New York Jets week one: Earning their wings against the Bills

Here are the three players that earned their wings for the New York Jets against the Buffalo Bills.

Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, it didn’t go the way New York Jets fans hoped it would. Well for some it probably did go the way they hoped. The fan base seems to be about 50/50 on whether the team should tank or not. Be that as it may, we know the players aren’t going to tank. They could injure themselves, for one, and they also need to put positive tape out there for the Jets as well as other teams.

The Jets were in a tight game for three quarters on Sunday before the Bills pulled away to a 21-10 victory. The offense couldn’t keep the defense off of the field long enough and the defense was tired out by the end of the game. Essentially, if we analyze the team prior to the season, it was the way we expected the team to play. The defense was going to be better than the offense and the key was going to be the offense doing enough to get the job done.

In this game against Buffalo, they did not. 38 yards rushing will lead the Jets directly to the first pick in the draft. They will not pass go, they will not collect $200, they will be the worst tem in football. That cannot happen again for them to win any games.

But there were three players that deserved game balls. Each week we are going to name those players as the players that “earned their wings”. So who did it this week?

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Jermaine Kearse: In a year where the wide receiver group was left fairy bare, Mike Maccagnan made a good move bringing this player in. He hasn’t put up the numbers of a number one guy before but he was the top receiver on this day, posting seven catches for 59 yards.

Chandler Catanzaro: Before anyone says it, I agree that if we are giving wings to the kicker, it’s going to be a long year. That’s where we are, ladies and gentlemen.

Many fans were surprised when Catanzaro earned the kicking job over Ross Martin. In the preseason, Martin looked better on field goals. However, against the Bills, Catanzaro responded with two field goals, one from 48 and one from 52. He also boomed his kickoffs through the end zone, leaving no possibility of returns. Good work out of him, although you all might think it’s a reach to give it to the kicker.

Next: Observations from Jets vs. Bills

Marcus Maye/Jamal Adams: As they both made their professional debuts, it seemed fitting to give them each a share of this week’s third wings award. It wasn’t a perfect outing but for their first one it wasn’t bad. Maye posted 5.5 tackles and four solo. Adams posted 4.5 tackles, four of them solo. The pass defense wasn’t great; the communication has to get better. But it is nice to see these two guys play with confidence right from the outset.

Who did you think played well, Jets fans? Let us know.

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