Flying Through the Big Apple - RoundingThird's New York Jets (M17)

[RoundingThird]

It's official: Sam Freday is the craziest man in sports

September 12, 2017--- Why does it feel like we've done this before? Oh yeah, because Jets Owner Sam Freday consistently loses his mind, and makes irrational decisions that leave many people second guessing his ability to run a professional football team. We're only one week into the NFL season, and for the 4th time in less than a year, Freday has made a blockbuster trade that has every other organization doing double takes. This time, after a 30-20 loss to Atlanta in the season opener, Freday sent the #1 overall pick in this year's draft, Jawaun Waller, LG James Carpenter, and a draft pick, to Tennessee in exchange for Titans QB, and the #2 overall pick in 2015, Marcus Mariota. Now, why on earth would Freday do this? Well, he provided an explanation:

"Let's be honest here. We've given Geno [Smith] hundreds upon hundreds of second chances. He's struggled in the clutch when we've needed him the most, and his difficulty holding onto the ball has not only hindered the team's performance on the field, but also disappointed myself, [GM] Mike [Maccagnan], and Coach Bowles. We feel that the best way for him to grow and evolve his game is to take a step back from the spotlight, and regather himself. Meanwhile, we feel that our roster is strong enough to be able to succeed now, and that the only thing holding us back is a strong, consistent quarterback, which is what we see in Marcus. We might have had to sacrifice some firepower on defense, but I am confident that the bold, defensive mind of Coach Bowles will still find a way to get our guys to perform at their best possible level."

With all of this being said, the Jets are now left with a hole at the cornerback position. The Jets have great faith in Marcus Williams, but beyond that, the inconsistencies of Buster Skrine and Dee Milliner loom large. So, to fill a hole, Freday got Darqueze Dennard from Cincinnati for a 2019 draft pick, and backup LT Ben Ijalana. Finally, to clear room on the roster, the Jets released Bryce Petty, after the acquisition of Mariota brought 4 QBs to the active roster. With multiple roster spots to fill, the Jets added depth on the defensive line, signing RE Jonathan Haskins from their own practice squad, signing HB Paul Perkins to the practice squad to fill his place, as well as signing free agent LG Brandon Mosley to fill the hole left by Carpenter.

It is also worth noting that the Titans come to MetLife Stadium just 13 days from now, for a Monday Night showdown in week 3 between the two teams that fought for the last AFC playoff spot in 2016, a battle won by the Titans. This trade only adds even more drama to the multiple story lines surrounding that game. Until then, look for Mariota to lead this star-studded Jets offense on the field this Sunday in Miami.

[NewscasterNews4]

Was NOT at all expecting you to get a QB like this, but I'm 100% a fan of this trade, for the Jets at least lol. The Titans are probably screwed for however long it will take them to find another franchise QB.

But Mariota, Gurley, and Gronk on the same team? This offense is going to be insane, and hopefully you can just outscore teams to victory since you have no secondary now lol.

[RoundingThird]

Quote: Originally Posted by NewscasterNews4

Was NOT at all expecting you to get a QB like this, but I'm 100% a fan of this trade, for the Jets at least lol. The Titans are probably screwed for however long it will take them to find another franchise QB. But Mariota, Gurley, and Gronk on the same team? This offense is going to be insane, and hopefully you can just outscore teams to victory since you have no secondary now lol.

Personally, I think the defense will be fine. I really felt like I couldn't wait to make a move. I know I said that the week 1 loss wasn't because of turnovers, and it wasn't, but Geno, unless he plays flawlessly, makes it very hard for us to win. He occasionally overthrows a 10 yard pass, and has trouble with the Tuck Rule. I initially went for Dak, since he's not even the Cowboys' starter, but the circumstances weren't right. I couldn't offer a player at position that the Cowboys wanted, so I turned to Mariota.

And it's not screwing over the Titans at all. They made the playoffs last year after Mariota missed two thirds of the season. I'll let you know who they turn to when they come to town next week.

[RoundingThird]

Jets Gameday Preview: Week 2


We take a quick trip down to Miami, and Hard Rock Stadium, for a very crucial game for the Jets, as they look to avoid an 0-2 start to the season.

