one featuring a match-up between division rivals in the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. With both teams under .500 Authentic Matt Milano Jersey , they are trying to pick up a win to gain momentum towards the end of the season. We spoke to Michael Nania of Gang Green Nation to get up to speed about the Jets ahead of the game.What overall grade would you give Sam Darnold this season so far?I’d give him a solid C+ with the rookie grading curve. In terms of the level of quarterbacking production he has provided relative to NFL average, without giving a rookie curve, he’s probably been a D or D-. Josh Allen is the only qualified quarterback with a worse passer rating, and for the most part Sam is deserving of that number. There have been four games this year in which Darnold’s struggles buried the team’s chances. At the same time, his high points have been spectacular. He is the only rookie in NFL history with three 2+ touchdown, 9+ Y/A performances in his first six weeks. When things have clicked around him, he has done a stupendous job and his obvious talent flashes. He has great instincts, can throw off of any platform, can make touch throws, and has a legitimately strong arm that allows him to complete money passes when he gets a groove going. The talent is there, and he absolutely seems like the type of guy who has the wherewithal to survive mentally as an NFL quarterback both on and off the field. He’s just going through the rookie bumps. It was always going to be hard for him to be a quality starter with this offensive supporting cast as the youngest rookie quarterback in NFL history. I still believe his good games outnumber his bad five to four, regardless. There have been times where the ineptitude of teammates blew up his box score, such as the first Miami Dolphins loss and the Chicago Bears loss.Next year is when we can start to harshly judge Darnold. Every game like his last one in Miami is the exact type that you expect to see now and then when you give the keys to a 21-year old. His flashes have been bright, and there is little reason to have less confidence in Darnold now than you might have had three months ago.I saw a segment on ESPN where they discussed the possibility of Darnold being benched to watch Josh McCown go to work, would that be a good idea for him?Personally I don’t even think that should be an option. If he is ever going to be the guy, he will have to be able to play himself out of stretches like this one and get himself and the team back on track before letting things spiral out of control. The Dolphins game was ugly and for sure his worst performance of the year, but he was fine the week before in Chicago, staying poised while all hell broke loose around him. I don’t think there is anything to gain from sitting him this week.What is the future of Todd Bowles looking like if the team does not make the playoffs this year?Before the year I felt like seven wins should buy Bowles another year considering it would be slight progress and a respectable number to reach under a rookie quarterback. However Micah Hyde Jersey , at this point, it seems impossible to justify bringing Bowles back unless he magically wins out and gets the team to the playoffs (not happening). This past loss was the final nail for most fans, me included. Center Spencer Long had missed the previous game with a finger injury, and the week before he played through it and killed the team with his snapping issues. He started this week, and compiled a whopping 15 (no typo) errant shotgun snaps in the second half. Fifteen. And Bowles left him in there allowing him to tank the offense until the final two drives of the game, knowing he was playing through injury. Afterwards, Bowles said injury had no part of his decision to pull Long or his struggles. The whole debacle was a joke. Bowles has worn out his welcome and has done nothing to show he has progressed personally over his four years as coach. The Jets are best-served following the Bears and Los Angeles Rams model, moving on from Bowles and getting their young quarterback a progressive coach he can grow under, preferably an offensive one for the first time in years.If the Jets lose this game, I could easily see him fired during the bye week. If not, I think Bowles lasts the year. Will the team see Bowles for what he is and look past the W-L record even if he manages to “improve” the team to six or seven wins? Hopefully so, for the sake of Darnold and all followers of the Jets.If you were the GM of the Jets, what is one move that you would make to help this team win now?Trading for Khalil Mack is something that I would’ve absolutely chased before the year. The Jets are a good edge rusher away from being a legitimately elite defense. Playing with the third-worst starting field position in the league, the Jets are third in fewest points allowed per drive