Jets-Saints Game Preview (12/14)

Done for the year, which means Bryce Petty will get his first start of two thousand seventeen this Sunday career from McCown. He brought a lot to this organization. I think when he signed with the Jets in the spring, a lot of people said, hey, listen, yeah, you're just getting a journeyman quarterback. And maybe he comes here and he holds the clipboard from one of the younger quarterbacks. But McCown came in and I think he added it up.

Completing nearly sevent of his past He had finished third in the NFL, third NFL well at the at the time, right and then what eighteen touchdown passes five touchdowns on the ground. But you know, numbers don't tell the story. With Josh McCown, you were covering this team throughout the year as well, Greens, and he was so well liked by his teammates, so appreciated by his coaching staff. He was a perfect guy for this system at this time.

Worked well with John Morton, a first year play caller with the Jets, and he was in sync with Jeremy Bates, the quarterbacks coach, a guy who worked with and had some success with in Chicago, and he made the players around him better. Robbie Anderson is breaking out, Jermaine Curses having the best year of his career, Austin So, Marion Jenkins career high and receptions um and you can go down the list. So he really brought a lot to

this organization. Not only are you happy before Josh McCown for the level he played at because I think he kind of proved a lot of critics wrong, but also he helped this organization, this team take a step forward by creating a culture and also helping miss scouting staff evaluate what they have. You can tell how much McCown means to this team no matter who you speak to, whether it's e A and Bart Scott on Inside the Jets,

which is also on the Official Jets Podcast. Morris Claiborne was your guest this week and he was saying that his heart was pumping when he saw mccowun come out for a couple of plays after he took a shot to the mid section, and then he had that same gut feeling when McCown went right to the locker room. Master he broke his left hand following a Shane Raight hit,

but you could tell from there. And Chad Pennington all so says this every week that we have them all in the Official JEZ podcast game preview, and you mentioned it is that he allows the organization to take a look at what you have. And I think McCown's presence, his leadership, combined with the expectations and the numbers he put up made this season very special for him, which is why he ended up choking up at the podium.

It's been the best because of the guys. No, no, not no numbers, you know, it's been the best because of the group of men in the locker room. I'm just proud to be part of it. If you go around and you talk to national writers who go to different stops along the way throughout the league. He is on everybody's top three as most professional and one of the nicest guys out there in the world. So I mean as far as our football world is concerned. So he definitely has earned the respect of so many people

along the way. And I think we're gonna look back at this signing and say, you know what, he brought a lot to this organization And we'll have to see what happens now because McCown one year contract. Maybe he calls the quits at the end of this year, we don't know. Maybe he resigns with the Jets. We have no idea, but he If you're looking for a man to put his best foot forward, that's what you've got

from Josh McCown. And it's so ironic because Todd Bowles was talking about last week because everybody was asking him about what's the difference about Josh McCown, and he said, you know, he's been able to stay healthy this year, and then Game thirteen, that happens. He took a big shot earlier in that game, like you mentioned, in the second quarter, and eventually he goes down. So he's got

some decisions to make an off season. The Jets has some decisions to make an off season, all right, So now with Petty sliding in, Petty last year start at four games, he played in six, he had three touchdowns, seven picks. It's a different system though, because last year was Chan Gailey, this year is John Morton. The West Coast system a little more past friendly. And we'll check in with Chad Pennington to see what he thinks of this system and how it fits with Bryce Petty's ability.

But what do you think about this offense and what are you looking for in Bryce in his third year and his second season in which he's gonna get some playing time. Well, I think he's gonna be Pompty's an excitable guy. I think he's been waiting for his opportunity patiently. I think Todd Bowles and the rest of the organization will be very excited to watch him play. Todd Bowles

did say that, uh, this week opportunity for him. You know, he'll get the majority of the rest this week and I'll be well prepared to play come the game one Sunday. He knows he's got an opportunity to step up and make plays. And look forward to family plan. What you want to see from Bryce is to make sure that his accuracy is up there and you're staying on time.

