Can the Jets Overcome Their Early Training Camp Woes?
This upcoming week officially marks the start of the New York Jets’ preseason games and the end of July training camp. While the defense has looked amazing so far despite injuries to a few key players, the offense has struggled. Rookies and unexpected players are stepping up, but the key players on the offense have certainly seen better playing days. With the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers this upcoming weekend, there are plenty of question marks looming around the Jets’ facility, and it’s fair to question whether they can overcome these challenges.
Starting training camp, very few players went down with injuries. While Jermaine Johnson was put on the Physically Unable to Perform list, it was made official that he would be able to return for Week One against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a Justin Fields injury scare that just sidelined him for about a day, the dominoes began to fall for the Jets in camp with injuries. Last week, Quinnen Williams suffered a calf injury that will sideline him for up to two weeks as a precaution, and shouldn’t hinder his ability to have a bounce-back season. Most recently, safety Malachi Moore, guard John Simpson, cornerback Kris Boyd, and wide receiver Xavier Gipson suffered injuries during weekend practice. While most of the injuries should only sideline the players for no more than a few weeks, Boyd was carted off the field with a shoulder injury and was in visible pain.
Perhaps the most concerning part of training camp was Fields’ QB play. While Fields turned in one of his most spectacular starts in camp on Friday, his performance during Saturday’s Green and White Scrimmage was less than impressive. On Friday, Fields completed his first 12 passes, yet he completed 20% of his passes on Saturday. While some of his passes could have been caught by New York’s receivers, most of the blame for how poor the offense looked during this practice can be attributed to Fields. Bad quarterback play has been the soundtrack for the Jets’ offense for many years now, and hopefully, Fields can turn it around before the Jets host the Steelers in Week One.
