidential january 2018

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February 2018 $3.95

Vol. 25, Iss. 5

NJ18

FIRST DOWN CONFIDENTIAL

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This issue was mailed January 14.

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LINE UP 3 ...........First Down 4 ...........Point-Counterpoint 6 ...........Whispers 8 ...........10 Things Jets Must Do 10..........In His Own Words: Kacy Rodgers 12..........Early Look at Draft’s Top QBs 14..........Question Session: Johnson 18..........Audibles 22 ........Jets Roster 23 ........Jets 2018 Opponents 23 ........Jets 2017 Results

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Huge offseason for New York Jets This is a seminal offseason for the sentially writing off the season, and Jets. They must get this right. the playoff drought will be extended.

They have missed the As I said many times, I playoffs seven years in a think the Jets should select row, and that is unaccepta QB high in the draft, and able. have that guy compete for And they certainly have the “quarterback of the futhe ammo to end this dubiture” spot with Christian ous streak.

Hackenberg.

“We have some great But the guy pulling the draft picks; we have a lot of trigger this year for the Jets money to play with; we’re DAN LEBERFELD should be a veteran. going to be active in free If I were running the agency,” said Jets owner Christopher Jets, McCown would be that guy. This Johnson. “I think there’s a lot of rea- is covered a great deal in this issue, so son to believe that we’re going to be a I don’t want to get into this too much better team this coming year.” here, but I will say one thing: Stop Equipped with roughly $80 mil- with the McCown-Ryan Fitzpatrick lion in cap space, with perhaps more analogies. to come, and three picks in the first I can’t tell you how many times two rounds, if the Jets make the right I’ve heard people say, “The Jets got moves, they can take a quantum leap burned after giving Fitzpatrick big next season. money the year after a career year, so But in order for the Jets to parlay a they can’t do that with McCown.” strong offseason into a playoff appearI’m not buying that. No two ance next season, an experienced vet- human beings are the same, no two eran needs to be under center. players are the same. This narrative Because if they fill the requisite has taken off like wildfire, and I’m not needs at other positions, but go with on board with it. Also, McCown has a rookie quarterback, or a young vet- a much better arm than Fitzpatrick. eran who struggles with accuracy and While arm strength isn’t the only imreading defenses, the Jets’ best-laid portant characteristic of a good QB, plans could fall apart. The NFL is a arm issues got “Fitz” in trouble at quarterback-driven league. times because he didn’t have the zip So if the Jets are going to become to fit balls into tight spots, and this a playoff contender in 2018, they led to a lot of picks. As you saw this need a veteran quarterback with start- year, McCown doesn’t have that issue. ing experience under center, whether The 2018 Jets need an offseason it’s Josh McCown, Case Keenum, Kirk like New Orleans last year. The Saints Cousins…you get the idea. were coming off back-to-back 7-9 seaNow I do think they should draft sons, but did a terrific job in free a quarterback in the first two rounds, agency, and especially the draft, and but it’s a bad idea to start that individ- turned things around, making the ual in 2018. playoffs.

Because if a team spends a ton of This headline appeared, Jan. 10, cap space and draft capital filling its on ESPN: “Rookie class powered needs, but starts a QB that doesn’t Saints to playoffs, could make hisknow what he’s doing and is learning tory.” on the job (like Mitchell Trubisky in “The New Orleans Saints’ class of Chicago this season), that team is es- 2017 — led by cornerback Marshon

Lattimore, running back Alvin Kamara, offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk and safety Marcus Williams — was the single biggest reason this team returned to the playoffs for the first time in four years,” wrote ESPN Saints beat writer Mike Triplett.

“And they might just earn their place in NFL history if Lattimore and Kamara become the first duo in 50 years to sweep the NFL’s Defensive and Offensive Rookie of the Year awards (Kamara will have to win a tight battle against the Kansas City Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt).”

The Jets need something like that.

Just because every pick made the Jets the last two years doesn’t mean each draft was great. Some of that legacy is political.

This year, the Jets need to draft more guys like Jamal Adams, who come in and have an immediate impact, like Lattimore, Kamara, Ramczyk and Williams.

In his recent press conference, Johnson had high praise for his GM and coach, whom he gave two-year contract extensions.

“I love working with them,” Johnson said. “I have great respect for them and their roles. I think they’re really quite extraordinary.”

Well Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles need a “quite extraordinary” offseason to help take the Jets to the next level.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Website Whispers on Jets Confidential to get daily news from One Jets Drive this offseason. Just $7.95 a month for updates five days a week on what should be an active, exciting offseason for Gang Green.Visit Jetsconfidential.com to subscribe to Website Whispers, which is different content from the monthly magazine. For $74.95 you can grab a combo deal which gets you the magazine and website subscription.

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 3

Jets have ammo to get a lot done this offseason

Mike Maccagnan: I do feel good going into the offseason about our potential to do (a lot), not only with the salary-cap space we have, but also with the draft picks.

The Jets’ young core

Maccagnan: Obviously, we only won five games. So going into the season, like every season, you’re trying to build as competitive a roster as you can. I think going forward we feel good about some of our young players. We think that some of our young players from the previous season made development. I think we feel good about some of our young draft picks.

I think we are forming what our vision for this team was, (which) was to have a good, young core of players.

4 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

LUCKY NO. 6

Alan Schaefer

Dan Leberfeld: The Jets need a banner offseason in 2018.

With around $80 million in cap space and three picks in the first two rounds, they need to make some special things happen.

In free agency, while they have space, they shouldn’t spend like a sailor on shore leave like they did in 2015. They came flying out of the gate and spent a bloody fortune on four defensive backs, none of whom lived up to his contract. I think Maccagnan has grown since then.

That happened right after his arrival. He had never been a GM before and just started working with a new staff. He’s a much wiser GM now, with the patience displayed in the Sheldon Richardson deal being a good example.

As for the draft, Maccagnan recently said he’d be willing to trade up in the first round. If I were him, I wouldn’t do it. The Jets have too many needs, and the sixth pick in the first round is a great spot. They grabbed Leonard Williams there in 2015 and Jamal Adams in the same spot in 2017. Though I don’t believe in reaching for need, it’s possible that need could meet value, and the Jets could grab a quarterback, No. 1 cornerback and an edge rusher with their three picks in the first two rounds. A trio like that could help a great deal.

If Maccagnan plays his cards right, this could be a pretty special offseason for the Jets.

Leberfeld: The Jets’ young core is OK, but some might be overrating it a tad.

The two rookie safeties — Adams and Marcus Maye — certainly look like terrific players.

The two rookie receivers — ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hanson — were quiet this year. That doesn’t mean they won’t be good, but the jury is still out.

Rookie tight end Jordan Leggett hardly played, and landed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Rookie outside linebacker Dylan Donahue also landed on injured reserve after being gifted a roster spot following a rough summer; he should have gone right to the practice squad. These sort of roster politics need to stop if the Jets want to take the next step.

RB Eli McGuire was a terrific sixth-round pick.

He’s a quick-footed runner and very good receiver out of the backfield. CB Jeremy Clark spent most of the season on the PUP list.

From the 2016 draft, Darron Lee has done some good work close to the line, but hasn’t had

In the draft, the Jets select sixth again, where they picked Jamal Adams (left) in 2017 and Leonard Williams in 2015.

much impact in pass coverage with a total of six defensed passes and no picks in two seasons.

Christian Hackenberg hasn’t played yet, but struggled in the 2017 preseason. Jordan Jenkins improved a lot in Year Two — he’s very tough and a good run stuffer. Juston Burris had a bad camp and probably should have been released on the final cutdown, but draft-pick politics again factored in. Due to his stiff hips, he should be a safety. Brandon Shell looks like a solid right tackle. Punter Lach Edwards needs to improve his consistency. Charone Peake landed on injured reserve this year.

From the 2015 draft, Leonard Williams has been solid, Devin Smith and Lorenzo Mauldin spent this season on IR, Bryce Petty struggled playing late in the last two seasons due to accuracy issues, Jarvis Harrison is out of the league and Dion Simon has been mostly on the practice squad.

The best young core player, aside from the two safeties and Williams, is probably wide receiver Robby Anderson, an undrafted 2016 free agent.

McCown coming back?

Leberfeld: The Jets need McCown back in 2018! He played well this season; case-in-point — Anderson flourished with McCown, and then struggled after his injury. Not only did McCown play well, but he also provided great leadership.

If a QB still has it physically in his mid- to late 30’s, he can do some of his best work because the position is so hard mentally, and he is at the top of the mental curve.

The Jets’ best plan at QB is to have McCown back in 2018, draft a QB high, and have that draft pick and Hackenberg battle for the QB-ofthe-future spot, with McCown starting and mentoring them in 2018.

And I think McCown shed some light on his future thinking during a Nov. 29 press briefing.

“When you feel like you have been chasing this level that you believe you can play at for a long time and you start to feel like you are scratching the surface in doing some of those things and settling into a system that you like, it’s hard to end it and be done,” McCown said.

He went on to say, “I love being in the system and it would be fun to play in the system for two years in a row.”

Sounds like a guy who wants to give it a whirl for another season.

Petty’s third season

Maccagnan: Bryce Petty going into the new offense, again, it was an adjustment period for a lot of the players. He did some good things in the preseason, and he did some good things in the regular season. He also did some things that he needs to improve upon. I think with Bryce, he’s a young player, we’re excited to see how he does this offseason in terms of going forward, but he has made progress and we’ll see where that leads him to.

Leberfeld: Yes, it was a new offense for Petty this year, but it was also a new offense for Jared Goff this year with the Los Angeles Rams. In his first year in the Rams new offense, Goff had 28 touchdowns to just seven interceptions with a 100.5 QB rating, completing 62.1 percent of his

Alan Schaefer

Maccagnan: I would say our experience with Josh McCown has been extremely positive and obviously with what he’s brought to this organization. I would hope or think Josh on the other side probably was positive in terms of his view of this organization and his experience, but again there’s other things that factor in and we’ll work through this and we’ll see how it plays itself out.

STILL WAITING Many were perplexed when QB Christian Hackenberg didn’t get any playing time at the end of the season.

passes in 15 starts. Petty, in three starts and four appearances in the Jets’ new offense, had one touchdown and three interceptions, completing 49.1 percent of his passes with a 55.1 QB rating.

And keep in mind, Petty had ¾ of the season to absorb John Morton’s new offense before playing.

Not sure what the new offense has to do with it, and not sure how much progress was displayed from 2016 to ’17.

Hackenberg still sits

Maccagnan: We get a chance to work with not just Christian Hackenberg, but Bryce and a lot of our young players at every position every day at practice, and some of them see the field and some of them don’t. I would say simply, (coach Todd Bowles) has always had the ability to determine who to play, and when the players are ready, he’ll play them. So from that standpoint, I support Todd and his decision. Everybody wants to see players play, but again, I trust that Todd will make those determinations when those guys are ready to play (and) to put them in a position to be successful.

Leberfeld: First off, I want to make it clear I’m not writing off Hackenberg. He’s only 22, and could still emerge.

But I don’t understand why Hackenberg didn’t play some at the end of the 2017 season.

There was talk about Petty being ahead of Hackenberg on the depth chart after the summer.

Why does that matter so much in mid-December with the team out of the playoff hunt?

Why was it such a necessity to see what Petty could do? Didn’t they see that at the end of last season? He’s a great guy and works his tail off, but nothing really changed with his pocket presence and accuracy from a year ago.

Why not give Hackenberg some work, and eschew the depth chart, especially after they saw in Petty’s first couple outings not much difference from 2016?

Secondly, on this theory of guys being “ready to play,” was Lee ready to play when he was inserted as the starting linebacker in 2016?

No. Don’t ask me, ask him.

“I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with the playbook in 2016,” Lee told SiriusXM NFL Radio hosts Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan last summer. “I couldn’t tell you half the terminology. Now I’m much more comfortable.”

