Scouting report. This time will be a bit different than my last one which you can see below.
I'll try to go into a little more detail on the Jest from what I understand about them. Some of this may be wrong.
QB - Siemian has a tiny bit of experience but didn't impress much in Denver. He likely won't impress much in this game.
OL - The unit last year wasn't good and this one doesn't look much better. Beachum, Snell and Winters return with 2 of them nursing injuries (Beachum and Winters). Ryan Kalil at center is certainly an upgrade but at 34 you have to wonder how much of one. Osemele signed a huge contract with the Raiders. They traded him this year to upgrade a 6th round pick to a 5th round pick. Clearly they felt he wasn't playing up to his contract or just didn't fit. However, if he was doing better i'm sure they could have gotten more value. This will be a very interesting unit to watch. For what it's worth PFF hasn't like Kalil much the last few years or Osemele much last year (before that they graded him as consistently good though. Maybe just a down year/injury?)
WR - Anderson is okay. Thomas might be good to go but will not be 100% up to speed yet in any case even if fully healthy. Crowder is a good #3 or very very bad #2. Not a scary core but they could have 3 or so competent NFL quality players. Not too shabby.
TE - Nothing here to be concerned about.
RB - Bell looks pretty good. That time off didn't hurt him. While he has had good games vs the Pats they haven't let him beat them IMO. That won't change behind an OL inferior to the Steelers. They have done well at stopping RBs from catching. Bell will be their hardest test by far this year. They also have good depth and options behind him. A deep position with a true headliner.
DL - Pretty damn good. Q. Williams had a nice first game but he is banged up right now. L. Williams assuming nothing happens tonight should be good to go. Anderson is very underrated. When all 3 are healthy they could be a big problem. Even with just 2 they should be very solid here.
EDGE - Without Mosley this unit is bad. Even with him the pressure they generate isn't impressive.
LB - Overall a subpar unit. Particularly if Mosley isn't healthy. I think he's overrated anyway.
CB - They had big issues here last year and they didn't do anything to improve it. They cut some guys who stunk but their starters are guys who were on the team last year still. Johnson is okay as a starter but massively overpaid. Roberts is meh. Poole is new but also meh.
S - Adams is a beast of a player. Nuff said. Marcus Maye was good last year and is off to another good start. I'm not sure how much is him benefiting from Adams or his own personal play.
QB - We simply have no idea what to expect from Sam Darnold I don't want to go too much by his rookie year to tell you what he is now. So far he's been okay in his only 2 games this year. One an elite Bills Defense in which he didn't totally pee down his leg and one vs the overrated Cowboys. I'm not expecting too much but I think he's not a scrub at least. Can make some nice throws when given time on occasion.
RB - Pretty much the Bell show. No on behind him has proven anything either as a runner or pass catching RB and is not worth mentioning here. Their run per clip average and YPG suck. In large part to due with an OL than can't run block. Speaking of which
WR - Looking pretty decent this time around. No one who is truly scary but having a healthy Thomas gives them 3 good WR options. Crowder, Anderson and Thomas are all legit NFL WRs. Add in what Bell can do and they have 4 good options to to catch passes which is enough. No one behind them is worth mentioning.
TE - Still nothing to really say. Griffen plays a lot of snaps but he is primarily a blocker and hasn't helped much. Moving right along.
OL - This unit is still an issue. Osemele still has yet to play any snaps for a while. Winters and Kalil have held down the interior spots. On the outside it is very much in flux. The new guy Edoga has been starting the past 2 games with with Beachum ad Shell splitting time. IDK if this was due to injury or design or what but it probably isn't a good thing. This unit is healthier than last time but they still suck. We should feast on it.
DL - The strength of the 3-4 defense on this team and it has come together. Quinnen Williams is still getting on track and will probably not be a huge force this game. Leonard Williams has been graded as having a bad year so far by PFF but I don't know how much I trust that TBH. He looked pretty good vs us last time. Henry Anderson is banged up right now who usually starts for them. IDK he is plays, if he does he will play hurt which definitely helps the Pats. Steve McLendon will be the same good player as last time. Kyle Phillips is a back up scrub who may see time. Folorunso Fatukasi has been a nice surprise as a solid rotational player. Bottom line. They have good depth and players but Anderson being hut will matter a bit.
Edge – Nothing much to say here. This unit is only okay. Jenkins is decent. Basham is meh.
LB – Hewitt has been playing a lot and I can't seem to figure out why. Mosley is still hurt which is big for this unit, even though I think he is overrated when healthy. Overall this unit sucks right now.
CB – Still the Roberts, Poole and Trumaine Johnson show. According to PFF Poole is having a very good year but IDK how much I trust that. Overall this unit stinks as a whole even if that where the case.
S – Nothing new. It's all about Maye and Adams here. Adams is good obviously. Maye has shown enough consistency this year to prove his last year wasn't just cause of Adams. I still question how good he would be without Adams, but he clearly a good player and better than I thought he was the first time around I did this.
