Jets

The Jets notched their 6^th loss of the season on Sunday, all but eliminating them from playoff contention. To say Sam Darnold and the offense looked anemic would be an understatement. The Jets squandered a stellar defensive performance, losing their third game by seven points or less.

Darnold Goes From 3^rd Overall Pick to Four Picks in a Game  

The Dolphins only touchdown came with just under 11 minutes to go in the game. Darnold was forced to field yet another bad shotgun snap by Spencer Long. This ultimately threw off Darnold’s timing and forced him to make the ill-advised throw that was brought back to the house by Jerome Baker.

The Jets defensive players said that they want to return to creating more turnovers, and you don’t win games by losing the turnover battle. The problem being that in this game there was no battle. Darnold and the offense served up the ball on a silver platter, never allowing the team to really have a chance.

Yes, the defense only gave up 6 points. With the Jets only putting up 6 points themselves, the Jets needed to do something special to give Darnold more opportunities to score. What they needed was a miracle.

Where is Jeremy Bates in all of this?

There is a lot of criticism being thrown at Todd Bowles, deservingly so. However, head coaches are the lightning-rod of the franchise, so Bowles might be getting more than his fair share. Bowles is a great defensive mind, and it showed in the defensive performance in Miami. Have we all forgotten who calls the plays for Darnold? Jeremy Bates is another great football mind, who was able to make Jay Cutler into a Pro Bowler

Bates displayed none of that knowledge on Sunday. The offense looked stale, redundant and wildly inefficient. Darnold only completed 53% of his passes while throwing the ball 39 times in a low-scoring affair. Bates only manufactured 13 carries for Isaiah Crowell, resulting in 49 yards. Simply put, the Jets need to run the ball more in order to be competitive.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

It’s nice to be able to say the Jets defense played well. The organization has poured more resources in to that side of the ball, and it’s beginning to show on a weekly basis. Jamal Adams was constantly around the ball, and Jordan Jenkins had 2 sacks and 2 tackles-for-loss. On offense, Elijah McGuire bounced back from injury well, with 30 yards on the ground and 37 through the air.

Isaiah Crowell continues to perplex the Jets. His talent can lead to a 200 yard, 2 score game. More likely, though, he has trouble staying in rhythm, or finding the yards in key situations. Crowell does not perform at his best when he only has 13 carries. The offensive script for this week was not conducive to victory.

Sam Darnold’s play was flat-out ugly. A 4-interception performance is never pretty. Spencer Long’s hand injury assured that shotgun snaps would be a problem. This was magnified when the coaching staff waited to replace Long. The center-quarterback exchange was the single most glaring concern throughout the game, and the coaching staff responded with too little, too late. The Jets have a lot to clean up before they host the Bills.

When the New York Jets face the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, they will be competing for second place in the AFC East. The Dolphins have a better record at 4-4, so they’re certainly not world-beaters. The Dolphins have talent scattered throughout their roster, although they have not been performing as of late. Here are the keys to the Jets finding their fourth victory of the season:

It’s Not Joe Montana Back There

The best thing the Jets have going for them in this matchup is the injury to Ryan Tannehill. Brock Osweiler is a conundrum at quarterback. He’s built like a prototypical pocket-passer, but has never found consistent success. Osweiler will also be without Albert Wilson, who was having a very productive season. Danny Amendola has been Danny Amendola, consistent but not a game-breaker. That leaves Brock with Devante Parker and Kenny Stills, who are talented players without sustained success.

Dolphin’s Defense on a Downswing

It was well publicized that the Dolphins started the season 3-0. Well, they’re 1-4 in the last five weeks, in large part because of their defense coming back down to earth. During that span, the Dolphins allowed 27 points or more each week. Their defensive line is strong with Akeem Spence, Cameron Wake, and Robert Quinn. However, they have not played up to their talent level and rely on their depth. Their best defensive back, Xavien Howard, is nursing an ankle injury and has not played as well the last few weeks. Overall, the Dolphins rank 27^th in Total Defense, which bodes well for Sam Darnold.

