Players ‘Seeing the Same Thing’ As Many Fans
Mark Cannizzaro has a very interesting article in the New York Post today about Jets players who are starting to speak out anonymously to the press about the way that the offense is being run. To prevent myself from copy and pasting the whole article, just go read the article on the Post’s site.
“I’m seeing the same thing you’re seeing,” one player said.
“It’s hard to get into any kind of rhythm the way the plays are being called,” another said.
Cannizarro is ultimately optimistic though, when it comes to Schotty.
He’s a bright young mind who often has some terrific stuff up his sleeve. His use of Brad Smith Brad Smith in Oakland was great. His use of Leon Washington against the Chiefs was solid.
He’s just a bit out of sorts at the moment and he needs to find a proper balance – particularly with the meat of the schedule upon the Jets, beginning with Sunday’s AFC East showdown with the division-leading 5-2 Bills in Buffalo.
Remember how mad Jets fans were with Paul Hackett & The Dinger’s offenses? Now we’ve got the spectral opposite … how about somewhere in between?
I agree with Canny’s ultimate assessment. I think Brian Schottenheimer has the tools to excel in this league, but he just needs to put away the trickery and window dressing for a bit and just line up and play. Are there times for cute stuff? Yes, but not every game. Not every series. Not every down.
Schotty’s kind of like an impulse shopper at Target, pulling stuff off the shelf that he doesn’t need nor know with what to do with it. The problem is that he tries to use all his purchases once he’s home, and it ends up looking like total crap.
“Less is more” is a maxim for a reason, Brian!!!
38 Responses to Players ‘Seeing the Same Thing’ As Many Fans
-
brad smith’s biggest strength is his playing in space. which means that a reverse fits his skill set … natch.
but you are right in 2006 i was predicting when the team would run reverses and it’s not gotten harder to see it coming since then … still he does a pretty good job with them.
-
TOON2388 says:
I guess this is 2009, because I am back.
My biggest criticism of Schott is the following: stop calling the game as if this is 2006 and we NEED to try and fool people. 3rd & 1/2 – junk the empty backfield shotgun – that gives the defense a HUGE edge as they know a pass is coming. Run Jones a lot more inside – that is why we got Alan Faneca – we did not get him to pass block on 3rd & 1
-
Najy says:
There are several problems with Schotty’s game and I will only name a couple…
1.) Schotty has versatile players across the board on offense, but he limits them to “specific packages”. He has specific plays that TJ only runs and specific plays that LW runs so teams have an idea what to expect when either are in the game; either pass or run depending on the RB.
2.) I can almost guarnatee that Schotty will never call 2 running plays in a row if the Jets only gain 1 or 2 yards on first down. If the run is stopped on first down, he will automatically take TJ out of the game and line up in Shotgun with 4 or 5 WR. Pay attention to the game and notice what happens if the run gets stuffed on first down.
3.) He is too much “game plan specific” and doesnt let the team form an identity. I dont know how he comes up with the game plan every week, but whatever it is, he sticks to it for the first half.
ie.. 5 WR in Oakland that got Brett Favre killed and he refused to adjust.Thanks to Schotty, this team has not developed an identity since 2006, except for the fact that we are very conservative. Everyone blamed that on Chad but it is starting to look like Schotty was the man to blame. At least when we had Herm and staff, we knew that we were a power running team. You can count on that and we rarely let what other teams do influence our startegy. We were goign to run the ball every game no matter what.
4.) Plain and simply, he overcomplicates everything when he does the game plan. Football has basic plays that need to be incorporated at all times. Running TJ 5x in the first half is unnacceptable no matter what. That should never be the case against the worst ranked D in the league.
Brett Favre has been struggling the last couple games, so instead of runnng the ball to get him into a rhythem, he air it out…??
-
I posted this on the blog on the 23d. It was the article that ranked the KC defense, which happend to be worst in Run D. Both our top WR were banged up. I posted:
Najy, on October 23rd, 2008 at 2:40 pm Said:
Schottenheimer is probably thinking about how we can attack this team in a 5 WR set.
-
SackDance99 says:
I’m not that optimistic about Schott. I think it’s in his DNA not to commit to a base offense with base personnel. I think he’s too in love with complex formations and endless shifting. I guess he never heard about Vince Lombardi’s all-day lecture on the sweep. Sometimes executing the simple plays well is the hardest, most complex thing to do.
-
SackDance99,
You were on that blog when i posted that.
-
Electric Ham says:
5WR sets are fine and dandy when the time is right and yea starting with it can catch a team off guard but we need to start pounding the rock in the first half and setting up the play action please just try it shotty! if it doesnt work whip out all the 5wr sets you want
-
I will post the Million dollar question that I have been asking for weeks….
