The Rundown: Fix Yo’ Smashmouth
For all the lip service that Rex Ryan paid to the running game in the offseason, it’s hard to understand some of the calls during the beginning part of the season, and it sort of came to a head yesterday on a series of third and short situations against New Orleans. Bob Glauber of Newsday has his finger on the pulse and wrote about it, quoting Alan Faneca, who spoke after the game yesterday, and didn’t-question-yet-still-questioned the playcalling on third and short.
Here’s the situation: The Jets, trailing 17-3, have the ball at the Saints’ 48 with 10:32 left in the third quarter. Third-and-1, and they’ve been running the ball reasonably well. Time for Thomas Jones, right?
Nope. Mark Sanchez attempts a short pass to his right to Chansi Stuckey, and it’s batted down, forcing the Jets to punt.
The Jets score on their next possession to make it 17-10. After the Saints are stopped, the Jets are faced with another third-and-1, this time from their 37. With one of the top offensive lines in football, surely now’s the time to run it, yes?
Not this time, either. Sanchez attempts another pass to Stuckey, and that one’s incomplete, too.
Huh?
“Third-and-1 is our territory,” left guard Alan Faneca said. “You’d like to run the ball. Put it on our shoulders.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer finally ran it on third-and-2 in the fourth quarter, but Jones was stopped for no gain.
Oh, well.
“They made the plays and we didn’t,” coach Rex Ryan said. “We thought we could hit them on a play , and we knew the coverage we were going to get.”
Ironically, for as good as the Jets running game was last year, there were some signs that it wasn’t up to snuff in 2008 on what F.O. defines as “power” yards — basically short yardage runs on third or fourth down. Through three games this year, the team has had the most success of any team in the same statistic… go figure.
All that said, and for as lauded as Brian Schottenheimer has been through the first month of the 2009 season for his offense and working with Mark Sanchez, there’s still an “out-think yourself” factor at play here for Schotty. He’s got to know his team can grind out some short yards this season, even if it’s not breaking long gainers, and the playcalling, much like it did at the start of last season, is coming into question again.
For all that said, Thomas Jones is starting to show some telltale signs. Through four games, Jones has averaged 3.8 yards per carry and as most know, anything below 4.0 yards per carry for a running back is going to raise some eyebrows and it looks like Rex Ryan is one of those people. After three weeks of not using Shonn Greene as a running back, the rookie saw some time on the field.
Rookie RB Shonn Greene (Sicklerville) made his NFL debut and steamrolled over right tackle for nine yards on his first NFL carry. He finished with 23 yards on four carries.
”The kid is a good running back,” said Ryan. ”He has some explosiveness. He kind of turned his ankle late in the game. I think this kid has a chance to be a good one.”
Ryan said he wasn’t trying to send a message to the veteran Jones (13 carries, 48 yards, one TD). He wants to use three RBs – Jones, Greene and Leon Washington (four carries, 17 yards)
And it’s about time. Greene looked good when he did get in the game prior to his injury, but Thomas Jones seemed to have a little more fire once he returned to the game after Greene’s series. Still the running game had it’s stops and starts for the Jets during the day.
I think that Greene could be a boost to the unit, but since the summer, I believe that this is now the third injury for Shonn Greene that’s kept him from the field. If he’s going to be a contributor to this team for years to come, then the team and Greene need to find a way to keep him healthy, or find a better backup plan to fill his role.
20 Responses to The Rundown: Fix Yo’ Smashmouth
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spentmiles says:
Bench Greene! Hire Marvin Harrison to beat up our ball boys! I want the entire house cleaned, from the hare lip that picks up the socks to the guy signing the checks! Can you feel the flames yet? This baby is going down!
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On a serious note, when Greene came in last night, it looked like he was getting the ball from Sanchez in full stride. Jones, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have his timing down with the hand off. It was like he had to stutter step to get a hold of the ball. I don’t know who is to blame for that, but it’s giving defenders too much time to react.
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starz31 says:
I thought TJ has looked the same as he did last year. He’s never been a “speed” back, so his speed to me looks the same…its just he isn’t hitting any hole, or maybe, there arent holes to hit. The 3rd and 2 that he got stuffed on yesterday, there was no where to go. The NO d-line pushed our O-line back. he couldnt go anywhere.
My point is, TJ looks the same to me, and I’m not saying that as a compliment. I think Leon is a better back than him, Leon seems capable of at least gaining something out of nothing, not to mention the home run ability as well. Greene looked great on his 4 carries.
Last year we didn’t have to deal with 8 in the box for long stretches of a game. We dealt with it in 2007 and couldn’t do a thing.
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What I dont get is, if theres 8 in the box, then why do we spread out and go into an empty set just to throw it 3-4 yards any ways. The defense isnt getting stretched downfield, theres still 8 players close to the line of scrimmage. There was one play yesterday, we had an empty set back field, shotgun, with a TE set, and NO had 7-8 guys in the box, they had previously dropped from the same set into coverage but this time, they blitzed, and Sanchez was sacked before he had a chance. The defense was ready for it. And we couldnt do a thing.
Our slants worked great in the 1rst quarter, but you cant do that all game long. There were no adjustments made.
3rd and inches, Im sorry, we need to pound the ball right up the middle. Then again, we didnt do it, then on the 3rd time…3rd and 2…this time in a strong I-set, well what you thinks gonna happen…we’re gonna run it. I dont think we could have telegraphed it any better
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Jack says:
Until Sanchez proves he can beat teams with his arm they are going to continue to focus on stopping the run. This is no big secret, happens to every rookie QB. Teams are putting 7 and 8 guys on the line and that’s pretty tough sledding.