Mean yes, I'm not just talking about specific plays with going through progressions one to three, but staying that time, meaning that the offense is making the plays they have to, staying on schedule and moving the chains this week, this is a tough test. So you're going to his Saints team that year's passed their defense was quite suspect. I don't think you can say that about the Saints no any longer. Know, the Saints passing defense at least last

year was thirty second in the league. This year their fifteen. And we'll touch on them a little bit later. But you know, without further ado, I think it's time to bring in our quarterback, Chad Pennington. Chad, you've been talking all year about how well Josh McCown has played, what a shot and arm he has given this team. How tough was it for you, as a former competitor to watch him go down against the Denver Broncles. Well, Eric is,

it's very tough. And the reason that it's tough, you know how hard, you know how well he played and how he's been able to keep the team stable. And you know what his age is, and when you get to his age, you just never know if you have another down left, if you have another you don't know what your future holds. And so to have to end your season like that is certainly difficult. He was so emotional after the game because he knew what it meant. He had tears in his eyes and you know he

loves this team playing in this moment. And I'll tell you what yed. He had a career year here with the New York Jets. He did and he made a lot of people better. UM allowed the organization to really take a deep look at a lot of different positions to make sure the organization gets better in the future. UM.

And you can see that. And I think a situation UM that we saw with Josh and the press conference that really humanizes these football players and can bring back that human aspect that we sometimes forget as fans that these guys aren't robots, the human beings and they really put a lot into what they do and they really value the relationships that they build on these teams and with these organizations, and they know how important those are.

And so although fantasy football allows us to get caught up in the stats, most of our players in the NFL really value the time spent with each other. That is a bond that you build. Now see any point, guys thirty eight years old, he's played fifteen years of the National Football League, and yes he hasn't been a starter all of his stops, but this meant everything to him this year, There's no question about it. And he really it's as a veteran and I experienced this too.

As a veteran, you get into certain situations where you just really like the makeup of your team and the and the people and the teammates you work with on a daily basis really energize you to get up in the morning every day and go to work and try to be successful. And so he had one of those situations here in New York and he was really enjoying that. Even talking to him on the field before the Kansas City game, I could tell that he was enjoying what

he was doing. And sometimes it's really easy this game and the business of this game can make you negative about your profession and you try to fight through that. And when you get those years where you feel really upbeat about what you're doing and you're energized about it. It makes it so rewarding. And that's where he was at this point. How does this affect the rest of the offense, Because we've talked about this before on the

Official Jazz Podcast. Game previews at McCown allowed the organization to take a deeper look at the players surrounding him, and he raised them up. So, now, what do you expect from this offense for the rest of the three weeks, whether it's Bryce Petty this week or potentially Christian Hackenburg down the road. Well, I certainly expect that the players who have played well thus far continue to play well. But I think the evaluation that now is completely on

the two young quarterbacks. I think the organization has been able to see because of the accounts play what they have and the other players. They know exactly what they can do and should do. And now the young quarterbacks know what these players can do. So these two young quarterbacks, when they get their chance to play, they've got to go out now show that you know what I have. I'm worthwhile and I have value in this organization as well, and I can help this team win, and that is

completely that. That's the name of the game these last three weeks for these two young guys, when they get their opportunities, they have to go play well. They have to prove that they deserve to be on this team. And that's just the bottom up. What changes for Patty this week? As a backup quarterback, You're not getting too many reps. Now he is the guy. John Morton is going to be working on a game plan with Petty

this week. And one thing we talked about last year with you was you like Petty's ability to make place when things don't look like they're going according to planned. What do you expect from him now that he's had a week he got in there a few snaps against the Denver Broncles. Well, he's certainly. I don't think his mental preparation changes as far as his study habits. Obviously his physical preparation changes. But because now he gets the reps in practice, the other thing that will change is

the relationship between Morton and Bryce Patty. They've got to really increase their communication so that Morton gets a good feel for how Bryce thinks and Bryce gets a good field for how Because Morton thinks now he calls plays, that's going to be a big time key for this week. And then finally, I think we saw last year that he does have grit. He does uh, you know, have that that mental makeup to be able to fight through adversity.