Jets Defense Outplaying Their Stats 

The Jets are ranked 24^th in Total Defense, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. According to Pro Football Focus,  the Jets grade at 7^th defensively. This is highlighted by 4^th ranked pass-coverage play, and an 11^th ranked run defense. It’s clear while watching the Jets that they play well for the majority of the game, and suffer against the big play. The Dolphins aren’t currently constructed for big-play potential, ranking 23^rd in the NFL in total passing.

Will the Jets Pull It Off?

The Jets are going down to Miami, so they won’t be facing a home-field advantage type of crowd. They lost to the Dolphins on their home turf in an ugly, one-possession game. The Jets want revenge and know that this is a must-win opportunity. The Jets will try to control the clock and dictate the game, leading to a close victory.

The New York Jets are now halfway through Sam Darnold’s rookie season. With their record at 3-5, the Jets can be somewhat pleased with themselves, despite coming off of a tough loss to the Chicago Bears. In their wins against the Lions, Broncos, and Colts, the offense used their whole playbook and flashed serious potential. In their five losses however, the offense has struggled on third down and in the red zone, and we are reminded that Sam Darnold is still a rookie.

So Why did the Jets Lose to the Bears?

The Bears have been playing well this year, with Mitchell Trubisky making strides as the leader of their franchise and the defense coming up in a big way. However, the Bears were coming off of a last-second loss to the Patriots, and were missing strip-sack king Khalil Mack. Still, the Bears have a strong position group at Linebacker, and talent across the defensive side of the ball.

It was the Bears defense that ultimately won the day, holding the Jets to a meager 207 total yards on offense. The Jets scored a single touchdown in the contest early in the fourth quarter, converting their only Red Zone opportunity on a pass to Tight End Chris Herndon. Herndon is developing into a promising target, now scoring a touchdown in three straight contests.

The Bears Defense Versus the Jets Offense

The Bears defense did exactly what you need to do to stop a team with a rookie quarterback. Chicago took away the Jets rushing attack in convincing fashion. Isaiah Crowell was held to just 10 rushing attempts totaling 20 yards. The Jets coaching staff should have structured the game plan to get Crowell more involved. The second leading rusher was Darnold with 9 yards on three carries. Rookie Trenton Cannon, replacing the injured Bilal Powell, was only able to find 8 yards through five carries. Although the Bears have a stout defensive unit, as Rex Ryan would say, you have to take pressure off of a young quarterback by running the ball.

No Answer for the Injury Bug

With no rushing attack to speak of, ideally Sam Darnold would be equipped with all of his weapons. Unfortunately, the Jets wide receiver corps has been depleted by injuries. Robby Anderson, the Jets only deep threat, was inactive. Quincy Enunwa, Darnold’s favorite target and best third-down option, was also inactive.

Even Jermaine Kearse, the only veteran receiver available, seemed to take some shots during the game and get shaken up. Darnold threw to Kearse 8 times throughout the game, but Kearse was only able to manage 3 catches for 30 yards.

Former practice squad player and USC Trojan Deontay Burnett had a good day, reeling in all four of his targets. Burnett figures to remain a part of the offense as the Jets continue to try and get healthy.

Third-and-It Doesn’t Matter

Third down continues to be an area where the Jets desperately need to improve. The Jets were 3 of 14 on third downs on Sunday. To highlight the Jets offensive woes, they had 5 drives of 6 yards or less, and 8 drives of 20 yards or less. Forget trying to score, it’s tough to even play the field-position game with those kinds of numbers. Despite all of this, the Jets kept it to a one-possession game midway through the 4^th quarter, which is a testament to the Jets defense.

Sam Darnold: A New Hope

Despite a relatively meager performance on Sunday, there are still reasons for Jets fans to hang on to hope. No, not hope for the playoffs this year. Hope for the franchise. Sam Darnold, although looking like a rookie at times, is continuing to progress and look like a pro. He went without an interception on Sunday, which is always a good sign. He can clearly throw short routes and hit check-downs, making him an excellent fit for a West-Coast scheme. As Tony Romo pointed out on the broadcast, there are a myriad of things that Sam Darnold simply does not know yet, nor should he. Things like assigning pass protections will improve with experience. Romo also pointed out that the roster still has a lot of room to grow, so over the next few years the Jets can develop into a thriving franchise.