Sound like a guy who was “ready to play?”

So if you are going to use the ready-to-play card, let’s be consistent about it.

Were young quarterbacks such as Chicago’s Mitch Trubisky or Cleveland’s DeShone Kizer ready to play this year? No, but they got in games.

Improved team chemistry

Maccagnan: I’ve said this a few times to different people: One of the things I did like a lot about our season this year was the chemistry of the locker room and the way the players played. I think we were not only in some games very competitive, I thought the players competed hard and I thought the players kind of rallied together.

Leberfeld: One hundred percent agree with this. It was a sea change for the Jets’ football culture from 2016. Hat-tip to the Jets’ personnel department and coaches for executing this.

Their locker room was so much better. Additions and subtractions from their roster helped transform the Jets’ football culture. Guys such as McCown, Adams, Demario Davis, Kelvin Beachum and Jermaine Kearse were some of the additions that helped the Jets’ football culture do a 180.

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 5

WHISPERS What was up with Leo

Late in the third quarter of the Jets’ Week 17 loss to New England, the Patriots had a long drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal by Steven Gostkowski, making the score 24-3.

In middle of this drive, running back Dion Lewis had runs of 17, 5 and 7 yards during a stretch of four plays (there was 21-yard pass to Brandin Cooks mixed in). All three of these runs were right at Leonard Williams, and on each of these runs, Williams was easily handled by one blocker.

Watching these plays, it looked like Williams was dogging it out there. How often do you see “The Big Cat” pushed around like that on one play, let alone three straight runs?

So what was going on here? Something wasn’t right with this picture.

Well, after the third run in this stretch, for 7 yards, Williams asked to come out of the game.

While it looked like he wasn’t giving an effort, let’s not forget that it was a big surprise that Williams even played in this game. Remember, in the Jets’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers a week before, Williams suffered a serious back injury, and it didn’t look like there was a chance in heck he was going to play against New England.

He was carted off the field in a lot of pain. Anybody who has had their back go out will tell you, the chances of playing football a few days after would be a major longshot.

So Williams gave it a whirl, and did make some plays, but watching him on these three plays, he didn’t seem to have his usual core strength. The back weakness made him easily blocked.

With Williams less than 100 percent, and Mo Wilkerson a healthy scratch, the Jets’ run defense gave up 147 yards against a Patriots team playing without its starting right tackle.

and John Morton, to job openings elsewhere.

On Nov. 13 a published report stated, “The University of Tennessee has expressed interest in Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers to be its next head coach, according to sources.”

On Jan. 1, that same paper wrote, “Jon Gruden is expected to be interested in hiring offensive coordinator John Morton if/when he gets the Oakland Raiders job.”

Neither happened. Tennessee hired Jeremy Pruitt as its head coach, and the Raiders hired Greg Olson as their offensive coordinator.

When JC asked Rodgers if Tennessee was interested in him, he responded, “I have no idea in all honesty.”

If a school were interested in hiring a guy, don’t you think he would be aware of it?

As for Morton, the paper assumed because he used to work under Gruden in Oakland from 1998-2001, and “Chucky” spoke highly of Morton when the Jets hired him, there could be a marriage there. But then again, during his broadcast career, who didn’t Gruden speak highly of?

But why would Morton want to go from a place where he has control of the offense, from game-planning to play-calling, to the Raiders,

where Gruden is running the offense? It would be a step down.

We don’t think either one of these stories had any legs. It’s a case of “logical guessing.” Rodgers played at Tennessee, so they might have interest in him, and Morton worked under Gruden, so he would likely be interested in him.

Browbeating to get what you want

On the day after the Jets’ season finale in Foxboro, it was “baggy day” in Florham Park.

This is the day the players clean out their lockers following the final game. It has become known as “baggy day” because the players empty-out their lockers and often put their stuff in big Glad bags.

This year on “baggy day,” reporters were anxious to talk to quarterback Josh McCown about his future plans, but were told that he would not be available because he’s on injured reserve. Jets coach Todd Bowles has a rule that players on IR can’t talk to the press.

This didn’t go well in the press room. In Bowles’ season-ending presser, almost half the

Were they really candidates?

BACK OUT OF WHACK Leonard Williams fought through a back ailment to play at New England, but clearly wasn’t himself.

6 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

Alan Schaefer

During the last couple of months of the season, there were a pair of published reports linking the Jets’ two coordinators, Kacy Rodgers

WHISPERS especially with the general manager.

When John Idzik wouldn’t make himself available early in his second season as GM, Michael Kay of the Jets’ flagship radio station said Idzik was “hiding under his desk.” Eventually Idzik was made available, even though he didn’t want to speak at that time.

We applaud the Jets for not caving to the latest temper tantrum. Just like with children, it’s not good to give in to their demands every time.

Hat-tip to Bowles for sticking to his guns.

Rules are important in team sports. The rule is players on injured reserve don’t speak to the media. A rule is a rule.

How many snaps did a guy play — the new obsession

Alan Schaefer

questions were about McCown’s media availability.

Q: Why couldn’t Josh McCown speak with the media today?

Bowles: We had a policy at the beginning of the year for ourselves that our IR guys will not talk to the media. He is on IR, he’s like everybody else.

Q: Why can’t players on IR talk since the season has concluded?

Bowles: Our IR guys won’t (talk). That’s the rule we have. They don’t really need to talk to the media because they have nothing to say being on IR. Q: McCown indicated that he would speak with media today…

Bowles: Josh is on IR. Q: Nick Mangold talked with the media last year despite being on IR… Bowles: I said it was a rule we put in this year, not last year. We put it in, in the beginning of this year.

Q: McCown was just named Team MVP. Why can’t players on IR talk with the media?

Bowles: It’s a team decision that we decided on to help us run more smoothly. I decided that we had the rule at the beginning of the year.

That’s what we’re going with. It’s not a made-up rule. It’s something we had. MVP or non-MVP, you go by the same rules.

Q: When will McCown be off IR? Bowles: Later on.

Q: Can the media speak with McCown at some point?

Bowles: You probably can.

Q: At what point can the media can talk with McCown?

Bowles: I’ll give you guys a date.

Q: Is McCown still on injured reserve?

Bowles: Josh is on injured reserve. I said when they’re on vacation and they return back, then they speak when they’re supposed to speak.

They don’t when they’re not.

Q: Since McCown is on injured reserve will he be unavailable to media through the holidays?

Bowles: Pretty much.

You get the idea. Some reporters were perturbed by McCown not being available. Perhaps none more so than New York Post columnist Mark Cannizzaro, who destroyed the Jets in the paper the next day.

“Of course, because these are the Jets, who have a penchant for treating public relations like

TEMPER TANTRUM When Josh McCown wasn't made available to the media Mark Cannizzaro flipped out.

a foreign language they can never master, no one heard from McCown on Monday because he was forbidden by Bowles to speak to reporters,” wrote Cannizzaro. “This was based on some ridiculous, recently made-up rule that players on injured reserve are off limits for interviews.

“Only the Jets — who’ve actually been treated with kid gloves around here for their 5-11 season because they’ve tried hard and kept a bunch of games close — can go out of their way to squash their best feel-good story of the season.”

Powerful words, but we aren’t sure how much the fans care about media access issues.

So if the fans generally don’t care about players being made available to the media, who was this diatribe being written for?

Clearly it was directed at the Jets to browbeat them into making McCown available.

You see, sometimes teams, including the Jets, can be hectored and menaced into making somebody available. We have seen this happen before,

There is an obsession with some about how many snaps players get in games. You see player participation stats constantly on Twitter. And when certain guys, such as high draft picks and well-compensated players, don’t get a lot of reps, it becomes a story.

A perfect example of this is the coverage of Jets rookie wide receiver ArDarius Stewart. He didn’t play a ton this year, and some repeatedly reminded us of this.

“The Jets drafted him in the third round, thinking he could develop into a first-year starter,” wrote ESPN. “That didn’t come close to happening, as Stewart was never able to crack the top three in the wide receiver rotation.”

Who cares? When they drafted him, they didn’t know they would be able to trade for Jermaine Kearse, who had a terrific season. Robby Anderson had a great year opposite Kearse, and Jeremy Kerley was playing very well before his suspension. While McCown was the quarterback, sans the Denver game, the Jets’ passing attack was terrific. So who cares how much Stewart played?

This is toxic and has nothing to do with winning and losing, and needs to be ignored at all costs. Don’t force players out there to make personnel moves look better. Teams should always play the guys they feel give them the best chance to win on a given Sunday.

Draft and free agent records don’t matter as much as a winning record.

We aren’t writing off Stewart at all. He had a terrific 46-yard catch in the season finale, but how much he played as rookie is irrelevant.

And so is the snap-count obsession.

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 7

10 THINGS JETS MUST DO

This is a big offseason for the New York Jets, coming off a pair of 5-11 seasons and looking to take their program to the next level. Here are some ideas from the editorial board at Jets Confidential on how they can take the next step.

Josh McCown is coming off an impressive season, and certainly has earned another contract. He played in 13 games, threw 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and completed a career-high 67.3 percent of his passes with a 94.5 QB rating. He missed the last three games of the season, and we certainly saw his value there.

What is that old expression? “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Not only did McCown bring stability to the Jets’ QB spot, but also to their locker room. The fact that he won the Curtis Martin Team MVP Award and the Kyle Clifton Good Guy Award shows you his impact on and off the field. He also won the Gerald Eskenazi Award given by the team’s beat writers to the player who is the most helpful to the media.

As a player, leader and spokesman for the Jets, this guy gets high marks across the board.

He can still throw the rock, and has young legs, as we saw with his 124 yards rushing, so don’t get too caught up in his age (38).

Also, he has developed great chemistry with starting wide receivers Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse. Why make those guys start over with somebody else in 2018?

It would be a mistake to not bring him back for another year — while also selecting a QB early in the draft with an eye toward the future.

2. Get a shutdown corner

The Jets are in dire need of a bona fide No. 1 cornerback, a shutdown cornerback, if you will.

They haven’t had a guy like this since Darrelle Revis in his first stint from 2007-12.

Since Revis’ departure, the Jets have been trying to get by without a true No. 1 lockdown cornerback, and it has really hurt their defense.

When a team has an elite cornerback taking away one side of the field or following the other team’s best receiver around, it changes how a defensive coordinator can call a defense.

8 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

Alan Schaefer

1. Re-sign McCown

JOSH MCCOWN Take New Orleans for instance. Their defense has improved immeasurably this season, and a big reason was the addition of elite CB Marshon Lattimore in the first round. Look at Jacksonville’s defense. A big reason for their excellence is Jalen Ramsey.

Look, Mo Claiborne is a good player, but he’s probably better suited for the No. 2 role, and the Jets can probably only give him a one-year contract due to his proclivity to get hurt.

Whether it’s in free agency or the draft, the Jets need to find a shutdown cornerback.

They can’t kick the can down the road anymore.

It could be hard to find one in free agency unless the Los Angeles Rams let Trumaine Johnson walk. But they need to be careful — he has already played six years in the league, and is 28

years old. A lot of cornerbacks in their late 20’s start to break down. But if the Jets feel good about him physically, he could be just what they need, and keep in mind, the Jets’ current secondary coach, Dennard Wilson, coached him with the Rams in 2015-16, so that could help in the recruiting process.

If the Jets don’t land Johnson or perhaps New England’s Malcolm Butler, they need to address this need early in the draft.

3. Find a game-wrecking pass rusher on the edge

We know we write this every year, but it’s time for the Jets to finally address this, either in free agency or the draft.

They took a flier on Kony Ealy this year, but

he finished with just one sack. They also took a flier on journeyman David Bass, who was a little better than Ealy with 3.5 sacks.

