Tag: Allen Lazard

All-22 review: Young Jaguars shine in back-and-forth loss to Jets

All-22 review: Young Jaguars shine in back-and-forth loss to Jets

The Jacksonville Jaguars sit at 3-11 on the season following their back-and-forth, 32-25 loss to the New York Jets. The 2024 season has been one of the most disappointing in franchise history and the blows continued on Sunday.

However, one of the upsides of having one of the worst records in the NFL is the opportunity to utilize and evaluate the young talent on the roster. Against New York, a handful of Jacksonville’s rookies and second-year players stood out.

Jaguars Wire takes a closer look at the All-22 from Sunday’s loss to examine the potential future pieces of the roster.

WR Brian Thomas Jr.’s historic rookie season

Should Trent Baalke hold onto his job as Jacksonville’s general manager this offseason, his first-round selection of the former LSU All-American may very well be the biggest reason why.

Against the Jets, Brian Thomas Jr. caught 10 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the franchise rookie record for receiving touchdowns and yards while tying its rookie record for receptions in a season, putting his season total at 64 catches for 956 yards and eight touchdowns.

Thomas has become more than just a vertical threat in the passing game. He has transcended into a true No. 1 target in the passing game with plenty of room to continue growing in the years to come.

One of the reasons why Thomas has begun to receive a high volume of targets is because of his smooth, yet sudden short-area bursts and quickness at the line of scrimmage.

Take his first touchdown for example. He does a great job setting up the man defender to get his feet stuck in the grass. This allows Thomas to break quickly inside and use his explosiveness out of the break to separate.

Here’s another example of Thomas winning at the line of scrimmage. He displays a textbook split release and forces the corner to be choppy in his footwork. The separation out of the break allows Thomas to catch and run away from the defender for his second touchdown of the day.

Thomas was not asked to sit and find green grass in LSU’s offense last season, raising concerns about his ability to succeed in this area. This is an example of how just because you couldn’t do it in college, doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

This was one of the most explosive plays from the Jaguars’ offensive explosion against the Jets. Thomas does a great job of exploding out of his stance and then quickly decelerating in green grass to sit and make his number available for the quarterback. After the catch, he splits defenders and takes off for a 41-yard pickup.

Thomas must continue to improve his overall play strength to better win at the line of scrimmage against physical press-man cornerbacks. There were a couple of reps against the Jets where All-Pro defender Sauce Garnder used his physicality to disrupt the timing and tempo of Thomas’ route.

If he can add more to his frame and be more assertive against physical corners, Thomas will have taken the next step to being one of the best playmakers in the NFL. Jaguars fans will be in for a treat regardless for years to come.

Rookie CB Jarrian Jones thriving in the nickel

A nice development for Jacksonville’s defense is the emergence of rookie defender Jarrian Jones, who was a standout cornerback at Florida State just down I-10.

Jones has flashed many qualities as a nickelback and may have emerged as the team’s future at this spot. He showed impressive recovery skills and awareness in man coverage, positioning himself to make plays on the ball or disrupt the timing of the catch with physicality against opposing receivers.

Below are two quality reps in coverage against Allen Lazard and All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.

TE Brenton Strange

With versatile tight end Evan Engram out for the rest of the season with a torn labrum, the Jaguars can see what they have in second-year tight end Brenton Strange.

Strange took over Evan Engram’s role as the F-move TE where, paired with his traditional duties in-line and as a receiver, he motioned to fullback on occasion to disguise 21 and 12 personnel looks.

Strange is an above-average athlete who was used on screens to create after the catch and shows good quickness out of breaks. He is also a reliable and tough hands catcher who caught 11 passes for 73 yards against the Jets.

Report: Jets tried to trade a WR to Broncos this spring

The Jets offered Allen Lazard and a “Day 2 draft pick” to the Broncos for Jerry Jeudy, but Woody Johnson nixed the deal, per The Athletic.

Before the Denver Broncos agreed to trade wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns this spring, they received a better offer (in terms of draft picks) from another AFC team.

Former New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas — who was fired this week — offered the Broncos a “Day 2 draft pick” and wide receiver Allen Lazard in exchange for Jeudy, according to a report from Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

The second day of the draft features the second and third rounds, so that would have been better compensation for Jeudy than what the Broncos ended up getting from the Browns (fifth- and sixth-round picks).

The Jets deal was vetoed by New York co-owner Woody Johnson, according to the Rosenblatt and Russini report.

Getting a higher draft pick for Jeudy would have been nice, but Denver also would have inherited Lazard’s contract. The receiver, turning 29 next month, is scheduled to have base salaries of $11 million in 2025 and 2026.

After Johnson nixed the trade, the Broncos later traded Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele in the NFL draft. Those receivers will have team-friendly contracts over the next four years with the highest cap hit among them being Franklin’s $1.4 million charge in 2027.

