It was a fairly sloppy first half for the New York Jets, full of penalties and not much offense. To be fair, it was basically the Jets JV squad versus the Atlanta Falcons varsity squad. Let’s run through a few notes and observations from the first half Monday, as the Jets trail, 16-3.
The Jets had mostly their reserve defense (six starters did not play) to start the game against most of the Falcons starting offense, including QB Marcus Mariota and TE Kyle Ptts. Other than a big reception of over 50 yards from Pitts, the Jets held steady on defense, including a third-down stop in the red zone, holding the Falcons to a field goal on their opening drive.
In fact, the Jets struggled against all the Falcons tight ends, not just Pitts. Anthony Firkser and MyCole Pruitt all had receptions for big yardage in the first half.
Among the starters were out there for the Jets included DT Solomon Thomas, LB Quincy Williams, CBs Bryce Hall and Sauce Gardner and safety Lamarcus Joyner. (Note: Gardner and Hall were still battling for the starting spot opposite DJ Reed. Hall played into the second quarter, which was quite telling).
The Jets had zero offensive starters Monday, at least in terms of their current depth chart. QB Mike White got the start, Breece Hall was in at running back, Garrett Wilson and Jeff Smith were the wide receivers and Kenny Yeboah and Trevon Wesco were the tight ends. The starting five up front were Chuma Edoga, Nate Herbig, Ross Pierschbacher, Dan Feeney and Max Mitchell.
Even with that, you can tell Garrett Wilson is going to be exciting to watch. He flashed the ability to make tough catches in traffic and he’ll be utilized all over the field on offense. Breece Hall also ran hard, despite the low stats (four carries, one yard). He’ll be better behind the starting offensive line.
As far as White goes, it wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t exactly wow you, either. He went 8/11 for 50 yards, but had some pretty errant throws. He’s trying to hold off Chris Streveler as the third quarterback on the roster.
The Jets’ second-team defense did have a three-and-out late in the first quarter, getting some pressure on Mariota, as the Falcons kept their starters out for a third series.
As alluded to earlier, the battle between Hall and Gardner played on Monday and the fact that Hall played well into the second quarter, and struggled at that, including giving up a touchdown to Olamide Zaccheaus, tells you that Gardner may be closing in on locking up the starting spot opposite Reed.
New York at least came alive somewhat right before halftime. Zonovan Knight had a kick return of almost 40 yards and White hit Denzel Mims for a 27-yard strike to get the Jets into field goal range. Greg Zuerlein converted from 44 yards out.
Yes, the Jets played very few starters, while the Falcons played most of their starters. But the first half was certainly uninspiring for the depth of the Jets roster, including six penalties and just 92 total yards of offense, while the defense allowed over 300 yards. The first team better come ready to play, because the Jets can’t be thrilled at the moment with what’s behind them, for the most part.
The Jets, however, do have some players in their two-deep that you can feel excited about. LB Jamien Sherwood, DE Michael Clemons and DB Will Parks had some good moments in the first half. Sherwood is an excellent tackler, Clemons can be a force getting after the quarterback and stopping the run and Parks had a couple of good plays in coverage.