Jordan Jenkins is a good No. 2 OLB in a 3-4 defense — solid against the run, very tough and durable — but he’s not a game-changing pass rusher.

There are two guys in free agency who could clearly help the Jets: Detroit’s Ziggy Ansah and Dallas’ DeMarcus Lawrence. Ansah had 12 sacks this season, and Lawrence had 15. However, both come with red flags. Ansah has had some durability issues the last couple of years, and Lawrence was suspended for four games last year by the NFL, and also had major back surgery in January 2016.

In the draft, the Jets need to grab a pass rusher with either their first-round pick (Bradley Chubb or Arden Key) or address this need with one of their two second-round picks.

It’s time to get this done. The Jets’ lack of a game-wrecking OLB is a void in their defense.

fortable in their workplace. It’s bad for the Jets’ culture.

JOE NAMATH

8. Learn from Saban

Alabama coach Nick Saban replaced his starting quarterback at halftime of the college national championship game, and the backup came in and led the Crimson Tide to a comefrom-behind win.

There is a lesson here: Don’t stick with starters, even within a game, if they aren’t getting the job done. The most important thing is winning, not worrying about a player’s feelings or media reaction to a benching.

And we aren’t just talking about changing the third cornerback, we are talking about starters.

Don’t be married to your starters at any position — anyone should be a candidate to be replaced at any time if they aren’t getting the job done, no matter where they are drafted or how much they make.

9. Avoid box-office moves

At One Jets Drive, 2017 was all about changing the Jets’ football culture. And for the most part, the football brass got high marks for how this plan was executed, bringing in great leaders such as McCown and Jamal Adams, and getting rid of certain problematic players. But if a team is trying to change its culture, why trade for Rashard Robinson, who was thrown out of LSU (failed drug test, poor grades and arrest for unauthorized entry) and then wore out his welcome in San Francisco in just his second year?

Robinson seems like a nice young man when we talk to him, and we wish him nothing but the best. But a team trying to change its football culture should avoid trading for players like this.

5. Have a backup QB plan

The Jets entered the 2017 season with two developmental backup quarterbacks behind McCown. Both young signal-callers are fine young men who work very hard, but neither was ready to be the No. 2 quarterback in 2017.

The ideal way to set up a QB room is to have a No. 2 quarterback with some game experience, who can go in and keep the training rolling — a guy like Case Keenum in Minnesota. Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg were better suited for the No. 3 spot and a practice squad spot. Hey, it’s a good idea to have developmental quarterbacks around, but not ideal in the backup spot. The Jets need to have a stronger plan in 2018.

Alan Schaefer

4. Forget Father Flanagan

6. Make peace with Namath

Joe Namath is the most famous Jets player of all-time. Something is amiss with his relationship with the organization. He has hardly been around the club the last few years. He was at one game last season when there was a Hall-of-Fame event.

We aren’t pointing fingers, and anointing blame, but something isn’t right. This should be fixed.

When Namath and the Jets are on bad terms, it’s probably not good for the team’s karma.

7. Protect players from DN

Like many other newspapers, the Daily News is struggling. And as ancient Greek physician Hippocrates said, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” So they need to crank out stories that generate tons of clicks on their website.

More clicks, more revenue. They have a writer who is trying for daily blockbusters on the Jets’ back. He does lengthy interviews with Jets players, unencumbered, peppering players with questions trying to land money quotes such as, “I’m going to change the (safety) position.”

It’s not the Jets’ job to help save the Daily News. They can’t let players get cornered by somebody trying to get click-bait. It’s making players very uneasy. Something needs to be done.

This is bad for the Jets. Players should feel com-

The Jets, like a lot of teams, had some issues filling seats this season.

But when this happens, some teams will sign big names to help sell tickets, and this can be a mistake.

The Jets have a lot of salary-cap space, but should avoid, at all costs, making any moves with the box office in mind.

The best plan is to make sound football decisions, and if they do that, winning should follow, and ticket sales will spike.

But mixing commerce and football moves can often end up with a bad result.

10. Avoid media moves

Just like the Jets can’t worry about the box office when making offseason moves, they shouldn’t worry about media reaction either.

We hear there were past regimes that were worried about grabbing the back page of the tabloids. The back page of a New York tabloid is the start of the sports section, and is akin to the front page of the news section. Worrying about this is a no-no. It has nothing to do with winning and losing on the field.

Also, many people believed the Daily News scared the Jets away from Doug Marrone as a head-coaching candidate because of some very nasty articles about the current Jacksonville Jaguars coach. This also a no-no.

The Jets must make sound football moves and not worry about what entities like ESPN and the Daily News might write about them.

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 9

IN HIS OWN WORDS

WITH DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR KACY RODGERS

Adams, Maye grown ‘leaps and bounds’ When you watch (Jamal Adams), when you watch (Marcus) Maye, they’re leaps and bounds better than they were Day One. There’s not much you haven’t seen now. You have played against a lot of elite players. You’ve gone against all the different schemes. You’ve watched how offenses attack you, how they scheme you, stuff like that, so each is an opportunity to grow on.

Jamal is probably a little more outgoing and boisterous, but Maye, when you look day-in and day-out, his play level is right there. They are two guys that I am glad are on our team. My hat is off to them because those guys are extremely competitive. Being an NFL coach, those guys are a joy to coach. Those guys are really football junkies. They’re here extra. We’re meeting Monday and Tuesday game plans, these guys are in here studying. They just take it, they communicate.

When I look at Jamal, both him and Maye have done everything that we have asked of them. The comments that (Jamal) makes (to the press), it just shows how much confidence this guy has. When he says that he is going to get better, he is going to get better — the confidence that he brings. This guy is a rookie, but he’s vocal, he communicates and his work ethic is through the roof. I’ve been around a lot of hardworking (players), but he’s a total package. I think he’s special.

When you look at Jamal, this guy has been a Day One starter since he walked on the practice field, so each week is a growing opportunity for him.

(Secondary coach Dennard Wilson) is really an outstanding coach. From his leadership, the way he’s handled those guys from Day One and got them ready to play Week One. My hat goes off to him. Those guys are totally buying into what he’s selling.

Jenkins’ big improvement in Year Two

When (OLB coach Kevin Greene) got here I was telling him the challenge ahead, where most people would view that position as an area that we need to improve in.

When I watch Jordan (Jenkins), the strides he has made in the pass rush, I would definitely say 10 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

JORDAN JENKINS he’s stepped it up a level. One week he was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week, but you can see him growing confidence. He’s (leaps and) bounds ahead of where he was.

Jordan has kind of taken practice to the game, and my hat goes off to Kevin Greene working with him. You really see the growth in Jordan. We give Jordan a hard time all the time because in practice we see him make plays, and then he wasn’t making them in the game. So now, he’s taking practice to the game, and KG stays on him (about) working extra. The stuff we’re seeing in practice, now it’s coming to the game, so that’s one of the biggest jumps up.

Just watching Jordan every day, the thing is, getting back to the pass rush question, trying to buy into something we placed a lot of emphasis on in the offseason, trying different techniques and you see it showing in the game, getting better and better.

I think (Jenkins) is really growing. The guy comes to work every day, tries hard and does everything you ask of him as a coach. It’s good to kind of see everything we see in practice, he takes into the game. That’s the step we thought he needed to take. In practice, we see him do it, but we didn’t see him do it in the game. That’s the biggest step with him.

Early look at draft’s top four QBs Mayfield lacks size, but not much else

If Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield were taller, he would probably be in the running to be the No. 1 pick overall in the 2018 draft.

The Heisman Trophy winner is listed at only 6-1, and could measure shorter at the Senior Bowl.

However, quarterbacks around his size have had success in the NFL, such as Drew Brees, Case Keenum, and a certain Seattle player to whom Mayfield is often compared.

“He reminds me of Russell Wilson,” said ESPN college football analyst David Pollack. “He just has something about him that galvanizes guys. I think he will win on the next level and win big.”

An example of Mayfield’s ability to “galvanize” is his 14-0 road record as the Sooners quarterback. Leadership is certainly tested playing in loud, raucous road venues, and Mayfield passed with flying colors.

So many young quarterbacks struggle with accuracy. The Jets’ two raw signal-callers, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty, have struggled in this area. Mayfield gets high marks for his accuracy, leading the nation by completing 71 percent of his passes.

Not only is he accurate, but he also has a powerful arm.

“He has plenty of arm strength,” said former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah, now with the NFL Network.

Mayfield, who aside from the Heisman won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award, plays the game with a ton of energy, confidence and a cocky attitude.

He turned off some with his cockiness at times, like when a planted an Oklahoma flag at midfield at Ohio State, told Baylor football players he’s their “daddy” and grabbed his crotch and cursed at Kansas players during a game (after they refused his handshake before the game).

Another controversial Sooners prospect of year’s past came to Mayfield’s defense.

“There were very few things that Baker did to me that were offensive,” former NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth told Sporting News. “Everything that Baker did was generated out of passion and love for the game and love for the teammates 12 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

BAKER MAYFIELD and love for the school. He plays with passion, enthusiasm, intensity and emotion. I would never suggest to him to throttle down any of those attributes that make him the player that he is.”

That’s what should get him drafted very early in 2018.

“I’m sure of this much: Mayfield is going to be a starting-caliber QB in the NFL, and in a league with a bunch of teams looking for one, he’s going to come off the board early,” Jeremiah said. “I talked to a scout before the (Rose Bowl). He told me he’d be shocked if Mayfield isn’t a top-15 pick.

I believe he’s accurate, a good decision-maker and ultra-competitive — those are three great traits in a league that’s light on starting-caliber quarterbacks. Mayfield is worth the risk.”

Allen has all the tools

If you were to build a quarterback in a lab, he would look like Wyoming’s Josh Allen: 6-5, 240 pounds with a rocket arm and good wheels.

“Allen has the highest upside of any QB in the class,” Jeremiah said. “He has a rare combination of his size, arm strength and athletic ability. I think Allen is the best athlete of these four QBs.”

He has drawn some Ben Roethlisberger comparisons.

“Similar size, athleticism, playmaking ability and decision-making,” Jeremiah said.

But Jeremiah said Allen has one edge over “Big Ben” in terms of raw tools.

“Allen actually has a stronger arm,” he said.

But while Allen has all the tools, he is coming off an inconsistent season.

“There’s no question that he struggled this season at Wyoming and needs to improve his decision-making, but he lost four of his skill position players from 2016 to the NFL,” wrote ESPN draft guru Todd McShay. “Allen has an elite arm and is a physical freak in terms of his skill set.

His stock should rise in the postseason process.”

At least one high-level NFL personnel man told Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland PlainDealer he believes the Browns should take Wyoming’s Allen No. 1 overall because he has the most upside.

Allen, who is leaving Wyoming after his junior season, threw for more than 5,000 yards and totaled 44 touchdowns during his college career.

However, a big question about Allen is the competition level he faced in the Mountain West

Conference, playing against the likes of San Jose State, Fresno State and New Mexico. And when he faced Pac-10 foe Oregon this year, the Cowboys lost 49-13.

“Will he play winning football against top competition?” asked Jeremiah. “Allen has the highest ceiling, and the lowest floor of the bunch. The biggest knock on him is his play against top-level opponents. He has a career TDINT ratio of 1-8 in his three career games against Power Five teams.”

Aside from questions about competition level, Allen’s throwing mechanics need some work.

But if a team is patient, and takes its time developing him, it could have something special in a couple of years. Players with Allen’s physical skill set don’t come along very often.

sive backs an extra second to jump a route because it’s not coming out quickly.

But Jeremiah thinks he can overcome this to a degree with his excellent velocity.

“I know the release is a little long, but it’s explosive — he has some torque and twitch in both his legs and hips as a thrower,” Jeremiah said.

Darnold also has great character, leaving teams with nothing to worry about off the field.

