Connect with us

Cleveland, OH

Jets' Jermaine Johnson never satisfied despite strong season

Published

on

Jets' Jermaine Johnson never satisfied despite strong season


Jermaine Johnson had his first NFL interception, touchdown return and fumble recovery in his last game, but that night he was “mad.”

He feels that way often, whether it’s because the Jets lost or he believes he could have done more.

Johnson thinks he’s shown that he’s “a dominant player” in his second NFL season, but he’s not satisfied. He never is. Ever.

“It’s a blessing and a curse because sometimes I’m just like mad,” Johnson told Newsday. “I kind of sit down and I’m like, ‘Nah.’ I’m never really satisfied.”

Advertisement

The Jets (6-10) will close out the season Sunday in New England, looking to snap a 15-game losing streak against the Patriots in what could be Bill Belichick’s final game as their coach.

The Jets’ defense wants to end the right way after allowing Joe Flacco to pass for 309 yards and three scores in a 34-20 loss in Cleveland on Dec. 28.

Johnson had a good game, though.

New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (95) New York Jets linebacker Bryce Huff (47) New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams (56) celebrate a sack during the second half the Houston Texans at the NY Jets on December 10, 2023 Credit: Lee S. Weissman/Lee S. Weissman

He deflected a Flacco pass into the air, picked it off and ran 37 yards for a touchdown. Later, he scooped up a fumble and took it in for the TD, but the play was ruled dead.

Advertisement

Johnson called the pick “cool,” but he was hot.

“I was mad,” he said. “It was a good play. It was a cool play. It was probably one of the best I’ve made. We didn’t win. I still didn’t feel like I had enough of a presence in the game.”

After playing 312 snaps as a rookie, Johnson has established himself as a disruptive piece who could play alongside All-Pro tackle Quinnen Williams for a long time.

Johnson’s 714 snaps this year are second on the line to Williams. Johnson is second on the Jets with 6.5 sacks and has seven passes defended.

“He’s having an amazing year,” Williams said. “Just to see the growth from last year to this year . . . You can see the game-changing plays that he makes week in and week out. Not just last week, but this whole season.

Advertisement

“I’m super-excited to be able to play with him in the future for years to come. We definitely can be one of the best dynamic duos in the league for years to come.”

The Jets envisioned Johnson being a foundation player when they traded up to grab him with the 26th pick in 2022. He spent last year in the shadows of some of the Jets’ other picks: Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.

Johnson stayed hungry, worked hard on his body and game in the offseason and proved he’s just as important to the Jets.

“Jermaine has been awesome, and I feel bad for him because he kind of gets lost in the shuffle of the [three] picks that we had that get celebrated,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “But Jermaine is playing at a Pro Bowl level. He’s disruptive. He changes games. He gets after the quarterback. He’s awesome in the run game, playing through so much pain right now.

“It’s so cool just to watch a young man who put in the work that he needed to in the offseason to reap the rewards of his labor. He’s doing a great job, grossly underrated in my opinion, but he’s going to be good for a long time.”

Advertisement

The defensive coaches believe in letting a rookie watch and learn and then unleashing him when he’s better acclimated. They expect edge rusher Will McDonald, their first-round pick this year who has played only 167 snaps, to follow a similar path.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich noted Johnson’s “huge jump” and said it’s “the same jump I anticipate Will taking next year.”

Ulbrich said Johnson “is rare” because he can do so much from being “a violent edge-setter” to having “great speed and bend and an arsenal of moves — and that is his superpower.”

Johnson also has shown he’s good against the run.

After Johnson’s rookie season, he watched a lot of film of himself and said he didn’t recognize that person. That fueled his offseason work. He said he recognizes himself when he watches tape now — but, you know.

Advertisement

“I’m still not satisfied, just never really satisfied,” Johnson said. “The tape looks pretty good. I like to win. I like to be an undisputable dominant force and a great teammate. I’m just looking to bring that into the next year and making sure that that’s true.”