Although the 2017 season for the New York Jets was subpar for most, one of the bright spots was the emergence of their rookie safeties; Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.

Even though many fans weren’t as excited in the organization selecting back to back safeties in the first two rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft, the majority were silenced by the growth and maturity each player showed as the season progressed.

With Jamal Adams, the Jets have a safety that is impactful near the line of scrimmage and has the ability to drop back in coverage and defend opposing tight ends. On the flip side, Marcus Maye offers a disciplined last line of defense that has outstanding vision and instincts to clean up blown coverages from his fellow defensive teammates. The combination of the two has the makings of becoming one of the top safety tandems in the league.

How can they improve on the New York Jets’ defense?

Last fall, Adams and Maye became the first rookie safety tandem to start Week 1 since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970. As expected, both players had their struggles adjusting to the speed and physicality of the game. Jamal Adams ended the year with 83 tackles,2 sacks, 1 Forced Fumble and 6 pass breakups, which is quite impressive for any safety.

The only downside was his inability to create turnovers, in which he didn’t record a single interception in the year. Marcus Maye finished his first year with 79 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 2 pass breakups. Overall, Marcus Maye proved to be reliable at the back end of the Jets defense. His only downside was his stamina diminishing towards the end of the season leading to big plays down field.

With a year under their belt, both safeties have taken the off-season to study game film and make the strides together in communicating with one another in becoming an elite tandem in the Jets secondary. Adams has been flawless in camp thus far, improving on his positioning during plays preventing Quarterbacks from attempting throws.

Maye went under ankle surgery after last season commenced and is expected to be ready for training camp. He has focused on his time off to become more of a ball hawk at the backend of the Jets. Both players have provided vocal leadership on the field and as well as curing the toxic locker room environment that hindered the Jets back in 2016.

They have allowed Todd Bowles to dial up plays that showcase their strengths while learning from their mistakes to conceal their weaknesses.  With improvements in the secondary in the signing of Trumaine Johnson and the resigning of Morris Claiborne, the safeties are in position to take a major leap into stardom and making Gang Green a perennial threat in the league.

The past few years the New York Jets’ offensive line has not been pretty, especially the 2017 season which was said to have one of the worst units in Jets history. The Jets’ line was ranked second to last coming into 2018, which says a lot about the players that make up this group.

How did the New York Jets’ line fair in 2017?

Last season, the starting line allowed 47 total sacks which went for a total loss of 319 total yards, opposed to one of the Jets’ better seasons being the 2015 campaign. In 2015, while former veteran center Nick Mangold and veteran tackle Dbrickashaw Ferguson were still present, the o-line only allowed 22 sacks resulting for a loss of 113 total yards. Mangold and Ferguson were a great duo on the line together, causing the run and pass game for that season to be statistically superior.

That’s a huge difference between the two seasons and the failure of the 2017 season is all due to a not so mediocre front five.

Left tackle, Kelvin Beachum had a decent 2017 season, ranked 35th among all tackles and only allowing 4 sacks. Newly picked up center Spencer Long could be just who the Jets need to put forth a strong ground game and help protect rookie quarterback, Sam Darnold. Coming off a bad knee injury Spencer Long doesn’t have to play flawless, but just good enough to show he’s more fit for the job than preceding center Wesley Johnson.

Starting running back Bilal Powell is going to have most of the time due to the departure of former running back Matt Forte, but Powell will not be able to play to his full potential because of his offensive line holding his talent back. Will the Jets’ line be able to protect Sam Darnold and give him some time in the backfield to work his magic? Maybe, but maybe not it all depends on how Darnold plays under pressure.

This sounds crazy! Two receivers like New York Jets’  Jermaine Kearse and Robby Anderson putting up over 2,400 yards and 20 touchdowns. But if you really take a step back to look at what they salvaged out of last season, they approached my prediction. The duo totaled out for nearly 1,800 yards, and combined for 12 touchdowns receiving.

