by ORCHARD PARK, NY — A look at what’s happening around the New York Jets:
1. Knight time: The sudden departure of Zonovan “Bam” Knight from the practice roster to RB1 is proof that the timer sometimes lies. It can fool the best scouting departments. The Jets refused to be absorbed by the clock when evaluating Knight.
A highly prolific player at North Carolina State, Knight ran one of the slowest times of a 40-yard run with 4.62 seconds on the 2022 NFL combine. This surprised the Jets’ scouts because they felt he was playing faster than that. He was only slightly better on his second try — 4.58. The Jets relied on downgrade reviews rather than downgrading their rating, meaning they trusted their eyes.
The Jets rated him as a “selectable” player, and when he wasn’t drafted, they signed him as a free agent with a $130,000 guarantee, even though they picked Breece Hall in the second round. Knight, who expected to go in the fifth or sixth round, said his draft experience was “miserable”.
Driven by injuries to Hall and Michael Carter, Knight has been ninth (157) for offensive yards and eighth (221) for offensive yards in the NFL in the past two weeks. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, it’s the third among backruns to run above-expected (43) on track fields—a fancy statistic that means it squeezes the orange more than most.
“He’s got a little extra energy and fresh legs,” said trainer Robert Saleh.
Runbacks have been devalued in recent years. Ridges that barely broke 4.6 out of 40 Really lost value, but the Knight was an absolute find for the Jets. It took time though.
He spent 11 weeks on the training team before being promoted to replace the initially ineffective James Robinson. There was a feeling in the organization that he would eventually take a shot, just because of the Jets’ offense and the way he wore it running back. Check out the San Francisco 49ers; they come back four or five times a year.
Even though Carter returns this week, Knight will retain an important role. As Salih said, “[Knight] It’s not going anywhere.”
In his late 40s, Knight said he was overprepared and put too much pressure on himself. definitely not He human. He hit 19.94 mph on his 48-yard run last week, the league’s top speed for running back in a fast game in Week 13, according to tracking by NFL Next Gen Stats.
“Pure gas,” Saleh said.
2. What’s in your name? Knight is always asked by the nickname Bam. birth:
As a toddler, he loved to hit his toys on the playground. One day his uncle passed by and said, “All you hear is bam, bam, bam!” said. It remained a family nickname. He was known as Bam on rec ball because Zonovan’s pronunciation was so difficult and he identified himself as Zonovan “Bam” Knight when he posted his high school highlights on Hudl.com. And there you go.
3. QB crystal ball: As Saleh continues to kick the box on the road in a quarterback position each week, the upcoming schedule allows us to formulate a forecast for how that could turn out.
Mike White plans to start in Week 15 against the Detroit Lions unless he has a full meltdown against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Yes, it has enough coverage to stand up to mediocre performance. The Jets made a quick comeback as they faced the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, December 22. A short week is hardly ideal for a quarterback change. At this point, they can do a mini-bye over the Christmas weekend and use the extra time to assess White and where they stand relative to the playoff race as a team.
If they’re involved, the Jets will likely roll with White the rest of the way. If not, they could go to the arena for Zach Wilson and give the first sacked player one last chance to make a positive impression before the off-season.
This seems like a sensible timeline. Of course, when it comes to the Jets and the quarterbacks, things rarely go as expected.
4. Rare condition: The Jets and Bills have a weird rivalry. When one team is up, the other is down. That makes Sunday so special — meaningful to both teams.
The AFC East rivals last faced each other in December, on December 19, 1998, when both teams held a winning record — the Jets’ 17-10 win, clinching their first league title since the 1970 merger. A snapshot that many players will never forget is when then-coach Bill Parcells was overwhelmed with emotion as he addressed the team in the post-match locker room.
5. One month later: The offensive mood has changed a lot since the 20-17 win over the Bills last month. In that match, Wilson surrendered to Carter and Robinson. Elijah Moore would not appear in the wide receiver. Now the Jets have a “White Knight” backcourt and Moore is once again an outside factor. They have more speed to attack Buffalo’s extraordinary defense.
6. Amazing: Remember when the kicking position of the jets was a rotating trash door? Actually, it shouldn’t be that hard to remember because it was just last year… and the year before that… and — well, you get it.
Greg Zuerlein changed the narrative.
After a bad season with the Dallas Cowboys, 34-year-old Zuerlein brought consistency to the Jets. His season can be compared to that of Jason Myers, whose performance in 2018 was arguably the best in franchise history and earned him All-Pro accolades. Myers scored 91% of field goals, including 6 out of 7 for over 50 yards. And then he left for a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
Zuerlein stands at 85%, including 6 out of 8 in over 50 ranges. Having some inclement weather makes it more impressive. The signing moment came inside last week—60 yards, a franchise record. Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer believes he has enough range of 65 to 67 yards. The longest field goal in league history is 66 yards set by Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens in 2021.
“He has the leg ability to break the NFL record, I really believe that,” Boyer said of Zuerlein.
7. Did You Know? In each snap, only one player played on the defense: safety Lamarcus Joyner. We’re talking about 767 snapshots, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Considering he only played nine times in 2021 due to an end-of-season injury in Week 1, that’s quite a feat for Joyner. Corner DJ Reed missed only one moment of action, and that happened last Sunday. While dealing with an illness, he went aside for a game to catch his breath.
8. Missing in D: The Jets have made a big splash on defense, but their third-place rank is only 21st and they haven’t scored yet. Truly elite defenses dominate third place and occasionally take him home.
9. Powerful Jets: A handful of players, including White, caused a stir on social media last Sunday by playing in Mighty Ducks hockey jerseys. Tight end CJ Uzomah had played for the Mighty Ducks in a previous game, so center Connor McGovern thought it would be great for a group of guys to don the Vikings game because Minneapolis is where the original “Mighty Ducks” movie was filmed. early 1990’s. Uzomah bought extra jerseys. Therefore, it is a fashion statement.
Mike White & Co. arrives at US Bank Stadium, waving their Mighty Ducks jerseys. #Jets pic.twitter.com/e34FZsHzBQ
— Rich Kimi (@RichCimini) December 4, 2022
10. Two in Q: Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams already has a career-high nine sacks. That’s doubly impressive when you consider how much attention it draws. According to ESPN Stats & Info research, he is double-team in 64% of passing attacks, ranked 12th among home players. This increased from 58% in 2021.