“Thank you, Sam Darnold for being the person, player and man of character that you are!”

USC coach Clay Helton tweeted after Darnold declared for the draft. “You are the true example of what it means to be a Trojan!”

“His intangibles are off the charts,” Jeremiah said.

And if he can cut down on turnovers, his NFL potential is off the charts.

Darnold terrific, but turnover-prone

Rosen a rare arm talent

USC QB Sam Darnold is a special talent.

“Sam Darnold is an outstanding player,” said former NFL scout Bucky Brooks on the NFL Network. “He’s a gunslinger. He has the ‘it’ factor.”

And he’s quite the clutch performer.

“When it’s crunch-time, and you need a play made, in his career, more times than not, No. 14 has found a way to make that play,” said Jeremiah.

“One of the things that draws you to Sam Darnold is the ability to perform in pressure environments — The Rose Bowl, this year at Texas and Utah — over and over again we have seen him do those things.” Brooks said.

However, mixed in with a lot of outstanding plays this season were too many turnovers.

Darnold turned over the ball three times in a Cotton Bowl loss to Ohio State. With those three giveaways, Darnold finished with 22 turnovers, which is far from ideal.

But if he can cut down on turnovers, he has the earmarks of a potentially elite NFL QB. “I think there is some magic to Darnold,” said Jeremiah. “I think he can make every throw. He throws with anticipation. He can throw on the move and make things happen.”

Darnold is also good at creating time in the pocket when his protection falls apart.

“He can create and buy time when you have leaks up front, which you are going to have on the next level,” said Jeremiah.

Some scouts don’t love Darnold’s throwing motion, which isn’t compact. He throws with a wind up. And sometimes when the ball takes a while to come out of his hand, it allows defen-

When it comes to throwing a football, there isn’t much Josh Rosen can’t do.

“When you look at motion, velocity, touch, his footwork, everything, (Rosen) is smooth — it’s beautiful to watch, as good as a passer as I’ve seen,” Jeremiah said. “You’re going to hear this a lot between now and April — Rosen is the best pure passer among draft prospects. In fact, he’s the most talented passer by a good margin. From a footwork and release standpoint, it’s beautiful to watch him throw.”

“He’s the best pure passer I’ve seen in the draft in terms of his ability to drop back in the pocket, and let the ball go. In terms of timing, touch and

anticipation, he’s kind of like a Major League pitcher with four pitches in his repertoire,” Brooks said. “He can change speeds, he can change trajectories, he can change how he delivers the ball to the strike zone — the things (as a thrower) you need to be a successful pro.”

The UCLA signal-caller’s toughness also gets high marks. In the Bruins’ 2017 season-opener, they trailed Texas A&M by 34 points, but came back to win the game 45-44. In this game, Rosen took a beating, but didn’t miss a beat.

“We knew he was smart, but the thing I was really impressed with was his toughness,” said former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin. “We hit him, and hit him a lot, and he got better. It’s not supposed to work that way, especially in the fourth quarter.”

“I think (Rosen) had a bad offensive line and didn’t have established playmakers,” Brooks said. “If there is anything I learned about him this year is that he’s a tough son of a gun. He could have cashed in and folded his cards and left the field, but he continued to come back for the fight.”

While some think Rosen isn’t great at avoiding pocket pressure, Brooks disagrees.

“He’s an underrated athlete,” Brooks said.

“This guy was a top-10 junior tennis player. I know some people talk about him like he’s stiff in the pocket, but another guy in the pros had a tennis background — Drew Brees. I’m beginning to buy into his in-pocket mobility separating him from others in his draft class.

“In the right system, with the right offensive coordinator, he could be a star on the next level.”

JOSH ALLEN

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 13

QUESTION SESSION

WITH JETS OWNER CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON

Woody not consulted over Maccagnan, Bowles extensions Q: Why extend GM Mike Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles’ contracts for two years as opposed to just one?

A: It seemed the right choice to me. I like the idea of some stability and going from year-to-year just didn’t seem right.

Q: How hard was it to determine if the team was progressing when it lost nine of its final 11 games?

A: It’s more than the score at the end of the game, which, believe me, I wanted to win a lot more of those games. But I did see a lot of progress, within that young core especially. It has really come together with Todd’s leadership and I was really, really impressed with how this young team looks.

Q: How often did you consult with Woody Johnson before doling out the extensions for Maccagnan and Bowles?

A: I did not discuss the extensions. I talked to him here and there, and we do talk about football a little bit. He watches all of the games. He’s excited about the team, but the call there was mine.

I didn’t bounce that particular question off of him.

Q: Will you evaluate the 2018 season the way you evaluated the 2017 season?

A: It’s always going to be about progress. We can’t get there fast enough. I want to get to the playoffs. I want to get to the Super Bowl. I was serious about that desire to get to the Super Bowl before my brother gets back here.

Q: Do you feel this team needs a long-term answer at QB? A: You’re always looking for that. Whether we have that person on the roster already is another question and has yet to be resolved. Yes, it’s obviously the most important position on a team and 14 Jets Confidential FEBURARY 2018

it’s not going to be overlooked.

Q: Will your evaluation be more about wins and losses going forward?

A: Look, we were a 5-11 team. I’m not happy about that. I don’t think any fan should be happy about that. It’s the same as we were last year. But I talked to a lot of guys (on baggy day). They saw something special happening to this team within that locker room.

I hate to say that the glass was half-empty last year and its half-full this year because we are a fivewin team. But there’s so much to look forward to on this team with this core we have. We have a chance to build on that.

We have some great draft picks. We have a lot of money to play with. We’re going to be active in free agency. I think there’s a lot of reason to believe that we’re going to be a better team this coming year.

Q: Will there be any restrictions on spending this offseason?

A: I haven’t discussed any restrictions with them yet, and I don’t know that there will be. We’ll do things in a measured, active way. Will we spend to the limit trying to win this year and throw it all in there? The idea is to win year after year, to be like one of those great franchises that seem to go from year-to-year-to-year and they are there for a decade.

We want to be in that conversation. I don’t think you do that by over-spending on a couple of free agents.

STAYING POWER Jets owner Christopher Johnson is looking to build a program that can achieve sustainable success.

Q: What were your thoughts when the team was 3-2 eliminating all talk of tanking?

A: Nothing matters to me more than my integrity, and I would never ask a coach or a player to do anything that would reduce their own integrity, like tanking. I told you I wanted to win every game and that was true. I don’t know if there are teams out there that actually (tank). I just can’t imagine ever feeling good about yourself after that.

Q: How involved will you be in the draft process?

Q: Do you believe you helped set the unity tone in the locker room by talking to the players early in the season (about how to handle the Anthem protests)? A lot of players have referenced that …

A: I said at the beginning of the season I’m not yet Jerry Jones. I’m still not yet Jerry Jones (laughter). I trust the guys in this building. We have a great group of scouts. We have Mike, who I think is a terrific talent-evaluator, and I will definitely be working with him, but I’m not going to be telling him what to do.

A: It’s very kind that they say that. I really give Todd credit there. I think that he set them up, he set us all up, for the theme of unity and it was incredible. It was absolutely incredible. Linking arms with the players has been quite honestly the honor of my life and was very, very powerful, but I’m not going to give myself credit for that.

2017 AMERICAN CONFERENCE SCHEDULES BALTIMORE

BUFFALO

2017 NATIONAL CONFERENCE SCHEDULES

CINCINNATI

ARIZONA

ATLANTA

All times Eastern

CAROLINA

Sep 10 ......@Cincinnati ..........W 20-0 Sep 17 ......Cleveland ............W 24-10 Sep 24 ......@Jacksonville ........L 7-44 Oct 1 ........Pittsburgh ..............L 9-26 Oct 8 ........@Oakland ..........W 30-17 Oct 15 ......Chicago ................L 24-27 Oct 22 ......@Minnesota ........L 16-24 Oct 26 ......Miami ....................W 40-0 Nov 5 ........@Tennessee ........L 20-23 Week 10....BYE Nov 19 ......@Green Bay ........W 23-0 Nov 27 ......Houston ..............W 23-16 Dec 3 ........Detroit ................W 44-20 Dec 10 ......@Pittsburgh..........L 38-39 Dec 17 ......@Cleveland ........W 27-10 Dec 23 ......Indianapolis ........W 23-16 Dec 31 ......Cincinnati..............L 27-31

Sep 10 ......N.Y. Jets..............W 21-12 Sep 17 ......@Carolina ................L 3-9 Sep 24 ......Denver ................W 26-16 Oct 1 ........@Atlanta ............W 23-17 Oct 8 ........@Cincinnati ..........L 16-20 Week 6......BYE Oct 22 ......Tampa Bay ..........W 30-27 Oct 29 ......Oakland ..............W 34-14 Nov 2 ........@N.Y. Jets............L 21-34 Nov 12 ......New Orleans ........L 10-47 Nov 19 ......@L.A. Chargers....L 24-54 Nov 26 ......@Kansas City ....W 16-10 Dec 3 ........New England ..........L 3-23 Dec 10 ......Indianapolis ..........W 13-7 Dec 17 ......Miami ..................W 24-16 Dec 24 ......@New England ....L 16-37 Dec 31 ......@Miami ..............W 22-16

Sep 10 ......Baltimore ................L 0-20 Sep 14 ......Houston ..................L 9-13 Sep 24 ......@Green Bay ........L 24-27 Oct 1 ........@Cleveland ..........W 31-7 Oct 8 ........Buffalo ................W 20-16 Week 6......BYE Oct 22 ......@Pittsburgh..........L 14-29 Oct 29 ......Indianapolis ........W 24-23 Nov 5 ........@Jacksonville ........L 7-23 Nov 12 ......@Tennessee ........L 20-24 Nov 19 ......@Denver ............W 20-17 Nov 26 ......Cleveland ............W 30-16 Dec 4 ........Pittsburgh ............L 20-23 Dec 10 ......Chicago ..................L 7-33 Dec 17 ......@Minnesota ..........L 7-34 Dec 24 ......Detroit ................W 26-17 Dec 31 ......@Baltimore ........W 31-27

Sep 10 ......@Detroit ..............L 23-35 Sep 17 ......@Indianapolis ....W 16-13 Sep 25 ......Dallas ..................L 17-28 Oct 1 ........San Francisco ....W 18-15 Oct 8 ........@Philadelphia ........L 7-34 Oct 15 ......Tampa Bay ..........W 38-33 Oct 22 ......@L.A. Rams ..........L 0-33 Week 8......BYE Nov 5 ........@San Francisco W 20-10 Nov 9 ........Seattle ..................L 16-22 Nov 19 ......@Houston ............L 21-31 Nov 26 ......Jacksonville ........W 27-24 Dec 3 ........L.A. Rams ............L 16-32 Dec 10 ......Tennessee ............W 12-7 Dec 17 ......@Washington ......L 15-20 Dec 24 ......N.Y. Giants ............W 23-0 Dec 31 ......@Seattle ............W 26-24

Sep 10 ......@Chicago ..........W 23-17 Sep 17 ......Green Bay ..........W 34-23 Sep 24 ......@Detroit..............W 30-26 Oct 1 ........Buffalo ..................L 17-23 Week 5......BYE Oct 15 ......Miami....................L 17-20 Oct 22 ......@New England ......L 7-23 Oct 29 ......@N.Y. Jets ..........W 25-20 Nov 5 ........@Carolina ............L 17-20 Nov 12 ......Dallas ....................W 27-7 Nov 20 ......@Seattle ............W 34-31 Nov 26 ......Tampa Bay ..........W 34-20 Dec 3 ........Minnesota ..............L 9-14 Dec 7 ........New Orleans ......W 20-17 Dec 18 ......@Tampa Bay ......W 24-21 Dec 24 ......@New Orleans ....L 13-23 Dec 31 ......Carolina ..............W 10-22

