Frank Reich's Offense Already Getting Vote of Confidence from Jets Stars

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - New York Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich has been around plenty of elite offenses.

He won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, orchestrated a turnaround for the Indianapolis Colts, and helped Phillip Rivers play at an elite level in the early 2010s. Reich, as a former quarterback himself, knows what a good offense looks like.

What the Jets have done on that side of the ball the last few years has not been good offense.

New York hasn't finished with a top-10 unit since Ryan Fitzpatrick led it in 2015. Coincidentally, it's the last time the Jets finished with a record over .500. It hasn't mattered what the Jets do either. Veteran play-callers, rookie quarterbacks, and a future Hall of Famer have been unable to fix the organization's offensive futility.

Despite all the years of struggles, there may finally be reason for optimism. Not just because Reich is walking into a situation that is begging for the most basic of improvements, but because the top players seem ready to "buy in" to his approach.

Finally, the Jets might have an offense fans can get behind.

Jets' stars speak out about new-look offense

There are two kinds of offenses in the NFL. Ones that are flexible in their teaching: where players have different options to do things in relation to what the defense is showing, and rigid ones: players must run precise routes at all times and do exactly what the coaching instructs. No deviation whatsoever.

Some of the best offenses in the league follow that rigid approach. Others push for further player empowerment.

The early returns of Reich's offense are just that: focusing on getting the players to have answers for any look defenses give. And it's left some of the organization's brightest stars excited for what could potentially come.

"This is one of the offenses I'll look back on in a few years and love the most," Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. "It's player-and receiver-empowering."

In four of his first five seasons, Wilson has had to learn a new offensive scheme. Many of those schemes have been focused on West Coast philosophies that need a complement of wideouts and pinpoint accuracy from the quarterback to succeed.

The Jets have had neither of those things with Wilson.

That could be changing with Reich as his play-caller and Geno Smith as his starting quarterback, though. Reich has focused his game plan on making sure the offense is tailored to his signal-caller's strengths. In doing so, he's allowing receivers to make adjustments when defenses show looks that may not jive with a play call.

It's the kind of adjustment and quick-thinking a former quarterback like Reich thinks up. And it's made Smith excited as well.

He's very detailed in the way that he teaches the offense, very meticulous in what he wants from us and how he wants us to execute, Smith said. We're building one day at a time; we're competing, we're getting better every single day, and Coach Reich is leading that ship. With him at the helm, man, I feel really great about it.

It's unclear whether the Jets offense will be as good as the one in 2015. For that to happen, Smith will need to play some of the best football of his career, and weapons outside Wilson will need to step up in their own right.

But there's finally reason for optimism. Should it work out, the Jets could be in line to put up a fun year on that side of the ball for the first time in ages.

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