Johnson doesn’t know what it will take for him to truly be satisfied.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I just know that when I hit the peak of one mountain, it always ends up to be the base of another. That’s how I’ve always been wired. I can’t tell you what will change that.”

The only thing Johnson knows is that he’ll never stop wanting more.

“My thing is hard work must get done,” he said. “Hard work mixed with the talent that God gives me and mixed with the great teammates and people I have around me should be a recipe for good things.”

Advertisement

JETS-PATRIOTS GAMEDAY

Line: Patriots by 1.5; O/U 30.5

TV: Fox (Chris Myers, Robert Smith, Jen Hale)

Radio: ESPN (98.7) (Bob Wischusen, Marty Lyons); SiriusXM 380.

All-time series: Patriots lead, 74-54-1 (Patriots have won 15 in a row).

Advertisement

Last meeting: Sept. 24, 2023,

Patriots 15 (at) Jets 10.

KEY INJURIES

Jets: OUT: QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles), QB Zach Wilson (concussion), TE Jeremy Ruckert (concussion), OL Jake Hanson (concussion). DOUTBFUL: G Wes Schweitzer (calf).

Patriots: OUT: T Trent Brown (illness), TE Hunter Henry (knee): QUESTIONABLE: S Jalen Mills (ankle), WR Tyquan Thornton (ankle); DL Christan Barmore (knee).

Advertisement

BYE STREAK, BYE BILL?

The Jets, losers of 15 straight games against the Patriots, hope to accomplish two things in what could be Bill Belichick’s final game coaching New England.

“It would be nice to send him out with a loss and end the streak all in one,” tight end Tyler Conklin said.

Both have been talked about among the Jets’ players. They’re tired of hearing about and being asked about the streak. The Jets’ last win over New England came on Dec. 27, 2015. It’s the longest active one in the NFL. “We got to fix it,” C.J. Mosley said. “It’s a great time to start.”

CLIMBING THE CHARTS

Advertisement

Garrett Wilson is seven catches shy of 100. Brandon Marshall is the only Jet to record 100 receptions in a season. He had 109 in 2015.

Breece Hall needs 105 scrimmage yards to become the fifth Jet with 1,500 yards in a season. Curtis Martin did it six times and Freeman McNeil, Thomas Jones and Marshall once.

With one catch, Conklin will become the third Jets tight end with 60 receptions in a season. Mickey Shuler did it four times and Dustin Keller once.

(All the previous marks were done in a 16-game season).

NEW QBs

Advertisement

Trevor Siemian will be the eighth Jets quarterback to start against the Patriots since the streak began. Bailey Zappe will be New England’s fourth.

The other Jets’ starters were Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, Sam Darnold, Luke Falk, Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Bryce Petty. The Patriots? Mac Jones, Cam Newton and Tom Brady.

QUOTABLE

“It’s a good opportunity to go out there, play a clean football game, start the year and end the season on a win — and obviously end this damn streak.”

— Tyler Conklin

Advertisement

NUMBER, PLEASE

23-2. Bill Belichick’s record against the Jets since they beat New England in the 2010 AFC divisional round. It was the last time the Jets reached the playoffs

— AL IANNAZZONE



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Cleveland, OH

Guardians bolster bullpen with two fresh arms ahead of series finale against Orioles

Published

on

Guardians bolster bullpen with two fresh arms ahead of series finale against Orioles


CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians bolstered their bullpen with a pair of fresh arms ahead of Sunday’s series finale against Baltimore, recalling right-hander Eli Morgan from Triple-A Columbus and selecting righty Connor Gillispie from the Clippers.

Lefty starter Joey Cantillo, who allowed three runs in four innings during Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Orioles, and righty Xzavion Curry, who surrendered four runs in three relief innings, were optioned to the minors to make room on the active roster.