We saw that in the San Francisco game last year, and so we know that now we have to be able to see can he put some games together where he can prove himself that he has value and that he can continue to improve uh, and then he has made progress. The biggest thing I want to see physically quarterback, I want to see his accuracy improved. I want to see him hit the gimme layups when they're there and then be at least on the more complex reads and

things like that. He has to improve his accuracy. How do you think John Morton system fits Bryce Petty compared to last year when Petty started four games for the Jets, but it was under Chan Gaily system. Well, I actually I feel like it fits a young quarterback well. With coach Morton being part of the West Coast ideology, I think you'll have a lot of progression reads um where a lot of quessure won't be put on the quarterback to decipher coverages per se. Sometimes sometimes it's just about

the progression regardless of the covers. Also, think being able to get the ball out of his hand quickly with shallow crosses in the screen game, and all these different ways that they can help get him into rhythm as fast as they can is important. The biggest challenge for Bryce will be going down into the super but Super Dome. You're playing the New Orleans Saints at home. Uh, it's

really really tough to play there. You've got a defense that's played really well this year as well as an offense that's as explosive as any offense in the league. So it's it's a big task, but we'll certainly be able to see what he's made up. Well, let's go inside the chess match. John Morton had two coaching stints under Sean Payton. But Sean Payton is the guy who's calling the offensive plays for the Saints. Dennis Allen is the defensive coordinator. What will Dennis Allen and the Saints

try to do against the young quarterback Sunday. Well, I think typically people think that with a young quarterback you just heat him up with pressure and play man to cut man covers. But actually, for me, I always thought that made it easy for a young quarterback. Um, anytime you try to heat him up and it's single coverage outside, there's no thinking process involved. All they've got to know is are they hot to get rid of the ball quickly? And if they're not, then focus on the outside receiver

and it's one on one. It's like you wouldn't practice. How can they take a lesson from jen Verse page per se where they got off to a slow start and try to translate it to this Sunday where if you let the Saints jump on you early and that dome starts rocking, that's a recipe for disaster down there.

In any road game. Uh, if you can get off to a faster start, be it with good drives offensively or some good three and out thoughts on defense, it takes that crowd out of it early and allows you just to focus on the game of football and not have to deal with the other elements. So um, offensively, protecting the ball, just just thinking about first down, just to accumulate first down, don't worry about scoring. Anytime you go against you read you feel like you gotta put

up forty to have a chance to win. With this year's Saints team, they're running the ball really effectively, and so defensively you got to focus on mark Ingram and the run game. Uh. And then in the secondary, really take a look at their play action game. They do a good job with that, moving through around and using that play acting game to push the ball down the field offensively, accumulate first downs and let's see what happens. Jay, great analysis is always. We look forward to catching up

with you next week. Hopefully the Christmas shoppy is going well for you. So far, we are hanging in there and pushing through Eric. We certainly are so Green's Bryce Patty will make his first start of two thousand and seventeen seasons down in New Orleans. As Chad said, is that you gotta be accurate with some of those easy ones,

uh to keep that offense on schedule. And I think balance is gonna be huge for this team this week because you don't want to fall behind like you did in Denver and then you're always playing catch up and then they can pin their ears back and come at Bryce Patty. You want to have some balance, and how about Louise in a lightning. How about Matt four Tay and Eli McGuire going back, those are two guys with some Louisiana connections that'll be pumped to play the Dome.

I know Eli McGuire told you and he told me on two separate occasions, that he has a lot of friends and family going to this game. But it's not his first time playing at the Super Dome down there, because he played there. I believe in what he said three out of his four years at Louisiana Lafayette in Bowl games, So he's familiar with the noise, maybe not the Saints noise, but he's familiar with how loud he

can get down there and talk. Talking about the balance is the Saints average about thirty one plus minutes in time of possession. So if you can neutralize the amount of time that Drew Brees in the top offense in the NFL, is on the field, that's gonna bode well for the Jets no matter what the equation is. But yeah, I think moving forward, if you can establish a ground game. We've talked about this last week is the Jets average thirty five rush attempts in their victories throughout the course

of the season. I go to the other side of the ball and say, I think two are the keys for the Jets this week are Marcus May Jamal Adams. New Orleans likes to pound it up the middle of Ingram. They can hit the edges with Alvin Kamara. But with that being said, the one thing the Jets did very well against the Broncos was they contained the rush game. Adams and May are sound tacklers, but they're gonna be key this week because they have to make sure that

