Battle Red Blog
MacGregor Wells of Gang Green Nation joins BRB for five questions
The Houston Texans return to the scene of the crime from last season. The game against the Jets was the absolute low point of the season for the Texans. They loss horribly to a team with a worse record and C.J. Stroud exited the game with a concussion that saw him miss two games. A large part of the problem was a depleted offense that saw every good wide receiver miss most of the game.
Will history repeat itself against the New York Jets? The Jets come in 2-6 and every conventional number favors the Texans, but the short rest and beat up squad make this one look a lot closer than you otherwise think. We sat down with MacGregor Wells of Gang Green Nation to get the skinny on what is going on with the Jets in advance of this Thursday night showdown.
Battle Red Blog: Obviously the Jets have been a disappointment so far on the season. As someone closer to the action, what have been the primary issues?
MacGregor Wells: The issues are legion, and largely unfixable. Aaron Rodgers is old and playing like it. The offensive tackles are old and playing like it. The Jets defensive success over the past few years was predicated on a defensive line that could pressure the passer without blitzing. Then the Jets dismantled half the defensive line over the offseason, trading defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers, letting defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson walk in free agency, and letting their best pass rusher, defensive end Bryce Huff, walk in free agency and replacing him with Haason Reddick, who held out until last week. That’s 20 sacks the Jets let go, and replaced them with basically nothing. In addition, defensive end Jermaine Johnson, who gave the Jets an additional 7 sacks last year, suffered a season ending injury after two games this season. The result has been a bad defensive line that can’t get to the quarterback, other than the lone bright spot on the line, second year pass rusher Will McDonald. Fortunately the Jets have compensated for a bad pass rush with an utterly inept run defense. In addition cornerback Sauce Gardner is having a down year for reasons unknown after starting his career with two All Pro nods. Throw in injuries to the top three safeties on the team and the defense has been a mess after being excellent the prior two years. The coaching has also been suspect, leading to the firing of head coach Robert Saleh and the demotion of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. It’s just a whole litany of issues which aren’t likely to improve much any time soon.
BRB: The Jets obviously made a big splash by adding Davante Adams? How has he looked so far?
MW: After two games Davante Adams has fit right in with this Jets team. He has looked old, slow and largely ineffective, with just 7 receptions and 84 yards on...
