San Francisco 49ers DC Robert Saleh on New York Jets Adam Gase: 'He's a Fantastic Offensive Play Caller'
Robert Saleh is a fan of what Adam Gase is capable of doing with the New York Jets offense. The San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator talking this week about the impact that the second-year Jets head coach can have on a game with his play calling.
It is a point of view that runs counter to the popular narrative about Gase and the Jets offense.
In the Jets season opener this past Sunday at the Buffalo Bills, it was far from an ideal afternoon for Gase and the offense.
Three possessions to start the game, all three of which ended in a three-and-out. All four of their opening possessions resulted in a punt.
The fifth possession was an interception by quarterback Sam Darnold.
And yet Saleh has a different opinion then an irate fan base and a New York media that has been critical of Gase’s offense to start the season. The Jets gained 254 yards of total offense in their loss to their division rival.
“Adam Gase, some people might say differently, but I think he’s a fantastic offensive play caller. He creates a lot of dynamic concepts. Their quarterback is getting a lot better and so they will stress your defense,” Saleh said in his weekly press conference this past week.
“He does understand defensive football. He understands scheme. He understands how to attack the coverages and he does as good a job as anybody doing it.”
Last year in the Jet first year of their rebuild (and first season under Gase), they finished 7-9. But the offense struggled, both with injuries but also to move the ball in a meaningful way.
They were second-from-the-bottom in total offense, fourth worst in passing offense and second worst in running the ball. But Saleh sees an offense with potential and that could be dangerous.
“When you just talk about challenge, it’s eliminating the explosives that he’s going to find within your defense and making sure that you’re on top and covering things and playing disciplined football and the quarterback is good enough to exploit it if you let him,” Saleh said. “So, they’ve had great games against our system in the past. When you look back the last year with Dallas and when he was with Miami playing Jacksonville and all that stuff. So, he’s a very, very talented offensive mind and he’s got a very talented quarterback. So, that in itself will always be a challenge.”
It won’t be easy for the Jets to get the ball moving in Week 2 at MetLife Stadium. The 49ers had the second best defense in the league a year ago as Saleh's unit propelled them to become NFC champions.