Ok, we know about the new look Jets roster. Marcus Mariota is your new quarterback, joining a plethora of weapons, including Gronk, Gurley, and Warfield. It's reasonable to expect that they might not be flowing with chemistry right away, so we can't expect them to perform to their highest capability just yet. Next week, or even after the bye, you can ramp up your expectations for the Jets' offense. Just hold on for now.

On another note, this game is as important for the Jets as a game can be in week 2. They certainly don't want to drop to 0-2, and make Sam Freday look like a total doofus after this trade he just made. And if they want to get a win today, they'll have to work for it. This is not the same Miami team that only mustered enough wins to count on one hand last year. This Miami team has a revamped roster that has them ready to compete for 2nd year coach Adam Gase. Ryan Tannehil is still the potent field general, with downfield threats of Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, and tight end Jordan Camero, but what makes Miami dangerous in 2017 is their running game. After being almost non-existent last season, the Dolphins used their first round pick on Lincoln Barden, a LeSean McCoy type runner from Oregon, who had a huge coming out party in last week's season opener against the Bills, running for 117 yards, second to nobody in the league. His agility and ability to make people miss will likely make him difficult for the Jets to stop, even though they held a similar back, Devonta Freeman in check for much of the game last week. Also playing a role in this offense is veteran tight end Vernon Davis, and second year wide receiver Leonte Carroo, who has witnessed an exponential increase in his targets since last season. If the new weakness of the Jets, their secondary, gets exposed, Tannehil is more than capable of having a field day, and guiding the Dolphins to an easy win.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins defense is gathering experience, and slowly becoming a very good unit. The front line remains ferocious, featuring Cameron Wake, Mario Williams, and Ndamukong Suh. The rest of the front seven remains virtually the same as 2016 with a now healthy Kiko Alonso, Koa Misi, and Jelani Jenkins. The secondary is where the Dolphins are the youngest, with rookie safety Charles Breeland starting on one side, while being simultaneously mentored by Reshad Jones, who enforces the other side. Newcomer Josh Robinson joins Xavien Howard, coming off a promising rookie season. These Dolphins don't look half bad.

Matchup Preview *|* September 17, 2017
	@
New York Jets (0-1, 0-0 Away)		Miami Dolphins (1-0, 0-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 377 (#9) Total Offensive Yards 377 (#9) 270 (#7) Passing Yards 211 (#17) 107 (#17) Rushing Yards 166 (#2) 20.0 (#18) Points Per Game 28.0 (#13) Defensive Stats Comparison 307 (#9) Total Yards Allowed 250 (#2) 193 (#10) Passing Yards Allowed 175 (#3) 110 (#17) Rushing Yards Allowed 75 (#4) 30 (#25) Points Allowed 20 (#13) Injury Report OLB Trevor Reilly (Leg) 44 weeks (IR) LT Brandon Albert (Hand) 5 weeks MLB Denard German (Foot) 1 week HB Jay Ajayi (Ankle) 2 weeks Game Notes Time: 1:00 EDT TV: CBS (Spero Dedes, Solomon Wilcots) Streaks: Jets: L3 Dolphins: W1 Last Meeting: Jets 21, Dolphins 14 - East Rutherford, NJ (12/17/2016) Last Week: Falcons 30, Jets 20 Dolphins 28, Bills 20

[RoundingThird]

Gameday Recap: Dolphins 27, Jets 20
4th quarter collapse leaves Jets at 0-2


Mariota's bad miss on this simple crossing route, one of three fourth quarter picks, gave the Dolphins the lead, which they did not relinquish. Miami outscored the Jets 18-0 in the 4th.

