PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

September 20, 2018 at 12:52 am.

PLAYER NOTES

–FS Marcus Maye (foot) did not return to practice Tuesday. He’s unlikely to play Thursday, but head coach Todd Bowles wouldn’t rule him out just yet.

–OLB Josh Martin (concussion) still hasn’t returned to practice. Bowles said he “certainly probably” will be out Thursday.

–TE Neal Sterling (concussion) remained out Tuesday and is unlikely to play Thursday.

–WR ArDarius Stewart’s two-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy is over, but the Jets have still not made a decision on his roster spot. That will likely come Wednesday.

Said Bowles: “We’re not going back and forth on it. We just haven’t made a decision, because we don’t have to right now. But a lot goes into it as far as who’s on the roster, who’s on special teams, who is not on special teams, who’s injured, who’s not injured, who could be coming back. So there’s a lot of gymnastics going into it, it’s not just the wide receiver position, when you look at it and say, ‘OK, plug him in.’ We had a roster when camp ended, so to do that we have to cut somebody and then we got to weigh those odds as well.”

–LT Kelvin Beachum (foot) was a full participant at Tuesday’s practice after being limited Monday.

–RG James Carpenter (foot) was a full participant at Tuesday’s practice after being limited Monday.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Quincy Enunwa. It’s already clear Sam Darnold prefers the bigger Enunwa (6-2, 225 pounds) to the slighter but speedier Robby Anderson (6-3, 190). The rookie has thrown 62 passes in two games, and Enunwa has 21 targets (34 percent) to Anderson’s six (slightly less than 10 percent). Enunwa, who has 13 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown, is tied for 15th in the league in targets, above marquee receivers such as Devante Adams (20), Keenan Allen (19) and A.J. Green (17). Anderson’s 114 targets last season were tied for 19th in the NFL with then-Patriots receiver Brandin Cooks. He has four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown in the first two games.

GAME PLAN: Of quarterbacks who have thrown at least 20 passes this season, only Buffalo’s Josh Allen (50 percent) has been less accurate than Browns starter Tyrod Taylor (52.9 percent), so if the Jets can continue to get a good pass rush (one of the few things they did well Sunday against Miami), they could force him into turnovers and some ugly third-down passes as they did to Matthew Stafford Week 1 in Detroit. But they must be careful not to over-pursue (another problem against the Dolphins), because Taylor can beat you with his legs, as he already has 103 rushing yards, which leads all QBs.

Offensively, it’s very easy — don’t turn the ball over. Last year, the Browns had only 13 takeaways and their minus-28 turnover margin was by far the worst in the league. But, through two games, they already have eight takeaways and their plus-six margin leads the league. The Jets’ offense has turned the ball over four times, including three Sam Darnold interceptions. The 21-year-old rookie has started 26 games between college and the pros and has turned the ball over at least once in 21 of them. That’s too many.

Also, after converting 8-of-17 third- and fourth-down plays into a fresh set of downs against Detroit, the Jets were only 3-for-10 against Miami, which is a sign of both lackluster quarterback and offensive line play.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH

–Jets C Spencer Long vs. Browns DT Larry Ogunjobi. Long got all he could handle Sunday from Dolphins behemoth Jordan Phillips (listed at 341 pounds). Ogunjobi is a smaller (305 pounds), 4-3 defensive tackle, as opposed to a 3-4 nose tackle like Phillips, but he still poses problems with his speed. He already has three sacks this season, mostly because teams have to try and block him one-on-one because they often need to double-team end Myles Garrett, who plays on the same side as Ogunjobi. Cleveland’s other end, Emmanuel Ogbah, has already been ruled out for the game, but the Browns’ front still provides a formidable challenge for the Jets’ sometimes porous offensive line.

–Jets CB Morris Claiborne vs. Browns WR Antonio Callaway. With Josh Gordon gone to New England, Callaway is now the Browns’ No. 2 receiver opposite Jarvis Landry. The 21-year-old fourth-round pick has only three catches so far, but one did go for a 41-yard touchdown to tie Sunday’s game in New Orleans with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter. Callaway has all the talent in the world, but the veteran Claiborne, who has an interception, two pass deflections and a tackle for a loss through two games, could school the rookie a bit Thursday.

ALL  |  NFL  |  College Football  |  MLB  |  NBA