breeze doesn't go over the top. Because when the Saints start becoming effective running the football, that sets everything up play action wise. You mentioned Camara and Ingram debatably the best running back duel in the end to Yeah, I haven't looked at the stats, but you're right there. I would say that they have to beat what Kamara does as far as average per temp bolt in the rush game and the receiving game is incredible. The other thing

is these guys are getting to the end zone. Mark Ingram has nine touchdowns, Camara has seven just on the ground. Camara has a Levin told right, Yeah, So Camara has taken the league by storm. He's electric and just watching the Thursday night game against the Falcons, in which the Saints lost, you could tell how fast paced the Saints team moves. And they're gonna be in their home field, on their turf. You know, the Saints fans are gonna be bringing their loudest versions of themselves, so it is

gonna be a tough test. All right, let's go down to the big easy to check in with Larry Holder of NOLA dot com. Let's dive in a little bit more into these Saints. Hello, Larry, Yeah, how's it going, sir? Good? How are you? Let's dive in here to this weekend's matchup Jet Saints. Obviously, when you think of this New Orleans team, you think of the offense. So how has this offense been so effective mostly on the ground? And what have mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara meant to this

Saints team this year? Yeah, it's been, uh, kind of an oddity because we're so used to seeing Drew Brees have to take this offense on his back and kind of do his thing. But like I honestly think it started a little bit last year because mark Ingram had his one of his actually had his best season in the NFL last year rush for over a thousand yards, and that's the first time anyone has done that with the Saints since Duds McAlister in two thousand and six.

So I think they were they were thinking after that season they were going to try to gear it along those lines. Um. I think what they did with the offensive line, they kind of beast that up in the offseason. Larry Warford, a guard, is known as a real road grader in the run game. Uh. Like they got fortunate to have Ryan ram Check as a first round pick, their second first round pick, and so I think the offensive line has gotten better. Uh and so, and then

you add Alvin Kamarat to the mix. Look, they had Adrian Peterson, and I think they knew after even Week one, uh that day were going to try to face him out. Use Kimara and Ingram and their combined success has made them more unpredictable than I've seen in the past. Even though you might say, oh wow, it's hard to it's easy to predict that they're gonna run the football. But stopping into the different story and then you look at both how both of those backs they can be diverse,

They can catch the ball out of the backfield. Mcalan Kimarah. We know whose prognosis is uncertain this week because he had to leave the game last week against the Falcons with a concussion. Uh. He says he's going to be good to go, but obviously, uh, you can't go by that. He's gonna have to go through the protocol and and pass through the test. But look, it's a different Saints often than what we've seen in the past. And I do think that, Uh, you know, you can look at

as May eight. Uh, if you need to dial upt Drew Brees, you can, but you don't have to. And I think that makes the Saints different than some of the teams we've seen here in New Orleans in the past. This Saints team has got immediate dividend from this two thousand and seventeen draft class. Uh. Can you tell us about these picks and what they've been able to do

here early in their careers. Yeah, they've really struck gold and the Saints have they in the past few years when kind of their mediocre years of seven and nine they've missed. But like they started hitting on some draft picks last year. But they really hit on him this year, all you gotta do is star with Marshawn Lattimore. Uh, you know, he has become to me, he's you could

easily argue he's the defensive rookie of the year. Uh you know, he had an interception last week and he when he's on the field, he takes away half the field. And I don't know in in the history of the Saints franchise that they've ever had a guy like that, and it's happened so early. And I mentioned Ryan Ramcheck earlier. Looks the Saints drafted him and now is in the pick for the Brandon Cook's trade. They draft him because he's the best player on the board. Look, they wanted

to even foster the pick before. Uh they maybe want to attack McKinley, And he came off the board, and so Ryan Ramcheck was just sitting there and then said all right, let's take him. And Ryan Ramcheck he's jumped right in and been one of the honestly one of the better tackles this year overall, I think in the NFL.

So that's a that's something pretty stunning. With Marcus Williams, the guy who took him the second round, he's been a starter since day one at free safety, and he's brought a little bit more of a dynamic ability back there. Then you get to Alvin Camara. I mean, I'm less listen all these guys and now I'm getting to album. That's amazing, that's amazing. He's averaging seven yards and carry.