What a truly disappointing game. The Jets defense played one helluva game, forcing two Garrett Hartley missed field goals in the first quarter, and holding Miami without a touchdown until the 4th quarter. Dee Milliner had a pick six in the second quarter, David Harris had a huge pick in the third that gave the Jets the ball inside the Dolphins’ 10, and for the entire day, unlike last week, the Jets shut down the Dolphins running game, holding rookie Lincoln Barden to 43 yards on 20 carries. So how could this game go wrong? Well, this new star studded Jets offense, now with a reliable quarterback in Marcus Mariota, just wasn’t clicking. Mariota had trouble finding open receivers. Miami’s pass coverage was phenomenal, but their pass rush was even better. The Jets got the bulk of their offense from Marcus Mariota scrambling out of the pocket on broken plays. Todd Gurley was also relatively successful running the football in the first half, but Miami bottled him up after the break. He was responsible for both of the Jets’ offensive touchdowns, so he certainly did his job. But, the passing game was a mess. Drops were a big issue, especially late in the game. Timing was an issue, leading to a couple of those drops, and even a second quarter interception. The only reliable Jets receiver on the day was Gronk, as per usual, who did his best to carry the Jets, but just couldn’t. And finally, in the 4th quarter, as the Jets were collapsing, penalties were an issue, like the holding call on Breno Giacomini that nullified a 3rd and long conversion as the Jets were trying to fight back after they had blown the lead. The way the defense played, the way the secondary played, a noticeably lacking secondary, made even more so by the loss of Buster Skrine to a broken collarbone, felt so good, and should have been enough to win this game. Nonetheless, the way they played is a very encouraging sign going forward, and as long as the offensive chemistry continues to build up, this team can and will still be very dangerous. But, in the meantime, this loss stings. A lot.

Let’s pick it up at the start of the second half, with the Jets up 14-6. Taking the ball first, as they always do in the second half, the Jets put together a decent looking offensive drive, in relation to everything else that was happening on offense in this one, but the drive stalled just on the outskirts of field goal range. Lachlan Edwards came into punt for the first time, and got the job done, with one of the Jets’ gunners downing it at the 10 yard line. On third down, Leonard Williams broke right through the Dolphins offensive line, hit Ryan Tannehill right after he released the ball, causing it to fly straight up. David Harris, also charging on the play, had overrun the ball, and simple had to take a couple steps back to gather his first pick of the 2017 season, falling to the ground at the Miami seven yard line. After a 6 yard scramble by Mariota, Gurley took it outside, made a man miss, and jogged it in to make it 20-6, after the Dolphins stepped up to block Nick Folk’s extra point. But, then we had a momentum shift.

Jarvis Landry brought the ensuing kickoff back to the Jets 35 yard line, but the bend, don’t break nature of the Jets’ defense held Miami to a long field goal, on Garrett Hartley’s 5th attempt of the game. The third quarter came to an end soon thereafter, with the Jets facing a 4th and short from the Miami 41 yard line. Starting the 4th quarter with a significant wind gust at their back, they brought Nick Folk out for a 58 yard attempt, a show of confidence in the veteran kicker who struggled mightily at times last year. He hit a perfect kick, end over end, plenty of height and power, but somehow it fell painstakingly short, just a football length away from the crossbar. With fantastic starting field position, Miami looked to get back in it, and on the very next play, with the Jets blitzing, Tannehill dumped it off to Barden, who did the rest of the work, only having to make one Jets’ defender miss before taking it to the house. A Tannehill pass to Jordan Cameron for two points cut the Jets lead to 20-17. That’s when the Jets went into full on choke mode. Around midfield on the ensuing possession, Mariota badly missed Kenbrell Thompkins on a crossing route, throwing instead to a wide open Walt Aikens, who took it to the house untouched. Now, all of a sudden, Miami had a lead. But, it didn’t stop there. Mariota looked for Gurley on a screen pass, and… BOOM!!! Intercepted by Jelani Jenkins. The Jets were able to get another stop. Tannehill got hurt, but backup Brandon Doughty came in and instantly completed a 30 yard pass to Leonte Carroo, down to the Jets 6 yard line. Thankfully, the Jets are exceptionally good at getting goal line stops, and this one kept them with a fighting chance. Another Hartley field goal, his 4th made out of 6 tries, made it 27-20 Dolphins with 6:36 to play.

However, Mariota and the Jets offense weren’t done choking. After Mariota found Dareon Warfield inside the 20 for a huge 3rd down conversion, Breno Giacomini was caught holding, in that play we told you about earlier. On the next play, Mariota had Devin Smith, but Bobby McCain laid out to haul in the interception instead. A three and out gave the Jets one final chance, down 7, and after a 30 yard pass to Jace Amaro got them in striking distance, the Jets actually had to kill some clock, fearing a game-tying score would leave too much time on the clock for the Dolphins and their backup QB. On third and four, Mariota tried to get out of the pocket, as again, nobody was open, and was brought down for the umpteenth time in the game, setting up a fourth and long in which the ball fell harmlessly incomplete after Mariota did not have an open receiver once again. Game over. The Jets are 0-2.


