Q&A with Jets Fans: Sam Darnold, Marcus Maye, Quinnen Williams, and #replaceGase

A depressing but funny Q&A with Jets fan - from Darnold to... Bless Austin? And takes ahead of Sunday.

Sep 20, 2020

San Francisco 49ers/YouTube

Episode 2 of our Q&A series for all of the 49ers opponents this season - this time, it’s New York, specifically the Jets. Hearing other fans perspective can be very humbling and an unbiased perspective on not only our team, but their team in some cases as well - and this seems to be the case. Check out the community at the NY Jets Reddit. This was the funniest community I have interacted with on Reddit - plenty of self-deprecating humor, but also good takes and transparency - but very depressing too. We thought the 2014-2018 years were bad, the Jets have been living in that reality forever. It gets better… I think.

Special shoutout to everyone who answered in this Q&A, amazing responses! Check the original post out here, with all the replies, not just these!

Who’s one player flying under the radar that’s posed for a breakout season? Similarly, who is the most overrated player?

u/Scriptures1

Hmmm - Under the radar: Bless Austin. Overrated: CJ Mosley, gets such money and I don't think I've seen him play in 2 years :/

u/MiddleStudy

I would say under the radar player would be Bless Austin. He’s a second yr cb. Basically redshirted half his rookie yr, but when he got his chance, he was a noticeable improvement compared to the other cbs on the roster. Was one of the better players on the last week, but that’s not saying much.
Overrated is probably Quinnen Williams. He’s been very similar to Leonard Williams, good at stopping the run, but absent when it comes to pass rush. Need him to get much closer to his potential if we are going to have a chance at being good

u/MixOverRice

Outside of Jets fan, Quinnen Williams is the most overrated guy on our team - not even close. Anyone who’s a Jets fan knows he sucks, but people around the league still think he’s one of our best players. Marcus Maye underrated.

u/unboundgaming

Under the radar player would likely be Marcus Maye. He’s well known, but mostly as “the guy leftover from Jamal Adams”. He played aggressive like Jamal did in college but was moved to play deep since we drafted him and Jamal 1 & 2. He played well at that position, but in his first game up front, he had 2 sacks and a forced fumble, arguably a better week than Jamal had with the Seahawks.
Overrated has to go to.... well I don’t think many people think anyone is good, but I guess by our fan base, Cashman has been very overrated though he’s injured, so of people that are still playing, I’d go Alex Lewis, our LG. He had a decent start as a jet, but has gone down hill since. But we’ll see.

Almost all responses were in agreement. Bless Austin and Marcus Maye seem to be the most underrated players, while Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosley, and Alex Lewis take the cake for overrated players. Sorry for all you Quinnen stans - we remember you.

What do you feel are weaknesses with the Niners defense that they can exploit, despite losing Crowder + can the Jets OL deal with our front seven?

u/unboundgaming

To your point on the Jets, Allen killed us, but we destroyed their RBs as we did all last season (number 2 in the league), and with Jimmy G not being very mobile, we should be good there. Your secondary is weak COMPARED TO THE DLINE. So Herndon may be able to abuse a little bit here or there. That being said, it’s not weak enough for us to do very much. It’ll be a very boring game in my opinion.

u/Herplederple1

I think we can exploit your defense if someone trips or gets a piece of MetLife turf pellets in his eye.

u/spentmiles

Our lead back is turning 65 next March, so it won't be the running game. I'm not sure if we have any WRs on the offense anymore. Apparently that's not where football is going. Our only hope is Chris Herndon has a big game and our punter gives us a shot at a safety.

u/BloodOfAStark

You lost Sherman so Perriman should be able to capitalize on it. He had a play against the Bills where if Darnold doesn’t miss him, it could be a 40+ yard gain. How are your safeties? Gase should be using more of his TEs. After a long review, Herndon got open more than his stat line showed. If Darnold trusts his eyes, he’s another player who can have a big day.
For the Jets, they’re usually good against the run, so I expect Jimmy G will be throwing the ball often. Although, KS may want to run it as often as possible & wear the defense out if the Jets offense continues to stink it up. Bless Austin has some potential but the other side is... Lol.

Jets fans are the funniest, but also saddest to interact with. The immense sadness, disappointment, it just radiates off Jets fans. I’m rooting for you! BloodOfAStark makes a good observation - our weakened secondary can get stretched out by Herndon and Perriman, even with the #1 WR in Jamison Crowder being out. Secondary play will be key. The Jets run defense is really good - so don’t expect Mostert to run wild.

Any early candidates to #replaceGase? And what would Gase have to do to win you over?

u/unboundgaming

My biggest candidates are actually y’all OC [Mike LaFleur] and DC - but that’s not a widely accepted opinion.

u/spentmiles

I've never seen so many three and outs as I've seen over Gase's tenure. If he could figure out how to sustain drives and at least give us a chance to break the fifty every series, I'd hate him less.

The overwhelming consensus is that Gase is gone after this season at worst - he has destroyed any development Sam Darnold would have had and has destroyed player relationships too. But one thing I didn’t expect to see was critique of playcalling - National NFL media would have you believe that Adam Gase was a talented offensive mind, but it seems to be the opposite - he is terrible at playcalling.

