The New York Jets season is nearly lost, but there are still some things they can do to avoid hitting the very bottom of the NFL ranks.
The New York Jets have a lot to thank the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers for. Yes, those are the only teams with worse records than the Jets, who were somehow 10-6 just last season.But with the nearing return of linebacker Darron Lee and center Nick Mangold, along with the activation of speedy wide receiver Devin Smith, the Jets roster should be in better shape next week against the LA Rams.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is coming off an MCL sprain suffered in last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins, though. He expects he’ll be in good enough shape to start, but if not, maybe Jets fans will get a longer showing of young backup Bryce Petty.
But it doesn’t matter whether everyone returns, no one returns or somewhere in between. The Jets just flat out need to fix their play-by-play execution issues, regardless of who’s in the lineup.
Red-Zone Offense
There is nothing more frustrating than driving down the field, getting inside your opponent’s 20 yard line and failing to put it in the end-zone. Do it three times in a single game and there will be a mutiny.
Unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what the Jets did against the Dolphins last week, bringing Nick Folk out to kick 21, 23 and 28 yard chip shot field goals. If just a single one of those was converted into a touchdown, the Jets quite possibly could’ve taken the game, as the defense played a solid game overall.
But this is a bigger issue than just last week. The Jets are currently ranked second to last in the NFL in red-zone touchdown scoring at 38 percent. That horrendous number can be almost totally attributed to the stagnant short yardage play-calling of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. Fitz also seems to have a penchant this season for throwing goal line interceptions, further worsening an already systemic problem with coaching.
The coaches need to try fresh new moves, like maybe throw to the flats with running back Bilal Powell, pound the middle with running back Matt Forte, toss the ball up to 6-foot-4 wide receiver Brandon Marshall like last season or go with any other number of intelligent decisions. Because when those three-point field goals become six-point touchdowns, some of these close losses become wins.
Where’s the defensive QB pressure?
Shout-out to defensive end Leonard Williams for being the only lineman so far this season to do anything at all. His six sacks lead the team by a long shot.
The $86 million man himself, end Muhammad Wilkerson, has been nearly non-existent in getting to the quarterback this season, with just 2.5 sacks to his name. Nearly deadline traded end Sheldon Richardson has been just as absent from the Jets supposed reincarnation of the ‘NY Sack Exchange’, as he has only 1.5 sacks, even less than Big Mo’.
Recent news shows the duo has been just as invisible at team meetings as well, resulting in their benching for the first quarter of last Sunday’s Dolphins game.
Between those three, with guys like outside rusher Lorenzo Mauldin and defensive tackle Steve McLendon mixed in too, the front seven of the Jets should have no issues getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but that has been hard to come by for head coach Todd Bowles so far in 2016. Bowles needs to find creative ways to get to the opposing signal-caller to bring his drowning secondary some much-needed relief. Many believe he needs to start blitzing more like he was just a few weeks ago in Arizona.
The Defensive Paradox
The Jets currently rank fourth in the NFL with 81 rush yards allowed/game. On the flip side, they rank 22nd in the NFL with 272 pass yards allowed/game. That needs to even out.
Bowles has been so focused on loading the box and the line of scrimmage to stop the run, that his over-the-top safety help has been weak, resulting in many big pass plays against the Jets’ secondary this season. The absence of Lee has made an impact in the recent weeks he has been out, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. Veteran linebacker David Harris has lost a step, but has really never been a coverage guy to begin with. Bowles needs to put him and the rest of the defense in the right places so each member of the D can succeed.
Reiterating an earlier point, with the Jets super-talented defensive front looking tired and unenthusiastic, the secondary is left to cover wide receivers each play for much too long. Even the great Deion Sanders would admit that if a defensive back has to cover for more than a few seconds, especially on a play-to-play basis, then blown coverages will start to become a consistent problem.
Opposing teams are starting to realize that it’s not worth running on the Jets because that’s the one thing they’ve committed to getting locked up – so teams are throwing early and often. This secondary has made middle-of-the-road quarterbacks like Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Tannehill look great, and great quarterbacks like Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson look impeccable.
So, Mr. Bowles — it’s time to blitz, blitz, blitz. At least until the D-line – minus Leonard Williams – feels like hitting their potential and finally starts getting pressure on their own.