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Jets place two players on injured reserve ahead of facing Texans

Jets place two players on injured reserve ahead of facing Texans

Two New York Jets players have been placed on injured reserve ahead of facing the Houston Texans in Week 9.

Wide receiver Allen Lazard and defensive tackle Leki Fotu landed on the injury designation.

Lazard had missed recent games due to a chest injury, meanwhile, meanwhile, Fotu had been dealing with a knee issue.

By landing on IR, both players will end up missing a minimum of four games. Eventually the team can open up both of their practice windows before they potentially return to the active roster.

Just before the start of the regular season, Fotu previously was placed on injured reserve but returned. However, that was for a hamstring injury.

It’s unclear the amount of time both will miss.

In corresponding moves, kicker Riley Patterson and offensive lineman Alec Lindstrom were sign to New York’s active roster taking the spots of Lazard and Fotu.

Jets Wire will provide updates as information is made available.

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Bucs’ Chris Godwin leads NFL in a key receiving catgeories through Week 6

Through six games, the Bucs wide receiver has been on a tear and leads all receivers in the NFL in not just one but multiple key categories.

Having a sure-handed wide receiver like Chris Godwin is a luxury. Through six games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver has been on a tear and leads all receivers in the NFL in not just one but multiple key categories.

Godwin leads the way for wide receivers with a minimum of 25 targets on the season, catching 84.3% of on-target throws in his direction by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who completes 43-of-51 passes. Cincinnati Bengals superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase trails with an 82.9 catch rate on 10-less targets (41), supplying Mayfield with a 138.3 passer rating when he tosses the ball toward Godwin.

Receiving yards has Godwin positioned with the third-most at 510 behind Houston Texans’ Nico Collins (566) and the Bengals’ Chase (565). Where Godwin begins to set himself apart from the pack is his 335 yards after catch eclipse that of the second-place Chase (268), who is more commonly known as an explosive receiver, by 67. The only slot receiver in the NFL who averages more yards after catch per reception is Green Bay’s Jayden Reed with 8.1 YAC/REC. He also is tied with Chase, Allen Lazard, and fellow Buccaneers Mike Evans to lead the NFL with 5 TD.

Godwin’s chemistry with Mayfield has generated a league-leading 30 receiving first downs through six games. To make things impressive, Godwin is ranked 55th in the league for average depth of target (ADOT) at just 5.2 yards- essentially half (10.3) of what he saw in Dave Canales’ offense last season.

The Texans connection between quarterback CJ Stroud and Collins has generated the second-most receiving first downs on the season with 27, with an ADOT of 12.0- nearly three times that of Godwin.

Currently on pace for a career year with 122 receptions, 1445 yards, and 14 touchdowns, The 28-year old Godwin is picking no better time to produce even higher numbers than what Bucs fans have grown accustomed to, as he is playing in the final year of his three-year contract.

ESPN aired a montage of Aaron Rodgers’ career Hail Marys right before he threw one in Jets-Bills

Wow.

ESPN must have had a good feeling that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was going to nail a Hail Mary right before halftime during Monday Night Football.

Right before Rodgers nailed an improbable deep touchdown to Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard to close out the half, the ESPN game broadcast showed a montage of all three of the Rodgers Hail Mary touchdowns he threw while he was with the Green Bay Packers.

It was pretty fascinating to go from past to present as Rodgers landed his fourth-ever Hail Mary touchdown (and his first as a Jet) just a moment later as ESPN provided the perfect preamble for the moment.

Also, here’s the ManningCast‘s reaction to the Hail Mary while you’re with us.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Jets’ Aaron Rodgers launches unlikely ‘Hail Mary’ touchdown vs. Bills (video)

Jets’ Aaron Rodgers launches unlikely ‘Hail Mary’ touchdown vs. Bills (video)

The Jets offense is putting up points against the Bills on “Monday Night Football” in Week 6.

None more exciting than this one.

Right before halftime, the Bills scored a touchdown with 21 seconds left to take a 20-10 lead.

How did the Jets go into the half with a 20-17 scoreline? Quarterback Aaron Rodgers launched an unlikely 52-yard “Hail Mary” touchdown pass to wide receiver Allen Lazard with eight seconds left.

Lazard hit the ground and eventually had the ball knocked out from his hands… but it was counted.

What a play.

Check out the incredible score below:

Allen Lazard makes incredible TD catch of Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary at end of first half

Aaron Rodgers with another successful Hail Mary for his resume

Aaron Rodgers has seen his share of Hail Mary’s answered.

Monday night at MetLife Stadium was another instance.

With time running out in the first half, the Buffalo Bills rushed two defensive linemen.

It turned out to be mistake as Rodgers had all sorts of time to get ready for throw the ball into the end zone.

Once he unloaded there were a group of players in the end zone and Allen Lazard, Rodgers’ former teammate in Green Bay, somehow came down with the ball.

Lazard got great position in front of everyone and managed to block out the Bills’ secondary players trying to knock down or intercept the throw.

The play was good for 52 yards and after the PAT, the Jets trailed 20-17.

