What to Watch For in Jets-Falcons Preseason Game

Here are five things to watch for as the Jets face the Falcons in their second preseason game.

After losing Zach Wilson to injury in the Jets’ preseason victory over the Eagles, it has left team Head Coach Robert Saleh wondering about his strategy headed into Monday night’s game against the Falcons.

“I’m torn on it,” Saleh told reporters after the second joint practice with the Falcons. “I wake up one day and I’m like, ‘Ok, they’re going to play. The next day I wake up and they’re not going to play.’”

Who could blame him for being undecided after losing Wilson.

This has always been the age-old debate about the wisdom of playing starters in preseason games, especially when a key starter goes down.

Whichever way Saleh decides, there are more questions than answers at this point, and his team is coming off a very highly spirited couple of weeks.

That’s another way of saying there have been documented fights, both in camp and in the joint practices with Atlanta.

Through the eyes of a former Jets’ scout, this is one of the five questions to ponder on Monday night.

1. Is Saleh losing control of the Jets?

Adversity either brings out the best or the worst in people and this team has faced some real adversity early on.

With starting right tackle Mekhi Becton going down, and now Wilson, is the team losing their focus already?

Saleh had one rule in camp, “No punching.”

That went out the window.

This got me wondering if all the fighting is not an indication of a much bigger internal problem?

When I was with the Jets in pro scouting under Bill Parcells, trust me, what he said, went.

I am not seeing that with Saleh.

It will be interesting to see how many penalties the Jets commit in this game because of a lack of focus and discipline.

2. Who should start the regular season at QB?

Joe Flacco, Mike White and Chris Streveler are the names of the three Jets’ backup QB’s, and now they are more relevant.

How long will Wilson be out of the starting lineup?

That remains to be seen.

In the meantime, who will start?

Despite Streveler being the star of last week’s victory, it will be either Flacco or White under center week one.

This will largely be decided by who looks better in this game, and the preseason finale against the Giants next week.

So far the competition is up in the air, as Flacco didn’t play against the Eagles and White didn’t look good.

3. What’s going on with the running game?

While the Jets’ offensive line did not give up a sack against the Eagles, their run blocking left a lot to be desired.

Featured backs Breece Hall and Michael Carter had a combined eight carries for 20 yards against Philadelphia.

The run game looked pitiful, and adding further concern is the fact the Jets ranked No. 25 last season on the ground.

The addition of Hall was supposed to help, but the running game didn’t kick in until the reserves played in the second half.

4. Why does the revamped secondary look so lackadaisical?

It was like watching kids play catch at the park watching the Eagles’ QB’s throw.

Philadelphia QB’s Jalen Hurts and Gardner Minshew moved the ball at will, completing a combined 14/18 passes for 161 yards.

The most concerning part is just how easy it looked.

New York played loose in coverage and they were not in position to contest many of their passes.

It was the general non aggressive attitude of the secondary that was most concerning.

It was especially concerning for a secondary that was ranked near the bottom of the league last season (No. 30), and was supposed to be improved.

5. Is Micheal Clemons the real deal?

The unheralded fourth round pick ripped it up against Philadelphia.

#72 was all over the place.

Clemons had a QB hit, a sack and five hurries (Pro Football Focus).

He looks to be everything I thought he would be when I said back in June he was the best pass rusher on the Jets’ roster.

The key now is consistency.

Clemons needs to show to can put together back-to-back dominant performances.

Last season, the Jets had one of the worst pass rushes in the league, ranking No. 25.

That kind of low sack production got the Jets defense slaughtered last season, and they’ve got to have improvement in this area.

Clemons looks to keep trending pressure in the right direction against the Falcons. 

MORE:

• Position Groups to Watch in Jets vs. Falcons Preseason Game
• Why the Jets Shouldn't Start Joe Flacco in Place of Zach Wilson
• Predicting Jets 53-Man Roster With Two Weeks Until Final Cuts

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