Add to this the fact that we have played some teams who are pretty darned stout against the run and I’m not ready to push the panic button yet. We are after all the 10th ranked rushing team (yds per game) in the league at this point, 27th in passing.
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zenlaw says:
I would have preferred to see the Jets run the ball on both of those 3rd and 1 opportunities. They tried quick slants to Stuckey all day and none of them worked. After both 3rd and 1′s failed, I think everyone including the N.O. Defense knew that the 3rd and 2 play was going to be run.
If Schott just has to be tricky with his 3rd and 1′s, why not try play action or a naked bootleg. Quick slants at the line of scrimmage rarely work with 7-8 players in the box.
Despite the Sanchez errors, I think those three 3rd and short plays made a big difference in yesterday’s game.
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dmsarad says:
Let’s focus on the point. Schottenheimer’s play calling was awful. He is always too cute by a half. Passing from his own endzone on 2nd down with a rookie QB cost us 7 points and then he passes on two straight 3rd and 1s after successful runs and then runs the ball on 3rd and 2 from a running set. I just didn’t get it. If you are going to run the ball on 3rd and 2 after twice throwing on 3rd and 1, at least do it from a some type of passing formation so as to at least pretend to try to be using surprise. They basically lined up with 2 TEs and 1 WR and said “hey, we are going to try to get 2 yards on the ground here even though you have 9 guys in the box.”
Sanchez does need to do a better job with the ball, but he is a rookie and is going to make mistakes. Schottenheimer has to give him more to work with though. I am really getting tired of his play calling.
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Tish says:
And the Monday morning experts babble on……..
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Marooned on Revis Island says:
Would it have killed Shottenheimer to call a play fake? 8 in the box, at least use their aggressiveness against them.
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Harris52ChampionshipDefense says:
The play calling was not great yesterday, but you know what, the way the line has been run blocking, I can’t blame the coaching staff for looking to pass. They gave TJ and the line a chance to convert when it was 3rd and 2, and TJ ended up getting drilled for a two yard loss. I think the coaches want to run smashmouth, but the poor play of the line thus far this season isn’t allowing them to.
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57JETSBLITZ says:
The running game is something that must be committed to. You have to go down with that ship. You can’t use it like a quick slant or reverse to keep the defense on their heels. It’s an attitude thing, the mentality that has been brought to the defense is what the offense needs. It’s SMASHMOUTH football, no holds barred. Do you think Rex would ever stop blitzing because an offense knows it’s coming? The answer is no…..the point is you know it;s coming, and we dare you to stop it. It’s what breaks the will and the backs of your opponents. It’s not supposed to be pretty or graceful or awe inspiring. It’s as ugly and nasty as a toothless hunts point hooker, but it works if you just stick with it long enough to be effective. STAY COMMITED TO RUNNING THE BALL AND ALL WILL BE WELL WITH THIS TEAM.
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brian311 says:
watch the pats on 3rd / 4th and short. QB sneak by brady every time. we need to take a page out of the pats playbook.
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Harris,
that play was the most frustrating. It is tough for any team to get 2 yards when they basically put in a formation that says we are going to try to run here. If Shotty was going to call a run there, I would rather he did it from a spread formation on that play.
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James in TN says:
what is a ” toothless hunts point hooker”? Our running game needs work.
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Harvlis says:
When you have eight in the box against you, you have to open up the passing game, to earn the other teams respect. Where was David Clowney? Even if he didn’t catch a TD, they would have had to double team him. If not, my money’s on Clowney to burn the Corner.
Many of you are blaming the O-Line for our running woes. It is the O-Coordinator, not the O-Line. Their performance is as good as the system that they are in. Schottenheimer is horrible. He has no idea how to run an offense. If our O-Coordinator was as talented as our D-Coordinator — we would walk into the playoffs. One of these days, Rex is going to realize this and, the sooner the better.
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Eddie DiGio says:
James in TN,
Hunts Pt is up in the bronx and the ho’s who trick there are just plain gross (pimp knowledge)TJ gets himself in trouble with the studder step. Holes close in the blink of an eye in the NFL, and if you arent sure where you are going the second you get your hand on the ball, your done.
Shonn Greene has got to get some carries if TJ is gonna continue to run this way. We should get some relief in the fact that the level of competition will not be as stout as we have been facing the past couple games.
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Harvlis,
I dont share the same disgust you share for Schotty, as Eric Mangini is that pig for me, but I am definitely starting to see how Schotty gets exposed in big spots. Once we turn the ball over he turns into his father and goes back into his shell.Schotty has this year to save his job
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slink88 says:
It’s only poor play calling when it doesn’t work. lol
Some think the Jets offense is trying to be too cute while others think they should’ve faked the run more to offset the Saints aggressiveness.
The offense needs another quality wide receiver to be sure but without the turnovers this would’ve been a completely different game. The Sharper INT took away 3 (maybe 7) points for the Jets and gave 7 to the Saints. That alone is a 10-14 point swing in the score. Without that play maybe Sanchez isn’t heaving balls into coverage in the 4th quarter.
The OL appears to be overrated at this point, given their production. Have t temper that with teams playing 8 in the box, but what should have been a strength (our running game) sure hasn’t looked it. TJ has looked a step slow, and hesitant in “choosing his holes.” Loved what I saw out of Mendenhall last night – he picked a hole, and then hit it……hard ! Tip toeing behind the line will lead to negative yardage, which TJ has sen multiple times this year.