With NFL Training Camps just a few days away from opening, New York Jets positional battles will head up in quite a hurry.
By Robby Sabo
Leave it up to the NFL to make sure grown men fight each other on a field for their livelihoods. Oftentimes it comes down to two men for the right to earn a game check every week, eventually totaling a couple hundred thousand dollars annually.
It’s serious business.
Of course talks of superstars and fantasy football sleepers take the major chunk of our time in the mainstream. It’s only natural. The real narrative within each team’s circle, however, comes down to the 53rd man on each squad.
So many personalities and talent angles, so few NFL spots.
The New York Jets aren’t any different in this regard. Here are the Jets top five positional battles heading into training camp.
5. Running Back
In this new era of a pass-happy NFL, the running back position has become completely marginalized.
It makes sense. After all, this is the position which features a shorter shelf-life than any. These guys take poundings and beatings like nobody’s business. So, instead of the featured workhorse most teams employ a running back by committee approach (as seen the last decade-plus).
Chris Ivory will return as the starter. In 2014 he proved he could, indeed, stay healthy by playing all 16 games through a very punishing style of carrying the ball.
Don’t go into the season thinking Ivory will play all 16 in 2015. He’s now one year older, 27, and will naturally get banged up. This is why Bilal Powell, Stevan Ridley, Zac Stacy and Daryl Richardson will come in handy.
It’ll be interesting to see how the committee shakes out. We know guys like Ivory and Stacy can take the ball between the tackles and Powell and Richardson can play the third-down role, but there are simply too many guys right now for essentially three spots.
Prediction:
Ivory will be the starter with Powell as the third-down back. Stacy will serve as the immediate backup. Ridley and Richardson will find themselves on the outside looking in (with one of them eventually being cut).
Richardson might edge out Ridley as the last cut simply due to the fact he brings the only ounce of top-flight speed to the unit. What this group lacks in top-flight speed they make up with heavy ball-carrying.
4. Guard
Perhaps there’s no position that’s more wide-open than the guard spot.
The signing of James Carpenter, Super Bowl Champion from the Seattle Seahawks, provides one definite starter along the right side. As far as the left side is concerned, it’s anybody’s best guess.
Brian Winters returns for his second season in the NFL. He started 12 games during his rookie season and provided marginal return. A pretty solid run-blocker, Winters struggles greatly in pass protection. His foot-speed is often over-matched against the top notch pass rushing interior lineman.
Willie Colon enters his ninth season in the NFL, and quite frankly, could be cut during training camp. He simply didn’t get the job done in 2014 and at 34-years old it’ll be a tall task to ask this season. Oday Aboushi, Dakota Dozier and fifth round draft pick Jarvis Harrison will also be in the mix.
The offensive line is most definitely one of the scarier units for this team heading into the year. Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson aren’t getting any younger so they’ll need guys to step up around them.
Prediction:
Although he can also play tackle, look for Aboushi to start the season opposite Carpenter at the guard spot.
3. Safety
From god awful to one of the best in the league is how the Jets secondary will shake out from 2014 to 2015. There’s no way around that notion based on their talent-pool from a season ago to now.
Last season a guy like Antonio Allen was forced to play cornerback. The poor kid had no chance. He’s a safety with not enough elite quickness to keep up man-to-man along the outside. Now, he shifts back to safety and will battle newcomer Marcus Gilchrist for the starting free safety spot.
Second year first-round draft selection Calvin Prior will start at the strong spot. It’ll be a welcomed sight for Jets fans after witnessing him struggle in 2014 trying to play center field.
Based on this current personnel, Todd Bowles will be able to play a ton of three-deep with Prior robbing the middle and joining the box. He won’t be out of position in 2015, thus there will be no excuses.
Prediction:
Look for Gilchrist to start the season as the starting free safety with Allen playing the third safety in a elaborate sub packages. His versatile ability to do whatever is needed on the field will become very crucial on passing downs with six or seven defensive backs on the field.
2. Quarterback
When the casual NFL fan looks at the New York Jets, there’s only one spot of uncertainty that comes to mind.
It’s, of course, the quarterback position.
Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey has made the most noise about the position as during mini-camp he proclaimed Geno Smith the starter. Then Bowles sort-of used some words of his own to make sure everybody backs off Gailey’s bold statement.
In any event, this is the top positional battle of Jets camp. The one spot that’ll sway the most games during 2015 thanks to the nature of the NFL these days.
The addition of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick and drafting of rookie Bryce Petty certainly mixes things up.
Yet again, Geno toyed with our emotions towards another end to a season. Just as he did during the final four games of the 2013 season, Smith played brilliantly (along with Eric Decker) in the 2014 season finale in Miami.
Prediction:
There’s no question Geno will get the first crack when the season starts. He possesses the most talent of all three guys and has showed some quality attributes along the way. Standing strong in the pocket while delivering the ball and using his mobility are traits that can help a defensive minded team to an extraordinary degree.
Should he falter, Gailey will lean on a guy he’s very familiar with in Fitzpatrick. He’s a veteran who’s always shown a quality to get hot over the course of a few weeks. Then, unfortunately, he eventually fizzles out.
One thing is for sure. With the quarterback-killer known as Rex Ryan officially gone, this grouping of quarterbacks now has a chance to trend up, instead of heading downward with the absolute fear of turning the ball over drilled in their heads.
1. Edge Rusher
Yes, the quarterback spot will most definitely be the top spot of concern entering training camp. In such a QB-heavy league, it has to be.
However, if there’s one position that can take a unit from producing great numbers to absolutely dominating ones it’ll come in the form of the edge rusher on defense.
Look around the Jets defense for a moment. Every spot is accounted for and downright filthy aside from two. One is the free safety, the other is outside linebacker. This includes a cornerback and interior defensive line crop that can be filthy.
Should Bowles get any quality production out of his edge rushers, he’ll then be in a position to play straight up defense without having to blitz out of necessity. It’s the one spot that can shoot this defense into the stratosphere with the likes of the Seahawks.
Quinton Coples is the top dog here. Still only 25-years of age, Coples has compiled 16.5 sacks over his first three seasons. Little by little though, he’s progressed into the position. Remember, he began his career as an interior guy in the 3-4.
Calvin Pace is slated on paper as the starter on the other side, but needs to be beaten out by another guy if this defense truly wants a chance at greatness.
Guys like Trevor Reilly and Jason Babin can contribute in certain situations, but the real wild card comes in the form of rookie Lorenzo Mauldin.
Mauldin is a third-round rookie from Louisville who profiles as a pass rusher in every sense of the word. He uses speed and a solid frame (6’4” 256 lbs.) along the edge that could work very nicely with the inside dominance the Jets possess.
Prediction:
Coples will of course start along the edge on one side, but they’ll need Mauldin to put his big boy pants on and scare opposing quarterbacks on the other side.
The interior lineman cannot be the only pass rushing presence the Jets employ all season long. Something must shake out along the edge for this defense to become truly scary.
If Mauldin can become that guy, then watch out.