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| The Jets' running game should show improvement Sunday with the return of RB Bilal Powell. (US Presswire) |
The Jets will get RB Bilal Powell back for Sunday's game against the Seahawks and coach Rex Ryan couldn't be happier, especially since RB Joe McKnight will miss the trip as he continues to rehab his sprained ankle.
Powell suffered a shoulder injury against the Colts in Week 6; McKnight was injured in the same game.
For the last several weeks, both Powell and McKnight have been hampered or sidelined by their respective injuries, which has impacted the Jets' running game.
Fullback Lex Hilliard has been pressed into RB service on a few occasions, but the Jets don't want to have to rely on him in that capacity.
Although coaches and players haven't talked a lot about it, the lack of Powell and McKnight has affected the Jets' offensive game planning.
And for a club that wants its identity to be that of a "ground and pound" running team, not having Powell or McKnight creates a lot of issues.
"If you lose a couple of guys at the same position, that’s a real stress for your depth and your quality eventually is going to go down," coach Rex Ryan said.
Even having a player who is questionable creates problems, because the game plan has to be set up differently.
And then there's additional planning when you have a player, or players, who are going to be game-time decisions as to whether they'll play or not.
For example, the Jets previously made McKnight a game-time decision.
"It was something you can’t count on," Ryan said. "If it’s going to be a game-time decision, you really can’t plan on him playing so you do just the opposite."
Ryan said on Friday that getting Powell back for Sunday's game is going to be a "tremendous" help.
Stay dialed in on the New York Jets by following correspondent Lisa Zimmerman on Twitter @CBSJets and @LisaZimmerman.
