In his 15th NFL season, Tyrod Taylor, 36, will make his 60th professional start, Sunday for the Jets (2-8) when they take on the Ravens (5-5) in Baltimore.
"This is a kid's dream," he said this week. "I still get to do the things that I was doing when I was 5 years old, like back when my mom would take me out to practice. I get to do that for a living. So, yeah, just taking a stride each year. I never had an amount of years that I wanted to play."
'A True Pro to Lean On*'*
Targeting more pop in the pass game, Jets HC Aaron Glenn on Monday told Justin Fields, who has accounted for 11 total TDs and leads NFL QBs with 383 rush yards, and Tyrod Taylor of the change at starting QB. The Jets were limited to 116 yards and 54 yards through the air, respectively, the past two games against the Patriots and the Browns.
"At this point, I just feel like, man, we have to do something to get this team going offensively in the passing game," Glenn said. "And I just felt like it was time to make that decision. And listen, I do still feel strongly about Justin. That has not changed, but I do feel at this point that we have to make a change."
Over three appearances this season including one start in place of an injured Fields back in Week 3 at Tampa Bay, Taylor has completed 62.3% of his passes (43 of 69) for 379 yards with 3 TDs and 3 INTs. Veteran TE Jeremy Ruckert was among many Jets who lauded Taylor's approach this week.
"He's a professional," Ruckert said. "You know what you're going to get from him. He's a guy that's played a lot of football, so someone you can always lean on, whether he's playing or not,for advice. You come on the sideline -- you ask him a question about what he saw or what he thinks, and a guy with a lot of experience, but a lot of ability. He's been that way since I've known him. First one in the building, last one out. So, a true pro to lean on when things get tough."
Things will get tough against a Ravens defense that hasn't allowed an opponent to score 20-plus points since Week 5. In their 23-16 win over the Browns last Sunday, the Ravens held Quinshon Judkins to 3.5 yards per carry as Kyle Hamilton paced his unit with 9 tackles (3 TFL), 2 PD, 1 FF and 1 sack. After starting 1-5, the surging Edgar Allen Poes have won four straight and are beginning a three-game homestand.
"He's like a Swiss Army Knife built out of a bunch of huge knives -- not little tiny ones," said OC Tanner Engstrand of Hamilton. "He can do a lot of things really, really, really well, and he presents challenges to us as far as how are we going to handle it in our different personnel groupings. And so, he's got to be accounted for. He is a playmaker for that defense and they're doing a great job putting him in position to be around the ball on a consistent basis and that's something we're going to have to make sure that we take care of each and every play."
'I'm Going to Lean On Them*'*
The Jets have relied on RB Breece Hall and their offensive line throughout the season. While Hall is averaging a career-high 72.2 yds/g on the ground, the Jets have started the same five offensive linemen for the first 10 games for the first time since 2012.
"I think that they battle week in and week out," Tyrod Taylor said. "The run game has been a strong point of ours, as well as just overall blocking. We've had our ups and downs in the pass game, but those guys have competed. We have a healthy group, and they take the challenges that we've had previously and the ones that we are going to have coming up. They take those challenges to heart, and I love the way they battle. I love the communication. Just a close group and I'm going to lean on them for the remainder of the season, for sure."
OC Tanner Engstrand added: "We've been in a good spot with our health up front this year and I think that's a big part of it is just that continuity where you got the same five guys playing each and every game, but they're just continuing to develop. They're continuing to show the physicality level that we want as an offensive line. In the run game, we're moving guys off the ball. There's some clips each and every week where they're taking a down lineman and a double team and moving them 5 yards off the ball."
The Jets hope Taylor can help provide much-needed balance through the air. Forging on without star WR Garrett Wilson (IR/knee), rookie TE Mason Taylor, Hall and newcomers John Metchie III, who had 3 catches and 1 TD against New England, and Adonai Mitchell, a 6-2, 205-pounder with 4.34 speed, all figure to play prominent roles down the stretch. Mitchell, held to 1 catch in New England and charged with a couple of drops, showed his ability to win at the line of the scrimmage and create room down the field.
"I see separation," Engstrand said of Mitchell. "And to me, that gets me fired up, that gets me excited about that player and where he's going to go. We haven't even seen it. We haven't seen even scratched the surface with that guy, and we're excited about where he's going to go."
Forever Thankful
Tyrod Taylor will head back to Baltimore to face an organization that selected him in the sixth round (No. 180 overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons as Joe Flacco's backup before making 42 starts with Buffalo 2015-17. Now with his seventh team, he'll get another chance to lead a Jets offense that needs another dimension. Just a few days before Thanksgiving, the always gracious Taylor expressed gratitude for his opportunity.
"Just forever thankful for the four years that I spent there," he said. "I have a lot of friends in that building still. It's been a while since I went back there to play. It's an opportunity for us. They have a very good team, and we're looking forward to stepping up to the challenge this weekend."
