Through their first 11 games, the Jets have experimented with just about everything — both by choice and not by choice — to try and spark Nathaniel Hackett’s offense.
Offensive line injuries forced never-ending shuffling.
The Jets cut running back Michael Carter and promoted rookie Israel Abanikanda.
They benched Randall Cobb.
They sat Allen Lazard.
They turned to second-year tight end Jeremy Ruckert, eventually inserted 29-year-old journeyman Tim Boyle at quarterback and even moved Hackett, the offensive coordinator, from the field to the coaches’ booth.
But in the latest sample of snaps, when the Jets’ new-look unit tried to find a rhythm or anything that closely resembled one, the numbers hardly changed.
They ran 55 plays for 159 net yards Friday against the Dolphins.
The offense didn’t account for any points until a late fourth-quarter touchdown.
At this point, the only element the Jets haven’t altered centers around their play-caller.
Robert Saleh has faced questions about Hackett for weeks, a constant alongside the ones about if — or when — he’d bench Zach Wilson.
But just as Saleh’s support for Wilson didn’t waver until he had no choice, the third-year coach hasn’t changed his stance on Hackett.
He reiterated Friday that “there’s no consideration” about a play-caller change.
When asked why, Saleh said “that’s a really long answer, an answer for another day, I guess,” but he continued to defend Hackett anyway.
“When you look at it all, and again, it’s a little bit of everything, whether the calls could be better, whether the execution can be better, whether our one-on-one battles can be better,” Saleh said. “It’s taking advantage of the situations we have when we get them. Do I think play-caller will fix that? I don’t know. I don’t have an answer for you on that.”
Hackett hasn’t lost the public support of his players, either.
Garrett Wilson said Hackett has done “a good job based on who we have.”
Boyle and Breece Hall both said they thought the calls were good.
If Wilson felt like he could add to the Jets’ game plan, he’d mention something, he said.
But there’s an element of trust with Hackett and the coaching staff, too.
“Sometimes, I feel like I know ball a little too much,” Wilson said Friday, “so things can be frustrating more than they would be if I was just maybe oblivious.”
In some cases and to some degree, though, the lack of results on offense — and, in some cases and to some degree, their frustration — might just be due to their limited personnel.
They’re engaged in a battle involving the desire and the collective knowledge to fix everything against the reality and resources available.
Gang Green’s offensive line started another combination Friday with Mekhi Becton out, as rookie Carter Warren made his first start at left tackle. That could change again in Week 13 if Becton, Duane Brown and Wes Schweitzer all return.
And against the Dolphins, the Jets’ collection of linemen allowed seven sacks. Gang Green has surrendered 47 this season, the third-most in the NFL. A downfield passing attack — filled with deep routes — could only accomplish so much when Boyle kept getting pressured.
“There is a level of difficulty in that as we try to get continuity,” Saleh said Saturday when asked about only attempting four passes that traveled more than 10 yards. “I love the five guys that we got playing with on the offensive line, but when you don’t get a chance to play consecutive weeks or some time together, it gets hard to understand all the nuance that comes with continuity.
“So, yeah, we can continue trying to push the ball down the field, but it takes all 11 to make that play happen.”
Still, everything connects back to Hackett. Everything connects back to the offensive mind whose tenure with the Jets overlapped with Aaron Rodgers, the MVP winner in Hackett’s system with the Packers.
Gang Green averaged the third-fewest points per game (14.8) entering Sunday.
Their ability to generate movement — for both short- and chunk-yard plays — never strung together across drives or games.
So even with Saleh not hesitating to support Hackett, it has, at the very least, become a topic he’ll need to keep addressing. The person tasked with solving those problems still hasn’t found any solutions.
Credit: Source link
