Something fans always seem to forget is potentially how misleading Week 1 is, not just for the Jets but for every team in the NFL. That goes for both the good results and bad, and it's up to coaching to rectify the issues. Only time will tell if that happens, and therefore this is not a thread about the rest of the season, but specifically what happened earlier today in Metlife Stadium. OFFENSE A major storyline for the Jets this week was how little experience the Jets starting offense had playing together. There was not a single game snap in which the full offensive line played together before today. There was not a single snap in which Darnold played with his line. There was not a single snap in which Bell played with his line. The game reflected this, so there should be no surprises there. To my knowledge, there is not a single starting player on the offense who has played in Adam Gase's system in previous years. On top of that, Darnold is only a veteran of 12 different defenses in the NFL leading up to today. The fact that there was confusion for the 22 year old passer and his O-line should be expected. I see a lot of people commenting on Darnold's batted balls, which were mainly the result of the free rushers on the edge. The reason for Ryan Kalil to be pulled out of retirement was so that he can help organize the line's protection assignments, allowing Darnold to focus more on his progressions. It is impossible to say whether Kalil and the line will get better at this as the season improves, but it is clear there was an issue understanding blocking assignments. The Jets also need to clean up penalties on the offensive line. It is possible to scheme around a weak link on the line, because every player has at least some strengths. It is not possible to scheme around drive killing penalties, so those need to be rectified quickly. It is important to note that the Buffalo Bills defense is likely to be in the top 5 for the year. They have top notch starters at nearly every position from CB to DE, and today they were not forced to resort to depth players. Against a potentially dominant defense, it is definitely worth noting that the Jets did not have a single turnover on the day. While many may focus on the QB's turnover rate, a turnover from any position on the field is very detrimental. The Jets ball security against the Bills cannot be overstated for the skill players. Today at least the Jets intended to run their offense through their prized free agent, Le'Veon Bell. Bell had 17 rushes for 60 yards which equals 3.5 yards per carry, along with 6 receptions for 32 yards and a TD (+2 point conversion). 23 touches (which does not include plays voided by penalty) is a good number for Bell at this point in the season, who looked like he was in midseason form. His YPC average was better early in the game, as it appeared the Bills adjusted as the day progressed. It's easy to say that the Jets should have just kept giving Bell the ball as he was clearly the best player for them, but with a physical back like Le'Veon Bell you cannot just give him 50 touches a game and expect his body to hold up to that. Bell exhibited his vintage patient style of running, and made a lot of plays on his own without quality holes from the offensive line. It's great to see that Bell can do this, but it cannot be all him. Jamison Crowder did exactly what he was paid to do, and racked up 99 yards as a solid outlet and chain mover. Crowder was able to do damage as a second and third read, as well as the primary read. This is great news for Darnold, which means Crowder can get open even when the defense knows the ball is coming to him. The downside is that Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa combined for 19 yards receiving today. This is not entirely Anderson's fault, as he was open for a number of big play opportunities. Darnold was very efficient on shorter throws, but under-threw an open Anderson twice, and over-threw him once, all on deep plays that could have changed the game. Darnold clearly did not feel comfortable looking deep, and I'll need to watch the game again to dissect this issue further. It was clear that the Bills were in his face all game, collapsing his pocket from any given direction regularly. I was happy with what I saw from Robby Anderson, who continues to aggressively attack the ball as it approaches him. There are lots of receivers with all of the talent in the world who never develop this part of their game, and it will be a crime if the Jets can't get Anderson the ball more. It was interesting to note that the Jets barely ran any 2 RB sets. The reason for this was more than obvious, and that is that Gase realized there was no way he was substituting Crowder off the field much considering he was the primary passing threat today. It will be interesting to see if Gase tries it out a little more facing weaker secondaries and/or when Chris Herndon returns from his suspension.