and first in fewest yards allowed per drive. Once they finally get somebody who is a consistent force off the edge, they might finally be back to being a true dominant defense. Things are starting to fall into place as guys like Darron Lee and Jamal Adams come into their own, but lacking a true edge presence is as limiting to a defense’s potential as lacking a quarterback is to an offense.The Jets reportedly did go all-in for him, but the Oakland Raiders preferred to move him to the NFC. The Jets also seemed to be in on Dante Fowler Jr. at the trade deadline but were outbid by the win-now Rams. Among many other things, specifically wide receiver and the offensive line Bills Rafael Bush Jersey , the Jets need to be all-in for an edge rusher.(Editor’s note: the fifth question was answered ahead of Wednesday’s news that Sam Darnold will be sidelined Sunday following a foot sprain, so we omitted it. I guess the fifth question is “Where’s the last question?”)Revisiting five Buffalo Bills to watch: Second cornerback remains a problem The Buffalo Bills had issues at cornerback before Sunday’s 31-20 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers. After losing two more corners during the game, however, the position is in dire straits. While there were some signs of hope from most of our players to watch on Sunday, the glaring defensive issues need to be fixed quickly, as the Bills play two teams on the road with fantastic quarterbacks over the next two weeks (the Minnesota Vikings and Kirk Cousins, followed by the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers). Here is how our players to watch fared in the game on Sunday.QB Josh AllenThe man whose failure or success will most determine the fate of the franchise over the next few years had an up-and-down game, but he performed pretty well overall. Statistically speaking, he was about as good as we could have hoped in his first start against a tough Chargers defense. Allen was 18-for-33 (54.6%) for 245 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions on the day. He added 32 rushing yards on eight attempts. There were some issues with protections that he should have called or adjusted but didn’t, and there were also issues with touch and accuracy on passes similar to those that plagued him in college. Allen was always viewed as a project, however, and for his first start, he showed flashes of what led the Bills to trade up and draft him seventh overall this past April.CB2If the corner position truly is in dire straits, then the recently retired Vontae Davis took his money for nothing on Sunday. In a game that Davis started, he removed himself during the first half and abruptly retired at halftime in an unprecedented show of disrespect for his teammates. Making matters worse for Buffalo, Phillip Gaines dislocated his elbow in the second quarter Bills Star Lotulelei Jersey , so the Bills were left with only Lafayette Pitts to play opposite Tre’Davious White. (It’s one thing to recognize that you don’t have it anymore and decide to hang it up in the middle of a season, but it’s a whole other bag of ridiculous to make that realization and then leave the stadium right then and there when your team is already shorthanded at your position.) The Bills need to find someone capable of holding down the spot opposite White, otherwise they should continue to be shredded through the air opposite their top corner.DE Jerry HughesBuffalo’s top pass rusher played well against the Chargers, especially in the second half. After the intermission, he was consistently in the offensive backfield, harassing Philip Rivers far more than in the first half. Hughes made 5 solo tackles and an assisted tackle, and he also dropped Rivers for a sack. Buffalo’s top edge defender looked the part this past Sunday, and if the team’s second-half defensive renaissance can carry over to Minnesota next weekend, the Bills will at least have a chance.LB Tremaine EdmundsBuffalo’s rookie defensive signal-caller struggled on Sunday, especially in pass coverage. He seemed hesitant on his assignments, and he was unable to stick with either of Los Angeles’ tough running backs—Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler. Edmunds had six tackles and an assist on the day. Growing pains are to be expected from the 20-year old phenom, but he is being exploited quite a bit in coverage early in his young career.WR Kelvin BenjaminBuffalo’s top wideout was quiet again on Sunday, hauling in only 2 passes for 19 yards. One of those receptions was a touchdown—the first of Josh Allen’s career. The Bills targeted Benjamin only 3 times, and Allen completed passes to 11 different receivers. While that last stat is excellent, the Bills would be wise to target their most-talented receiver more in future weeks, as a 6’5” wide receiver could serve as a very nice security blanket for a rookie quarterback.
