The New York Jets are going to play their starters in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Head coach Aaron Glenn hinted this is where he was leaning when he spoke to the media over the weekend, and now it’s official.
“Everybody’s playing. Everybody’s playing,” Glenn confirmed on Tuesday, August 11.
A media member followed up by asking why Glenn feels like it’s important for the starters to play?
“Because that’s what I want to do, for the most part, and listen, you have two new systems that’s going in and I think it’s important for our guys to play. Now, there was science behind this also, as far as having joint practices, and trying to get the guys, at least throughout the preseason, 25-30 reps, and I’m talking about all three games. I don’t know how I’ll divvy that up, it’s a feel when you go into preseason, but what they say is when you have joint practices where the ones get a lot of reps and then you have that many plays, 25-30 in a preseason game, throughout those three games, the risk of injury actually goes down in that first part of the year. Just talking to those guys, I’m a big believer in that, so I’m looking forward to seeing that,” Glenn added.
It’s the Right Call From the Coach
Does every team in the NFL play its starters in the preseason? No. Is there a risk of injury? Of course.
The risk of an injury is present in every moment of your life. You can slip in the shower. A player could fall in their backyard. Anything can happen at any time, you can’t be afraid of injuries.
The Jets are coming off one of their worst seasons in franchise history at 3-14. How do you get better at football? Playing football.
There are new schemes and new players on both sides of the ball. If you don’t warm up in the preseason, then your first month of the regular season becomes your preseason.
The Jets can’t afford a slow start to the season. Last year, the 0-7 start to the season tanked their season. If something remotely close to that happens again, Glenn might not see the end of the year.
It’s About Getting Football Reps Over Scheme
You don’t gameplan for opponents in the preseason. That sort of preparation is saved for the regular season.
However, it’s about performing your operation. Getting in and out of the huddle. How do you respond to adversity when something goes wrong? These are all great case studies for the Jets on all sides of the ball.
The Jets have three preseason games to work with before we reach the regular season. Last year, coach Glenn allowed his starters to appear in two of the three preseason games. They were not present in the preseason finale.
We are likely heading for that same strategy this year. Coach Glenn said he’s shooting for 25 to 30 reps in totality over the coming weeks for his starters.
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