Tag: New York Jets

Jamal Adams’ last chance to make history, Robby Anderson’s possible final hoorah among storylines for Jets vs. Bills

Jets Wire breaks down Gang Green’s season finale with four pregame storylines to keep an eye on before kickoff.

The rollercoaster ride that has been the Jets’ 2019 season is less than 24 hours away from coming to an end.

New York will take the field for the final time this year on Sunday when it travels to take on the Buffalo Bills. The game is technically meaningless, considering the Jets aren’t making the playoffs and the Bills are locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC, but don’t think both sides won’t be hungry to send the season on a high note — especially when records and one last chance to earn a payday are on the line.

What should Jets fans be aware of heading into Week 17? For the final time this season, let’s take at four pregame storylines to keep an eye on.

Jamal Adams’ last chance to make history

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Jamal Adams is going to get one last crack at accomplishing a feat he has promised he will for weeks.

Adams is 1.5 sacks shy of tying the NFL single-season record for sacks by a defensive back. Two sacks would give him eight on the season and sole possession of the record. Five of Adams’ 6.5 sacks came during a two-game tear against the Giants and Redskins in November, but he has been a force getting to opposing quarterbacks blitzing off the edge all season nonetheless.

It’s going to be tough for Adams to pull etch his name into the record books in Week 17, but it’s never wise to count him out — especially when he’s treating New York’s final regular season game like a playoff matchup.

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Jets CB Arthur Maulet fined for unnecessary roughness in win over Steelers

The NFL fined Jets cornerback Arthur Maulet $21,056 for an unnecessary roughness penalty in New York’s 16-10 win over the Steelers.

The NFL fined Jets cornerback Arthur Maulet $21,056 for an unnecessary roughness penalty in New York’s 16-10 win over the Steelers last weekend.

Maulet dragged down Steelers wide receiver James Washington with a horse-collar tackle. Washington hobbled directly off the field to the trainer’s table after the ugly play.

Washington returned to Sunday’s contest and caught five passes of his eight targets for 41 yards. He missed out on a chance for possibly the game-winning score when Jets safety Marcus Maye broke up what would have been a 44-yard touchdown on Pittsburgh’s final drive.

Despite the NFL digging into his pocket, Maulet has been a nice addition to the Jets secondary with the team reeling at the cornerback position.

Formerly with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, Maulet signed a reserve/future contract with New York back in January 2019.  In Week 3, Maulet made his first mark in green and white by returning a muffed punt for a touchdown in the Jets 30-14 loss in New England.

New York subsequently waived Maulet on Oct. 15 but re-signed him to the team’s practice squad. The Jets promoted him to the active roster at the end of the month with Trumaine Johnson placed on injured reserve and Daryl Roberts sidelined.

Maulet has nursed a calf injury of his own but has made the most of his opportunity, despite his ugly tackle in Week 15. It would be surprising if he wasn’t back with Gang Green in 2020, being a camp body at the very least.

Jets claim TE Ross Travis off waivers from Colts, place Alex Lewis on IR

The Jets, in need of a third tight-end, claimed Ross Travis off waivers from the Colts and placed OL Alex Lewis on season-ending IR.

The Jets made a move to bolster their tight end unit for the future on Saturday, claiming Ross Travis off waivers from the Colts.

Travis did not make the trip to Buffalo for New York’s season-finale is out for Sunday afternoon’s game. However, considering the timing of the claim, he figures to factor into Gang Green’s offseason plans to some extent.

New York has a need at tight end with both Ryan Griffin (ankle) and Chris Herndon (hamstring/ribs) on injured reserve. Travis brings depth to a tight end room that includes both Daniel Brown and Trevon Wesco and could potentially be someone who sticks in 2020 and beyond.

In three games played with Indianapolis in 2019, Travis caught four passes for 51 yards. He played in four games for the Colts in 2017 and spent the entire 2018 season on injured reserve.

Before his stop in Indianapolis, Travis was with the Kansas City Chiefs. Between his time with the Chiefs and Colts, Travis has played in 24 career games (seven starts) and has 14 receptions for 142 yards.

Travis did not play football in college, but he played college basketball at Penn State University. Having not played football since he was a freshman in high school, Travis signed with the Chiefs practice squad as an undrafted free agent upon graduation.

As a corresponding move for Saturday’s waiver transaction, the Jets placed starting left guard Alex Lewis on season-ending injured reserve.

Lewis (ankle) was ruled out for the Jets’ season finale against the Bills and placed on IR with New York needing the roster spot. He picked up an ankle injury in the Jets 16-10 win over Pittsburgh in Week 16.

As a result, Lewis season will end prematurely. Backup Brent Qvale is expected to slide into his spot on the left side with Conor McDermott starting for the injured Tom Compton at right guard for the second consecutive week.

The Jets acquired Lewis from the Baltimore Ravens for a conditional seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. He started 12 games for New York in 2019 after Kelechi Osemele sustained a season-ending injury.

Le’Veon Bell wants to return to Jets, be part of rebuild in 2020

Le’Veon Bell isn’t interested in leaving the Jets this offseason.

Le’Veon Bell isn’t interested in leaving New York anytime soon.

