How the JJ Watt Signing Impacts Chandler Jones
JJ Watt was one of the most prized free agents this offseason, and the Arizona Cardinals was able to sign him. How does this relate to Syracuse? Former Orange star Chandler Jones, one of the NFL's best pass rushers, is on the Cardinals defense. How will this help Jones? Former NFL head coach Jim Mora Jr. believes the impact will be substantial.
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"I think it's going to really help him, not that he needs a lot of help," Mora Jr. said. "He's been incredibly effective throughout his career. Just the production he's had and the consistency he's played with. When you add a guy like JJ Watt to that defensive line with his versatility, it opens a lot of things up for Chandler. Because now teams can't just focus on him. They can't slide the line that way all the time. They can't use a back to chip him before going out on a route. They now have two really smart, experienced, successful pass rushers they can use in a multitude of ways. They can put them opposite, put JJ in positions where he forces the team to accommodate blocking him, which will leave Chandler in some one on one situations.
"They can put them together and run games, stunts between the two of them which can cause a problem. They're both very effective doing that although they're probably most effective on their own. I think it's just another challenge for offensive line coaches and offensive lines that they have to meet in deciding how to scheme up a really good tandem of pass rushers. That's going to open things up for Chandler, and Chandler's going to open things up for JJ. I think it's a great combination. I love, more than anything, the fact that they're different, and yet they're the same in terms of their production, they're the same in terms of their professionalism, they're the same in terms of the way they play the game. Great pass rushers and they both have versatility."
Is this move good enough to make the Cardinals a playoff team?
"It certainly helps them," Mora Jr. said. "There's things they have to do. There's breaks you have to get along the way to be a playoff team. Anytime you can add great players to your defense or to your offense, it's going to help you. Adding JJ certainly helps them. In some ways it'll give JJ a spark of new life and it'll also give Chandler a spark of new life. I think that's a good thing, but Arizona's still got some things they've got to take care of in order to be a playoff team. They've got to continue to grow at the quarterback position with Kyler Murray.
"They've got to become more consistent offensively. They've got to be able to stop people in the red zone. But this going to help. Adding a veteran presence to the locker room and that leadership that JJ Watt brings, is always something that's going to enhance a team's ability to be great."
