Tarik Cohen Calls It a Career While CJ Mosley Takes a New Role on New York Jets Defense

a surprising retirement a new role for one of the top players on defense and some roster moves all that today on lockon Jets you are locked on Jets your daily New York Jets podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome this is the lockdown Jets podcast part of the lockedown podcast Network your team every day it is Friday August 2nd 2024 and I'm your host John B from ganggreennation.com thank you so much for making the show your first listen or first watch every day subscribe to the show for free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast so you'll get new episodes as soon as they're posted if you enjoy the show and are listening on a podcast fors please give it a festar review if you're watching on YouTube and enjoy the show give this episode a big thumbs up it helps us out and helps other Jets fans find the podcast today's episode of Locked on Jets is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more as playoffs have wounded down the sport the sports have stopped sportsing like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily that's right there's something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com to get started well we begin our show today with a retirement uh Tariq Cohen has decided to end his attempted comeback to the NFL he is retiring you may remember a few months back coincide with the Jets now when he entered the NFL as a fourth round pick in 2017 with the Chicago bearss cen's career got off to a great start he actually made a pro bowl he established himself as one of the top return men in the league um he in his second season really really had a big year for the Chicago Bears but things kind of fell fell off after that he suffered some injuries suffered a torn ACL that took him a couple years to recover from and then at the point he thought he was finally over the knee injury he suffered an Achilles tendon tear and we all know about that injury we we've heard quite a bit about that that injury when it comes to the New York Jets the way it can affect somebody uh so Cohen signed with the Jets in the offseason hoping to ignite a comeback I think that part of the calculus with the Jets is you know the new kickoff rules which is which is an explanation that's used for the signings of lots of players Jets wanted to see what what he could do it was always a long shot this is a guy who hasn't even played in an NFL game since 2020 and it's been since 2018 since he was actually an impact player now as I said at the time the Jets signed Cohen you got to bring 90 guys to training camp so you think about you bring 0 guys only 53 can make your roster so you're going to bring guys who don't really have much of a shot um you know Cohen you know four years removed from playing an an NFL game and six years removed from really being an effective NFL player uh he was always kind of a long shot I think to make the roster but you know he's probably probably had a better shot you you know there was at least a better chance of him reclaiming his old form than like a lot of the guys the Jets bring in so I thought it was perfectly worth kicking the tires and the people around the team seem very surprised you know a lot of the beat writers who are at Camp every day are kind of shocked because they thought he was looking pretty good in the early stages of training camp I mean I think I even saw one or two suggested he he still a strong chance of making the Jets roster I think that's taking things a little bit far and I think that that's reading you I always warn about reading too much into early training camp results because these practices don't really resemble game situations and at the end of the day the day they are simply a couple of practices you know typically two things that do not add to your explosive are age and injuries now I I understand that Cohen was trying to make the case you know what I fully recovered from my injuries but the injuries he suffered back toback you know they can have an impact especially when a player relies on explosiveness you know a quarterback like Aaron Rogers suffering in killes tear it will impact him he's not going to be as mobile but at the end of the day while Mobility was a part of rogers's game the biggest part of rogers's game is deciphering once's at the line of scrimmage you know adjusting the plays and throwing the ball accurately it's going to hurt you know he's not going to be as mobile to year but and while Mobility was certainly part of rogers's game the biggest part of rogers's game is you know the stuff quarterback throwing the ball Cohen's game was all about explosiveness it was all about athleticism you know at his best he was a premier Return Man and he was also a good weapon to have out of the back field you know he could make big plays out of the back field he he could catch the ball he could break big runs uh to expect Cohen you know six years removed from looking special and again all these injuries had had piled up to expect him to expect him to gain something resembling that old form it was a lot to ask so I don't think it's the shock it's a surprise because you know two days ago he was mentioning how how he felt fully recovered so I guess from that standpoint it's a surprise it's good that he was you know looking solid in the early stages of training camp certainly but I don't think it's like this this is the bombshell that people are making it out to be I I think that Cohen always faced long odds to make the roster and he he faced even longer odds to Be an Effective player for the New York Jets again nothing wrong with kicking the tires on a guy like this you got to bring 90 to Camp so you know there's certainly worse uses of a roster spot than trying to find somebody looking to reclaim his old form and again the new kickoff rules I I I always I'm always a little skeptical of using the new kickoff rules because I feel like we explain every signing about the new kick for the new kickoff rules we signed some defensive player because we're gonna want we're gonna want a guy like this to cover kickoffs or if it's a you know if it's an explosive guy in space Oh we want this guy to return the ball but uh with you know a guy who has a track record as a returner and no matter how the new kickoff rules play out and I think that you know it could go a lot of different directions I think there will be more kickoffs return this year because of these rules the rules are incentivizing players running the ball back it's not a bad idea to try and bring in a guy who has a great track record in this area now fortunately for the Jets they have some other options here I you know I would expect malikai Corley is going to be in the mix um you know not not a traditional like explosive kickoff return guy but a guy who's tough to bring down and you know in a scenario where these new rules lead to you know more more bodies being in in a certain location having a guy who runs like corle could be a benefit Xavier Gibson is the incumbent he was kind of up and down last year but who knows maybe year two he gets a little bit better um you know the Jets have other options and I think that you know it was always again it it was always a lot to ask for Cohen to come back and I see people again the writers who were saying he stood a good shot of making the roster we can't really say that right now because these you know these practices are built to favor guys who are you either on the offensive side of the ball or you know make plays with the ball in their hands and I'll tell you I've been to these training camp practices in the past um and you can't judge anything based on the return the return drills are are so are so so lacking in depth um they just they just don't really show you anything it's really guys just catching the ball and then kind of running through an obstacle course more than anything it's not really an indication of returnability if you're talking about how you decide a a camp battle for a return spot that can only be done once the the exhibition games became because While most of the while a lot of the practices don't do a great job of simulating actual game scenarios the kickoff the kick returns the punt returns and the kick returns they they they do zero to simulate game simulations you you can't really see whether a guy is going to be able to break a tackle because they don't really tackle in in these situations and a lot of times these drills you know when we're talking about the return guys they're going at half speed so anybody telling you like this Cohen was was on his on track to making the roster look maybe he looked quick in the early stages relative to other guys but you don't really know until the exhibitions until the exhibition game start and you know my hats off to anybody who's gone through what Cohen went through you know multiple serious injuries and tries to give it a go to try and try try and Revitalize his career because there was you know Cohen nobody would have blamed Cohen If he if he just decided to to pack it in before this he decided to give it a try he decided to try and Revitalize his career and you know not sure whether maybe it didn't work out or maybe you know he just didn't want to do it or maybe he just felt his body couldn't hold up and you know it's unfortunate to see a player's career and but you know this was always a it was always a move you were hoping for the best it was always a move it was always a move where you know maybe there was a path for him to find something again but it was always really really unlikely we were going to see the Tariq Cohen of 2018 six years later and multiple serious injuries removed from that because this was a player and you know when you talk about how guys are going to age the thing I always look at is how much does this guy depend on athleticism how much does he depend on speed how much does he depend on you know things that erode with time you know there are certain guys like you know Rogers is a good example Rogers I think physically will you know not be what he was 10 years ago but he's gonna be as smart as ever and smarts you can you can win with smarts at the quarterback position you have to as the skill at a skill spot especially a return guy a running back especially a running back on the smaller side you got to win with Athleta ISM and that's all really all there is to it that's why you know it's one of the reasons running backs don't age well you always hear about the how rare it is to have like a running back in his late 20s or 30s that's why because at the running back position smarts only get you so far you got to be able to make a play and It's just tough uh you it's tough It's a tough spot to play and unfortunately for Tariq Cohen it sound you know he he it seems like we're at the end of the line now head here on the lock down jet podcast we're going to talk about a guy who's not at the end of the line a guy who's still in his 30s and still playing really high level football and his role is expanding this year something there's going to be more on CJ Mosley's plate and we'll discuss that continuing here on this Friday edition of lockon jets our episode of lock on Jets today is brought to you by eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof rxes exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need and all the prices you want it's 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something actually is changing on the Jets defense and if you want more information on this uh rivco board at jetsx xfactor.com wrote a great article on this um and my thoughts were exactly the same um Robert Salah tends to not give and this is based on you know interviews we've seen in the past with both players and coaches he tends to not give his defensive players a ton of autonomy at the line of scrimmage to change what the call is um and there actually was a play many uh three years ago Sal salah's first season it was the Jets it was actually salah's first win as the Jets head coach against Tennessee and on a key play Mosley changed the play at the line of scrimmage because he didn't like what he saw he thought Tennessee was in he saw based on his film study he knew the Titans were in a perfect play for the Jets defense so mostly changed the defensive call and the Jets were able to get a key stop on that play and after the game Salah kind of said you know he doesn't really have that Authority um Mosley wears the what's known as the Green Dot um so if you're familiar with um the way signals are are relayed to quarterbacks in the NFL you may know that quarterbacks in their helmet there's actually like a radio system so that the coach a coach or a player on the headset can tell the quarterback directly what the play is on the defensive side of the ball there's one player who wears has a Green Dot on his helmet it's a green sticker with a circle uh he wears that on his helmet to signify to the officials that you know he's the guy with the with the headset there's one player on defense who has a headset and that's essentially the defensive coaches the headset call in the play to him and I believe that's actually like a relic of spy gate if you go back when when the Patriots were stealing the jet signals because for a while only the offense had had a player with a radio system where the coaches could directly relay the play in then the Patriots you know stole the jet signals in that game in 2007 uh so they changed it it's now a defensive so no more defensive signals to Rel relay in plays just the coach on the headset can call it into one player and mostly is that guy and you know I'm a look I'm a big critic of the Jets coaching staff I probably should not be as critical as I am with them on the defensive side of the ball the offense they deserve a lot of criticism the defense they've done a very good job the last few years but this is like this is a quibble I have with them CJ Mosley is one of the smartest players at the linebacker position in the league and I just don't know why it took until now now Mosley mentioned you know this is year four in the system now we know it like now we really really know it well and there's probably something to that you know there's probably something to the idea that you know what now we fully know the system we fully know all the options at our disposal you know year one maybe we did not that said Mosley's you know Mosley's a Savvy of a player and I mean that's one of the reasons Mosley so good you know talking about guys who age well why is Mosley still playing effectively into his 30s you he's not super fast not super athletic but he's smart he knows where to position himself he knows where to line himself up pre- snap he knows what angles to take to the ball that's why Mosley's continued to be a very very effective player into his 30s and he's also he also knows what he's doing you know getting the team lined up he's been around the NFL for a long time this is year 11 for CJ Mosley so he knows you know his film studies topnotch and you it's always impress these guys are so impressive in the NFL because the film study they they do they'll notice like some little some small thing about the formation and that will tip them off to what the play is sometimes it's just like how a player aligns whether his left foot or his right foot's forward you know maybe the you know could just be like a wide receiver like how he's how he's aligned something about his stance pre- snap and that tells you everything you need to know about the entire play if you're a great if you're a great student to it's so impressive the way these guys are and Mosley is among the most impressive players when it comes to this area so now Mosley has full authority to to change things at the line of scrimmage and I think that's a good thing because you know sometimes you you just get caught in the wrong play and to me it's it's the player it's your top player's job to get you if if if the coaching staff sends in the wrong defensive call it's on the players to get you out of it's on the players to notice that it's on the players to make a change you know the the phrase coach on the field is fre frequently overused but I think in Mosley's case it's accurate and you know the thing the thing that's going to be great about the Jets on offense this year with Rogers at quarterback is that he's gonna be able you know he doesn't need to like audible to change the entire play you know so a lot of quarterbacks like this was the case with Zach Wilson um you know if he saw that if the Jets had were in a passing play but the other team ran a light box Wilson had the ability to change the entire play he could check to a run and that's helpful and that's something you should do Rogers can just tweak something about a receiver's route you know if there's if a guy is you know if a guy's supposed to run a vertical route but the defender is giving him too much cushion Rogers may just have may just change the receiver's route to like a slant or