Robert Saleh set up Jets offense for failure vs 49ers but it will get better sooner than later
The story going into Monday night’s game for the New York Jets was the return of Aaron Rodgers and how the new look Jets offense would fare against an elite level defense, but the story of the game ended up being how bad the Jets’ defense looked. The terrible performance by the Jets’ defense overshadowed […]
The story going into Monday night’s game for the New York Jets was the return of Aaron Rodgers and how the new look Jets offense would fare against an elite level defense, but the story of the game ended up being how bad the Jets’ defense looked. The terrible performance by the Jets’ defense overshadowed what should have been Aaron Rodgers triumphant return to the gridiron. That being said, it was a game of ups and downs for the Jets’ offense.
Rodgers looked okay. His stat line isn’t going to win him Comeback Player of the Year, but it would be hard for anyone to put up numbers only having the ball for a third of the game. The Jets had the ball for only 21:20 in the entire game. That’s the lowest amount of time in Rodgers’ career.
When the Jets were able to get the ball, they had a few things go wrong that I would trust they will get ironed out. Lazard dropped a sure first down on the opening drive and Breece Hall lost only the second fumble of his entire career on a fantastic play by 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. Rodgers threw one interception on a bad luck ball that was tipped in the air right to 49ers DB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. Bad luck.
Jets fans even got to see an Aaron Rodgers special on his touchdown pass to Allen Lazard, using his cadence to draw the 49ers offsides and using the free play to take a shot at the end zone.
The Jets only punted the ball three times and lost possession on downs on a play that probably should have been called for pass interference. The problem for the Jets was they simply didn’t have the ball enough because of the 49ers sustained drives.
The offensive line was decent. They did a good job of protecting Rodgers. He was sacked one time and only hit four times. Last year he was hit three times on one series against the Buffalo Bills. He had time to throw the ball but just couldn’t get into a rhythm with the receivers.
Not being in rhythm should be expected when the Jets offense didn’t see one play as unit in preseason. I realize Saleh was very nervous about putting his 40-year-old quarterback in a game that meant nothing this preseason, but this could be a direct result of that decision. Did he really believe that his offense would run like a well-oiled machine because they practiced together a few times?
A concerning area for me was the Jets run offense. Breece Hall finished the game with 16 carries for 54 yards, but it seemed like he was breaking two or three tackles every time just to get the 3.4 yards per carry. There was no creativity to the offense. It was pitch right, pitch left, short throw. Rinse and repeat. The Jets offensive line, for as well as I thought they did in pass protection against an elite defense, got no push in the running game.
Asked if this was a wakeup call after the game, Garrett Wilson said “you realize you’re not there.”
The road for the Jets offense gets easier the next few weeks going up against the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, with the latter two being home games, but that doesn’t mean the Jets will fix their issues immediately. I believe the Jets offense will find its rhythm but they will have to do it soon as they have back to back short weeks.
Now, about that defense….
