With tons of injuries and a three-game losing streak, the Jets are fortunate to have an early bye week.
New York has used three different quarterbacks this season, but the hope that Sam Darnold will return from his battle with mononucleosis in Week 5. C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams are trending in the right direction as well.
Health has not been Gang Green’s only issue, though. The team is lacking at several positions and Adam Gase is already being criticized by fans and the media.
With a week of rest, the Jets now need to improve in several ways. Let’s take a look at four areas to focus on in practice following the bye week.
The Offensive Line
Among the Jets’ top priorities during the bye week is finding a way to have some cohesion on the offensive line.
Jets OL coach Frank Pollack acknowledged the obvious: his unit is clearly not where it needs to be. That partly can be blamed on the fact that the entire starting line didn’t start practicing with each other until Week 4 of the preseason. They’re still going through growing pains and the Jets have paid the price for it.
During the week off, the entire room needs to buckle down and decide on which protections work best for them. There could be some schematic differences between Pollack and Adam Gase, but everyone needs to get on the same page.
Finding an Offensive Identity
The Jets offense lacks any semblance of an identity.
The offense has had three different quarterbacks under center, but the playbook has remained the same. Le’Veon Bell goes left, Bell goes right, Bell goes up the middle and then punt. While it’s nice to see that Bell is clearly back to form, the Jets need to get other members of the offense involved or they will continue to fail to score points.
With Sam Darnold sidelined, the offense was conservative. While the play-calling can obviously get better, the Jets skill players minus Bell have gone into witness protection. Darnold could return Week 5, and he shouldn’t be expected to save the team.
Accountability
While it’s easy to point to injuries and personnel as the reasons for the Jets’ 0-3 start, the coaching staff is not off the hook.
For the Jets, there has been a lack of accountability, which has stemmed from the head coach. Adam Gase is making the same mistakes he made in Miami, where blame was placed on everyone but himself. Following the Patriots game, Gase pinned the blame on lack of execution rather than his own play calling. While Gase and his staff have again been handcuffed by injuries and personnel, he hasn’t done much to help.
While the coaching staff can only do so much with Luke Falk under center, a disastrous offensive line and four healthy receivers, there hasn’t exactly been much done to steal points. The Jets offense hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1.
Another example of the lack of accountability is Jets DL Andre Carter praising Leonard Williams despite Williams’ low production after three games. Carter said he was “proud” of Williams because of his ability to disrupt passing plays. The stats just don’t back up Carter’s claims.
All of this falls under Gase’s umbrella, who has yet to prove that he has learned anything from his previous head coaching post.
Getting Healthy
The bye week came at the perfect time as the Jets try to get healthy.
C.J. Mosley, Sam Darnold, Quinnen Williams, Jordan Jenkins and Demaryius Thomas are all currently expected to return when the Jets take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5. New York will get back the quarterback of its defense and their starting quarterback. The return of Williams and Thomas will allow the Jets to add talent back to positions that have been depleted of depth.
The reinforcements returning might be too little, too late, but the Jets need all the help they can get. Mosley returning will sure up the linebacking corps, even if Neville Hewitt and Blake Cahsman have played well in his absence. Mosley is the best player on the Jets defense and costly breakdowns will probably occur less with Mosley barking out the defensive signals.
The Jets just can’t look to Darnold as a savior as they attempt to revive their season.
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