Sep 10 ......@San Francisco ..W 23-3 Sep 17 ......Buffalo ....................W 9-3 Sep 24 ......New Orleans ........L 13-34 Oct 1 ........@New England ..W 33-30 Oct 8 ........@Detroit..............W 27-24 Oct 12 ......Philadelphia ..........L 23-28 Oct 22 ......@Chicago ..............L 3-17 Oct 29 ......@Tampa Bay ........W 17-3 Nov 5 ........Atlanta ................W 20-17 Nov 13 ......Miami ..................W 45-21 Week 11 ....BYE Nov 26 ......@N.Y. Jets ..........W 35-27 Dec 3 ........@New Orleans ....L 21-31 Dec 10 ......Minnesota ..........W 31-24 Dec 17 ......Green Bay ..........W 31-24 Dec 24 ......Tampa Bay ..........W 22-19 Dec 31 ......@Atlanta ..............L 10-22

Sep 10 ......Pittsburgh ............L 18-21 Sep 17 ......@Baltimore ..........L 10-24 Sep 24 ......@Indianapolis ......L 28-31 Oct 1 ........Cincinnati................L 7-31 Oct 8 ........N.Y. Jets ..............L 14-17 Oct 15 ......@Houston ............L 17-33 Oct 22 ......Tennessee ..............L 9-12 Oct 29 ......Minnesota ............L 16-33 Week 9......BYE Nov 12 ......@Detroit ..............L 24-38 Nov 19 ......Jacksonville ............L 7-19 Nov 26 ......@Cincinnati ..........L 16-30 Dec 3 ........@L.A. Chargers....L 10-19 Dec 10 ......Green Bay ............L 21-27 Dec 17 ......Baltimore ..............L 10-27 Dec 24 ......@Chicago ..............L 3-20 Dec 31 ......@Pittsburgh..........L 24-28

Sep 11 ......L.A. Chargers......W 24-21 Sep 17 ......Dallas ..................W 42-17 Sep 24 ......@Buffalo ..............L 16-26 Oct 1 ........Oakland ..............W 16-10 Week 5......BYE Oct 15 ......N.Y. Giants............L 10-23 Oct 22 ......@L.A. Chargers......L 0-21 Oct 30 ......@Kansas City ......L 19-29 Nov 5 ........@Philadelphia ......L 23-51 Nov 12 ......New England ........L 16-41 Nov 19 ......Cincinnati..............L 17-20 Nov 26 ......@Oakland ............L 14-21 Dec 3 ........@Miami ..................L 9-35 Dec 10 ......N.Y. Jets................W 23-0 Dec 14 ......@Indianapolis ....W 25-13 Dec 24 ......@Washington ......L 11-27 Dec 31 ......Kansas City ..........L 24-27

Sep 10 ......Jacksonville ............L 7-29 Sep 14 ......@Cincinnati ..........W 13-9 Sep 24 ......@New England ....L 33-36 Oct 1 ........Tennessee ..........W 57-14 Oct 8 ........Kansas City ..........L 34-42 Oct 15 ......Cleveland ............W 33-17 Week 7......BYE Oct 29 ......@Seattle ..............L 38-41 Nov 5 ........Indianapolis ..........L 14-20 Nov 12 ......@L.A. Rams ..........L 7-33 Nov 19 ......Arizona................W 31-21 Nov 27 ......@Baltimore ..........L 16-23 Dec 3 ........@Tennessee ........L 13-24 Dec 10 ......San Francisco ......L 16-26 Dec 17 ......@Jacksonville ........L 7-45 Dec 25 ......Pittsburgh ..............L 6-34 Dec 31 ......@Indianapolis ......L 13-22

Sep 10 ......Atlanta ..................L 17-23 Sep 17 ......@Tampa Bay..........L 7-29 Sep 24 ......Pittsburgh............W 23-17 Sep 28 ......@Green Bay ........L 14-35 Oct 9 ........Minnesota ............L 17-20 Oct 15 ......@Baltimore ........W 27-24 Oct 22 ......Carolina ................W 17-3 Oct 29 ......@New Orleans ....L 12-20 Week 9......BYE Nov 12 ......Green Bay ............L 16-23 Nov 19 ......Detroit ..................L 24-27 Nov 26 ......@Philadelphia ........L 3-31 Dec 3 ........San Francisco ......L 14-15 Dec 10 ......@Cincinnati ..........W 33-7 Dec 16 ......@Detroit ..............L 10-20 Dec 24 ......Cleveland ..............W 20-3 Dec 31 ......@Minnesota ........L 10-23

Sep 10 ......N.Y. Giants ............W 19-3 Sep 17 ......@Denver ..............L 17-42 Sep 25 ......@Arizona ............W 28-17 Oct 1 ........L.A. Rams ............L 30-35 Oct 8 ........Green Bay ............L 31-35 Week 6......BYE Oct 22 ......@San Francisco W 40-10 Oct 29 ......@Washington ....W 33-19 Nov 5 ........Kansas City ........W 28-17 Nov 12 ......@Atlanta ................L 7-27 Nov 19 ......Philadelphia ............L 9-37 Nov 23 ......L.A. Chargers ........L 6-28 Nov 30 ......Washington ........W 38-14 Dec 10 ......@N.Y. Giants ......W 30-10 Dec 17 ......@Oakland ..........W 20-17 Dec 24 ......Seattle ..................L 12-21 Dec 31 ......@Philadelphia ........W 6-0

Sep 10 ......Arizona................W 35-23 Sep 18 ......@N.Y. Giants ......W 24-10 Sep 24 ......Atlanta ..................L 26-30 Oct 1 ........@Minnesota..........W 14-7 Oct 8 ........Carolina ................L 24-27 Oct 15 ......@New Orleans ....L 38-52 Week 7......BYE Oct 29 ......Pittsburgh ............L 15-20 Nov 6 ........@Green Bay ......W 30-17 Nov 12 ......Cleveland ............W 38-24 Nov 19 ......@Chicago ..........W 27-24 Nov 23 ......Minnesota ............L 23-30 Dec 3 ........@Baltimore ..........L 20-44 Dec 10 ......@Tampa Bay ......W 24-21 Dec 16 ......Chicago ..............W 20-10 Dec 24 ......@Cincinnati ..........L 17-26 Dec 31 ......Green Bay ..........W 35-11

Sep 10 ......@L.A. Rams ..........L 9-46 Sep 17 ......Arizona ................L 13-16 Sep 24 ......Cleveland ............W 31-28 Oct 1 ........@Seattle ..............L 18-46 Oct 8 ........San Francisco ....W 26-23 Oct 16 ......@Tennessee ........L 22-36 Oct 22 ......Jacksonville ............L 0-27 Oct 29 ......@Cincinnati ..........L 23-24 Nov 5 ........@Houston ..........W 20-14 Nov 12 ......Pittsburgh ............L 17-20 Week 11 ....BYE Nov 26 ......Tennessee ............L 16-20 Dec 3 ........@Jacksonville ......L 10-30 Dec 10 ......@Buffalo ................L 7-13 Dec 14 ......Denver ..................L 13-25 Dec 23 ......@Baltimore ..........L 16-23 Dec 31 ......Houston ..............W 22-13

Sep 10 ......@Houston ............W 29-7 Sep 17 ......Tennessee ............L 16-37 Sep 24 ......Baltimore ..............W 44-7 Oct 1 ........@N.Y. Jets............L 20-23 Oct 8 ........@Pittsburgh ..........W 30-9 Oct 15 ......L.A. Rams ............L 17-27 Oct 22 ......@Indianapolis ......W 27-0 Week 8......BYE Nov 5 ........Cincinnati ..............W 23-7 Nov 12 ......L.A. Chargers......W 20-17 Nov 19 ......@Cleveland ..........W 19-7 Nov 26 ......@Arizona..............L 24-27 Dec 3 ........Indianapolis ........W 30-10 Dec 10 ......Seattle ................W 30-24 Dec 17 ......Houston ................W 45-7 Dec 24 ......@San Francisco ..L 33-44 Dec 31 ......@Tennessee ........L 10-15

Sep 10 ......Seattle ..................W 17-9 Sep 17 ......@Atlanta ..............L 23-34 Sep 24 ......Cincinnati ............W 27-24 Sep 28 ......Chicago ..............W 35-14 Oct 8 ........@Dallas ..............W 35-31 Oct 15 ......@Minnesota ........L 10-23 Oct 22 ......New Orleans ........L 17-26 Week 8......BYE Nov 6 ........Detroit ..................L 17-30 Nov 12 ......@Chicago ..........W 23-16 Nov 19 ......Baltimore ................L 0-23 Nov 26 ......@Pittsburgh..........L 28-31 Dec 3 ........Tampa Bay ..........W 26-20 Dec 10 ......@Cleveland ........W 27-21 Dec 17 ......@Carolina ............L 24-31 Dec 23 ......Minnesota ..............L 0-16 Dec 31 ......@Detroit................L 11-35

Sep 10 ......Indianapolis ..........W 46-9 Sep 17 ......Washington ..........L 20-27 Sep 21 ......@San Francisco W 41-39 Oct 1 ........@Dallas ..............W 35-30 Oct 8 ........Seattle ..................L 10-16 Oct 15 ......@Jacksonville ....W 27-17 Oct 22 ......Arizona..................W 33-0 Week 8......BYE Nov 5 ........@N.Y. Giants ......W 51-17 Nov 12 ......Houston ................W 33-7 Nov 19 ......@Minnesota ..........L 7-24 Nov 26 ......New Orleans ......W 26-20 Dec 3 ........@Arizona ............W 32-16 Dec 10 ......Philadelphia ..........L 35-43 Dec 17 ......@Seattle ..............W 42-7 Dec 24 ......@Tennessee ......W 27-23 Dec 31 ......San Francisco ....W 34-13

Sep 7 ........@New England ..W 42-27 Sep 17 ......Philadelphia ........W 27-20 Sep 24 ......@L.A. Chargers ..W 24-10 Oct 2 ........Washington ........W 29-20 Oct 8 ........@Houston ..........W 42-34 Oct 15 ......Pittsburgh ............L 13-19 Oct 19 ......@Oakland ............L 30-31 Oct 30 ......Denver ................W 29-19 Nov 5 ........@Dallas................L 17-28 Week 10....BYE Nov 19 ......@N.Y. Giants ..........L 9-12 Nov 26 ......Buffalo ..................L 10-16 Dec 3 ........@N.Y. Jets............L 31-38 Dec 10 ......Oakland ..............W 26-15 Dec 16 ......L.A. Chargers......W 30-13 Dec 24 ......Miami ..................W 29-13 Dec 31 ......@Denver ............W 27-24

Sep 11 ......@Denver ..............L 21-24 Sep 17 ......Miami....................L 17-19 Sep 24 ......Kansas City ..........L 10-24 Oct 1 ........Philadelphia ..........L 24-26 Oct 8 ........@N.Y. Giants ......W 27-22 Oct 15 ......@Oakland ..........W 17-16 Oct 22 ......Denver ..................W 21-0 Oct 29 ......@New England ....L 13-21 Week 9......BYE Nov 12 ......@Jacksonville ......L 17-20 Nov 19 ......Buffalo ................W 54-24 Nov 23 ......@Dallas ................W 28-6 Dec 3 ........Cleveland ............W 19-10 Dec 10 ......Washington ........W 30-13 Dec 16 ......@Kansas City ......L 13-30 Dec 24 ......@N.Y. Jets ............W 14-7 Dec 31 ......Oakland ..............W 30-10

