Sportsnaut
After stating unequivocally that the starters would play in the preseason opener last Saturday, New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn is being more cagey this week.
“The plan is the plan,” Glenn responded when asked about the ones playing this week against the New York Giants. “That’s the plan.”
Well, OK then. That clears things up.
Not.
For many NFL teams, the second preseason game is when the expected starters receive their most reps. That’s not always the case, though. So, there’s really no way to know how the Jets handle playing time when they hit the field at MetLife Stadium on Saturday. And since Glenn is a rookie head coach, there’s no history to have a feel for what his plan is.
respect @justnfields @DangeRussWilson pic.twitter.com/YKwPQXR8MY
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 13, 2025
Giants coach Brian Daboll didn’t tip his hand about playing the starters this week either. Though he put a bit more effort into answering the question than Glenn did.
“We have an idea,” Daboll said Thursday. “We’ll do our meetings at the end of the day and make our decision on what we’re going to do. We’ll do what we think is best for the team.”
Gotcha’.
In other words, show up Saturday and find out.
What we do know is that the Jets starters could benefit from playing a series or two, maybe even a full quarter, against the Giants ones. That’s especially so for the Jets offense, competing against the Giants fearsome defensive front that features Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and stud rookie Abdul Carter.
Then again, these teams got plenty of reps against one another earlier in the week, when they squared off in joint practices on consecutive days. Still, nothing like real game conditions.
That said, let’s explore the key storylines for the Jets when they face the Giants on Saturday.
Related: Jets injury updates: Tyrod Taylor procedure, Jermaine Johnson feels like ‘Ferrari,’ rookie returns
There’s no grey area with Glenn. He wants the Jets to play hard, physical football every time they step on the field. That’s why practices feature much more live tackling and hitting than in previous years under his predecessor Robert Saleh.
So, whether it’s the ones or the backups in there Saturday, you can expect the Jets to be super aggressive on both sides of the ball.
However, Glenn also wants the Jets to be more disciplined and smarter than they were at times in their 30-10 win against the Green Bay Packers in the preseason opener last week. The Jets were penalized 10 times for 91 yards. Worse, Micheal Clemons got into a fight; and both Eric Watts and Marcelino McCrary-Ball were whistled for unnecessary roughness penalties for late hits on defense.
Aaron Glenn versus the #Jets media:
Micheal Clemons got in a fight during the first quarter versus the #Packers & was penalized for a 15-yarder...
