clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Position Groups To Watch For The Jets Tonight

The 3rd pre-season game is always the marquee event of the off-season, this is the last chance for the starters to show us they are ready for the season

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

There is a lot for Todd Bowles to think about ahead of the snoopy bowl this evening between the Jets/Giants, but here are three position groups that I'm taking an interest in.

Running Backs

Finally, it seems as though we'll get the opportunity to see Matt Forte play in green. The new signing has been hampered through injuries all season, and with the veteran the wrong side of 30, the Jets have taken a cautious approach with him.

Don't expect to see a massive amount of Forte, but it'll be nice to just see him in the huddle.

With Khiry Robinson still suffering with an injury and Karlos Williams confirming that he'd love to get a call from the Jets, the pressure will be on the backups to show that they are capable of carrying the load if needed. Bilal Powell will get a lot of work, but there are a host of others that will need to make their snaps count.

Cornerbacks

The renaissance we were hoping to see from Milliner hasn't materialised, he has managed to stay largely healthy, but his production hasn't been nearly enough to guarantee his spot. With Revis locked on and Skrine looking to start on the outside, all eyes will be on Milliner to produce.

McDougle has struggled with injuries early in his career, but as John mentioned earlier today...it's not time for him to start showing his value. He's fighting for a back-up role and every snap he misses, hurts his chances.

Marcus Williams burst onto the scene but needs to maintain a level of consistency to take his next step. Who's going to make the team as backups? That's a huge question that still remains unanswered.

Offensive Line

With Breno saying he hopes to play this "season"...it seems as though the Jets will be without two members of their line from last year. Ferguson obviously retired and was replaced quickly by former standout Ryan Clady, and with Breno set to miss time, the responsibility to cover RT will fall on Ben Ijalana and Brent Qvale. Neither option fills you with much confidence, but they'll be given an opportunity to shine tonight.

Head coach Todd Bowles was asked about Breno in his Friday press conference and he did hint that if the answer to the RT situation couldn't be found internally, they would look outside the organisation. Starting calibre talent is scarce at this time of the year, and we'll struggle to find someone right now...however with teams set to experience cuts over the coming 10 days, some value could be found.

As always the most important thing for any pre-season game is the same, get through without suffering any bad injuries. You want to get players like Forte, Fitzpatrick, Clady, Revis etc through without any problems.