The Jets suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday by way of a 30-10 thrashing at the hands of the Cowboys. And it’s not like they can turn to quarterback Aaron Rodgers to get them on track.
So disgruntled as he already is, WFAN legend Joe Benigno had a few things to say during his weekly spot on the station’s “Evan and Tiki” drivetime program, including his opinion on the team’s defensive leader.
“Does C.J. Mosley ever make an impact play? Does the guy ever make a tackle for a loss? Does he ever sack the quarterback? Does he ever hold onto an interception? The guy goes to the Pro Bowl — he’s the most overrated middle linebacker in football,” Benigno said Monday.
“Oh, he’s great at making tackles eight yards downfield. But you’re going to tell me [linebacker] Quincy Williams isn’t 20 times better than C.J. Mosley? It’s not even close.”
While this may be an overreaction from a radio host who’s known for overreacting maybe a bit too much, Mosley hasn’t exactly answered the Jets’ calls. The veteran is supposed to be a captain and leader of this defense, and the unit allowed 382 total yards, 4.6 yards per play, 26 first downs, and a 9-of-18 third-down conversion rate against Dallas.
Forget the stats (Mosley racked up nine combined tackles on the day). Mosley is supposed to elevate a defense that has a lot of pressure on it following Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tear. And if Sunday’s showing is an indicator of what’s to come, this could be Mosley’s final year in a Jet uniform. And it might be his final year with the team regardless.
That wasn’t the only thing Benigno commented on in his weekly spot though. The famed host and Robert Saleh text buddy claimed he messaged the Jets head coach with a mastermind plan to fix the struggling offensive line.
“Here’s what I would do if I was the coach. And I’ve already told [Saleh] this — we had a nice discussion [Sunday] night back and forth when I texted him saying “Coach, so much for the great defense,” and he got a little upset by that,” Benigno claimed. “Duane Brown: out. [Right tackle Mekhi] Becton goes back to left tackle, Alijah Vera-Tucker is the right tackle, you bring in [rookie] Joe Tippmann and make him a guard, and let’s go. What’s wrong with that?”
So in Benigno’s mind, the Jets would move forward with an offensive line that includes Becton, Laken Tomlinson, Connor McGovern, Tippmann, and Vera-Tucker from left to right.
While the Jets might not do that for Week 3, things could certainly change afterward. The Jets this Sunday need to face the Patriots and Bill Belichick, who have killed Zach Wilson. The young quarterback is 0-4 against the AFC East rival with just a 50.9% completion rate, 50.6 passer rating, two touchdowns, and seven picks.
Belichick knows how to make Wilson’s life hell. Doing so this Sunday, and causing New York to drop to 1-2, may force what was such a hopeful Jets franchise to panic and make changes to help Wilson succeed.