something like that and you know use use the corner leverage against he may just change just may just tweak a receiver's route not change the entire play and Mosley's on that level on the def well I don't know he may not be on the Rogers level but Mosley's mosle executes at a very high level on the defensive side of the ball he may not need to change the entire play he may just there might just be like one small part of the play that he he feels they should tweak and he can do that and you know this can this can have a big impact on a team you know if I go back 15 years um there was a former Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma who was traded to the Saints and in the Super Bowl uh the saints were up against the Colts that year a lot of people will tell you vilmo was actually the MVP of that game you didn't notice it but vilmo vilmo was going you know play forplay with pton Manning pton Manning was changing a play at the line of scrimmage Vilma changed the play accordingly it was kind of kind of a chess match between the two of them pre snap and it was something you you did not appreciate watching the game live it only came out like after the game the role Vilma played H so this stuff can this stuff can make a big difference especially you know if the Jets have the Jets have Super Bowl dreams this year which means you're going to be playing against some of the great quarterback if to get to the Super Bowl you're gonna have to beat some of the great quarterbacks in this league and the great quarterbacks in this league are excellent at changing at deciphering what the defense is doing pre snap and changing it and those quarterbacks get their team into the right play Rogers does this all the time so you want to have you want to have the abil to counter that a guy like Mosley potentially gives the Jeet the ability to counter that when you're up against Josh Allen or Joe burrow or momes you know those guys are going to be able to see what the Jets are doing at the line of scrimmage and adjust their play accordingly so Mosley then will be able to look look at look at the adjustment the offense made and make his own adjustments on defense it's the type of thing that we won't notice live it's the type of thing that will fly under the radar quite a bit but it's the type of thing that that can make a big difference there might be a big play or two where you see Mosley make a signal and it'll get the Jets out of the wrong defense into the right defense and it could end up it could end up I'm saying this on August 2nd remember this for January because there might be some big play we look back on where Mosley made an adjustment that you know turned a game for the Jets now head you're on the lockdown Jets podcast we'll take our Focus off key things like CJ Mosley and you know games in January there are a few minor roster moves that jets made so a few notable names a notable name leaving notable name the Jets are looking at we'll talk about who they are as we continue here on this Friday edition of lockon jets today's episode of lockon jets is brought you by FanDuel I love sports you love sports we love them so much that we never want them to stop but playoffs have wound down and now we have fewer games and the sports are not sportsing like we want them to but FanDuel lets us keep the sports going whenever we want all you have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime you're in the mood of course we're in baseball season Yankees and Mets Jets if you want to look ahead to the NFL season you can put some money down on the Jets over unders if you think the Jets are going to have a big season underdogs week one in San Francisco so if you think the Jets are going to go after to the 49ers and win FanDuel is the place to go because this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a booster bonus daily that's right there's something for everyone every day all summer long so head on over to fanduel.com and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball this is the lockon Jets podcast here on this Friday let's talk about some Jets roster moves made recently so Nick bordon is gone the fullback who's been with the Jets the last couple of years was let go the Jets replace him with Anthony ferer and that might be a familiar name to you um he actually began his career as an undrafted free agent signing with the Jets back in 2017 did not make the team but that's going on to have a pretty decent career uh played with Tennessee M that's where where he did uh that's where he made most of his production with the Tennessee Titans he played with them between 2018 and 2021 2022 was with the Falcons last year he uh spend some time with the Detroit Lions and you know the other day I talked on the show it wasn't the main point of it wasn't the main point I was discussing about how the fullback position is kind of gone out of style in the NFL and there's still a fullback role there's still there's still scenarios where teams will put a formation with a fullback on the field a guy who lines up in front of the running back in a blocking role but it's very rare or it's much rarer than it used to be to have a player on the roster who only plays that role to the extent the fullback used now unless you're a team like Baltimore or San Francisco generally you have a tight end lined up there when you need a pullback and I think the idea is that tight ends give you more versatility because you can also move them down the line of scrimmage you can Flex them out wide typically tight ends are going to be better pass catchers than traditional fullbacks you know there's some some exceptions like the man in San Francisco but generally speaking