DEFENSE The defense started off the day very well, racking up 4 turnovers quickly. CJ Mosley is obviously a major difference maker, and Marcus Maye is a stellar cover safety. Jamal Adams seemed as though he was trying to do too much. While he was all over the field and made plays, he also seemed to be a little indecisive at times. He will need to settle down as the season progresses if he is going to be as impactful as he was last year. I would speculate that he will be more decisive when playing QB's who are not as much of a running threat as Josh Allen, but trying to do too much inevitably leads to exposed gaps and big plays. It could not be more clear how much the Jets missed CJ Mosley when he was unavailable for the 4th quarter. Not only because of his physical skills, but because they lost the core of their defense, the connective tissue between the secondary and the line. Neville Hewitt was solid alongside Mosley, and the front seven overall played very well before the loss of their signal caller. The Jets CB's are every bit the problem they were made out to be. This is one instance of the NY media not overreacting (not that I though they were), as Trumaine Johnson was exposed, Darryl Roberts was exposed, and the Jets depth at Nickel CB was exposed. While many of the problems that we saw on the field today have the potential to be fixed through game planning and coaching, the weakness at CB is there to stay. This is something that will continue to plague the Jets all season and could be a primary reason that they lose otherwise winnable games. It will be interesting to see if Joe Douglas makes a decision to bring in help at the cornerback position. Fans have spent the offseason calling for a trade of some kind to bolster the CB group. but the question was always who is available that won't mortgage the Jets future? -Xavien Howard: The Dolphins are in full tank and would probably be fine with letting their last good player go, but to an in-division rival? Not a chance. -Jimmy Smith: The Ravens have young team and may be willing to part ways with veteran Jimmy Smith. However, Smith is in the last year of his contract, and Smith is young enough at 31 to get another deal. The Ravens would likely let him walk, meaning potential compensatory picks. The Jets would have to offer something better than what the compensatory pick would be, and they would only get him for the remainder of the season. What the Jets would need to trade would probably not be worth the one year rental. -Brandon Carr: The Ravens also have Carr, previously one of the better CB's in the league. Carr has 2 years left on his deal, but is now 33 years old. The Ravens may be willing to part ways with Carr, and if the Jets were to acquire him they would not have to commit to him for 2020. If the Ravens are interested, Carr might be worth a look. -Dre Kirkpatrick: The Bengals are not likely to be interested in offering up Kirkpatrick, unless the the first half of their season implodes. Even if this were to happen, the Jets would have to be looking to pick him up right around the trade deadline, and the Bengals would have to be looking at an unsalvageable first 5 weeks. Of course, this is only worthwhile if the Jets are not 0-5 by that time themselves. -Josh Norman: No team wants to admit that they are not in contention. Norman is interesting, because his salary for 2020 is a bulky $12.5 million and none of it is guaranteed. If the Jets made an interesting offer in a week or two, they might be able to get the rebuilding D.C. team to part ways with the 31 year old CB. If they were to do so, they would likely need to restructure his contract which would mean committing to Norman for a couple years. This would not be the end of the world, as even if the Jets were to draft a CB high, Norman could help bridge the gap. Norman would likely not require the 1st round value of other some trade targets. -Patrick Peterson: Patrick Peterson is currently suspended for the first 6 games of the year. Interestingly, if the Jets were to acquire him after Week 4, one of those weeks would be the Jets bye meaning he only would miss 5 games for them. If the Cardinals are playing well, there's a chance they could feel they don't need him upon his return from suspension. If the team looks to be quite poor, they may be interested in looking towards next year. Peterson may require a substantial trade package, but is still only 29 and would represent a major upgrade. As with Norman, contract adjustments would need to be made, since his salary in 2020 is also $12.5 million and un-guaranteed. -Jalen Ramsey: While this would have been a non-starter even a few hours ago, the major injury suffered by Foles has to change the way Jacksonville looks at their season. Ramsey is 24 and might be the best player at his position, and would require a hefty trade package, maybe too much to pay. What makes Ramsey interesting is this: He would be available tomorrow. While many of the other players I listed would cost less than Ramsey, they might not be available for a few weeks until their respective teams have bad records and are willing to part ways. Trading for players in this fashion is not generally a practice of the organizations that Joe Douglas has been a part of. The Eagles and Ravens primarily build through the draft and make selective additions through free agency, rarely giving up draft capital for the big splash. Yet the question must linger in the minds of Douglas and Gase... Will they have to watch the same story all season? I'm not making the case that any one of these guys can or should be acquired, it's all a game of hypotheticals. SPECIAL TEAMS Get a new kicker.
I just finished watching the game. Was absolutely appalled we lost that. Two biggest takeaways I saw. 1) Josh Allen absolutely destroyed us at the end 2) The Jets simply could not protect Sam Darnold well enough. Pressure and under duress nearly every play, batted balls everywhere, the Bills snuck in DB's at him successfully multiple times (the exact plays that never EVER seem to work for our team) and nearly everything he did get was pulled out of nothing. And the third of the two biggest takeaways is that I think we can safely say now we should have paid Myers to keep kicking for us. What a disaster. Even with all our other problems I think we can all agree we'd be 1-0 now instead of 0-1.
