Playing keepaway
Youthful coordinator, QB have to hold on to football in opener
THE ANTICIPATED season opener is a mere three days away, and there are two things the Jets absolutely, positively — under any circumstances — cannot allow to happen against the Panthers on Sunday in Carolina:
They cannot let their former quarterback, Sam Darnold, carve up their defense with a prolific passing performance, thus showing them up for giving up on him and dumping him after last season.
And they cannot let their former receiver, Robby Anderson, run like a deer through their secondary, catching long touchdown passes and embarrassing them for low- balling him in contract negotiations two years ago.
The Jets, with their wet-behind-the-ears roster (the youngest in the league), might very well lose the game. They’re 4-point underdogs, so the sharps in Las Vegas believe they’re going to return to New Jersey 0-1 in Robert Saleh’s headcoaching debut.
It, too, is possible the Jets will win the game. The Panthers, after all, aren’t the Packers, Buccaneers or Chiefs.
If the Jets do lose the game, though, how they lose it may be critical for their (and their fans’) psyche going forward.
The best way to avoid the two potential calamitous and embarrassing scenarios involving Darnold and Anderson is by playing to their strength, which is their offense.
It’s become clear this summer that the Jets offense possesses more firepower than their defense.
So, their hope will be that the run-heavy, motion-sickness offensive system their coordinator Mike LaFleur has brought from San Francisco, combined with a few dynamic plays from their rookie quarterback Zach Wilson, will be enough to keep the Panthers’ offense off the field.
Fair or not, Wilson and LaFleur hold the key to how the Jets fare on Sunday.
Wilson, the 22-year-old No. 2-overall draft pick, will be taking direction from LaFleur, the 34-year-old first-time coordinator.
It’s difficult to distinguish which guy looks younger than his age — Wilson or LaFleur, who on Thursday spoke confidently about where Wilson is entering Sunday and also laughed at the signs Wilson shows on a daily basis that remind you of how young he is.
“Some of the music and movies that we bring up he has no idea [about],’’ LaFleur said. “We’re bringing up ‘Caddyshack’ and he just kind of looks at you like, ‘What is ‘Caddyshack’?’ You see some of the youthful innocence in him in the meeting rooms. We all get a chuckle out of it.
“But in terms of his preparation and how he goes about his day, it’s not rookie-like. It’s how you should act as a quarterback.’’
Wilson has answered all the questions asked of him on the field so far. But, other than the tragic death of quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp on the eve of training camp, he hasn’t encountered a moment of adversity on the field yet.
Wilson, thankfully, didn’t encounter an injury this summer. The starting job has been his since he was drafted, with no competition brought in. He’s yet to be sacked or even hit yet. Not a spot of grass stain on his uniform proves it. He hasn’t turned the ball over in a preseason game. And, he hasn’t played against a first-team defense.
“I guess it’s a little bit of unknown,’’ LaFleur said of the smooth ride to date. “He has faced adversity, although not in the NFL yet. [I’m] excited to see when it’s live and he’s out there, what he’s able to do.’’
So, too, are Wilson’s teammates on defense, a couple of whom on Thursday praised both the rookie quarterback and LaFleur.
“It’s very dynamic,’’ safety Marcus Maye said of LaFleur’s system. “They do a lot of different things — motions, shifts, adjustments and different looks.’’
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said the LaFleur offense “fundamentally is tailor-made for young quarterbacks, because it leans so heavily on a run game.’’
“I think for a young guy, it’s his first time strapping up on a Sunday, that can be overwhelming,’’ Ulbrich added. “The fact that you can hand it off 30, 35, maybe 40 times a game is a huge source of relief.’’ Relief for the defense, too. “If you’re not lined up and not communicating, it’ll be a long day [for opposing defenses],’’ linebacker C.J. Mosley said of the LaFleur system. “There’s are a lot of things that can get your eyes off focus if you’re not paying attention — especially when they get the run game going, gaining 4 or 5 yards a pop. That’s going to open up the play-action for the deep ball. It’s going to be exciting to see our offense on the field.’’
The longer they’re on the field, the fewer chances Darnold and Anderson have to embarrass their former team by exacting the revenge everyone knows they burn to administer.