you know tight ends give you more tight end can do everything a fullback can do but can also give you more if you look through his career ferer has actually been a you know decently productive player uh you know a couple 30 catch seasons for the Tennessee Titans now the last couple years you know he hasn't done a whole lot in Atlanta he had nine catches for a 100 yards last year he only played two games in Detroit but this is a sign perhaps the Jets are looking for a little bit more out of the fullback spot uh you know this is not a position the Jets are going to use it a whole lot they they don't line up with a lot with two guys in the back field but I think maybe the Jets looking for a little bit more versatility than b and brought bden I thought was a pretty solid player for the Jets but if fser can you know play it close to the level he played at Tennessee I think that could be an upgrade for the Jets it's a very minor upgrade but an upgrade nonetheless uh Jets also brought in a guy who's known for a workout video Isaiah Winstead and you know if you're familiar with with his name uh he was an undrafted free agent last year and you know he didn't catch on with the team and then he he posted a workout video to social media and he ended up getting a contract from the San Francisco 49ers as a result um it it was a very it was an impressive it was kind of an impressive highlight video of of what he had done um so look that's great actually I have a lot of respect for that because that's a guy making it happen for himself guy with great initiative uh guy who's 6'4 um you know not overly fast you know a bigger type receiver a guy who I think objectively speaking is probably competing for a practice squad spot um I think he it's gonna be tough for him to make the Jets roster as a wide receiver maybe he can snag one of those last spots if he performs well on special teams uh but you know it's a kind of a minor move that Jets 49ers pipeline continues you know they I think those team jet jets look for similar types of players as the 49ers have because Jets coaching staff came from San Francisco so I think you know there's there's a bit of a pipeline there and finally a player you probably know the Jets are Jets have worked out Jarvis Landry Landry a former thousand yard receiver with the Miami Dolphins out of the slot in fact he had three three seasons where he went over 1100 yards then went to Cleveland uh spent a brief stretch with the Saints in 2022 hasn't played in an NFL game since 2022 and 2020 was the last time he went over 800 yards in the season so there a guy who would very well known you know big name guy you probably recognize how much can he provide at this point I mean that's tough to say um you know the Jets Jets have a jet Jets have a lot of guys in their receiver room right now you know they've got Garrett they've got Mike Williams you they don't like to hear they still have Lazard I know you're not thrilled with that uh they have Corley who they just drafted Xavier Gib is probably going to be in the mix you know I don't know how much Xavier Gibson's going to give you but based on some of the returns from the offseason program at least sounds like the coaching staff like Xavier Gibson so you it's difficult to see where Landry could fit in what I would almost view Landry as is if somebody gets hurt during the season maybe that's a guy you bring in is like a short-term replacement or something like that there was a day where I would have loved to have had Jarvis Landry on the team there was a point where Landry was a heck of a receiver you know I think those days are those days are gone you know Landry was drafted in 2014 this is going to be year 11 for him and you know his production's really falling off you know he's in he's in his 30s um you know not the player he used to be I'm sure if the Jets signed him it would generate big headlines I'm sure it' be you know it'd be bigger than Tariq Cohen I remember when the Jets signed Tariq Cohen people were acting like they got this star this star running back this guy who used to be a star yeah Landry was a borderline star at one point but those days are long gone you know if you're gonna sign up to be the sixth receiver well sixth receivers typically have to play special teams again I think Landry might be maybe they I mean if if he wants to go to the practice squad maybe they s into the practice squad and if there's an injury you plug in the veteran there who maybe can get you through a couple games but I don't see Landry being a bigger player than that again this will generate this will probably generate more headlines than it deserves I I don't think Landry is G if Landry does sign I don't see being a big player for the Jets this season I see him being just being more of a kind of a Band-Aid guy if they you know need somebody at some point more about being proactive then you know waiting for an injury and you know then not knowing what Landry can do getting the work out at least shows you where he's at physically right now and gives you opportunity to to assess whether he'd be a good fill in for you down the line anyway that's all for today's episode this has been the lockdown Jets podcast part of the lockdown podcast Network your team everyday is our motto as always if you enjoy the show hit the Subscribe button where you're watching or listening such from this an episode if you enjoy the show and listening on a podcast for us please give it a f star review and if you're watching on YouTube and enjoy the show give this episode a big thumbs up helps us out helps other Jets fans find the podcast enjoy your weekend everybody we'll be back on Monday to talk more chats me