It's funny how fans are so excited to harp on things that happened 6 months ago and can never be changed. That's why I don't post as much as I used to... I'm more interested in what's going on now.
C'mon man, they kept the ST coach that made them special. Both are easily replaceable and the team won't miss a beat. Wait...
This is a really good take. The main thing I would add is that I couldn’t believe how unimaginative and boring the Jets offense was. He was hampered by the OL and the Bills ARE a Top 5 defense, but it was still terribly deflating to see that we evidently hired Jeremy Bates as our head coach.
I think this is something I would refer back to my opening lines for, in that I suspect that it will seem a bit outdated as the season progresses. Don't forget, Week 1 2018 everyone though Jeremy Bates was the man. I think that the game plan was an active decision. I would prefer not to kill Darnold's confidence with tons of incompletions and turnovers. It's a brand new, complicated system, we shouldn't expect mastery the first time out there. Whether the team is successful or not, I definitely expect to see more imaginative plays.
Don’t buy it. Seems as if Gase has learned nothing from Miami. They need to speed up the tempo. You can still be creative while giving Sam easy throws. He didn’t roll out once all day,’being so good on the move? Obviously it’s early, but I never liked Gase and never thought he was impressive in Miami. Always thought Peyton made him in Denver as well. So he has a lot to prove to me.
Great weiteup with a lot of thought put into it. Today just proves that if you can't control the LOS you are bound to use. It was good to see that all you have to do is give Bell a chance and he will make people miss. Too bad that the OL generally was crap today both on run blocking and pass blocking. Another point that I thought was strange: With the OL not being able to protect Darnold very well this afternoon, I was surprised that we didn't see any controlled rollouts. You would think that they would try to give him some space and get him and the rest of the team into a rhythm.
I've seen this question elsewhere too, and my response would be that rollouts have a major downside: They chop off half the field. That is often why they use them for QB's who can't follow progressions well. Darnold can follow progressions, which is a huge plus aspect to a QB. New England doesn't use a lot of rollouts, even when their protection is struggling. Granted Brady is not mobile, but the point is simply that bootlegs have pros and cons, and if Darnold can create rollouts on the move, it's kind of like going to plan B before you try plan A to scheme a lot of rollouts with Darnold's skill set.
I think there are two things lost in the conversation, outside of this thread: 1. It's week 1 in a totally new system. 2. We faced a VERY talented defense with an offensive line that is still trying to gel.
I definitely agree with the downside of lessening the field of play options for the QB. I just think that when it's clear that the OL isn't performing well in pass protection (and that is definitely affecting the QB) that you have to try something different.
I don't want to make it seem like it's definitely going to get better, but these 2 facts have to be taken into account when you look at the results.
This game magnified how incomplete we are as a team and it also shows how badly the roster has been mismanaged. We had 100 mil in cap space, did not re-sign Jason Meyers, and did not make a serious attempt of securing any other experienced kicker (I don't consider Catanzaro a serious kicker). We could have drafted a kicker instead of wasting a late-round pick on someone who will either be cut or will not contribute immediately. Our roster lacks depth at a bunch of positions and the fact that once Mosley got injured, we shit the bed, speaks to how our depth is. Our cornerbacks are non-existent, and whenever possible (I haven't checked his contract) the jets absolutely have to get rid of trumaine johnson. He was giving 5 yard cushions, and getting torched. Our o-line looked like hot garbage, didn't give Sam much time to do anything. Sam did not have his best game, and I think he has a habit of overthrowing Robby. He needs to work on that. He also had a bunch of passes knocked down, but I won't be concerned about that, unless it continues. Adam Gase was outcoached. He seemed too timid, didn't instill any urgency in the offense, and it felt like we were watching a Brian Schottenheimer offense again. WR's stopping a few yards before the first down. All in all a very very bad result. We play the browns, who were embarrassed at home. The schedule for the next 5 games is going to suck, and a loss like this is not only demoralizing but really puts you behind the 8 ball given who we have to play. Gase needs to really self-scout and recognize that Sam is better when he rolls out of the pocket, and WR's cannot be running routes short of where they should be. If he can't do that then I'm not sure how this is gonna work out.