David Harris teams up with Leonard Williams to leave Ryan Tannehill feeling violated and angry after being hit hard and throwing a pick.


In a game short of Jets highlights, Dee Milliner finishes off his short pick six after juking Jordan Cameron and staving off a lurking Ryan Tannehil.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Sep 17, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
New York Jets (0-2)	7	7	6	0	20
Miami Dolphins (2-0)	3	3	3	18	27

Team Stats Comparison
	NYJ	MIA
Total Offense	344	276
Rushing Yards	182	37
Passing Yards	162	239
First Downs	17	9
Punt Return Yards	21	2
Kick Return Yards	150	104
Total Yards	515	382
Turnovers	5	2
3rd Down Converstion	3-10 (30%)	2-13 (15%)
4th Down Conversion	0-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-2-0 (67%)	1-0-1 (100%)
Penalties	5-35	1-10
Posession Time	22:58	25:02

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		NYJ	MIA
5:50	(NYJ) T. Gurley II 9 yard run (N. Folk kick)	7	0
0:45	(MIA) G. Hartley 49 yard FG	7	3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		NYJ	MIA
7:56	(NYJ) D. Milliner 13 yard INT return (N. Folk kick)	14	3
0:18	(MIA) G. Hartley 42 yard FG	14	6
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		NYJ	MIA
4:52	(NYJ) T. Gurley II 1 yard run (PAT blocked)	20	6
2:44	(MIA) G. Hartley 46 yard FG	20	9
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		NYJ	MIA
11:46	(MIA) L. Barden 52 yard pass from R. Tannehill (2 pt conv)	20	17
8:54	(MIA) W. Aikens 44 yard INT return (G. Hartley kick)	20	24
6:36	(MIA) G. Hartley 23 yard FG	20	27

New York Jets PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Marcus Mariota 13/27 195 0 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marcus Mariota 11 122 11.1 0 Todd Gurley II 16 59 3.6 2 Zac Niklas 1 1 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Rob Gronkowski 6 71 11.8 0 Dareon Warfield 2 37 18.5 0 Devin Smith 2 34 17.0 0 Jace Amaro 1 30 30.0 0 Vincent Jackson 1 15 15.0 0 Kenbrell Thompkins 1 8 8.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Darron Lee 9 0.0 0 0 David Harris 9 0.0 1 0 Buster Skrine 8 1.0 0 0 Marcus Gilchrist 8 0.0 0 0 Leonard Williams 6 0.0 0 0 Rontez Miles 5 0.0 0 0 Dee Milliner 4 0.0 1 1 Marcus Williams 3 0.0 0 0 Muhammad Wilkerson 3 0.0 0 0 Darqueze Dennard 3 0.0 0 0 Steve McLendon 3 0.0 0 0 Erin Henderson 2 0.0 0 0 Dion Bailey 1 0.0 0 0 Jordan Jenkins 1 0.0 0 0 Deon Simon 1 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Nick Folk 0/1 2/3 2 -- PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Lachlan Edwards 2 79 39.5 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Dareon Warfield 6 150 25.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Dareon Warfield 2 21 10.5 0

Miami Dolphins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Ryan Tannehill 17/24 214 1 2 Brandon Doughty 2/4 34 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Lincoln Barden (R) 20 4.3 2.3 0 Brandon Doughty 2 -3 -1.5 0 Ryan Tannehill 1 -3 -3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Leonte Carroo 6 90 15.0 0 Lincoln Barden (R) 5 70 14.0 1 DeVante Parker 4 51 12.7 0 Jordan Cameron 2 18 9.0 0 Lonnie Pryor 1 16 16.0 0 Joe Sommers 1 3 3.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Walt Aikens 9 0.0 1 1 Josh Robinson 7 0.0 1 0 Reshad Jones 7 0.0 0 0 Mario Williams 6 3.0 0 0 Jelani Jenkins 5 0.0 1 0 John Jenkins 4 0.0 0 0 Mason Foster 4 0.0 0 0 Bobby McCain 4 0.0 1 0 Xavien Howard 4 0.0 0 0 Charles Breeland (R) 3 0.0 0 0 Koa Misi 3 0.0 0 0 Ndamukong Suh 2 1.0 0 0 Shaq Riddick 2 0.0 0 0 Justin Coleman 2 0.0 0 0 Cameron Wake 2 2.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Garrett Hartley 4/6 1/1 13 49 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Matt Darr 3 101 33.6 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jarvis Landry 3 104 34.6 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jarvis Landry 1 2 2.0 0

New York Jets 2016 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 10	vs Atlanta Falcons	Lost, 30-20
Sep 17	at Miami Dolphins	Lost, 27-20
Sep 25	vs Tennessee Titans (MNF)
Oct 8	vs New England Patriots
Oct 15	vs Oakland Raiders (SNF)
Oct 22	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Oct 29	vs Miami Dolphins
Nov 5	at Buffalo Bills
Nov 12	at Denver Broncos
Nov 19	at Los Angeles Chargers
Nov 26	vs Carolina Panthers
Dec 4	at New England Patriots (MNF)
Dec 10	vs Kansas City Chiefs
Dec 17	vs Buffalo Bills
Dec 24	at New Orleans Saints (SNF)
Dec 31	at Baltimore Ravens (SNF)

[RoundingThird]

Week 2 Scoreboard:

Thursday Night Football:
Redskins 12, Cowboys 31

Sunday, 1 PM:
Bears 23, Vikings 17 (OT)
Browns 28, Steelers 49
Broncos 17, Chiefs 24
Texans 35, Jaguars 14
Panthers 24, Falcons 31
Cardinals 6, Eagles 15
49ers 16, Giants 34

Sunday, 4:05 PM:
Buccaneers 41, Patriots 38
Lions 45, Rams 20

Sunday, 4:25 PM:
Bills 14, Bengals 29
Raiders 10, Chargers 38
Ravens 38, Colts 20

Sunday Night Football:
Seahawks 28, Titans 14

Monday Night Football:
Saints 35, Packers 38

The Lead:
Dolphins sit at 2-0 for the second consecutive year after comeback victory over Jets
Winston leads Bucs to comeback victory in Foxboro, already one win shy of 2016 total
It takes a late effort by Rodgers and Co. to defeat the Saints at Lambeau
Cutler shows everybody he's a competent quarterback, throwing for 350 yards and no picks in Bears' OT win in Minny
Dem Boyz avoid 0-2 start, take care of Redskins on TNF

Week 3 Schedule:

Thursday, September 21:
LA Rams (1-1) @ San Francisco (0-2), 8:25 PM (CBS, NFLN, Twitter)

Sunday, September 24:
Pittsburgh (1-1) @ Jacksonville (0-2), 1:00 PM (CBS)
Atlanta (2-0) @ New Orleans (0-2), 1:00 PM (FOX)
LA Chargers (2-0) @ Kansas City (2-0), 1:00 PM (CBS)
Chicago (2-0) @ Carolina (1-1), 1:00 PM (FOX)
Philadelphia (2-0) @ Detroit (1-1), 1:00 PM (FOX)
Minnesota (0-2) @ Cincinnati (2-0), 1:00 PM (FOX)
New England (1-1) @ Buffalo (0-2), 1:00 PM (CBS)
Cleveland (0-2) @ Indianapolis (1-1), 1:00 PM (CBS)
Miami (2-0) @ Tampa Bay (2-0), 4:05 PM (CBS)
Washington (0-2) @ Arizona (1-1), 4:25 PM (FOX)
Seattle (1-1) @ Dallas (1-1), 4:25 PM (FOX)
NY Giants (1-1) @ Denver (0-2), 4:25 PM (FOX)
Green Bay (2-0) @ Baltimore (2-0), 8:30 PM (NBC)

Monday, September 25:
Tennessee (0-2) @ NY Jets (0-2), 8:30 PM (ESPN)

[BigDaddyD]

I find myself still highly interested in this CFM that you have going, the only thing that kills the enjoyment for me personally is the unrealistic trades, but your work is still very enjoyable.

[RoundingThird]

Quote: Originally Posted by BigDaddyD

I find myself still highly interested in this CFM that you have going, the only thing that kills the enjoyment for me personally is the unrealistic trades, but your work is still very enjoyable.

Yeah, I can understand that. I hope that I don't have to make anymore trades, so hopefully you'll stick around for the long haul.

Thanks for following along!