Gang Green Nation
Another week, another loss, another set of anti-game balls
The Jets lost their fifth straight game in Week 8. This time they were defeated by the New England Patriots. The previous meeting between the two teams, the Jets dominated. That was also the last time the Jets were in the victory column.
It’s time to give out the anti-game balls.
Greg Zuerlein: Let me start out by saying it’s weak to say Zuerlein is the reason the Jets lost. There’s no reason a game against the Patriots should be decided by a couple of kicks. That said, it’s undeniable that Zuerlein is a problem for the Jets right now. One truth of the NFL is that good kickers sometimes just go into major slumps. That is Zuerlein at the moment. The Jets should have already made a change. Based on Jeff Ulbrich’s comments on Monday, it sounds as though a change is likely ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Houston Texans. Based on the way things work for kickers, there’s a decent chance we will see Greg the Leg have a solid year in 2025 on a minimum deal with some other team, but his time in New York seems to have come to a close.
Davante Adams: Through the game, Adam Archuleta on CBS kept noting that Adams was drawing Christian Gonzalez, which provided Garrett Wilson with an easier matchup. Garrett certainly exploited that. Still, I couldn’t help but think that Adams wasn’t brought to New York to be a decoy. He was brought to be a playmaker. And Gonzalez handled him through most of the game. Two weeks into his Jets tenure, Adams has been held to 7 catches for 84 yards. I don’t think this was the impact the team was hoping for.
Haason Reddick: Sometimes I feel a bit bad about giving a guy an anti-game ball. These are professionals who are doing their best. I am sure they are disappointed when they fail. I can assure you that I have few such reservations about nominating Reddick for this week’s anti-game ball. In his debut, Reddick had as many tackles as you or I. Obviously, the Jets brought him in to get to the quarterback more than anything. Sacks are useful at any point in the game, but I was especially watching him on the Patriots’ fourth quarter drives. Could he help the Jets close a game by registering a drive destroying sack? The answer is no.
Sauce Gardner: I might be getting into semantics here, but I don’t agree with Jets fans saying Sauce is overrated. That implies the recognition he received for his past performances was unwarranted. His first two years in the league, Gardner was excellent, one of the league’s top corners. I would say rather than being overrated, he is not living up to the standard he set. This has been a poor season, and it got even worse as he was beaten for a critical catch on the game’s final...