Despite a tough first season with the Jets and trade rumors that have followed Gang Green’s star running back since the trade deadline, Bell has no desire to jump ship after signing a $52.5 million contract with New York in March.

“I wouldn’t have signed here for four years if I didn’t want to be here four years,” Bell said on Friday.

The idea of being one and done with the Jets doesn’t appeal to Bell, even though it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it did. Bell is having the worst season of his career playing in Adam Gase’s offensive scheme, rushing for a career-low 748 yards so far this season. He has had success catching passes out of the backfield with 61 catches for 425 yards and a touchdown, but Bell’s production running the ball has simply not been there.

Bell turns 28 in February. After another season missing the playoffs, the Jets figure to go through some sort of rebuild this offseason with numerous holes for general manager Joe Douglas to fill. That doesn’t phase him, though, as Bell is all for being part of the process of getting the Jets back on track in 2020 and beyond.

“I’m a guy that is extremely patient, not just on the field,” Bell said. “I understand it takes a while to build a stable program. I’m here for it. It’s what I want to do. I’m not saying I’m ecstatic about it. I’m not saying I’m down about it. I understand it’s a process, getting things going in the right direction.”

Bell is due to make $13.5 million in guaranteed money next season, which will likely cause any team interested in trading for him to look elsewhere on the market for a running back. There are no guarantees in Bell’s contract past 2020, but that doesn’t do the Jets any favors when it comes to the possibility of moving him this offseason.

Fortunately for New York, it doesn’t look like it’ll have to deal with a disgruntled superstar in the locker room moving forward. For better or worse, Bell is invested in remaining a Jet for the duration of his contract.

“When I did sign here, I didn’t expect us to go 16-0, you know what I’m saying?” Bell said. “I knew it would be a process. I understand everything. We got a young quarterback, a whole group of guys coming in — new offensive coordinators, head coaches. … I understand what goes on. It’s not like basketball. You can’t take one or two guys and change a team.”

Le’Veon Bell hints he might refuse an NFL-mandated HGH test

Will he really follow through with his threat?

New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell seemed to make it clear back in November: he claimed he did five random HGH blood tests in the span of 10 weeks and declared he wouldn’t take part on a test again.

On Friday, he tweeted a photo of a note he received telling him he had been randomly selected once again to complete an HGH blood test. His response? “@NFL I bet I don’t.”

As many people are pointing out, a refusal to take a drug test is considered failing it and could result in a suspension. So it’s possible he could give in and take the test anyway.

Here’s the tweet:

And his original tweets from November:

[jwplayer H1XghbKE-q2aasYxh]

Former Steeler Le’Veon Bell calls out NFL for another HGH test

Le’Veon Bell says he isn’t taking another HGH test.

New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell made it clear that he was done taking “random” HGH blood tests administered by the NFL.  So on Friday, when he got a notice to take one, Bell took to Twitter to let everyone know it wasn’t going to happen.

It’s pretty clear Bell is being targeted by the league here and as Steelers fans who lived through the saga of James Harrison and his “random” tests, we can empathize.

Oh and in a hopefully unrelated story, a fire alarm went off at the Jets facility this morning forcing them to empty the building and stop the team’s morning press conference with head coach Adam Gase.

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Bills vs. Jets: 5 matchups to watch

The Bills have a nice tune-up game at the end of the season when the New York Jets come into New Era Field on Sunday.

Well, the Bills are playing another meaningless week 17 game.

This time it’s due to the fact that they’ve already locked up the top Wild Card spot in the AFC. It was announced earlier in the week that the Bills’ starters will be playing, which can be a nice tune-up game facing the lowly New York Jets.

While we’re not sure exactly how much Buffalo’s No.1’s will be playing, the games, within the game, can still make all the difference.

Here are five matchups to watch for sure the Bills’ Week 17 meeting with the Jets:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Allen vs. Jamal Adams 

New York Jets safety Jamal Adams has become enemy No. 1 in western New York after his controversial comments on ‘hunting’ the Bills. 

The Jets defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, is the main culprit of the New Orleans Saints ‘Bountygate’ scandal. A payment system where his players earned bonuses for taking opposing players out of the game. It wasn’t a good look for the NFL, the Saints, or the former Bills coach.

So, how does Josh Allen fit into all of this? A mobile quarter, who stands at 6-foot-5, and has already beaten the Jets once this season, he seems like the ideal target to hunt. Allen didn’t have a great game against the Jets, he had four turnovers, but he did throw the game winning touchdown to John Brown late in the fourth quarter. 

If Allen is looking to create some momentum going into the playoffs he’ll need to unlock a stingy Jets secondary, led by Jamal Adams. Marcus Maye is his safety partner, and he’s fresh off a check of a game himself. Allen will hopefully only have limited chances to do this, though. 

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Former Jets QB Chad Pennington praises Sam Darnold’s ‘considerable improvement’ in second season

Chad Pennington praised Sam Darnold’s progress in his second season as Gang Green’s starting quarterback in an interview with Eric Allen.

Chad Pennington knows a thing or two about getting the job done for the Jets under center.

