{"id":33881,"date":"2022-10-20T15:38:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T19:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=33881"},"modified":"2022-10-20T15:38:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T19:38:06","slug":"the-b-gap-despite-questions-at-quarterback-the-jets-are-finally-figuring-it-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2022\/10\/20\/the-b-gap-despite-questions-at-quarterback-the-jets-are-finally-figuring-it-out\/","title":{"rendered":"The B-Gap: Despite questions at quarterback, the Jets are finally figuring it out"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Very few outsiders who play at Green Bay\u2019s Lambeau Field, the longest tenured stadium in the NFL, walk out feeling better than they did walking in. Even fewer walk out of the bowl, filled to the brim with fans without fail, with a win. Even fewer walk out with a win when its inhabitants, the Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay Packers, lost the previous week. But perhaps no outsider, ever, in the 65 year history of the iconic stadium, has walked out wearing a cheesehead, the venue\u2019s signature souvenir.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sunday, the New York Jets did all four.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jets\u2019 rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner walks off the field dawning the iconic Packer cheesehead. Jeff Hanisch\/ USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was not a fluke. New York has now won four games from their first six, are a game behind the dominant Buffalo Bills for the AFC East throne, and have a 47% chance of making the playoffs according to the New York Times\u2019 playoff simulator. This, by every objective surface-level metric, is a good football team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given where head coach Robert Saleh\u2019s team ended last season\u200a\u2014\u200awith a 4\u201313 record bad enough for the fourth overall pick in the draft\u200a\u2014\u200aeach one of those measuring sticks: the wins, the division placement, the playoff chances, represent a remarkable achievement. Given where the Jets ended the season before that, and the season before that, and the season before that (bad enough for the second, eleventh, and third overall picks respecitively), their early success in 2022 is quickly becoming revolutionary. New York is more than just <\/span>good<\/span><\/i>, they are the best they\u2019ve been in seven years. If they eventually cash in on that virtual coin-flip chance to make the playoffs, the 2022 Jets will have reached heights the franchise hasn\u2019t reached since 2010, and will snap the NFL\u2019s longest active playoff drought.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sunday, when Sauce Gardner danced off the field at Lambeau with a foam piece of cheese on his head, it was a <\/span>big<\/span><\/i>deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

But it is those same humble beginnings that make things far more complicated for the Jets. It seems counterintuitive, due to how bad the team has been and for how long, but these were not the important measuring sticks entering the season. Wins weren\u2019t expected, and nor were they really the goal. What was <\/span>the <\/span><\/i>important measuring stick, what the franchise’s hat was hanged on, was the success of sophomore quarterback Zach Wilson. His story isn\u2019t as absolute.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the conditions of his evaluation to this point are by no means black and white. Wilson has only played in three games in 2022 (all wins, for whatever that\u2019s worth), starting the season on the bench due to a meniscus tear and bone bruise in the knee suffered in the preseason. Given the presumably expedited nature of a rather severe injury (it required surgery), it is fair to assume that Wilson has made the first three starts of his second professional season at well under 100%. Given the significant role Wilson\u2019s athleticism plays in his game, his health (or lack thereof) is never wise to overlook. Nevertheless, the former second overall pick hasn\u2019t been great, certainly not good enough to warrant the organization feeling comfortable committing to him as their franchise QB\u200a\u2014\u200awhich for the Jets, is where the definition of a successful 2022 season has always truly lied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He has displayed marginal improvement from a frustrating and disappointing rookie campaign; and the peaks that have made him such an exciting prospect continue to be reached, this season on a more consistent basis than last. Even so, these highs continue to come almost exclusively outside of the pocket, which is notable\u200a\u2014\u200ait means Wilson is struggling to execute within his offense\u2019s intended structure. In turn, that means his success as it currently comes is not sustainable. He remains an impressively talented \u201cbackyard football\u201d player who <\/span>should<\/span><\/i> be able to become an elite professional quarterback, but who has yet to actually prove that intuition correct. He still looks the part, though, and factor in the inconvenience of his injury and the mere sixteen games he has played so far in his career, and his book has still yet to be written.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Credit: New York Jets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bottom line? The Jets still have a long way to go because <\/span>Wilson <\/span><\/i>still has a long way to go. They are no different to any other NFL team: their quarterback is still the center of everything, his success is still a required commodity. A good quarterback, Wilson or someone else, is still a puzzle piece they cannot win without. The Jets are by no means disproving that perceived reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it is easy to get lost in the perennial fixation on the man under center, and easy to forget that despite being a necessity, Wilson still needs help. This is where the Jets are excelling, where those earlier measuring sticks\u200a\u2014\u200athe wins, the division placement, the playoff chances, just being an objectively good team\u200a\u2014\u200abecome <\/span>really <\/span><\/i>important. This is where the Jets are finally figuring it out.<\/span><\/p>\n