WHERE IS MANGINI, HOW MUCH DOES HE KNOW ABOUT OFFENSE, AND WHAT IS HIS INFLEUNCE DURING THE GAME WHEN OFFENSIVE PLAYS ARE CALLED?????????
-
ramble914 says:
If this keeps up I wonder if Mangini would hand over the play calling to Callahan?
-
David Harris-LB- Jets Oct. 29 – 1:38 pm et
Jets ILB David Harris (hip, groin) is not expected to play in Week 9.
Harris’ injury is considered a week-to-week situation, meaning he could miss multiple games. David Bowens, a converted outside linebacker, will start against the Bills. Harris’ loss helps Marshawn Lynch’s matchup a little bit.
Source: New York Daily News
Related: David Bowens, Marshawn Lynch -
Fonzie says:
SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL THIS SUNDAY!!! RUN THE BALL WITH THOMAS JONES ALL DAY LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!
FORGET FARVE USE OUR RUNNINGBACKS AND OUR OFFENSIVE LINE. KELLER AND STUCKEY WILL BE THE SAFETY VALVES WHEN THE RIGHT TIME COMES AND THE RIGHT PLAYS CALLED BY BRETT FARVE NOT SCHOTTY!!!!! LETS GO OFFENSE MINUS FARVE!!!!! -
Also, I don’t know what trickery and deception Cannizzaro is refering to. It seemed to me that every pass play Favre was in the shotgun with an empty backfield, thats being pretty obvious to me. And every run play was announced over the loudspeaker with “#75 is in as an eligible receiver”. Wheres the deception in that?
-
18andOne says:
My major complaint about the play calling is this…. WHERE THE EFF IS THE PLAY ACTION PASS?
Sure there are plenty of things to complain about, but it seems like this team is built for play action passing so lets use it.Other then that, when we have 2nd and short, that’s when we should be throwing bombs and deep outs. It doesn’t always have to be another run in that situation.
-
ramble914,
Dont forget the FB motioning/shuffeling right into the whole before the ball is snapped…
You know, when Ton Richardson is split out at WR and then motions back in and ends stops right between the guard and tackle. Then we run it right behind him.
-
BubbyBrister/shovelpass says:
Best Be careful, Najy and 18andOne, you sound as though you want Paul “Can’t” Hackett back! LOL :-)
-
Najy,
I was going crazy watching that game. I couldn’t believe how obvious they were being. Let’s hope they get it together this week.
-
vbsiena24 says:
Najy great comments I am thinking exactly like you are. Schotty might be a bright young coordinator but he overcomplicates things and stubborn to change from the orginal gameplan in the 1st half even if it is not working.
Fonzie, I disagree with you about running alot next game. The Bills and Marcus Stroud (our Kris Jenkins) eats up RBs. The Jets should go more pass than run next game, but knowing Schotty he is over compansate and run alot more than pass because of last game and all the heat he got for it.
-
I thought he did a better job this week of passing the ball out of running formations. He was effective in doing that early in the game, which is why we scored so effortlesly on the first drive. We lined up in I formation and passed. It worked well but then you have to adjust and adapt to what the other team is doing in the game.
I dont want to isolate any specific plays but there are things that need to change to get the offense to flow better.
Schotty does a Great Job of surprising the other team and doing the exact opposite of what they expect. He probably figured that KC is expecting the Jets to run the ball so he planned on surprising them and passing. I am not too sure if that is the best idea.
-
The Ed(itor) says:
Unfortunately Schott is not on the same page as Favre and the rest of the Offense. If he doesn’t change ASAP he is a gonner at the end of the year. Why gone? Because Favre won’t return in 2009 if Schott is still OC.
-
JesusRevis says:
i agree with all of you, but doesnt anyone ever think that theres a lot more to being a coach in the NFL than we can see?
-
Pete57 says:
JR, absolutely there are things that the fans don’t see/ are not aware of. At the same time, many fans can see when a coach is not doing his job. For example, Ted Cottrel has been fired 3 times now as a DC. In each place, Jets, Vikings, Chargers, fans were calling for him to go long before it happened.
-
JesusRevis,
Sure there are but someone has to be held accountable for underperforming.
-
spent says:
We’ve just played through the soft-underbelly of our season. We came out 2-1 — pretty good (should have been 3-0). That three game stretch was the perfect time to try out formations and plays.
With our upcoming schedule, we’re going to see some serious focus. Our offense is going to step-up and join our defense in the top ranks of the NFL.
-
The Buffalo offense isn’t all that good and I think Trent Edwards is sort of like Chad. Take away the running game and force him to go up top. He doesn’t have a great arm, so putting him under durress and forcing him to throw deep may cause turnovers. Also, like Chad, he’s better at attacking a zone than an aggressive man-to-man (he threw an awful pick when he locked in on Evans and DeAngelo Hall stepped in front at the Bills 20). And, his vaunted left side of the line was abused by Joey Porter and Vonnie Holliday. Peters looks very susceptible to an inside bull rush and Dockery looks very mediocre in pass protection.