The Jets signed Terrell Pryor to be the big man in the receiving corps, and Quincy Enunwa will hopefully return to full health. As we know, the NFL is an injury riddled league, and the deadly bug could strike at any moment. Pryor with his ankle problem this off-season and Enunwa with a serious neck problem which kept him off the field for almost a year.

What do we know: 

Kearse and Anderson are both coming off of their best seasons and will be looking to trump their 2017 totals by a large margin.

Each with career highs in receptions yards and touchdowns this past year, Josh McCown will look to help them beat that milestone. The Jets’ veteran signal caller can still sling it, and you better believe that the passing game is going to be relied on with such a poor offensive line.

The only time this tandem might run into a wall is when they play against the Denver Broncos and the Jacksonville Jaguars this season. Other than that, Robby and Jermaine can handle any other corner back duo that looks to press them  on the line of scrimmage.

The passing game will work one way or another: 

Even if Josh McCown can’t get the job done, we still have two stud quarterbacks to turn to. Teddy Bridgewater who already has a couple of years of NFL experience under his belt, and the bright young Sam Darnold who is poised for greatness. Now, if the offensive line allows too many quarterback hits and not enough time to throw the football, newly signed Isiah Crowell will put his ground and pound style of running into action.

This would then open up the opportunity to get the play action going. That way you get the safety to bite just enough to hit either Kearse or Anderson on a fade.

Yes, my prediction requires that each receiver averages around 75 receiving yards per game but I am willing to take a leap of faith on the New York Jets receiving corps. Just like last year when no one thought the Jets would grab five wins last season, they proved us wrong.

Simply based on the fact the Jets outperformed our expectations last season, it’s fair to say they have the potential to continue improving at an astronomical rate.

Entering his fourth year as the New York Jets head coach, Todd Bowles is in a position in where he’s obligated to take this team to the next level. Christopher Johnson handed Bowles a two year extension after seeing significant improvements on a roster that was thought by many as being at best mediocre in this leagues standards.

After finishing 10-6 in his first year at the helm, Bowles was thought to be the answer after the erratic Rex Ryan era. With many aging veterans and a lack of stability at the quarterback position, Bowles and Macagnnan were forced to start from scratch and develop a team that fit their philosophy and objectives.

The New York Jets building blocks:

With building blocks including Leonard Williams, Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye and this year’s first rounder, Sam Darnold, the Jets have positioned themselves in becoming a threat in the AFC for years to come. Aside from the core nucleus, Macagnnan has provided Bowles with enough cap space to mix and match his pieces on both sides of the ball ( $20 million in 2018 & $87 million in 2019).

With incoming free agents such as Trumaine Johnson and Avery Williamson on defense and Spencer Long and Isaiah Crowell on the offensive side of the team, the Jets are bound to become a force to be reckoned with. With all the optimism surrounding Gang Green this upcoming season, a major red flag still presents itself. Todd Bowles needs to prove that he can mesh well with his new offensive coordinator, Jeremy Bates. Bates is the third offensive coordinator in as many years for the Jets, which raises concerns on how much Bowles should involve himself in the play-making calls on the offensive end.

Todd’s forte has always been on the defensive side, which can go back to the days of being the assistant coach of the year in 2014 as the Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator. He has a knack to highlight players strengths, while minimizing their weaknesses which coincide with his aggressive play calling.

The only problem is that these traits have not reached its full potential on the offensive side of the ball. In my opinion, coach Bowles needs to allow Jeremy Bates to run the show with minimal supervision when it comes to the playmaking on offense. All in all, Todd Bowles as well as Mike Macagnnan are on the right path in making this team a fearsome force for years to come.

With Tom Brady nearing his final years as a player, the opportunity to take the reigns of the AFC East has never presented itself so clearly than it has now. The influx of young talent the Jets possess with the foundation set in place in the organization itself in the ability to develop and getting productivity out of its players should allow Coach Todd Bowles to take a giant leap in the AFC.