On ‘gun celebrations’ and the world we want to live in

New York #Jets WR Allen Lazard and South Carolina #Gamecocks DL Dylan Stewart sparked a dialogue about ‘gun celebrations’ in football.

Football is anything but a leisure sport. Violence is at its absolute core.

For some players, football is an outlet. It isn’t uncommon to hear from retired linemen about how they miss the physicality of the game, the feeling of being able to impose their will on other human beings on the gridiron.

None of this is new, and the urge to physically restrain or otherwise hinder the forward progress of another person is hardly unique to American football.

We humans fight wars, after all, and unspeakable acts are committed by people every day.

On Saturday, South Carolina Gamecocks defender Dylan Stewart was flagged for a celebration wherein he pantomimed shooting Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxon Dart, who was lying defenseless on the field.

Stewart’s incident occurred after New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard was penalized and fined for a finger-gun celebration in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos.

In a vacuum, maybe this is acceptable – or at least understandable – behavior.

Perhaps Stewart, who is 19 years old, just got caught up in the moment and was emulating behavior he had seen from other people who were caught up in a moment, too.

Perhaps Lazard, nearly a decade Stewart’s senior, was merely intending to signal a first down, and his outstretched fingers and hand motions were perceived the wrong way by the referee on the field and the NFL officials who fined him.

And, perhaps nobody was hurt by either celebration, and neither deserved to be penalized for their actions.

As a football blogger, it isn’t my place to say where the line between celebration and offensive conduct is. Far be it from me to say that someone should be suspended, or fined, or even that they should get a stern talking-to from a coach on the sideline.

Those decisions are well above my pay grade.

But, as an American, it seems at least a little odd that there is a conversation to be had about this “gun celebration” business anyway.

Guns, their use, and our right to own them, are wholly pervasive in our culture. Our right to own them, in particular, is enshrined in our constitution, which was written by people with far more vision than me.

To be clear, Stewart’s infraction against Ole Miss was far more egregious than Lazard’s. To mimic “emptying the clip” into an opponent is a far more demonstrative action than merely “shooting” finger guns to indicate a first down.

But, at their core, these celebrations serve a similar purpose: to introduce “guns” into a game that, even to its detriment at times, is more than violent enough.

I’m not here to tell you what to think about either celebration, let alone what you should think about guns, firearm culture, or our right in the United States to bear arms.

Rather, I think the fascination with violence (or perceived violence) as a form of celebration is more at issue.

Is it ever appropriate to celebrate an achievement with a real firearm?

Is it ever appropriate to celebrate an achievement with a fake firearm?

What message does it send that, in a moment of ecstasy after making a crucial play, that any celebration would involve an imaginary firearm?

In my usual role over at Chiefs Wire, I covered Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII parade, where one person was killed and 33 people were injured after a mass shooting took place at Union Station in my hometown.

A day that should have been about celebration and achievement turned disastrous and deadly when real guns were introduced into the equation.

In a country where tens of thousands of people die at the end of a gun’s barrel (the majority self-inflicted) every year, why is it that these tools are part of any celebration at all, ever?

These are questions that, again, go well beyond my pay grade.

America’s identity is already at the center of every political advertisement you’ll see over the next month and, in an election year, the last thing this writer wants to do is ask people to re-evaluate their stance on guns.

But, as Americans, we have a choice to let this aspect of our culture live or die.

Jets WR Allen Lazard fined $14,069 for finger guns celebration vs. Broncos

As three Broncos players found out last season, the NFL forbids “any act resembling shooting a gun.” Allen Lazard is the latest to be fined.

New York Jets wide receiver Allen Lazard was fined $14,069 by the NFL after celebrating a first-down catch with finger guns during the third quarter of last week’s game against the Denver Broncos.

Lazard was not pointing the “guns” at any particular player, but he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct and has now received a fine to boot.

Even if the gesture is “aimed” away from opponents, the NFL has made it clear that “any act resembling shooting a gun” is not allowed. Broncos pass rusher Jonathon Cooper, defensive lineman Zach Allen and ex-Denver linebacker Josey Jewell found that out the hard way last season.

After initially rescinding a fine given to Jewell for the celebration last fall, the NFL fined him again for the same offense later in the season. Clearly, the league still wants the celebration to go away.

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Jets’ Aaron Rodgers throws first touchdown pass at MetLife vs. Patriots (video)

Jets’ Aaron Rodgers throws first touchdown pass at home vs. Patriots:

It was a first but also a blast from the past.

Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is on the board with a touchdown pass at MetLife Stadium as a member of the home team.

It was a long time coming for the QB after his 2023 injury woes.

On the play, he once again connected with his former Green Bay Packers teammate, Allen Lazard. In his own right, the receiver is up to three touchdowns on the year.

The play was in the red zone, a quick pass to Lazard on the left. A quick move by the receiver is all that was needed.

Check out the score that put the Jets up 7-0 in the first quarter below: