The Jets held their annual Green and White scrimmage at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night.
The team had postponed the scrimmage two weeks and moved the venue from Rutgers University to MetLife Stadium. Playing in rain in front of its home crowd, New York gave a glimpse of its exciting offense while the growing pains of its cornerback and kicking situations were put on full display.
With that said, here are four takeaways from the Green and White scrimmage on Sunday.
Neville Hewitt starting
With Avery Williamson out for the season with an ACL tear in his right knee, somebody is going to have to step up.
So far, that somebody appears to be Neville Hewitt. Hewitt has starting experience, filling in for the suspended Darron Lee in 2018. Hewitt is always near the ball and proved himself to be a nice depth piece, but he now has major shoes to fill. However, it helps that Gregg Williams offers some versatility to his defense where New York won’t always need two inside backers on the field.
Blake Cashman has flashed potential and even played with the starting defense, but he is also limited with a right leg injury. Look for Hewitt to win the job out of camp.
Marcus Maye back in action
For the first time this training camp, Marcus Maye was a full-go.
The third-year safety out of the University of Florida was a full participant in practice, no longer sporting a red non-contact jersey. The expectation is that Maye will be ready to go for the Jets’ third preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, which is considered to be a dress rehearsal for the starters.
With Maye on the field, the Jets will be able to place a bandage on their depleted secondary. Maye allows the Jets to play three safeties on the field along with Rontez Miles and Jamal Adams. Miles has impressed the coaching staff thus far and Maye’s presence allows Adams to roam the field.
Testing out the offensive line depth
With Brandon Shell, Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters all sidelined with minor injuries, the Jets are giving their offensive line depth a major workout.
Players who wouldn’t normally see extended snaps include Alex Lewis, Jonotthan Harrison, Tom Compton and Chuma Edoga. While Osemele and Winters were held out for precautionary reasons, Edoga could push Shell for a starting position.
Offensive line depth is crucial to having a formidable offense and Joe Douglas understands that from his days in Philadelphia. Showing off one of the team’s strengths in preseason certainly benefits Gang Green.
Adam Gase learning from early mistakes
Adam Gase admitted to his first major mistake on Sunday.
Gase owned up to playing Avery Williamson deep into Gang Green’s second preseason game. The decision led to a torn ACL for the linebacker; he’ll miss the entire 2019 season.
With that in mind, Gase decided that he won’t have Le’Veon Bell play during the preseason, fearing similar repercussions. Even though Bell hasn’t seen game action since 2017, it’s a wise, cautious decision, especially after Williamson went down.
