The New York Jets’ offense has performed far below expectations thus far, and things just don’t seem to be clicking. A lot of that falls on Chan Gailey as he hasn’t had the Jets’ offense doing what they do best.
Coming into the 2016-2017 NFL season, expectations were as high as they’ve been since the days of Curtis Martin and Vinny Testaverde for the New York Jets talented offense. Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey was heading into his second season with the team after an extremely impressive debut.After the first five games of the season, the Jets offense seems to have completely lost touch with their efficient and successful ways. They’ve been shaky in the redone, inconsistent on third down, and almost entirely unable to give Gang Green’s defense some much-needed rest.
The main thing that stands out when watching this year’s Jets offense is that in many situations, they don’t seem to be doing what made one the league’s best offense last season. Gailey has them overcomplicating things with mysterious play calls in crucial situations.
A pair of great examples of this extremely questionable play calling come from the Jets embarrassing 31-13 loss in Pittsburgh during Week 5. They are both from crucial short yardage third downs where the Jets needed to get something going offensively.
The first time around on third down and short, the Jets lined up with just Bilal Powell in the backfield along with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The play they ran ended up being a shovel pass toward the sideline, which failed in epic fashion as Powell was brought down well behind the line of scrimmage.
This same play has been called in the same situation multiple times before, and it clearly hasn’t worked. With a very solid running back tandem, Gailey should feel very confident in their ability to get one yard in a short yardage situation.
The next example is very similar as it came on another vital third down and short. Instead of trying to grind out a yard, the Jets lined up in a five wide receiver set and threw the ball, which was another epic failure.
The fact that Gailey wouldn’t even have a running back in the backfield to keep the defense guessing is nothing short of mind-boggling. Also once again, the Jets should have a world of confidence in the abilities of their backs to pick up one yard on the ground.
On top of these plays, there have been many other plays where Gailey and the Jets seem to be doing too much.These crafty and unique plays were not a staple of New York’s dynamic offense from last season.
If the Jets are going to get back to their winning ways, Chan Gailey needs to make things more simple on offense. He can’t get away from what his players have done best.
