Takeaways From Jets’ Green and White Scrimmage
The New York Jets held their annual Green and White scrimmage early on Saturday, August 3rd. This highlights the first face-off between the offense and defense in a full-game experience that was open to the fans. The Jets got their first look at how the team can play as a collective unit in front of a crowd. In a competitive game, it was mainly good news for the fans watching, as they saw bright spots on both the offense and the defense.
On the offensive side, the offensive line was down both starting tackles in Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses. However, rookie Olu Fashanu stepped in and held his own. The rest of the offense looked comfortable, led by Aaron Rodgers who “looked like he never missed any time,” according to head coach Robert Saleh. Rodgers peppered throws to many guys, with Allen Lazard in particular looking like a major step up from last year. After the worst season of his career, Lazard looks to have re-established a connection with Rodgers and can make a difference in the receiver room.
The one glaring problem was with center Joe Tippmann, who skied a snap over Rodgers’ head during a big drive. Tippmann has been struggling with snapping the ball during this past week. Saleh commented on the issue saying, “It’s one of the least things I’m worried about.” Saleh feels it is a technical issue that will fix itself, but it is definitely something to keep an eye on with Rodgers under center, having already been fed up with the problem previously.
For the defense, the Jets unit did what it does best. Down two cornerbacks in Sauce Gardner and Michael Carter II, they continued to fare well. The offense looked to have the advantage early on in the day, but the defensive line retaliated and pressured the quarterback often. Putting one of the league’s best defenses against a Rodgers-led offense can only improve both sides of the ball, and that was the takeaway from today.
Coach Saleh saw good things all around with many “cool moments” to look on. Although some players were given excused absences, the team is progressively getting healthier and more in shape. Both sides battled for 90 minutes, leading to a dream scenario of a two-minute drill to decide the game. With the first preseason game around the corner, the Jets look to build off the first “mock game” of the offseason.