He's got sixty two receptions. Alvin Camara is basically who Reggie Bush who you thought he would be when he started. He that's Alvin Camaro right now. And I know how much the Saints value him, and I know how mu Showing Dayton values him. I know how much Drew Brees values him. And anytime they can get the ball in

his hands, they want to do it. And uh That's why I think when when he was playing uh and got concussed against the Falcons, the game plan changed and they had they couldn't make get it done on the fly because They're so relying on him a lot of times. So I'm curious to see if he can't go what that does to the Saints offense. But yeah, it's a the draft class. I mean, I just rotted off all

those guys. They are all four starters essentially, They're all four major difference makers for the Saints team right away. You talk about Lattimore and Williams, the two defensive rookies, the Saints first and second round picks. How do you go about attacking this defense? Is it in the middle, is it on the outside opposite Lattimore? What's been the

theme there? Well, when teams have had success, it's it's really been more about and a lot a lot of teams have had success, to be honest with you, because look, those first two losses, they weren't playing well at all. Marshawn Lattimore wasn't the guy yet, and they Ken Crawley wasn't even starting. He was inactive the first two games, a healthy and active, and then they figured, let's throw this kid out there. He's an undrafted guy, second year in the league. UH, and he's become a solid player.

So I think once they got that going, I think it's hard to to attack. Look like Matt Ryan his quarterback rating last week was fifty five, and so I think what you've got to be able to do is you've got to be able to run the football effectively against the Saints. UH. And So because I think if you want to attack a side at the defensive front.

It would probably be beside opposite Cam Jordan because Alexoka for suffering achilles injury a couple of weeks ago against Washington and they have not found a replacement for him, and they're banged up over there. So if you want to attack there, maybe run the football that way. But

one of the big things there's that the scenes. Their their past rush overall hasn't been great, but it's it becomes great when the coverage and we saw Matt Ryan have to hold the ball a lot longer than I'm seeing him have to hold the ball Saints in the past, he's holding on the ball because he can't find open guys, and I think that's a big key to the success of the Saints. So I would say, and if you're talking past the game, just don't throw up Marshall Lattimore.

Larry Holder is a columnist for NOLA dot Com. This is the Jets Saints game preview on Official Jets Podcast. Larry, what was your interaction like UH with John Morton during his time? There are a couple of stints with the Saints and UM, how happy do you think Sean Payton is? UH for Morton this year working with a lot of different pieces. Throwout last week's game. The Jets offense has

done a lot of good things in two thousand and seventeen. Yeah, look, I could tell you, yeah with with John Morton, Uh, he worked, he helped mold Michael Thomas. I mean, I could tell you that he was a wide receiver coach. Uh, and he had a lot of good pieces. He was working with Michael Thomas, he was working with Brandon Cooks. So yeah, I think he's someone who knows the passing game.

And I think the fact that you're able to see a little bit of that, you know, you had that with Josh McCown, uh, you know before the injury, and he was kind of making some things happen with some

pieces you might not have figured. And so I think that's you know, John Morton probably brought a lot of the pieces that he learned from Sean Payton to the puzzle with the Jets, And yeah, I thought he made he certainly made the receiving corps better when uh, while he was here, because before that, uh, you know, the pieces weren't that great and uh kind of in a transition phase. But yeah, I think the work he did

with the wide receivers in New Orleans was excellent. Uh, there's a reason why, Uh the Jets sought out to go get him. And like he's definitely done a better job than I thought he would have given the pieces and the kind of the hand he was dealt up there in his first year, up there with New Orleans, where they're at an NFC self, with Carolina right there with Atlanta right there, is there any chance they could

overlook this game? Well, look, there's been a lot of counters because it was a conversation after the Falcon game, because it was a heated game, and uh, like the Saints are they we're talking to my boy. They can't wait to see them in a couple of weeks for on Christmas Eve. But I do think that the Saints, uh, and they've been very good about this. They haven't uh you know, they haven't lost two opponents where they should have lost. You know that every opponent they lost to

have been a good teams. They haven't overlooked teams at all. And I all I think they gotta do is look at the landscape of the NFC, which even though you could see you could tell me all you want that, they're not. I know they are. Uh. Calana is right on you, Atlanta's right on you. You've got to win every game just to stay afloat, so you can't afford to be looking ahead. Uh And I think the scenes team has done a very good job of not doing that.