Sep 11 ......New Orleans ......W 29-19 Sep 17 ......@Pittsburgh............L 9-26 Sep 24 ......Tampa Bay ..........W 34-17 Oct 1 ........Detroit ....................L 7-14 Oct 9 ........@Chicago ..........W 20-17 Oct 15 ......Green Bay ..........W 23-10 Oct 22 ......Baltimore ............W 24-16 Oct 29 ......@Cleveland ........W 33-16 Week 9......BYE Nov 12 ......@Washington ....W 38-30 Nov 19 ......L.A. Rams ............W 24-7 Nov 23 ......@Detroit..............W 30-23 Dec 3 ........@Atlanta ..............W 14-9 Dec 10 ......@Carolina ............L 24-31 Dec 17 ......Cincinnati ..............W 34-7 Dec 23 ......@Green Bay ........W 16-0 Dec 31 ......Chicago ..............W 23-10

Sep 11 ......@Minnesota ........L 19-29 Sep 17 ......New England ........L 20-36 Sep 24 ......@Carolina ..........W 34-13 Oct 1 ........@Miami ................W 20-0 Week 5......BYE Oct 15 ......Detroit ................W 52-38 Oct 22 ......@Green Bay ......W 26-17 Oct 29 ......Chicago ..............W 20-12 Nov 5 ........Tampa Bay ..........W 30-10 Nov 12 ......@Buffalo ............W 47-10 Nov 19 ......Washington ........W 34-31 Nov 26 ......@L.A. Rams ........L 20-26 Dec 3 ........Carolina ..............W 31-21 Dec 7 ........@Atlanta ..............L 17-20 Dec 17 ......N.Y. Jets..............W 31-19 Dec 24 ......Atlanta ................W 23-13 Dec 31 ......@Tampa Bay........L 24-31

Week 1......BYE Sep 17 ......@L.A. Chargers ..W 19-17 Sep 24 ......@N.Y. Jets..............L 6-20 Oct 1 ........New Orleans ..........L 0-20 Oct 8 ........Tennessee ..........W 16-10 Oct 15 ......@Atlanta ............W 20-17 Oct 22 ......N.Y. Jets..............W 31-28 Oct 26 ......@Baltimore ............L 0-40 Nov 5 ........Oakland ................L 24-27 Nov 13 ......@Carolina ............L 21-45 Week 11 ....Tampa Bay ..........L 20-30 Nov 26 ......@New England ....L 17-35 Dec 3 ........Denver ....................L 9-35 Dec 11 ......New England ......W 27-20 Dec 17 ......@Buffalo ..............L 16-24 Dec 24 ......@Kansas City ......L 13-29 Dec 31 ......Buffalo ..................L 16-22

Sep 7 ........Kansas City ..........L 27-42 Sep 17 ......@New Orleans....W 36-20 Sep 24 ......Houston ..............W 36-33 Oct 1 ........Carolina ................L 30-33 Oct 5 ........@Tampa Bay ......W 19-14 Oct 15 ......@N.Y. Jets ..........W 24-17 Oct 22 ......Atlanta ..................W 23-7 Oct 29 ......L.A. Chargers......W 21-13 Week 9......BYE Nov 12 ......@Denver ............W 41-16 Nov 19 ......@Oakland ............W 33-8 Nov 26 ......Miami ..................W 35-17 Dec 3 ........@Buffalo ..............W 23-3 Dec 11 ......@Miami ................L 20-27 Dec 17 ......@Pittsburgh ........W 27-24 Dec 24 ......Buffalo ................W 37-16 Dec 31 ......N.Y. Jets................W 26-6

Sep 10 ......@Buffalo ..............L 12-21 Sep 17 ......@Oakland ............L 20-45 Sep 24 ......Miami ....................W 20-6 Oct 1 ........Jacksonville ........W 23-20 Oct 8 ........@Cleveland ........W 17-14 Oct 15 ......New England ........L 17-24 Oct 22 ......@Miami ................L 28-31 Oct 29 ......Atlanta ..................L 20-25 Nov 2 ........Buffalo ................W 34-21 Nov 12 ......@Tampa Bay ......W 15-10 Week 11 ....BYE Nov 26 ......Carolina ................L 27-35 Dec 3 ........Kansas City ........W 38-31 Dec 10 ......@Denver ................L 0-23 Dec 17 ......@New Orleans ....L 19-31 Dec 24 ......L.A. Chargers ........L 7-14 Dec 31 ......@New England ......L 6-26

Sep 10 ......@Dallas..................L 3-19 Sep 18 ......Detroit ..................L 10-24 Sep 24 ......@Philadelphia ......L 24-27 Oct 1 ........@Tampa Bay........L 23-25 Oct 8 ........L.A. Chargers ......L 22-27 Oct 15 ......@Denver ............W 23-10 Oct 22 ......Seattle ....................L 7-24 Week 8......BYE Nov 5 ........L.A. Rams ............L 17-51 Nov 12 ......@San Francisco ..L 21-31 Nov 19 ......Kansas City ..........W 12-9 Nov 23 ......@Washington ......L 10-20 Dec 3 ........@Oakland ............L 17-24 Dec 10 ......Dallas ..................L 10-30 Dec 17 ......Philadelphia ..........L 29-34 Dec 24 ......@Arizona................L 0-23 Dec 31 ......Washington ........W 18-10

Sep 10 ......@Washington ....W 30-17 Sep 17 ......@Kansas City ......L 20-27 Sep 24 ......N.Y. Giants ..........W 27-24 Oct 1 ........@L.A. Chargers ..W 26-24 Oct 8 ........Arizona..................W 34-7 Oct 12 ......@Carolina ..........W 28-23 Oct 23 ......Washington ........W 34-24 Oct 29 ......San Francisco ....W 33-10 Nov 5 ........Denver ................W 51-23 Week 10....BYE Nov 19 ......@Dallas ................W 37-9 Nov 26 ......Chicago ................W 31-3 Dec 3 ........@Seattle ..............L 10-24 Dec 10 ......@L.A. Rams........W 43-35 Dec 17 ......@N.Y. Giants ......W 34-29 Dec 25 ......Oakland ..............W 19-10 Dec 31 ......Dallas ......................L 6-0

Sep 10 ......Carolina ..................L 3-23 Sep 17 ......@Seattle ................L 9-12 Sep 21 ......L.A. Rams ............L 39-41 Oct 1 ........@Arizona..............L 15-18 Oct 8 ........@Indianapolis ......L 23-26 Oct 15 ......@Washington ......L 24-26 Oct 22 ......Dallas ..................L 10-40 Oct 29 ......@Philadelphia ......L 10-33 Nov 5 ........Arizona ................L 10-20 Nov 12 ......N.Y. Giants ..........W 31-21 Week 11 ....BYE Nov 26 ......Seattle ..................L 13-24 Dec 3 ........@Chicago ..........W 15-14 Dec 10 ......@Houston ..........W 26-16 Dec 17 ......Tennessee ..........W 25-23 Dec 24 ......Jacksonville ........W 44-33 Dec 31 ......@L.A. Rams........W 34-13

Sep 10 ......@Tennessee ......W 26-16 Sep 17 ......N.Y. Jets..............W 45-20 Sep 24 ......@Washington ......L 10-27 Oct 1 ........@Denver ..............L 10-16 Oct 8 ........Baltimore ..............L 17-30 Oct 15 ......L.A. Chargers ......L 16-17 Oct 19 ......Kansas City ........W 31-30 Oct 29 ......@Buffalo ..............L 13-34 Nov 5 ........@Miami ..............W 27-24 Week 10....BYE Nov 19 ......New England ..........L 8-33 Nov 26 ......Denver ................W 21-14 Dec 3 ........N.Y. Giants ..........W 24-17 Dec 10 ......@Kansas City ......L 15-26 Dec 17 ......Dallas ..................L 17-20 Dec 25 ......@Philadelphia ......L 10-19 Dec 31 ......@L.A. Chargers....L 10-30

Sep 10 ......@Cleveland ........W 21-18 Sep 17 ......Minnesota ............W 26-9 Sep 24 ......@Chicago ............L 17-23 Oct 1 ........@Baltimore ..........W 26-9 Oct 8 ........Jacksonville ............L 9-30 Oct 15 ......@Kansas City ....W 19-13 Oct 22 ......Cincinnati ............W 29-14 Oct 29 ......@Detroit..............W 20-15 Week 9......BYE Nov 12 ......@Indianapolis ....W 20-17 Nov 16 ......Tennessee ..........W 40-17 Nov 26 ......Green Bay ..........W 31-28 Dec 4 ........@Cincinnati ........W 23-20 Dec 10 ......Baltimore ............W 39-38 Dec 17 ......New England ........L 24-27 Dec 25 ......@Houston ............W 34-6 Dec 31 ......Cleveland ............W 28-24

Sep 10 ......Oakland ................L 16-26 Sep 17 ......@Jacksonville ....W 37-16 Sep 24 ......Seattle ................W 33-27 Oct 1 ........@Houston ............L 14-57 Oct 8 ........@Miami ................L 10-16 Oct 16 ......Indianapolis ........W 36-22 Oct 22 ......@Cleveland ..........W 12-9 Week 8......BYE Nov 5 ........Baltimore ............W 23-20 Nov 12 ......Cincinnati ............W 24-20 Nov 16 ......@Pittsburgh..........L 17-40 Nov 26 ......@Indianapolis ....W 20-16 Dec 3 ........Houston ................L 13-24 Dec 10 ......@Arizona................L 7-12 Dec 17 ......@San Francisco ..L 23-25 Dec 24 ......L.A. Rams ............L 23-27 Dec 31 ......Jacksonville ........W 10-15

Sep 10 ......@Green Bay ..........L 9-17 Sep 17 ......San Francisco ......W 12-9 Sep 24 ......@Tennessee ........L 27-33 Oct 1 ........Indianapolis ........W 46-18 Oct 8 ........@L.A. Rams........W 16-10 Week 6......BYE Oct 22 ......@N.Y. Giants ........W 24-7 Oct 29 ......Houston ..............W 41-38 Nov 5 ........Washington ..........L 14-17 Nov 9 ........@Arizona ............W 22-16 Nov 20 ......Atlanta ..................L 31-34 Nov 26 ......@San Francisco W 24-13 Dec 3 ........Philadelphia ........W 24-10 Dec 10 ......@Jacksonville ......L 24-30 Dec 17 ......L.A. Rams ..............L 7-42 Dec 24 ......@Dallas ..............W 21-12 Dec 31 ......Arizona ................L 24-26

Week 1......BYE Sep 17 ......Chicago ................W 29-7 Sep 24 ......@Minnesota ........L 17-34 Oct 1 ........N.Y. Giants ..........W 25-23 Oct 5 ........New England ........L 14-19 Oct 15 ......@Arizona..............L 33-38 Oct 22 ......@Buffalo ..............L 27-30 Oct 29 ......Carolina ..................L 3-17 Nov 5 ........@New Orleans ....L 10-30 Nov 12 ......N.Y. Jets..............W 15-10 Nov 19 ......at Miami ..............W 30-20 Nov 26 ......@Atlanta ..............L 20-34 Dec 3 ........@Green Bay ........L 20-26 Dec 10 ......Detroit ..................L 21-24 Dec 18 ......Atlanta ..................L 21-24 Dec 24 ......@Carolina ............L 19-22 Dec 31 ......New Orleans ......W 31-24

Sep 10 ......Philadelphia ..........L 17-30 Sep 17 ......@L.A. Rams........W 27-20 Sep 24 ......Oakland ..............W 27-10 Oct 2 ........@Kansas City ......L 20-29 Week 5......BYE Oct 15 ......San Francisco ....W 26-24 Oct 23 ......@Philadelphia ......L 24-34 Oct 29 ......Dallas ..................L 19-33 Nov 5 ........@Seattle ............W 17-14 Nov 12 ......Minnesota ............L 30-38 Nov 19 ......@New Orleans ....L 31-34 Nov 23 ......N.Y. Giants ..........W 20-10 Nov 30 ......@Dallas................L 14-38 Dec 10 ......@L.A. Chargers....L 13-30 Dec 17 ......Arizona................W 20-15 Dec 24 ......Denver ................W 27-11 Dec 31 ......@N.Y. Giants ........L 10-18

CLEVELAND

INDIANAPOLIS

KANSAS CITY

MIAMI

OAKLAND

DENVER

JACKSONVILLE

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

NEW ENGLAND

16 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

PITTSBURGH

HOUSTON

CHICAGO

IMPORTANT NFL DATES Jan. 20

East-West Shrine Game, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Jan. 21

AFC and NFC Championship Games.