And, I say this every week, get a lead, which along with the Jets D takes away the run, and force Buffalo to score TDs because the Jets will lose the field position battle as the Bills have superior special teams. From what I’ve seen, Lynch is their best offensive player.
Offensively, it looks like teams can run on Buffalo’s right side (could be a big game for Faneca) and, even with Stroud, teams can rush between the tackles against the Buffalo D, especially in the redzone. Also, as Chad showed, the Buffalo D is susceptible to play action. Buffalo also runs a deep zone (it looks like a Cover 2 and not man and, if it is man, then the CBs play way off the WRs) and they’ve been susceptible to plays splitting the safeties for big gains (Johnny Lee Higgins scored on a 84 yard pass play on a ball thrown by Russell right down the middle; Chad was hitting Ginn right down the middle all day long). And, no. 1 WRs have been having a field day against the Buffalo secondary, Ginn and Larry Fitzgerald abused the Bills.
-
Joe S says:
Maybe I’m the only person but i think (and hope) that this Bills game will finally be called correctly. Im thinking like 25-30 rushes and like 20 passes. If the Jets force the Bills to drop 8 in the box, Farve can take advantage of the injured Bills secondary. Also Ithink this is a rebound game for Farve and the Jets win 28-24 because the Defense stops the run and forces Edwards to beat us.
BTW I dont know where the notion that Farve was a spred QB came from all of his best games a come when his team established some kind of running game. The Jets ID should be Power offense and a Pressure Defense. I’d rather get beat on a play blitzing 8 than on a play rushing 5.
-
TheGreenCastle says:
Joe S
Big blitzes are not an answer. 8-man blitz means only 3 people to cover the rest of the field. The result more often than not is a good gain for the offense. Saw alot of that this week – 5 or 6 man blitzes from the jets, quick throw and YAC from the chiefs.
The key is not to blitz big, its to bring unexpected pressure. Rushing 4 can be effective if its not the 4 the O-line is expecting.
-
ALL THINGS NY says:
SCHOTTY MUST GO!
Unlike some people, I do not believe in this guy at this point.
If he had some sort of mentor from here til maybe another 2 seasons, I could see him being a coaching prospect. He was a QB Coach that became an Offensive Coordinator under a Head Coach who is just as young as he is, with a background in Defense.
The Jets are allowing him to be creative and run wild, but we need to take a more conservative approach for 90% of the game, and to be generous, 10% of plays should be trick plays. Trick plays are no longer trick plays when it is predictable.
Lets just get this team executing the basic plays of the NFL before we start to re-invent the wheel
-
and the fact that he has already reached the OC position, it would be demoralizing to him and probably would not accept a lesser position unless he is not offered another OC/HC job in another city.
it’s a shame
-
SCHOTTY MUST GO!
Too bad he’s probably good friends with Mangini considering they are close in age and stage in there life…
Although I say all of this SCHOTTY MUST GO, I don’t see Mangini lighting a fire under his arse until Johnson lights a fire under Tanembaum’s arse about it.
-
All of you who are optimistic about his play calling ability…
are you in it to win it now, or in it to win 3 seasons into the new stadium
-
If the JETS couldn’t focus on Oakland, what makes anyone think they will focuus and win in Buffalo? The last several years we have been blown out in Buffalo.
-
Harvlis says:
Short had nothing to do with brad or leon doing well. If short knew what he was doing, leon would be all pro and brad would be a good receiver, rather than a trick play specialist. Shots has no handle on the offense. When the run is working, he goes away from it. Even in the 4th quarter, when we need to run the clock. No clue.
-
Bent says: Ed…didn’t we beat them 28-20 there in 2006?
I just looked it up – yes we did – Losman ran for a TD in the last minute, so it wasn’t even as close as it sounds.
-
Bent says:
I think one of Schott’s biggest problems is that if something doesn’t work, he gives up on it for too long and if something does work, but then they figure out how to stop it, he keeps doing it for too long.
He just needs to make adjustments sooner. Be proactive, not reactive. But then, I guess the “cuteness” is him trying to second guess his opponent.
This isn’t his only fault by any stretch, but they aren’t even half way through the season with several new starters at key positions and backups getting expanded roles, so I still hold out hope they’ll get it together a bit more consistently. At least they’ve been finding the endzone a lot more this year.
It’s not an easy job, but let’s hope he improves a lot. At least he tries different things instead of stubbornly sticking with the same gameplan and being far too predictable.
couldnt agree more. i find myself yelling at the tv lets not try to get cute here. has anyone else noticed that it seems everytime brad smith walks onto the field the play has something to do with him. dont get me wrong i think hes a valuable asset to a team. hes a great special teamer and role play guy. but if a smart d coordinator realizes hes on the field chances are the play will be shut down.