(Image credit Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Week 4 of the NFL season kicked off where the New York Jets defeated the Tennessee Titans in MetLife Stadium 27-24 in overtime. This was the best that the New York Jets have looked all season. In the game vs the Tennessee Titans, there were many players that impressed me and others that were disappointing. In this list, I will go through five players that both were impressive and disappointing.
1. Players Who Impressed - QB Zach Wilson
There is the Zach Wilson we saw in the preseason. In this game, Zach Wilson threw for 297 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. The interception was a complete underthrown ball by Zach Wilson and remember he is going to have growing pains in his rookie season. Excluding that throw, Wilson was extremely impressive. He had extremely impressive long throws that he made in this game to Keelan Cole and Corey Davis. I got to say I never in a long time have seen consistent long throws that have been made by a Jets QB since the Mark Sanchez years. Wilson had a better second half than the first half but he was impressive in the second half. Best game in Zach Wilson’s young NFL football career.
2. Player Who Disappointed - TE Ryan Griffin
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue nothing changes with the Tight End core on this team too. Honestly, Kroft gets a pass on being placed on the disappointing list as he was dealing with a rib injury and was clearly playing hurt in this game. This gave a tremendous opportunity for Ryan Griffin to impress and regain the starting Tight End spot. He did nothing but struggle. He was targeted 4 times in this game and only recorded one reception for 8 yards. Griffin even missed a few blocks in this game as well which led to the running backs getting tackled early.
3. Players Who Impressed - WR Corey Davis
This was a revenge game for Corey Davis as he was drafted by the Tennessee Titans and the organization chose not to re-sign him. Well, he in this game showed why they should not have let him go as he had 4 catches in this game for 111 yards and even scored an impressive touchdown in this game. He absolutely had a better game than he had the last few weeks and woke up from his slump. If he can continue to impress as he did in this game then Davis will stay as a Jet for a while.
4. Player Who Disappointed - OL Greg Van Roten
The o-line did a solid job in protecting Zach Wilson in this game. However, there is one o-lineman that is continuing to show that he is the weakness of this o-line. That player is Greg Van Roten. He has been extremely terrible this season as he is failing to open up holes and protect the QB. Honestly, the Jets should contemplate cutting Van Roten after he made comments blaming Zach Wilson for the o-line struggles as he said that Wilson “holds onto the football for too long’’. He has a point about that but why is he holding the ball for way too long? Well, it is due to how poor the o-line has blocked for him in the last few weeks. I won't be shocked if Van Roten gets benched if he continues to play this poorly.
5. Players Who Impressed - DT Quinnen Williams
The best player on this defense Quinnen Williams continues to impress us all. Williams was all over the place in this game. He is a strong run tackler as he made 7 tackles and 6 of them being solo tackles. He often had to be blocked by two o-linemen for a majority of both games. He had impressed me as he had two big sacks in this game and provided pressure to the quarterback two times. Getting to the quarterback was one of the main reasons why the New York Jets won this game. If he keeps his momentum up then the Jets absolutely should give Williams an extension with the New York Jets.
6. Player Who Disappointed - DT Nathan Shepherd
The Defensive line did a solid job in this game. One player who did not have a good game is Nathan Shepherd. If there was one word to describe Shepherd in this game it would be “Penalized’’. I counted him being penalized three times in this game. He has had a major issue committing penalties throughout his football career. Sheperd was also inconsistent as a run stopper as on occasion he missed a few tackles which led to big first downs for the Titans. Shepherd needs to improve in upcoming games or else he will lose snaps to younger players.
7. Players Who Impressed - DE/EDGE Bryce Huff
Ever since Carl Lawson suffered an injury many wondered who would step up at the DE/EDGE rusher. We hopefully got our answer tonight as Bryce Huff had a ton of impressive moments in this game. Especially as a pass rusher Bryce Huff had 1.5 sacks and provided pressure to the quarterback 3 times. He was all over giving Ryan Tannehill a tough time in this game. Although Huff did make some missed tackles on Derrick Henry, Bryce Huff was solid as a run stopper as well. Bryce Huff has a ton of potential and if he keeps this up then he will be a player on this team for the future.
8. Player Who Disappointed - CB Brandon Echols
The secondary was up and down in this game and Brandon Echols was one of the big downs in this game. The one play that was terrible was in the 1st quarter there was a 3rd and 21 and he was in charge covering Jeremy McNichols (McNichols has a strong performance in this game) and McNichols caught a screen pass and Echols made a poor tackle on Mcnichols who also stiff-armed him for the first down. Echols' game was terrible in coverage in the first quarter especially with these screen passes. To make things worse Echols left this game with a concussion and I doubt that he plays next week against Atlanta in London, England.
9. Players Who Impressed - LB Quincy Williams
I got to say Quincy Williams may be a part of this team's long-term with performances like this. My goodness was he impressive in this game. Take a look at his stats in this game he had 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pressure to the quarterback, and he had a pass deflection. He was all over the place as a strong run stopper and provided pressure to the quarterback. I also got, to be honest, he has been more impressive than both experimental players Hamsah Nasirildeen and Jamien Sherwood. CJ Mosley was also impressive in this game but I was more impressed with the way Quincy Williams performed. I thank Quinnen Williams for getting the coaching staff to bring in his brother Quincy to be a part of the defense organization.
10. Player Who Disappointed - S Adrian Colbert
Speaking of another down in the secondary we have Adrian Colbert. My goodness, he was terrible in this game. He was awful in coverage and I believe it was a Chester Rogers catch where he was left wide open by Adrian Colbert and Brandon Echols was poor in coverage but luckily made a big tackle. But Colbert was extremely inconsistent with his tackling and has very low awareness when tracking plays. With Marcus Maye being injured for a few weeks and Ashtyn Davis returning soon (Davis is terrible) the safety position will continue to be a mess.