Jets Week 15 Anti-Game Ball: Keelan Cole

The Jets lost yesterday so in what has become a Monday tradition, it is time to give out an anti-game ball.

The team was dreadful on both sides of the ball in the second half, making a special anti-game ball an option. I decided to take a more conventional approach this week, however. We could point to any number of culprits on the defense allowing Duke Johnson to go for over 100 yards rushing.

However, the offense is a greater focus for me. A few weeks back we were impressed when the Jets dominated Houston, holding the Texans to 45 yards and three first downs in the second half. On Sunday the Jets had it done to them. New York had only 54 yards and three first downs in the final two quarters of play.

The Jets were playing a number of backups yesterday. I find it difficult to give somebody like Conor McDermott too much grief. He is far down on the depth chart and was never realistically expected to be a contributor.

The same cannot be said of the backup Jets receivers. Somebody like Keelan Cole was brought in specifically to provide insurance in case something happened to higher profile guys. The Jets did not want to get caught in a situation like they were in last year where they had to run out past their prime veterans like Chris Hogan or raw youngsters like Lawrence Cager.

The Jets paid a bit of a premium to land Cole as a depth receiver. He did not pay them back yesterday. I can get past an underthrow on a gadget play. He’s a receiver, not a passer.

I can’t get over a key drop on an early third down. A catch would have moved the chains and extended the drive. For most of the game, Cole was invisible. On the Jets’ final offensive play he ran a route that appeared to go short of the sticks on fourth down, giving the team no opportunity to convert.

Keelan Cole doesn’t deserve all of the blame for yesterday, but I think he deserves this week’s anti-game ball so that is what he gets from me.

Who gets yours?