Jets Can Trace Rough Patch to Losing Battles In Trenches
Jets Can Trace Rough Patch to Losing Battles In Trenches
Football’s red meat is blocking and tackling. Nothing good can happen on either side of the ball if blocks or tackles are missed.
Such a basic concept, unfortunately, continues to elude the Jets’ grasp, as if they metaphorically went vegan this season.
In the last two weeks, New York has seen two Pro Bowl level players walk through the doors at One Jets Drive. Wide receiver Davante Adams was acquired in a trade with the Raiders and played in the Jets’ 37-15 defeat at Pittsburgh on Sunday and edge rusher Haason Reddick just ended his season-long holdout and is said to be on track to play in Sunday’s contest in New England.
More big names who provide little of the grunt work that has been deficient during the Jets (2-5) four-game losing streak. The NFL may be a passing league—and having Adams and Reddick on board should prove to be valuable there--but you still have to show a modicum of competence in the running game and stopping the run in order to succeed.
Those happen to be the two areas where the Jets rank too low to contend for that elusive playoff berth. Through seven games, the Jets have been outgained on the ground, 894-577. Only four other teams have a worse differential. Per rbsdm.com, the Jets rank 28th in expected points added per play on running plays and 25th when defending the run.
Don’t expect Adams and Reddick to help alleviate these shortcomings. Adams has earned poor-to-middling run blocking grades in ProFootballFocus.com’s system throughout his career. As for Reddick, the public is very skeptical that he’ll be interested in anything other than accumulating sacks to boost his earnings from incentives this season and for his next contract. Setting an edge on a handoff? Don’t bother asking, as he’ll be heading upfield as the ballcarrier scoots past him.
Five years in and Jets General Manager Joe Douglas, an offensive lineman in college, still can’t bring in guys who can move defenders. Tyron Smith is the latest aging left tackle he signed whose effectiveness took a nosedive as soon as he put on the green jersey.
Worse, Douglas took what used to be the heart of the team—the defensive line—and felt the urge to switch things up when running it back made better sense to me in both football and financial terms. Jermaine Johnson’s season-ending injury wouldn’t have been felt so acutely if Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers, and Quinton Jefferson were still around. And yes, the dollars could have worked.
Now, the lines aren’t the only units who are underperforming in the run games. The Jets have gotten horrific blocking from their tight ends, which was amplified by Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackert’s penchant for 12 personnel on too many snaps. And Breece Hall has seemingly been going down on almost every contact (just three broken tackles all year, pro-football-reference.com—only six backs have a worse ratio per carry).
On the other side, missed tackles have been a killer. Will McDonald is tied for the league lead among defensive linemen with 6 missed tackles, per PFF. On other levels, the linebackers have been decent, but the secondary, particularly Sauce Gardner and Tony Adams, has been brutal.
The Jets had their best rushing/run stopping game of the season in Week 3’s 24-3 whipping of New England. Sunday’s rematch, though, is on the road and New York is in a far different mental place with the losing streak, the upheaval in the coaching staff, and integrating the new additions.
You can bet that the Patriots, with their rookie quarterback Drake Maye, will take the Jets film to look for ways to gash them on the ground this time. It wouldn’t matter if lead running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who returned to practice on Thursday after needing a personal day, suits up because backup backs have also tortured Gang Green this season, with San Francisco’s Jordan Mason and Buffalo’s combination of Ray Davis and Ty Johnson going for over 100 yards on the ground as injury replacements.
It’s safe to say that if the Jets stumble on Sunday against one of the NFL’s worst teams, you can write off the season. The cameras will be focused on New York’s so-called stars like Aaron Rodgers, Hall, Adams, and Garrett Wilson, but this game, like most others, will be decided in the tranches, a decidedly unfriendly place for the Jets for most of this season.
Prediction: Jets 20 Patriots 16