Jan. 27

Senior Bowl, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.

Jan. 28

NFL Pro Bowl, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.

Feb. 4

Super Bowl LII, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota.

Feb. 20

First day for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

Feb. 27

Combine Timing and Testing, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.

NEW YORK JETS

TENNESSEE

NEW YORK GIANTS

SEATTLE

DALLAS

GREEN BAY

MINNESOTA

PHILADELPHIA

TAMPA BAY

DETROIT

LOS ANGELES RAMS

NEW ORLEANS

SAN FRANCISCO

WASHINGTON

AUDIBLES We touched on the Mo Wilkerson drama quite a bit in the last issue, but the soap opera continues, and could be coming to a close very soon with his potential release.

When we last wrote, Wilkerson was left home from the Jets-Saints game for lateness issues.

Some thought that was the end of the punishment because coach Todd Bowles said, Dec. 20, that Wilkerson “served his sentence” with the one-game benching.

However, he did more time, because he was inactive for the final two games against the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots.

There was speculation that Wilkerson sat for the last two games due to his contract.

“The Jets have a financial reason for not playing Wilkerson beyond the punitive reasons,” wrote Brian Costello in the New York Post, Dec. 19. “His $16.75 million salary for 2018 is not guaranteed until the third day of the league year in March, meaning the Jets can cut him before then and not owe him any money. However, the full 2018 salary is guaranteed for injury, so if Wilkerson suffers a serious injury in the final two games, the Jets would be on the hook for his salary next year.”

Was this the reason he didn’t play the last two games? There has been a lot of speculation about this, but nobody from Jets management or the coaching staff ever came out and said that was the reason. So it’s incumbent on reporters to ask if this is truly the reason, even if some think it’s rhetorical. A Jets Confidential reporter did just that, Dec. 28.

Jets Confidential: What goes into the decision of whether or not Muhammad Wilkerson is active on Sunday?

Bowles: My decision, that’s all. Just mine only.

JC: You had said Wilkerson has served his sentence…

Bowles: Right.

JC: Is Wilkerson being active strictly a football decision?

Bowles: Yes, I’m allowed to make active or inactive anybody I choose to do so.

JC: Is the Wilkerson decison based on football or are there other factors?

Bowles: It’s football for me. It’s just a coaching decision.

At this point, Jets PR director Bruce Speight tried to cut off the line of questioning because it 18 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

was going nowhere, and the coach was getting agitated. Speight is a wonderful man who was just doing his job, but we continued the questioning because we felt the question wasn’t being answered.

Was it really a ‘coaching decision?’

Let’s get into this “coaching decision.”

Why would a coach not want one of his most talented defensive players on the field?

From a pure coaching standpoint — putting the contract situation aside — why wouldn’t Bowles want Wilkerson in his defensive lineup?

Wilkerson got off to a rough start the last two seasons due to injuries. In 2016, he still wasn’t 100 percent healed from his broken leg when the season began, and wasn’t great the first half of that campaign. He endured a similar situation this year, when he was dealing with a shoulder injury and broken toe. According to a league source, Wilkerson was taking pain-killing shots (they often use Toradol in the NFL) to play the first half of this season. Perhaps he deserves some credit for playing with two injuries and doing what it takes to get on the field.

There are a lot of fans and media saying Wilkerson “mailed it in” after signing a lucrative longterm contract in July 2016.

“It’s led many to believe Wilkerson got lazy after getting paid, checked out once finally getting his long-term extension,” wrote NJ.com’s Connor Hughes.

We don’t see it that way. His lateness issues are inexcusable, but when he has been healthy, like late in 2016 and the second half of 2017, his play has been good.

Keep in mind, we understand, unlike others, that 3-4 defensive ends generally aren’t going to get a lot of sacks. Wilkerson did one year, but that was an aberration. Some don’t understand that, so when they criticize him, they point to his sack total. Those people need a primer on the Jets’ scheme. In a 3-4 scheme, the sack kings should be at outside linebacker.

Before Wilkerson’s three-week deactivation at the end of the season, and after his toe and shoulder improved, he put together a nice stretch of football, and was a key cog in a Jets run defense that improved significantly from earlier in the season. Look at the five-game stretch before the Jets put Wilkerson on ice: Nov. 2, Jets-Bills — LeSean McCoy, 12 carries for 25 yards.

Nov. 12, Jets-Buccaneers — Doug Martin, 20 carries for 51 yards.

Alan Schaefer

The Wilkerson Soap Opera — Part II

FAMILY MATTERS Off-field issues could be contributing to Mo Wilkerson’s lateness problems.

Nov. 26, Jets-Panthers — Jonathan Stewart, 15 carries for 26 yards.

Dec. 3, Jets-Chiefs — Kareem Hunt, 9 carries for 40 yards.

Dec. 10, Jets-Broncos — C.J. Anderson, 22 carries for 48 yards; Devantae Booker, 9 carries, 22 yards.

Here are the three games that followed, with Wilkerson absent: Dec. 17, Jets-Saints — Mark Ingram, 12 carries for 72 yards; Alvin Kamara 12 carries for 44 yards.

Dec. 24, Jets-Chargers — Melvin Gordon, 19 carries for 81 yards.

Dec. 31, Jets-Patriots — Dion Lewis, 26 carries for 93 yards; Brandon Bolden, 9 carries for 46 yards.

You get the idea. The Jets’ run defense was much better with Wilkerson in the lineup.

And you know something else, during that five-game stretch when Wilkerson did a good

AUDIBLES job playing the 3-4 end position, linebacker Darron Lee played some of his best football as a Jet. Why? Wilkerson was taking up double teams, which freed up Lee, allowing the linebacker, with his great speed, to flow to the football and make a lot of big plays. That is a huge part of the 3-4 end position. Some don’t realize this and are focused on sacks, but a lot of the job of a 3-4 end is doing the dirty work, taking up blocks, so other cats can make plays.

Lee was average in the last three games with Wilkerson out of the mix.

Against the Patriots in the season-finale, Lee had a rough game, starting with the Patriots’ first running play right at him for 9 yards, when he wasn’t protected, and a blocker easily locked on to him, taking him out of the play.

In the Saints’ game, Ingram had a 50-yard TD run right at Lee. The defensive lineman in front of him, Steve McLendon, was handled by a single blocker, Lee was pancaked, and Ingram was off to the races through the void left by Lee being on the ground.

So to say that Wilkerson was playing poorly is revisionist history. He wasn’t.

That is why it’s hard to understand the concept that this was a “coach’s decision.” Why would a coach like Bowles, who has an astute defensive mind, think it’s a good idea to sit Wilkerson the final three games of the season?

That doesn’t pass the smell test. Clearly this was beyond a coach’s decision, but Bowles took the bullet. Obviously, GM Mike Maccagnan and other higher-ups were involved in this. Why would a coach care about a player’s salary if the player can help his team? That is usually stuff that bothers general managers and owners.

Coaches are usually just about winning on Sunday, and not into cap issues.

But while the Jets could have used Wilkerson from a football standpoint, despite what the sack-obsessed are writing, you can certainly understand why they didn’t play him in the last three games.

Aside from the lateness, which is totally out of line and bad for the Jets’ football culture, it

wouldn’t have been good for the Jets moving forward if he were to get hurt, and the team were forced to pay him his entire $16.75 million salary for 2018.

Wilkerson’s contract perhaps too expensive And that gets us to the largesse of his current contract, lateness or no lateness.

Even though we think he’s a valuable player on the Jets defense (just ask Lee), he’s clearly overpaid for the job he does.

It’s probably not the best idea to give a 3-4 defense end, who does a lot of dirty work and stops the run, a five-year deal for $86 million with $53.5 million guaranteed.

It’s important to have a player like this in a 34 scheme, but it’s not a position that should demand this kind of money.

And this isn’t second-guessing. This is what Dan Leberfeld wrote for JetsConfidential.com on July 7, 2015, about what would be fair money for Wilkerson, who was playing under his fifth-year option at the time ($6.96 million).

“So what is a fair deal for Mo Wilkerson?

San Diego Chargers defender Corey Liuget, another 3-4 end, just got a five-year extension worth $58.5 million with $30 million guaranteed.

Another 3-4 end, the New Orleans Saints’ Cameron Jordan, just signed a five-year, $60 million deal worth a reported $33.8 million guaranteed.

Are these deals good benchmarks for Wilkerson?

To a degree. These are both good players, but Wilkerson is a little better.

Last year, Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt, another 3-4 end, got a six-year, $100 million contract extension that includes $51.9 million guaranteed.

Forget about the Ndamukong Suh contract with the Miami Dolphins. That is so high, it’s unfair to the Jets to even bring that deal into the conversation.

So to us, the landing spot for the Jets and Wilkerson is halfway between those two recent 3-4 end deals and Watt. Mo is very good, but he’s not as good as Watt — few players are now, or were in history.

If a soon-to-be 30-year-old cornerback (Darrelle Revis) can get $39 million guaranteed from the Jets, why can’t Wilkerson? It’s a fair request, but it’s probably not going to happen.

How about meeting in the middle of Jordan ($33.8 million guaranteed) and Revis ($39 million guaranteed)?

Give Mo between $36-37 million guaranteed in a five-year deal, and get it over with.”

Aside from the contract probably being too

Alan Schaefer

MONEY TALKS The contract Mike Maccagnan gave Mo Wilkerson in July 2016 has come back to bite the Jets.

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 19

pricey, another issue we had with it, that came up a year later, was giving a long-term deal to the player before he had healed from a broken leg suffered in the 2015 season finale.

Again, this is not second-guessing. We wrote it before he got the big contract.

Here is what Leberfeld wrote on JetsConfidential.com, June 17, 2016: “Wilkerson has every right to be frustrated over not landing a long-term lucrative contract yet.

‘It’s shocking. It’s frustrating,” Wilkerson told The New York Post. ‘Because I feel like I’ve earned it and I deserve it. It would be different if I was just a mediocre player. I feel like each and every week I’m dominating and it’s showing. The stats speak for themselves. Basically, what more do I need to do?’

Unfortunately, one more thing he needs to do is show he can be just as dominating coming off a broken leg.

He broke his leg in the Jets’ 2015 season finale.

Hey, the injury wasn’t his fault, but it happened, and he’s still rehabbing as we speak. Bowles said today that even if Wilkerson wasn’t holding out, he still wouldn’t have participated in the veteran minicamp. He’s still not 100 percent.

There is an excellent chance Wilkerson comes back from this injury and plays like his old self.

But would it be smart business for the Jets to give a player rehabbing a broken leg, who hasn’t been back on the practice field yet, more than $60 million guaranteed?

That’s a tough one.

So for 2016, Wilkerson might need to play for the $15.7 million franchise tag, prove he can dominate like the past on his repaired leg, and get a long-term deal next offseason with the Jets or elsewhere.

Another example of a team giving a player big money coming off a broken leg before proving he could come back effectively, was when the Raiders did so with QB Derek Carr. They gave him $25 million a year this summer. How’d that work out? Carr had a bad season.

What should Jets do with Wilkerson moving forward?

So now what?

If the Jets release Wilkerson this offseason they’d save $11 million on the cap. But they would also take a $9 million cap hit.

Instead of releasing him, perhaps they can try to help him. Clearly something is wrong in his personal life that is contributing to the lateness.