Uh And so I don't anticipate them looking ahead of the Jets, knowing just the dynamic and the landscape of the NFC at the NF outstanding stuff from Larry Holder. You can follow him and read him at NOLA dot com. Larry, looking forward to seeing you on Sunday at the Super Doll All right, thank you guys. Ea. What really stook out to me what Larry said was of the Saints first four draft choices, they're all starting, and they're all

extremely effective. You know, just looking at this draft class right now, when you see Lattimore and you see Kimara, you could say, Wow, we might be looking back at this draft class in ten to fifteen years and saying this is one of the better draft classes we've seen it along. I also think that Marcus Williams and I could be wrong on this, but I believe this is that Marcus Williams is the equivalent of Marcus May here, and that Marshawn Lattimore was the first selection for the Saints.

He gets the name recognition. He's been playing very well, similar to Jamal Adams. And then Marcus Williams is doing a nice job in the back making sure everyone's set upright, similar Marcus. Yeah, you know, it takes a village back there. And Larry Holders said that Lattimore takes away a side

of the field. But with that being said, the other thing that I noticed myself watching the game Thursday night between New Orleans and Atlanta was Matt Ryan went back to throw off and he didn't have open receivers down the field where you saw Atlanta half some success was actually running the football. Jets are different scheme wise, but again that's where it goes back to balance. But their secondary is pretty good. We talk a lot about energy on the road and how the Jets need to create

their own energy. Maybe they'll get a boost from the Louisiana boys going back down south. H Yeah, you know, and we talked about the running backs. But obviously Jamal Adams uh six overall pick from LSU and a sixth overall pick in two thousand and twelve was a guy by the name of Morris Clayborne. He's a Louisiana native, so a lot of guys have connections, um, you know, But you know this is this is a monstrous test and this begins an unbelievable end of the schedule for

the Jets. And we knew that before the season when the schedule makers put this one out in April. But you're looking at three Hall of Fame quarterbacks, potentially in Breeze is definitely going to Hall of Fame Philip Rivers on Christmas Eve. The Chargers are in a battle for the a f C West right now. They got a monstrous game against Kansas City this weekend. But you know, you look at his regular season statistics and say, yeah, he looks like a Hall of Fame quarterback. And Tom

Brady is going to Hall of Fame. And Bill Belichick typically doesn't rest players late in the season, no matter what's happened. So all three of these teams to me, on paper, look like they have a potential to be playing late in January. And I even include the Chargers in that mix. And right now, as it stands, they all have something to play for, so you know they're gonna bringing their a game. And I'm glad you mentioned

Drew Brees just because he's having a tremendous year. And I know the Saints rushing attack is surpassed the passing attack this season, which has been an anomaly, like Larry Holder said, but Brees has been putting up great numbers. He leaves the NFL and completion percentage, completing one percent of his passes. And oh, by the way, his top target is Michael Thomas in Ohio State Products, who has

been phenomenal. I really think the Jets, you know, and there's no moral victories in the National Football League, but you just want to give yourself, put yourself in a position where you're in a ball game in the second half, because by and large this year of Green's we've been covering a football team that's been giving people fits or has been winning games. And you know, we're wall passed talking about fourth quarter blong fourth quarter leads at this point.

What the Jets want to do now, especially after last week has coming to New Orleans and to compete and to be in the ball game late all right, Before we wrap up here, one final question is if you could pinpoint the single most important category I'll say for this weekend, whether it be offense or defense, for the New York Jets to put themselves in a position in the second half to be competitive. Like we just said,

what is it? Well, I think they need some momentum change in place, and I wouldn't anticipate they will be in Let's just say that. I think you throw the Denver game out, you'll learn from it. Uh, this is a different matchup. But they need some momentum changing plays. They have to be the ones who turns New Orleans over, or they have a block punt or maybe a long return, or maybe Bryce Petty comes out and it's a d

R touchdown to Robbie Anderson. I'm just saying they need a few big plays this week for you gotta go and make some big plays. And on that note, that's all we have this week on the official Jets podcast, Jets Saints this weekend Week fifteen, as the Jets traveled down to the Big easy Ferraic Allen, I'm eating Greenberg, m m m m hm h