Jamal Adams: Thoughts on the trade, and what does he bring to Seattle, our division rival?

u/unboundgaming

Jamal is amazing, and a huge talent. That being said, as I said in my other answer, Maye is filling his shoes just fine, and he may not be on Jamal’s level, but he is for sure close enough to make 2 firsts, a third and another starter worth while. Loved the trade for someone who didn’t want to be here.

u/randothrowawayacc

The biggest problem he will cause for you is he will significantly make it harder for you to run the football, which means it will be on Jimmy G to move the offense and that's not beneficial to your offense. I think that's why Seattle found it worth it to give us the haul that they did. They know this, and they know Kyler Murray is emerging, Jamal helps a lot with those issues.

u/HoboTheClown629

Love the trade. Incredible value for a disgruntled player. Just about the most Jets thing ever that we have two first round picks and CFB is a mess and many of the top prospects have opted out. Adams is a baller but he’s also proved he’s a diva. Going to be a problem on the field for you twice a year but also wouldn’t be surprised if he’s causing problems in their locker room eventually. I don’t think Seattle’s defense will use him to his full potential.

u/Hellstr0m

Jamal is a great player but the way he handled himself leading up to the trade left a very bad taste in our mouths. He markets himself as this great leader but that’s only if everything is going his way. He can turn into a locker room cancer very quickly if he’s not getting his way.
I’m happy with the trade. I think we got quite a good haul for him and we weren’t going to make the playoffs this year even if he was still on the team. The Jets have A LOT of holes to fill. The team has very little talent due to how bad our last GM was.

Very similar outlooks: While Adams is an elite player, he isn’t as good of a locker room presence as what he markets himself to be - and the compensation the Jets got for him was well worth it, especially with another talented safety in Marcus Maye ready to take over.

Sam Darnold: Is he the answer? Would you look to draft another QB next year?

u/spentmiles

We'll never know if Sam might've turned out. Whatever Gase is asking him to do on the whiteboard doesn't make sense on the field. Darnold's not seeing it, so in the heat of the moment, when he's trying to make sense of what's before him, his mechanics dissolve and then, in a panic, he throws it to whatever sliver of green he can find. Watching Sam try to run Gase's offense is like watching a chef trying to follow a child's recipe.

u/MiddleStudy

It’s complicated. He has had such high encouraging moments, more than holding his own in duels as a rookie against Deshaun and Rodgers and was a driving force in upset win against Cowboys last yr, but he’s not been good enough. I think he’s been hurt drastically by incompetent coaching that hasn’t helped fixed flaws like mechanics or done smart things that help him ie put him on the move, and increased use of motion. I really think if he gets in the right situation, he could be somewhat similar to what we’ve seen from Tannehill. I would consider keeping Sam for a yr with new, much better coaching because they need so much more talent on the OL, skill positions, pass rushers and corners. But if he has more performances like what we saw last week, replacing him has to be strongly considered.

u/Hellstr0m

Still a bit too early to make a call on Sam but if I had to guess - he’s not the guy. Misses too many open receivers and has the same turnover problems he did in college.
If we’re in a position to take a top QB in the draft next year it probably means Sam didn’t play well this year so I’d definitely be open to taking one.

Sad to see the fall of the Darnold, but the general outlook is if the Jets are bad enough to be picking in Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields range, they will likely take one. I wish Darnold would get a fair shake - he is super talented with a terrible coach and support group - in that sense, he sounds a little bit like Alex Smith. If the Jets are smart, they give him one more year with a better support group to really decide.

What should we expect from the Jets this year and what are your expectations for Sunday, especially Frank Gore?

(This is when it got funny but also extremely depressing)

u/spentmiles

First you'll see two screen passes for negative five yards. Then you'll see Gore run up the middle for three yards. We'll do this repeatedly for 17 minutes of possession.

u/Hellstr0m replies to u/spentmiles:

Don’t forget a Darnold interception if/when we ever get to the red zone.

u/unboundgaming

Expect 4-12, and this Sunday I really do think it’s closer than people will expect just because our match up is pretty good against you guys. 20-16 you guys. Gore rushes for 72 yards on 20 attempts lol - even throw in a TD.

Pray for Jets fans - reminds me of the dark days from 2014-2017. I think I can speak for most 49ers fans when I say, we are rooting for you - except when you play us.

Some final thoughts from Jets fans, to summarize this team and their turmoil:

u/ThatHeinous****

You’re not dumb, but you are bold. Respect.
Be worried about nothing. This is the worst team in NFL and your practice squad would embarrass our starters.
I would usually say something like: “Darnold will come in and over perform”
But in all honesty the OL is worse than ever, no run game, absolutely no WR’s, the TE’s have been trash and the coaching is a f****** joke.
Worst run organization in the NFL and by far, the worst team. Yet, they will still manage to knock themselves out of the top draft position because: “loljets”

u/magcargoman

No one. We’re f*****. Next.

Once a team with a bright future, this team has messed it up with bad coaching and bad front office management - but, the Jamal Adams trade brings hope with the promise of 1st round picks. Let’s hope the Jets can capitalize.

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