Matt Forte was blindsided by an odd coaching audible that helped the Jets crumble for a third consecutive week.
You don't need to have an advanced degree in offensive play-calling to understand the best two-part strategy in inclement weather: 1) Run the ball, and 2) Run it some more.
The veteran running back (politely) unloaded on offensive coordinator John Morton's curious choice to eschew the running back amid a torrential downpour in the Jets' 25-20 loss to the Falcons on Sunday. Forte obviously was frustrated, flummoxed and confused why the Jets abandoned their week-long game-plan en route to their third consecutive defeat.
"I only had four carries this game, so I don't really think we ran the ball enough with the weather being the way it was," said Forte, who picked up seven yards on those handful of runs. "I think that kind of hurt us."
"I'm definitely surprised by that, because we knew the weather was going to be like that," Forte continued about why Morton didn't dial up more runs for anyone wearing green-and-white. "It continued to rain the entire game. I think we only ran the ball 20 times. (There) should have been at least one person getting 20 carries _ something like that _ with the way the weather was. I thought we were going to grind them out on the ground like that, but it ended up not turning out that way."
It was a confounding choice by Morton, who ultimately dialed up 37 passes and only 21 runs (including an end-around to wide receiver Robby Anderson). In other words, the Jets had a 64-36 pass-run play-call split on a day when it the rain was coming down in sheets.
Although Forte said that Morton is "pretty open-minded," he didn't quite understand why Morton strayed from the plan in a tight game.
"Everybody knows that that was the game plan and that was what we wanted to do," Forte said about running the ball against Atlanta, which snapped its three-game losing streak. "I'm not going to get on the head set and tell somebody how to do their job."
Second-guessing is a part of the life of every offensive coordinator, but Forte was right given the weather conditions and game script. The Jets had a 17-13 halftime lead and 17-16 edge entering the fourth quarter.
Todd Bowles' team has coughed up fourth-quarter leads in back-to-back weeks for myriad reasons. The Jets crumbled on offense, defense and special teams to fall to 3-5, but there's little doubt that controlling the clock on the ground sure would have made sense to minimize chances to screw up in every area.
Besides, it was a freakin' downpour out there.
"You got a wet ball out there," Forte said. "It's rainy. It wasn't like a light drizzle. It was really really raining. If I was a coordinator ... (and) I'm obviously biased because I'm a running back _ raining like that, yeah, you would think that we would run it more than we did. But like I said every game is different. He's calling the plays. He has to call what he sees out there. ... We have to execute the plays no matter what he calls."
Morton dialed up 24 drop backs and 19 runs (56-44 pass-run split) through the first three quarters before essentially abandoning the ground attack. The Jets had the lead entering the fourth quarter, but Morton called 13 passes and only two runs (for six yards) in final 15 minutes.
"Passing the ball is tricky, because if you don't complete it, it stops the clock," Forte said. "When you run the ball, the clock keeps rolling. If you're running the ball and you keep their offense off the field, basically time's running out on them. A lot of bad things can happen when you're throwing the ball: Interceptions, sacks.... When you're closing games out, you definitely got to be able to run the ball."
Never mind that Jets running backs finished with 42 yards on 20 carries (2.1 yards per carry). Forte smartly noted that "later on you may pop a big one" by wearing down defenses with the sheer volume of runs earlier in the game.
Look no further than the Falcons, whose running back duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman did a whole lot of nothing before Coleman broke off a critical 52-yard run in the fourth quarter on the go-ahead drive. The Jets held Freeman and Coleman to 71 yards on 27 carries (2.6 ypc) excluding that 52-yard scamper.
So, Forte's point is roughly 1,000 percent correct. Morton, however, said two weeks ago that a 60-40 pas-run split is ideal in this day and age of pass-happy football.
"I think he probably would say that just because he's more of a pass-type of guy," Forte said. "Coming from New Orleans where they're in a dome. You got Drew Brees. Of course, you're going to throw the ball. But you got to analyze your team and see what your guys do best. If we're running the ball better on these days or whatever, maybe it shouldn't be 65-35 pass-to-run. Maybe some games you have to switch."
"You can't go out there and just think that particular formula or percentage is going to work every single time," Forte continued. "Because game's are different. Sometimes you may run it 20, 30 times and you're not getting anywhere and then passes open up. Or you pass it a couple times and the runs open up. And you start running it more."
Jets running backs have gained only 186 yards on 60 carries (3.1 ypc) during the three-game slide that has the Bowles' team in free-fall.
It's clear that the Morton doesn't trust his backs, offensive linemen or both. It's unclear if that will change anytime soon.