Gillispie, 26, was selected by the Guardians in December as part of the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. Prior to joining Cleveland’s organization, Gillispie made 87 appearances (40 starts), going 19-17 with a 4.00 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and eight saves in 11 opportunities as part of Baltimore’s farm system. He was a ninth-round pick of the Orioles in the 2019 MLB draft.

This season, Gillispie has started 11 games and worked out of the bullpen in nine for the Clippers, compiling a 3-7 record and 4.01 ERA in 89 2/3 innings. He has posted a 23.3% strikeout rate and a 10.5% walk rate while surrendering 19 home runs.

Advertisement

Pitching coach Carl Willis said Gillispie has started and worked out of the bullpen this season and brings a five-pitch mix to the mound. After using righty Pedro Avila on back-to-back nights against Baltimore, the Guardians felt Gillispie was best positioned to help the bullpen in the short term.

“We needed some length, and just from a strike-throwing perspective and the pitch mix, we felt like he was our best option to come up and give us some length here (Sunday),” Willis said.

Morgan, 28, is 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 13 appearances for Cleveland this season, including 10 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. He spent two stints on the major league injured list before being optioned to Columbus on July 4.

bet365 BET $5, GET $150 BONUS OR $1,000 FIRST-BET SAFETY NET

Advertisement

GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL OR TEXT 1-800-GAMBLER (AZ, CO, IN, KY, LA, NC, NJ, OH, VA) or 1-800-BETS OFF (IA). 21+ only (18+ in KY). Must be present in AZ/CO/IA/IN/KY/LA (select parishes)/NC/NJ/OH/VA. Deposit required. Paid in Bonus Bets. Bonus Bets wager excluded from returns. New Customers only. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply.

Advertisement

If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.



Source link

Continue Reading

Cleveland, OH

Ravens Using Veteran DE as Inspiration

Published

on

Ravens Using Veteran DE as Inspiration


As Baltimore Ravens defensive end Brent Urban prepares for his 11th NFL season, it’s just as important as ever for him to remember where he came from.

A Mississauga, Ontario native, Urban suffered a torn ACL during his 2010 freshman season at Virginia, but rebounded to eventually become a starting defensive lineman. Then once he got to the NFL, he suffered three season-ending injuries – a torn ACL in 2014, a torn bicep in 2015 and a Lisfranc foot injury in 2017 – all in his first four seasons. As a result, he played just 25 games across those four seasons, 16 of them coming in 2016.

Urban, now in his second stint with the Ravens, has certainly been through the wringer throughout his career, but his perserverance to get where he is now is extremely impressive. As such, head coach John Harbaugh is using Urban’s story as inspiration for his younger teammates.

“I’m going to start using [Brent Urban] as an example for those guys, because it’s a perfect point,” Harbaugh told reporters. “I can remember him right over there, we were doing an inside-run drill against the [San Francisco] 49ers when we had the joint practices all of those years ago, and he tore his ACL right at the end of practice. It was like, ‘Oh.’ It was so heartbreaking, and [he] missed that whole year.

Advertisement

“We had high hopes for him coming out, we thought he was an odd-front defensive end in the Pittsburgh Steeler kind of realm, like the Brett Keisels of the world, and he’s turned out to be just that. He’s just that kind of player; he plays so well. But those first couple of years were tough, and here he is now. He’s got a testimony as a result of all the tests he’s been through.”

After his first stint with the Ravens came to an end in 2019, Urban has played for the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys. He then returned to Baltimore in 2022, and last season, he set a career high with three sacks.

Now the veteran on the Ravens’ defensive line, Urban is happy to be a mentor to the younger players at his position group.

“Just being in the league is privilege,” Urban said. “Every single day, you’ve just got to relish it, because you see so many guys in and out, and just even looking at my class now, nobody’s still around; so just finding your own role, just appreciating it. As I get older, I’ve started to be able to take a seat back and really just appreciate how thankful I am to be here.”

Make sure you bookmark Baltimore Ravens on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

on

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission


Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending