Jets need young LB to step up for defense
The Jets are hoping second-year linebacker Darron Lee has a big mouth.
And naturally, an improved second season.
Defensive leaders David Harris and Darrelle Revis are gone, whacked during an offseason purge. So Lee, the firstround pick, 20th overall, in 2016, is viewed as a guy to bring some vocal leadership as well as making overall improvements on an uneven rookie season.
“Absolutely,” Lee said Monday about supplying vocal leadership after the Jets’ third practice of training camp and first day in full pads at Florham Park, N.J. “Know the playbook pretty much backwards and forwards now. Really comfortable. I feel way comfortable. Unlike last year. Felt lost on some stuff. Now I know it backwards and forwards. Perfectly comfortable now.”
Last year, Lee was less than overwhelming as a rookie but much of that was due to an ankle injury that struck in Week 6. Lee missed three games and the injury lingered. He showed athleticism but was not the impact player the team needed from a first-round selec- tion. His pass coverage was lacking and he routinely was abused by opposing tight ends.
Pro Football Focus, using advanced statistical data, graded him as the worst linebacker in the class of 2016 and 84th out of 87 selected linebackers. But stuff like that happens when you feel lost, uncomfortable and the playbook appears to be written in Sanskrit.
Jets coach Todd Bowles isn’t worried about the physical attributes of Lee. “He’s got the tools to be a good linebacker,” he said of the 6-foot-1, 232pounder. Bowles sees Lee’s need for improvement in the mental arena. And it all works hand-in-hand. Grow mentally, improve physically.
“It’s mentally for him,” Bowles said. “Down there, you see a lot of things between run and passing, a lot of blocks and a lot of reads and a lot of tips. So it’s mentally for him. But he’s been more vocal the last three days and all spring and it’s slowing down for him that way so hopefully the mental stuff makes his physical part a little easier.”
Lee began his rookie season out of Ohio State as a backup but eventually started nine games at inside linebacker. The ankle injury hit against the Cardinals and affected him the rest of the way. So there are high expectations for the 22-year-old who is viewed as a key component to the Jets’ young core. Perhaps no one’s expectations are higher than his own.
“Definitely,” Lee said. “Just improve from last year for sure. But definitely do a better job of putting my team in the best position to win and that’s really all I’m focused on.”
That and being a chatterbox leader.
Jets rookie safety Jamal Adams said he is not a fan of some of the NFL’s measures to make the game safer and said he would “die on the field.”
Adams was a panelist Monday in a “fan forum” alongside NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at the Jets’ training center in Florham Park, N.J. The topic of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy and brain injuries came up, along with what the league is doing to protect players. Goodell outlined some of the things the league has done. When he spoke about the rule changes, Adams shook his head in disapproval.
Then, Adams shared his thoughts on the topic.
“I’m all about making the game safer, but as a defensive player, I’m not a big fan of it,” Adams said, contradicting himself. “But I get it. I can speak for a lot of guys that play the game. We live and breathe [football]. This is what we’re so passionate about. Literally, if I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field. And that’s not a lie. There’s so much sacrifice that we go through as a team, and just connecting as one and winning ballgames. There’s nothing like playing the game of football. But again, I’m all about making the game safer.”
Many fans in attendance cheered Adams after he said he would die on the field.
The 21-year-old was taken by the Jets in April with the sixth pick in the 2017 draft. He has emerged as an immediate starter on defense and one of the team leaders.
Goodell defended Adams afterward, saying Adams was clearly just showing his passion.
“I think what he was really making a point of was how much [he] loves the game and how passionate he is about the game,” Goodell said. “He loves playing it. It’s just something that means a great deal to him. I get the emotion of that.”
Goodell also said he thought the fans cheering were just showing their love of football.
“I think people understood the emotion of what he was saying, which is we love the game,” he said. “I think they love the game. I don’t think anyone took it as directly as that.”