If you're a cynic, you might see Alijah Vera-Tucker's description of the Jets' offensive line as “the best team I've been a part of since I got in the league” as a compliment.
During Vera Tucker's three seasons in the NFL, the Jets weren't the world's best forwards.
In 2023, injuries have decimated a line that never looked all that great to begin with.
With a crucial game against the 49ers on “Monday Night Football” still nearly two weeks away, it's easy to be optimistic.
But at the same time, the quintet of Tyron Smith, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann, Vera Tucker and Morgan Moses (three of whom are newcomers) certainly looks much improved on paper.
And if you listen to Vera Tucker, it's not just on the field.
“It's just a different atmosphere. [than in the past]“We all like each other, we all tease each other, we all know we want to come every day and practice hard; [screw] Around. That's one.
“Another thing is that we had a lot of talented people this year.
The players number 1, number 2 and even the number 3 that we signed all performed well in this camp.
I mean, there's a lot of people in this room who just want to work and are good at what they do.”
Regardless of how the reserves perform in camp, let's assume the best-case scenario for the Jets is that their top players stay as healthy as possible for the next 18 weeks and beyond.
But if there's any positive to come from the personnel changes they had to make last season, it's that they now feel better prepared for whatever deviations from the ideal will inevitably be thrown in their way this time around.
“In football, any sport, injuries happen. We've been fortunate that we haven't had a lot of injuries this year,” Vera-Tucker said. “I think our guys, especially on the offensive line, have really improved over the last few years. If unfortunately someone does get injured, our guys have a good amount of practice time.”
Newcomers like Smith, Simpson and Moses enter the room with similar credentials.
“If I had to pick out John Simpson specifically, he hasn’t been talked about much in this,” coach Robert Saleh said. “I thought he’s been great all through camp and he’ll be going up against Quinnen. [Williams] Every day. I thought he had a really cool battle with Dexter Lawrence during Giants Week. He had a really cool battle with one of the best defensive tackles in football in Carolina. And it was the same in Washington.”
What about tackles?
“I think with Tyrone, it's pretty self-explanatory,” Vera Tucker said. “He's been doing it for a long time. If you watch his film, he just does the same thing over and over again. I mean, he's a real technician. Same with Morgan Moses.”
“So you get two veteran guys and you draft Orr. [Fashanu]”And that's something that the other young tackles can learn from. And we've seen that throughout camp so far. It's really cool.”
It's easy to be in a good mood before Labor Day, and if you're looking for a reason to be cynical, the temper issues that plagued Tippmann for much of camp remain a question mark until disproved.
But the Jets see measurable improvement here, and it's hard to argue with that.
