New York Jets – A Closer Look at New Jets TE Ryan Griffin

Stephen Russo with a closer look at New York Jets tight end Ryan Griffin

The Jets have been longing for a true pass catching threat at the tight end position since Dustin Keller, and they just might have struck gold with Chris Herndon. Herndon, a pleasant surprise from the fourth round in 2018, showed his all-around ability as a pass catcher, blocker, and consistent security blanket for Sam Darnold, especially in unscripted moments. Sadly, Herndon’s looming four game suspension to start the season leaves the Jets with question marks at the position yet again. With only Eric Tomlinson (yikes) and unproven rookie Trevon Wesco on the roster, the Jets moved to sign six-year veteran Ryan Griffin after he was cut by the Texans. Can Griffin be the guy to hold down the fort in Herndon’s absence?

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New York Jets – Grading the 2019 Defense

Stephen Russo grades out the New York Jets 2019 defense

For the better part of twenty years, the Jets defense has outpaced the offense. For too long, defensive minded coaches with antiquated styles of game management strolled the sidelines. If you think hard enough, you can hear them saying “Any drive that ends in a kick is a successful one…” Well the tide could finally turn this year, as new Head Coach Adam Gase roams the Jets sidelines with a litany of offensive experience to bring to the table. While the Jets’ offense is shaping up to be an exciting one with Sam Darnold and a myriad of new weapons, what can we expect from a defensive unit that underperformed in 2018? Let’s take a closer look at the defensive unit and their grades as we look ahead to this 2019 season.

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New York Jets – Day Before NFL Draft Mock Draft Roundup

Stephen Russo rounds up all the day before NFL Draft mock picks for the New York Jets

Is Arizona drafting Kyler Murray number one overall? Does San Francisco truly value Quinnen Williams over Nick Bosa? Is the smoke around the Jets and Ed Oliver real? We have reached that time of year (which is pretty much year-round at this point) where you can’t believe a single word from any “source” regarding what will happen on Thursday night in Nashville at the 2019 NFL Draft. The rumor mill is in full swing. Smoke screens are everywhere. Per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, who tweeted out that his trusted source said “No one f**king knows anything right now. It’s going to be an interesting Thursday night.”

Simply put: Trust. No. One.

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Derrick Jones & Deontay Burnett – Can They Take the Next Step in 2019?

Stephen Russo with a closer look at whether WR Deontay Burnett and CB Derrick Jones can develop into major contributors for the 2019 New York Jets…

Todd Bowles’ tenure with the Jets cannot be described in just one word, but I think the word ‘frustrating’ encompasses the emotion that Jets’ fans feel towards the previous Head Coach. His in-game management and gameday roster decisions were perplexing. The overall stubbornness and unwillingness to change or admit fault was particularly maddening, especially when it came to the personnel decisions late in a lost season. In 2018, while the Jets were clearly struggling and playing meaningless football in late November and December, Bowles still seemed hesitant to give young players a chance.

Two of those players were Derrick Jones and Deontay Burnett, who were unquestionable rising stars among the Couch Coaches of Jets’ Twitter. Even if these two don’t blossom into Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice like many fans expect, one thing is certain: they should be given a chance to earn themselves more playing time than what Bowles’ provided. Allow me to take a closer look at their careers to date to see what we may anticipate from Jones and Burnett as we enter a new year, with new coaches and new systems.

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New York Jets FA Addition Breakdown – WR Josh Bellamy

Stepehn Russon with a closer look at the Jets signing of WR/special teamer Josh Bellamy

The Jets were one of the more active teams at the start of the 2019 Free Agency period, signing and trading for impact players to address immediate needs. One of the early moves they made was jumping to sign Josh Bellamy, a 29-year-old wide receiver with good size (6ft, 210lbs), formerly of the Bears.

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The Best & Worst of Mike Maccagnan Through Four Seasons

Stephen Russo on the best/worst of Mike Maccagnan so far during his Jets tenure

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the best and worst of Maccagnan’s first four years as Jets’ General Manager.

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Gregg Williams: A Closer Look at the Jets New DC

Stephen Russo with a longer look at Gregg Williams’ career and resume…

Allow me to start by stating the obvious: The Jets defense hasn’t been good in recent memory. Apart from one outlier year (2015) where they ranked 9th in scoring playing a soft schedule, the Jets defense has not finished higher than 19th in the league in scoring defense since 2010. For an organization that has hired defensive-minded coaches for two decades, those results are less than desirable. Thoughts on Adam Gase aside, a switch to an offensive-minded coach in today’s game was all but a necessity. Following his hire, Gase immediately stated that his focus will be solely on the offense and Sam Darnold, thus furthering the need for a quality defensive coordinator that can be the “Head Coach” of the defense. Enter Gregg Williams. The controversial and outspoken Bountygate coordinator comes to New York with a plethora of experience and attitude.

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The Eyes on Adam Gase: A Closer Look at the Jets New Head Coach

Stephen Russo with a closer look at Adam Gase’s history and resume

For a franchise that has seemed to botch everything since Joe Namath was quarterback, it appears the Jets have gotten two things right: drafting Sam Darnold and firing Todd Bowles. Now, we have moved into arguably the most important offseason in franchise history. With the Darnold entering year two, the third overall pick in the draft, and $100 million dollars in salary cap space to spend, the first task of finding the right head coach was critical. So, in a time of such emotional turmoil, I am certain that every fan had their thoughts on the eight candidates that we heard connected to the Jets.

As the days passed and other teams made their decisions, it tested our patience as we rode an emotional roller coaster that was the start to the Jets offseason. And as the clock continued to tick, it looked as if every sign pointed to Matt Rhule, and within an instant, they pivoted and hired former Dolphins Coach Adam Gase. As we either begin to rationalize the hire, hate it, love it, or chose not to care, I have attempted to take a look at Adam Gase full resume.

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Right Down the Middle: A Closer Look at Matt Rhule

Stephen Russo with a closer look at Matt Rhule’s coaching career…

The New York Jets coaching search has officially reached one week. Thus far, the Jets have four interviews in the books (Bieniemy, Gase, McCarthy, Richard) and at least one more scheduled (Monken). This weekend has been quite the frenzy as news continues to break: Is McCarthy really taking 2019 off (please)? Is Green Bay all-in on Adam Gase (please!)? Will Kingsbury opt out of his contract with USC to interview with NFL teams (PLEASE!!)? All this news in only two days has Jets fans on the phones like Adam Schefter. Or maybe that’s just me.

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Kliff Kingsbury: Can He Be the Bold Move the Jets Need?

Stephen Russo with a closer look at Kliff Kingsbury’s resume

As we close the book on a 4-12 Jets season, one that led with hope but quickly turned sour, we turn our attention toward the most exciting time of the year: The Offseason. While Jets Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson moved quickly to fire Head Coach Todd Bowles on the last Sunday of the season, following a 38-3 trouncing in New England, Johnson chose to retain General Manager Mike Maccagnan. This leaves Maccagnan in charge of spearheading yet another Jets offseason with over $100 million in salary cap space, the third overall draft pick, and teaming up with Johnson to select the Jets new Head Coach. Yikes.

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