It all starts on defense. No area of the team mirrors the season\u2019s remarkable turnaround quite like this unit\u200a\u2014\u200awho ended 2021 with a pretty strong case for the league\u2019s worst defense. Six weeks into 2022, they fall just outside the top-ten in both passing and rushing yards allowed per game, but remain ninth in total yards allowed per game. They are <\/span>fourth <\/span><\/i>in opponent yards per carry allowed at just 3.9 and are seventh in takeaways with 10. Throw in 14 sacks, and New York is abundantly fulfilling the modern formula for effecient defensive play: they certainly bend, but never break, buying themselves enough time to change the game with big plays (ie. sacks and takeaways). Football Outsiders\u2019 DVOA, the most highly regarded efficiency metric out there, ranks New York 12th in overall defensive DVOA. Go back and watch their performance against Rodgers\u2019 Packers. <\/span>They<\/span><\/i>, without consistent help from the offense, won that game by themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

This remarkable defensive rejuvenation has been spearheaded by sparkling individual talent. Rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner, whom general manager Joe Douglas spent this year\u2019s fourth overall pick on, has garnered most of the attention. And how could he not\u200a\u2014\u200avery few 22 year olds have the mettle to prance out of the league\u2019s most daunting fortress trolling a hall of fame quarterback after their sixth career game. But that relentless confidence he\u2019s become known for never breaches into arrogance. Gardner looks every bit the fourth overall pick: a dominant corner with smothering physical length and almost invincible recovery speed. He\u2019s been everything the Jets could\u2019ve hoped for and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t the only one. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, the third overall pick three drafts prior to Gardner, has quietly put together a fourth-year campaign worthy of serious defensive player of the year consideration. His fingerprints were all over his team\u2019s signature win at Lambeau\u200a\u2014\u200awith two sacks of Aaron Rodgers on six pressures, three QB hits, two tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. He even <\/span>blocked a field goal.<\/span><\/i> Just cold, raw talent dominating all over the field. According to Pro Football Focus, he enters week seven first among all interior defensive lineman in total pressures (24) and pressure percentage (16%): an invaluable contribution to what has become arguably a top-ten defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mike Roemer\/ Associated Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These two defensive starlets headline an increasingly recurrent theme across the Jets\u2019 depth chart; they are premium spends at premium positions that have turned into premium professional players. Gardner and Williams are both top-five picks, and both are now bona fide elite performers in critical roles. On offense, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker were both top-15 picks, and both appear destined to eventually reach similar heights. Vera-Tucker\u2019s value, specifically, has become rooted in his versatility; he has admirably filled in at right tackle for the injured Mekhi Becton, himself a top-15 pick of two drafts prior. He too provided an excellent early-return as a rookie before his next two seasons were both eliminated through severe injury. Provided he stays healthy in the seasons beyond, an enormous if, the Jets will have two outstanding young talents at two essential positions up front.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joe Douglas has drafted well into the second and third rounds, arguably equal in significance to the first, most recently through running back Breece Hall and wideout Elijah Moore. Hall, though not at a premium position, has clearly proved he is a difference-maker, starting his career on pace for over 1,700 scrimmage yards, 54 receptions out of the backfield, and eleven all-purpose touchdowns. Moore, drafted a year earlier, hasn’t blown away any with his production through one and a third professional seasons. He has, however, presented impressive athletic prowess and looks capable of fulfilling a Swiss Army knife-type role in New York\u2019s offense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hall, who doesn\u2019t play the premium position that Vera-Tuckers does, and Moore, who lacks the ceiling for premium production that Garett Wilson has, both still have roles to play. Roles that will be critical in providing Zach Wilson the help he needs to fulfill his potential. That is the key here. If Wilson is to become anything, he needs <\/span>help<\/span><\/i>. Accordingly, if the Jets themselves are to become anything, they need to give it to him. This is what they have failed to do for so long, as they watched several highly-drafted quarterbacks walk in with promise, then quickly walk out with disappointment. Despite their impressive start to the 2022 season, they are still no closer to knowing if Wilson will be any different. Nevertheless, 2022 has shown them is that they are set up to give him his best shot. Through Wilson, Vera-Tucker, Becton, Moore, and Hall on offense, and a borderline elite defense led by Gardner and Williams, New York can confidently say, entirely through their own doing, that they have a good football team. What will make them a great one, as has become standard in the NFL, is the man under center.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan Very few outsiders who play at Green Bay\u2019s Lambeau Field, the longest tenured stadium in the NFL, walk out feeling better than they did walking in. Even fewer walk out of the bowl, filled to the brim with fans without fail, with a win. Even fewer walk out with a win […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21477,"featured_media":33882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1050,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33881"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33885,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33881\/revisions\/33885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}