Before injuries brought an end to his time in the Big Apple, Pennington led the Jets to three playoff appearances and retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in completion percentage. Now a high school football coach in Kentucky, Pennington has had ample time to watch Sam Darnold play on Sundays and evaluate his game from year one to year two.

“Although we would say it’s been up and down, I would say there’s been considerable improvement,” Pennington told Jets reporter Eric Allen. “Earlier in the year, you’d probably see four to five decisions that you would question. Now, you’re only seeing one to two decisions that we’re questioning.”

Pennington found himself in a similar position to Darnold at the beginning of the century. As a first-round pick out of Marshall in 2000, Pennington entered the league at a young age and had to learn on the fly in a major media market filled with intense scrutiny on a daily basis.

As Pennington navigated the waters and learned how to play in New York, he progressed and turned into a passer the Jets could rely on. He believes Darnold is following a similar path with his second professional season nearly in the books.

“Remember, he’s 22 years old,” Pennington said. “It’s only his second season being an NFL quarterback. I think as fans, we should be happy with his progress.”

Pennington has also been impressed with Darnold’s ability to face adversity head-on. The USC product has been hit with a lot in his sophomore season, as mononucleosis kept him sidelined for a month. That, combined with poor offensive line play, has put Darnold behind the eight ball at times in his first season running Adam Gase’s offense.

“I think what we’re seeing is the maturation of a young quarterback,” Pennington said. “We’re able to see that right in front of our eyes. When I was playing back in the day, you didn’t see these things happen because most of the time quarterbacks were kept on the shelf for a couple of years. Those mistakes were made behind closed doors. Unfortunately for Sam, we’re able to see his mistakes made in front of us. At the same time, we’re able to see his progress.”

Darnold has come on nicely at the end of 2019, leading the Jets to a 5-2 record over their last seven games. Where he goes in his progression in 2020 and beyond remains to be seen, but either way, it looks like he has a fan in Pennington in his corner for the long run.

Forcing Josh Allen into mistakes among keys to Jets’ defense vs. Bills

Jets Wire breaks down what it’s going to take for the Jets to have success on defense against the Bills on Sunday.

The final week of the 2019 regular season is upon us.

The Jets will take the field for the final time this season on Sunday when they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. New York is looking to exact revenge against Buffalo after blowing a 16-point lead to the Bills in Week 1, but it’s not going to be an easy task with Buffalo now established as one of the premier teams in the AFC.

The Bills are known for their defensive dominance, but their offense is not a unit that can be taken lightly. Josh Allen has done a nice job leading Buffalo in his second season under center, but he’s not at world-beater status quite yet.

What’s it going to take for the Jets to slow down Allen and company? Let’s take at what New York will have to do in order to accomplish that feat in Week 17.

Force Josh Allen into mistakes

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

For as much progress as Josh Allen has made this season, it’s important to remember he’s still a second-year signal caller.

Allen is susceptible to mistakes as any young quarterback is. He’s managed to limit the head-scratching decisions that plagued his rookie season this year, but that doesn’t mean he won’t make a mistake or two if he’s forced into a corner.

Whether it means sending some extra heat or getting creative with defensive fronts, Gregg Williams is going to have to do everything in his power to force Allen into uncomfortable situations on Sunday. If the Jets let him sit in the pocket or let him use his legs to make plays, it’ll be a long afternoon.

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Sam Darnold has high praise for Bills fans ahead of Week 17 trip to Buffalo

Jets QB Sam Darnold is excited to play his final regular-season game of the 2019 season in front of Buffalo Bills fans at New Era Field.

Neither the Jets nor Bills have much to play for on Sunday. While New York is playing for pride, Sunday is a final dress rehearsal for Buffalo before the playoffs begin.

Still, the atmosphere at New Era Field is expected to be playoff-like as the Buffalo-faithful prepare to send their team off on a high note before the Bills face the Houston Texans in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Jets, who play one game in Buffalo each season, are prepared for everything that comes with playing in Orchard Park.

“It’s tough,” Sam Darnold said when asked about what it’s like to play away games at New Era Field on Thursday. “Buffalo fans are crazy in the best way. They get it rocking in there.”

For Sunday’s game, the Bills don’t anticipate resting their starters. However, backup quarterback Matt Barkley is expected to see some time behind Josh Allen.

Barkley infamously led a bumbling Bills offense to a huge win over the Jets in November of 2018. The 41-10 loss was seemingly the final nail in the coffin for Todd Bowles’ tenure as the Jets’ head coach. Barkley went 15 of 25, passing for 232 yards and two touchdowns.

Darnold was sidelined with a foot injury but made his first matchup against fellow 2018 draftee Allen, memorable. Nearly a month later, Darnold led the Jets to 27-23 win in Orchard Park.

In Week 1 of the 2019 season, Darnold went 28 of 41 for just 175 yards and just one touchdown in a 17-16 loss at home. Buffalo’s defense suffocated the Jets offense, holding it to just 223 total yards

With 15 games in between, the Jets are looking for revenge even if the team cannot play spoiler to Buffalo’s playoff hopes. After starting 1-7, ending the season 7-9 and going 6-2 in the final eight games would be an impressive accomplishment for Adam Gase’s team.