The scheduled opening of the season is just three days away, and there are two things the Jets absolutely, under no circumstances, can allow to happen against the Panthers on Sunday in Carolina:
- They can’t let their former quarterback, Sam Darnold, exhaust their defense with a prolific passing performance, thus showing them to leave him and leave him after last season.
- And they can’t let their former receiver, Robby Anderson, run like a deer through his high school, taking long touchdown passes and embarrassing them for bouncing him off in the contract negotiations two years ago.
The Jets, with their wet list behind their ears (the youngest in the league), could lose the game. They are down 4 points, so Las Vegas fans believe they will return to New Jersey 0-1 in Robert Saleh’s debut as head coach.
It is also possible that the Jets will win the game. The Panthers, after all, are not the Packers, Buccaneers or Chiefs.
If the Jets lose the game, however, the way they lose it may be critical to the psyche of theirs (and that of their fans) in the future.
The best way to avoid the two possible calamitous and embarrassing scenarios involving Darnold and Anderson is to play by force, which is their offense.
This summer it has become clear that the Jets’ offense has more firepower than their defense.
So his hope will be that the motion sickness offensive system his coordinator Mike LaFleur has brought from San Francisco, combined with some dynamic plays from his rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, will be enough to keep him safe. Panthers offense. the countryside.
Right or wrong, Wilson and LaFleur have the key to how the Jets go on Sunday.
Wilson, the 22-year-old No. 2 draft pick, will take over from LaFleur, the first 34-year-old coordinator.
It’s hard to tell which boy looks younger than his age: Wilson or LaFleur, who on Thursday talked confidently about where Wilson comes in on Sunday and also laughed at the signs Wilson shows daily that remind you how young he is.
“Some of the music and films we present have no idea [about]LaFleur said. We all laugh at it.
“But in terms of his preparation and the way his day unfolds, he is not a newcomer. That’s how you should act as a quarterback. “
Wilson has answered all the questions that have been asked of him on the field so far. But aside from the tragic death of quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp on the eve of training camp, he has yet to find any moment of adversity on the field.
Wilson, fortunately, suffered no injuries this summer. The initial job has been his since he was recruited, with no competition. He has still been fired or even beaten. Not a speck of grass on the uniform proves it. He didn’t spin the ball in a preseason game. And he hasn’t played against a first-team defense.
“I guess it’s a little unknown,” LaFleur said of the good trip so far. “He has faced adversity, though not yet in the NFL. [I’m] excited to see when he’s live and he’s out there, what he’s capable of. ”
So are Wilson’s teammates on defense, a pair of whom on Thursday praised both rookie quarterback and LaFleur.
“It’s very dynamic,” security Marcus Maye said of the LaFleur system. “They do a lot of different things: movements, changes, adjustments and look different.”
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said LaFleur’s offense “is fundamentally tailored to young quarterbacks, because it relies heavily on a career game.”
“I think for a young guy, it’s the first time he’s preparing for a Sunday, that can be overwhelming,” Ulbrich added. “The fact that you can deliver it 30, 35, maybe 40 times per game is a great source of relief.”
Relief for defense, too.
“If you are not in line and do not communicate, a long day will pass [for opposing defenses]”Defender CJ Mosley on the LaFleur system said. This will open up the action-game for the deep ball. It will be exciting to see our offense on the field. “
The longer they are on the field, the less chance Darnold and Anderson have of embarrassing their old team by demanding revenge that everyone knows they burn to manage.