In the NFL, the changing of the guard is always a storyline fraught with intrigue. Will the new coach successfully install his vision to get his team back on the winning track? Can the new starter take over from the old starter without a hitch?
At middle linebacker, the transition from C.J. Mosley to Jamien Sherwood this training camp seems to be seamless.
"If I'm the one wearing the green dot or next to the person with the green dot, I go in there with the same expectations: be the best player I can be, the best teammate I can be," Sherwood said this week, referring to the helmet sticker that now designates him as the defensive player allowed to have radio communications with the Jets sideline. "I look on that role gratefully, just because I want to be the one to help my teammates get lined up.
"And when I see something and I alert somebody, it makes me feel good that I'm right about it. And when one of my teammates makes a play off of something I was able to say, it makes me feel even better."
The transition from Mosley to Sherwood, of course, began last season, when Mosley sustained toe and neck injuries that limited the middle linebacker and Jets defensive leader to four games, three starters and 110 defensive snaps.
Into the fray stepped Sherwood, who began his career as a 207-pound safety out of Auburn selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the goal of transitioning him to LB. Each year Sherwood made strides, and last season, listed at 220 pounds, he rose to the occasion with a team-leading 154 tackles, including 95 solo defensive tackles that were the most among NFL front-seven players. Adding his three solo special teams tackles, he led the league with 98 total solo stops.
Sherwood, now playing at 235, said what C.J. imparted to him last season was quite simple yet fairly complex: "How to play middle linebacker."
"Making that transition from safety was very hard for me," he said of Mosley, who was released in March and announced his retirement in June. "I didn't know how to use my hands, I didn't know where the runs were going, I didn't know how to fit in the pass coverage and windows like that. Just learning from a guy like that, I was able to take all that wisdom, put it into my own mental notebook, and just go out there and play ball."
Longtime defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, in his first season as the Jets' DC, has been impressed with his MLB, who signed a contract extension in March signifying the importance of his role in the middle of the unit.
"This guy, man, he is so focused," Wilks said in praise of Sherwood's leadership abilities. "When you look at a guy getting paid, you always have that question of whether or not he's going to continue to progress or settle, and I can see that every day. He stays late after the meetings, he's always asking questions, he's communicating with the guys, in the front, on the back end. He's definitely the glue."
Linebackers didn't rush the passer as much in recent Jets systems, so how much pocket pressure the 'backers will bring in Wilks and head coach Aaron Glenn's scheme remains to be seen.
But regarding coverage, Sherwood hasn't lost his safety skills, and that's a good thing. As Glenn said after instituting his 1-on-1 tackling drills in space during recent practices, "I think we all know it's a spacious league right now." And Wilks notes: "Where this game has gone, everybody is spreading you out. It's a track meet out there, so you need speed out in space, and that's what we have. We've got linebackers that can run, which I love."
Sherwood loves continuing his work alongside Quincy Williams, saying that Williams' excitement and energy "brings more energy to my game." With those two having won the past two Curtis Martin Team MVP Awards, their play behind a line led by Quinnen Williams and a secondary featuring CB Sauce Gardner bodes well for the season ahead.
"Our defense as a whole is very aggressive, very downhill. Stop the run and get to the football," Sherwood said. "The main thing is just playing football. You know, don't be stagnant, don't be robotic. Go get the ball, whatever you have to do. Get over top, get under blocks and just make plays."
That's the way Mosley played it. And that's the sequel that Sherwood is intent on writing for the coming season.
