Doubling The Tight Ends Is Reducing Jets Offensive Capability
Upon further review, maybe we should all cut Zach Wilson some slack for his dud in the Jets’ 25-6 loss to New England last Sunday, and not just because the rookie quarterback was playing in only his second professional game.
While it’s true that, as Bill Parcells famously quipped, “You are what your record says you are,” and Wilson’s four interceptions certainly gave Gang Green almost no chance to win that game, it’s not like his offensive teammates were all marvels of execution.
I spent much of Wednesday mesmerized by some kid’s hilarious TikTok video breakdown of Wilson’s first interception off a tip drill intended for the Jets supposed number one receiver Corey Davis. I suggest you search for it if you haven’t yet viewed it, though some diehards might find it more tragic than comical.
The All-22 look showed that three of the five Jets offensive linemen were beaten getting into their pass blocking sets at the line of scrimmage while right tackle Morgan Moses was seen blocking his own teammate--guard Greg Van Roten--in the back. In addition, the Jets kept two tight ends in for maximum pass protection on the right side, but after an initial hit off the snap, Ryan Griffin and Tyler Kroft were standing around as wastes of space.
Meanwhile, none of the three Jets receivers in the pattern gained any separation from their defenders while Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley took advantage of a hole in the middle of the line that could fit an SUV to surge through as a free rusher towards Wilson.
Perhaps Wilson’s best option might have been to throw the ball away, but even that carried some risk, most likely an intentional grounding penalty since he was in the pocket.
Instead, he thought he could give Davis a chance, but Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson won that one-on-one battle as well, stepping in front to deflect the ball up in the air. Davis had another opportunity to avoid disaster by knocking the ball to the ground, but he was nudged by safety Devin McCourty, enabling Jackson to secure the interception.
The point is that while Wilson was a large part of the problem in Sunday’s defeat, as I laid out in the postgame column, he was far from the only problem with the Jets offense. I can only imagine what went on in the film room at Florham Park as Head Coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur watched like nine of the 11 guys involved in that one play fail to execute their jobs. I believe it was The Athletic’s Connor Hughes who recently asked Saleh if having just one link of the chain (say, the rotten Van Roten) break was an easier fix than when faced with multiple bursts.
We’re about to find out, as the Jets prepare to take on 2-0 Denver in the Broncos home opener on Sunday. The mainstream media picked up the fact that the Jets brain trust was outfoxed by Patriots coach Bill Belichick in that New York went into the game extra mindful to protect against exotic blitzes, keeping more men in to block, after getting burned by Carolina’s pressure packages in Week 1. Except those Patriots blitzes did not come with the anticipated frequency (11 of 39 dropbacks, per ProFootballFocus.com). Instead, New England leaned towards coverage, blanketing the Jets receivers. Of Wilson’s four picks and four sacks taken, three each occurred when facing standard pass rushes.
The Jets played right into Belichick’s hands, dropping playmaking wide receiver Denzel Mims from the active roster so they could dress four mostly useless tight ends. Per SharpFootballStats.com, the Jets used more than one tight end on 13 of their 22 first-half snaps. Gang Green’s average yards per play in “11 personnel package” (three wide receivers) was 6.9 yards with one interception and 4.2 yards with two interceptions when using multiple tight ends.
If you think the Jets success running the ball versus New England was attributable to the extra tight ends, the stats do not even bear that out—they gained an average of 6.6 yards per play on 12 carries out of 11 personnel and 4.1 yards on the other 18 runs (not including Wilson’s kneel-down at the end of the first half) in jumbo packages.
Griffin graded out well as a blocker by PFF standards on Sunday (as opposed to the Panthers game where he was brutal), but Kroft contributed almost nothing to the cause, with just one reception for 8 yards to go along with miserable blocking grades.
The lesson heading into Sunday, should Saleh choose to acknowledge that something more is amiss besides the pains that are normally associated with young quarterbacks, is that the NFL is all about making plays in the passing game. Those 152 rushing yards against New England proved worthless because every time Wilson dropped back to pass, you fretted that he’d either be sacked or intercepted.
If you’re worried about pass protection, and the Jets should be given all the leaks we’ve seen in the first two weeks, spread the field with receivers to give Wilson easier hot reads. According to Sharp, the Jets have come out of the huddle in a four-receiver set just once this season, a pass that went for 6 yards.
More of that, please. Stop scheming like you have George Kittle in your tight end room and Kyle Juszczyk as your fullback like you did in San Francisco.
Saleh joked on Wednesday that even his mother was giving him coaching advice after the loss to the Pats. Add her and the adolescent TikToker to the list of everyone who can see that what the Jets are doing on offense isn’t working.
Prediction: Broncos 23 Jets 10