Playing Cobb Over Hardman Another Example Of Jets’ Old-School Thinking
Aaron Rodgers’ season ended during his first series of downs as a member of the New York Jets.
So why has Randall Cobb remained on the field for over half of New York’s offensive snaps, mainly as the slot receiver?
With all that playing time, Cobb, a buddy of the injured Hall of Fame bound quarterback from their ten seasons together in Green Bay, has produced all of one reception for 12 yards over 67 routes run in the three games. Oh, and he dropped one of his three other targets.
Meanwhile, Mecole Hardman, whom the Jets signed to a one-year, $4 million contract as a free agent away from Kansas City this past offseason to generate more explosive plays out of the slot position, has been mostly M-I-A, garnering just two offensive snaps outside of fourth quarter garbage time during the Week 2 blowout loss in Dallas.
Since a certain celebrity pop star, whose expected attendance at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night seems to have overshadowed the actual Jets/Chiefs game that will be played on the field, writes songs about revenge (or so I’m told), what could be more apropos than if Hardman delivered a revenge game upon his former club?
Of course, it would take the Jets first waking up to who and where they are for it to happen. Both Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh and Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett continue to spew this nonsense that they can’t get Hardman on the field because they’re always coming off the field after unsuccessful third downs.
Well, maybe they wouldn’t be in as many adverse positions if they utilized the speed they possess that is rotting on the bench instead of calling on running backs to dive into the middle of stacked defensive lines. Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay could barely hide a smile when talking this week about Gang Green’s predictability. Have we even seen one jet sweep play this season? In Hardman’s four seasons in Kansas City, he rushed for 125 yards on 20 carries, eight of which went for first downs, including two touchdowns.
As a receiver, Hardman’s targets were heavily skewed towards screens and bombs (nearly 40%, per Jets X Factor). But he was really good at them—ranking in the top sixth in the league in yards per game on screen passes in the last two seasons and catching over 40% of his career targets that travelled over 20 yards in the air. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has completed just 1-of-6 (16.7%) such passes this season, and the one was a closing-seconds give-up by the New England defense in the middle of the field.
That’s what a player who ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the 2019 NFL Combine can bring to a team that is stuck in mud offensively, ranking dead last in the NFL in so many categories, be it points, yards, or third-down conversion percentage. It is confounding that the Jets would rather play a 33-year old whose best days are behind him over one who is a threat to take it to the house on every touch.
It’s possible that Saleh and Hackett have been leaning heavily on Cobb’s experience to help out the struggling Wilson. How’s that working out? Wilson has been dreadful in locating hot receivers. Braxton Berrios performed better as Wilson’s bailout the past two seasons.
And it’s not like Cobb has been contributing to the running game either—his ProFootballFocus.com run block grade places him 79th out of 108 receivers with at least 20 run block snaps. At this point, I know many Jets fans who’d rather see undrafted free agent rookie Xavier Gipson, who has played all of one snap outside of the return game, than Cobb.
Hardman, 25, wasn’t ever supposed to be a cure-all—he had issues holding onto the football in KC and his route running hasn’t exactly been lauded—but for this offense to keep him sidelined makes zero sense. It’s so stunning that Hardman felt the need to clarify the situation with a social media post on Tuesday that outside of one “freak injury” to his core halfway through last season that required surgery, he hadn’t missed a game in his 4-year career.
An uptick in Hardman’s usage on Sunday probably won’t alter the outcome against the favored Chiefs. The Jets (1-2) are still reeling from the shock of Rodgers’ ruptured Achilles and Wilson may never get a firm grasp on the position. However, there’s no doubt that Hardman can make things more interesting. His every action, from a pre-snap motion to a double move out of the slot, has to be accounted for by the Kansas City defense. A heck of a lot more seriously than where Cobb goes.
Give Hardman a chance this week. Maybe he’ll make the Chiefs regret letting him go. And while they’re at it, it’s past time we see more of 2022 third round pick Jeremy Ruckert at tight end as opposed to another one-catch wonder on the wrong side of 30 in C.J. Uzomah. You’re not hanging with the defending Super Bowl champions with old school thinking anyway.
Prediction: Chiefs 33 Jets 10
Photo by: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com
I’ve been a Jet fan a few more years than him, so my pain is worse, lol
Might be harsh, in my assessment but you can’t hide the truth as far as who is playing, play calls and all the double talk. As far as Zach is concerned, he still can’t process a defense. Rodgers texting him every day. Is his cognizance better. Second play of game, he changed play call. Had Hall run into 5 defenders with 3 blockers.
Sorry but his train has left the stadium
My comments posted on The Jet Way
Hackett’s quotes yesterday slightly infuriated me.
I decided to reply to him.
An open letter to Coach Hackett,
With all due respect coach, you are a f**king idiot.
You claim the reason that players like Ruckert and Hardman aren’t getting playing time is because “We haven’t had a lot of plays”.
I read that to mean that some players aren’t producing.
If it was me, but I’m just a food salesman what do I know, I would replace the players who aren’t producing and give other players a chance.
At this point, it wouldn’t hurt, it actually might help.
It seems obvious that you can’t do that because you haven’t a f**king clue with what you are doing.
Evidently in your world, some of these players, are exactly like you. They are friends of a certain player, who currently is not playing, their playing time is not based on performance but on friendship. In high school, it is called a click.
Did you ever ponder, just once, that if Ruckert was playing instead of Uzomah, your offense just might produce better because Ruckert is a superior blocker.
Hardman has proved in the past, he can be productive when given the ball, but that is hard to do while he is getting splinters in his arse, watching Cobb contributing a blistering line of 1 reception for 12 yards in 91 snaps. I don’t know Hardman’s personal situation but if he is married with children, he should immediately ask Rodgers to be their godfather because it would appear that is a prerequisite to getting snaps in Hackett’s offense.
Why is Cook even here, I’d be willing to bet that Abanikanda could put up better snaps than Cook. But unfortunately he is not part of the click.
Sean Payton had no right to speak about you the way he did. He broke an unwritten NFL rule.
Where I come from we call people like him a p***k.
So how do you respond to his attack, you go and coach exactly like he said you coach and prove him right.
Your play calling is so predictable, you should be embarrassed.
I understand the limitations of you your quarterback, I feel your pain it’s not Aaron, but it is really time with your quarterback that YOU s**t or get off of the pot.
You run almost every first down which now appears to be a throw away down. Running into 9 man fronts isn’t productive. How about quick short passes.
If Zach does anything positive as a passer, it’s when he rolls out. Non existent in Aaron’s offense. So you don’t call it.
This nonsense that he is always in the shotgun because it helps him read the defense is hysterical because it appears that he CAN’T process a defense, just maybe play action would help him slow down the defense a little.
Coach, there is a play called a screen pass, I’m sure if you went to youtube, you could see it. I say that because it appears that it is not in your playbook.
To every fantasy player out there, pick up Zuerlein. Once the Jets get in the red zone, touchdowns are non existent, I wonder if play calling is part of the reason.
Coach, do you know the meaning of insanity, it’s doing the same same thing repeatedly, hoping for a different result. That is your failed offense.
Here is the worst part of all of this.
As long that there is an inkling that Rodgers is coming back, your job is safe. Woody Johnson would be scared s**tless, to have you fired.
Some people have all the luck, they get hired not for what they know, but who they know.