20 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

Alan Schaefer

AUDIBLES

JOINING THE ENEMY? If the Jets release Mo Wilkerson, there is a good chance New England coach Bill Belichick will want him on the Patriots.

We think Wilkerson’s story is somewhat similar to that of New York Giants troubled CB Eli Apple.

While it sounds great on paper to get drafted by a team near your hometown, it also can be a nightmare, with family and friends pulling at you left and right.

Apple, from Voorhees, N.J., has a lot of family drama going on, and it could be contributing to his problems with the Giants.

Apple was suspended by the team for the 2017 season finale for a “pattern of behavior that is conduct detrimental to the team.”

This headline ran, Dec. 23, in the New York Post: “Family problems are impacting Giants’ pariah Eli Apple.”

According to NJ.com, Eli and his mother, Annie, have cut themselves off from the rest of the family.

“Just growing up, if you had told me things would end up this way, I wouldn’t believe you — that Eli would go to the Giants and not be family-

oriented?” Apple’s half-brother Dane Blackson told NJ Advance Media. “He’s burning bridges left and right and he’s losing the people that really care about him and love him no matter what. I don’t know what him and Annie are up to. It’s crazy.”

We don’t want to turn this into a gossip column, but we hear there is family drama pulling at Wilkerson, which is contributing to his erratic behavior. We aren’t making excuses, just telling you what is going on.

Guys like Wilkerson and Apple might be better off playing far away from home. While it’s a dream story on draft day about a kid playing at home, it can often be a headache.

While this is a longshot, perhaps the Jets can get Wilkerson the help he needs through their player programs department led by Dave Szott.

This is a guy crying out for help, and Bowles said, “He served his sentence.”

And Wilkerson’s not a bad guy like the Daily News will lead you to believe. He does myriad local charity work helping kids in his hometowns of Elizabeth and Linden, and also with breast cancer.

And by the way, all those hatchet jobs by the News on Wilkerson over the last two years have also impacted him and his family in a really negative way. Nobody likes to be covered like that, especially in your hometown, where you friends and family live. Remember, a lot of this smearcampaign happened before the late-season issues in 2017. And what did anybody do to stop it?

The writer paid no price whatsoever. It was business as usual. During those myriad libelous stories, how about somebody in Florham Park, at any point, saying, “The stuff being written about Mo is bull, and the writer needs to knock it off — how do you compare Mo to the Goodyear Blimp (which was done) — that is bush league.”

Also, Wilkerson’s still a very good player when healthy, and if released by the Jets, he will get signed very quickly, perhaps by New England, and probably dominate. He’s in his prime and very physically gifted with a rare combination of size, strength and athleticism. Be careful what you wish for, Jets fans — it could be painful to watch Wilkerson wreak havoc in another uniform.

So how about the Jets have him take a pay cut to a cap-friendly deal, get him the professional help he needs, police the News better and try to help him straighten out his life?

That is a longshot. He’s probably going to be released.

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4 5 7 9 10 11 16 18 21 23 25 26 27 29 31 32 33 34 36 39 41 42 44 45 47 48 50 51 54 56 57 58 68 70 71 72 75 76 77 78 79 82 83 85 87 88 92 93 94

POS

HT

WT

AGE

EXP

SCHOOL

Edwards, Lachlan ........P ......6-4....209 ....25 ...2....Sam Houston St. Hackenberg, Christian ...QB .....6-4....228 ....22 ...2....Penn State Catanzaro, Chandler ...K ......6-3....200 ....26 ...4....Clemson Petty, Bryce ................QB .....6-3....230 ....26 ...3....Baylor Kearse, Jermaine.......WR.....6-1....209 ....27 ...6....Washington Anderson, Robby .......WR.....6-3....190 ....24 ...2....Temple Hansen, Chad............WR.....6-2....202 ....22 ...R ...California Stewart, ArDarius.......WR....5-11 ...204 ....24 ...R ...Alabama Claiborne, Morris ........CB ....5-11 ...192 ....27 ...6....LSU Brooks, Terrence..........S......5-11 ...200 ....25 ...4....Florida State McGuire, Elijah ...........RB ....5-10...214 ....23 ...R ...La.-Lafayette Maye, Marcus ..............S ......6-0....207 ....24 ...R ...Florida Roberts, Darryl ...........CB .....6-0....182 ....27 ...3....Marshall Powell, Bilal ................RB ....5-10...204 ....29 ...7....Louisville Jones, Derrick ............CB .....6-2....188 ....23 ...R ...Mississippi Burris, Juston .............CB .....6-0....212 ....24 ...2....North Carolina St. Adams, Jamal..............S ......6-1....213 ....22 ...R ...LSU Clark, Jeremy .............CB .....6-3....220 ....23 ...R ...Michigan Robinson, Rashard.....CB .....6-2....177 ....22 ...2....LSU Thomas, Jahad...........RB ....5-10...190 ....22 ...R ...Temple Skrine, Buster.............CB .....5-9....185 ....28 ...7....Tenn.-Chattanooga Hennessy, Thomas .....LS .....6-2....246 ....23 ...R ...Duke Thomas, Lawrence .....FB .....6-3....286 ....24 ...2....Michigan State Miles, Rontez...............S ......6-0....203 ....29 ...3....California (PA) Bass, David ................LB .....6-4....267 ....27 ...5....Missouri W St. Jenkins, Jordan ..........LB .....6-3....259 ....23 ...2....Georgia Bishop, Freddie ..........LB .....6-3....255 ....27 ...2....Western Michigan Stanford, Julian...........LB .....6-1....230 ....27 ...4....Wagner Carter, Bruce ..............LB .....6-2....240 ....29 ...7....North Carolina Davis, Demario ...........LB .....6-2....239 ....28 ...4....Arkansas State Gwacham, Obum........LB .....6-5....246 ....26 ...3....Oregon State Lee, Darron.................LB .....6-1....232 ....23 ...2....Ohio State Beachum, Kelvin..........T.......6-3....308 ....28 ...6....SMU Dozier, Dakota.............G ......6-4....313 ....26 ...4....Furman Ijalana, Ben..................T.......6-4....322 ....28 ...7....Villanova Shell, Brandon .............T.......6-5....324 ....25 ...2....South Carolina Cooper, Xavier............DL .....6-4....300 ....26 ...3....Washington State Johnson, Wesley .........C ......6-5....297 ....27 ...4....Vanderbilt Carpenter, James ........G ......6-5....321 ....28 ...7....Alabama Harrison, Jonotthan ....OL .....6-4....300 ....26 ...4....Florida Qvale, Brent ...............OL .....6-7....315 ....26 ...3....Nebraska Whitehead, Lucky ......WR.....5-9....180 ....25 ...3....Florida Atlantic Tomlinson, Eric ...........TE .....6-6....263 ....25 ...2....UTEP Sterling, Neal ..............TE .....6-3....257 ....25 ...3....Monmouth (N.J.) Natson, JoJo..............WR.....5-7....153 ....23 ...1....Akron Seferian-Jenkins, Austin ...TE .....6-5....262 ....25 ...4....Washington Williams, Leonard .......DL .....6-5....302 ....23 ...3....Southern California Simon, Deon...............DL .....6-4....332 ....27 ...2....Northwestern State Ealy, Kony...................DL .....6-4....275 ....26 ...4....Missouri

22 Jets Confidential FEBRUARY 2018

as of Jan. 13

NO. NAME

95 96 98 99

POS

HT

WT

AGE

EXP

SCHOOL

Martin, Josh ................LB .....6-3....245 ....26 ...5....Columbia Wilkerson, Mo.............DL .....6-4....315 ....28 ...7....Temple Pennel, Mike...............DL .....6-4....332 ....26 ...4....Colo. State-Pueblo McLendon, Steve........DL .....6-3....310 ....32 ...8....Troy

RESERVE/INJURED 3 15 17 19 22 36 37 37 38 49 53 55 67 81 86 87 97

Estime, Brisly .............WR.....5-9....186 ....25 ...R ...Syracuse McCown, Josh............QB .....6-4....218 ....38 ..15...Sam Houston St. Peake, Charone.........WR.....6-2....209 ....25 ...2....Clemson Smith, Devin ..............WR.....6-1....199 ....25 ...3....Ohio State Forté, Matt ..................RB .....6-2....218 ....32 ..10...Tulane Middleton, Doug ..........S ......6-0....210 ....24 ...1....Appalachian State Judd, Akeem...............RB ....5-10...225 ....25 ...R ...Mississippi Keeton, Bryson...........CB .....6-2....190 ....24 ...1....Montana State Coleman, Xavier.........CB ....5-11 ...190 ....22 ...R ...Portland State Donahue, Dylan..........LB .....6-3....248 ....25 ...R ...West Georgia Robinson, Edmond .....LB .....6-3....245 ....25 ...3....Newberry Mauldin, Lorenzo ........LB .....6-4....259 ....25 ...3....Louisville Winters, Brian..............G ......6-4....320 ....26 ...5....Kent State Enunwa, Quincy.........WR.....6-2....225 ....25 ...3....Nebraska Leggett, Jordan...........TE .....6-5....258 ....22 ...R ...Clemson Gragg, Chris ...............TE .....6-3....244 ....27 ...5....Arkansas Stinson, Ed .................DL .....6-4....287 ....27 ...4....Alabama

RESERVE/FUTURE 1 2 30 35 65 69 82 84 89 91

McBride, Tre ..............WR.....6-0....210 ....25 ...3....William & Mary Stave, Joel .................QB .....6-4....230 ....25 ...1....Wisconsin Langford, Jeremy .......RB .....6-0 ....211 ....26 ...3....Michigan State Sinkfield, Terrell ..........DB .....6-1....195 ....27 ...1....Northern Iowa Kirven, Korren ............OT .....6-4....315 ....23 ...R ...Alabama Braden, Ben ................G ......6-6....329 ....23 ...R ...Michigan Williams, Dan.............WR.....6-2....234 ....22 ...R ...Jackson State Stringfellow, Damore’ea ...WR.....6-2....222 ....23 ...R ...Mississippi Marshall, Jalin............WR....5-10...200 ....22 ...2....Ohio State Pelon, Claude .............DL .....6-4....300 ....25 ...1....Southern California

COACHING STAFF Todd Bowles: Head Coach Mike Caldwell: Asst Head Coach/ILBs Brant Boyer: Special Teams Coordinator John Morton: Offensive Coordinator Kacy Rodgers: Defensive Coordinator Tim Atkins: Defensive Quality Control Jeremy Bates: Quarterbacks Robby Brown: Defensive Assistant David Diaz-Infante: Asst Offensive Line Karl Dorrell: Wide Receivers Justus Galac: Strength and Conditioning Joe Giacobbe: Asst Strength & Cond.

La’Roi Glover: Assistant Defensive Line Kevin Greene: Outside Linebackers Jeff Hammerschmidt: Asst ST Jimmie Johnson: Tight Ends Mick Lombardi: Offensive Asst/QBs Steve Marshall: Offensive Line Aaron McLaurin: Asst Strength & Cond.

Stump Mitchell: Running Backs Robert Nunn: Defensive Line Jason Vrable: Offensive Assistant Dennard Wilson: Defensive Backs

NEW YORK JETS 2018 OPPONENTS AWAY

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NEW YORK JETS 2017 RESULTS

Week 1

Week 5

Week 9

Week 14

34-21

0-23

L

W

W

Week 2

Week 6

Week 10

Week 15

10-15

19-31

12-21

17-14

L

L

L

L

Week 3

Week 7

Week 12

Week 16

27-35

7-14

20-45

17-24

L

W

L

L

Week 4

Week 8

Week 13

Week 17

38-31

6-26

20-6

W

23-20 (OT)

28-31

L

20-25

W

L L

FEBRUARY 2018 Jets Confidential 23

0 7 $ E SAV