New York Jets Confident They Can Move the Ball, Now Need to Execute
They know that they need to move the ball better. Now, the New York Jets need simply to figure out how to do it.
No biggie.
Sarcasm aside, the Jets have struggled on offense and do have an issue not just moving the ball but getting it into the endzone. It is a point that they have acknowledged this week both as individual players and as a coaching staff.
Some of the difficulties in moving the ball and scoring points is simply out of their hands. This Sunday, there could well be over half of the starting offense standing on the sidelines, unable to play due to injury. This is affecting play-calling for sure and leading to some unjust criticism of head coach Adam Gase.
It is hard to expect much from second-tier players admirably trying to do their best.
“I think for us, we were moving the ball well. We just have to find a way to put the ball in the end zone and explosive plays are going to find themselves,” quarterback Sam Darnold said on Thursday in his virtual press conference.
“Whether it’s a broken tackle or you do get a deep shot down the field. But you know, if we are moving the sticks and we’re marching the ball down the field, we’re good with that. I think at the end of the day we just got to find a way to put the ball in the end zone.”
In Sunday’s 31-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Jets had just 277 yards of total offense. While it was a slight improvement over the week before when they lost at the Buffalo Bills, there still is a worrying trend to start the year. The Jets are having a tough time moving the ball.
And when they do, they aren’t getting touchdowns at the end of their drives. At the crux of the matter is that the offense has started cold in both losses. In Buffalo, they punted on their first four possessions.
And in both games, they were on the wrong side of a 21-3 score line.
“Anytime that you can, whether it be score on your first drive or [on defense] get a three and out on your first drive, or at least just make them punt, that’s always ideal,” Gase said on Thursday.
“You can’t let one drive affect you though for the entire game. That’s part of the NFL, nothing comes easy. You’ve got to battle for every yard, every first down, every stop. So, I mean whatever happens, we’ve just got to keep battling through, we’ve got to get put ourselves in position when we hit the fourth quarter it’s there for us either win or lose.”
The Colts are not exactly a good elixir for an ailing Jets defense. They are best defense in the NFL in total yards allowed as well as yards per play.
They are also fifth in the NFL in drives ending in a turnover.
Jets offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said it is about “execution. He said he was pleased with Darnold “being in a good place mentally” during a rough showing from the offense in Week 3.
