Lack of Playmakers the Difference?
While Rex might have boasted otherwise this summer in training camp, this year’s Jets offense didn’t have the playmakers that it needed to truly make a run at a postseason berth. Brian Costello looks at the GM and the WRs as part of the problem.
General manager Mike Tannenbaum put together a roster without much team speed and without a deep threat for Sanchez to throw to. The Jets have just two passes for more than 40 yards all season. Of the 33 quarterbacks who have thrown at least 14 passes per game, no one has fewer passes over 40 yards than Sanchez. Part of that falls on him, part of it on Schottenheimer, but it also points to a flawed receiving corps.
Teams have taken away Santonio Holmes this year with double teams. The Jets let Braylon Edwards walk (five catches of more than 40 yards in 2010) for Plaxico Burress, who has shown no ability to separate from defenders. He can out-leap them in the red zone, but he is not much of a weapon between the 20s. The Mason experiment bombed before Halloween, and Jeremy Kerley has a long way to go.
For most of this season, we’ve been harping on the fact that Santonio Holmes isn’t effective enough of a receiver without a proper match across the field from him. Last year, he had that in Braylon Edwards, this year that’s been minimized with the addition of Plaxico Burresss. Also it’s fair to factor in some other circumstances: the failure of Derrick Mason, and the season ending injury of WR/TE Jeff Cumberland.
Every Jets fan knows that the Jets have had a long history of an inability to find legitimate deep threats – it’s like part of the DNA of the organization. Part of this also has to be attributed to the talent that the team is normally drawn to at the Quarterback position. It’s the Chad Pennington style quarterback that the Jets crave over the cannon-armed options. So in some ways, deep threats fall way down the priority list. It’s the same thing with pass rushers … if you’re not playing with big leads … how much to you prioritize finding a pass rusher? Just ask Dwight Freeney about Peyton Manning.
Of course, it’s not like the Jets haven’t tried to find some players over the years – it just hasn’t born fruit in the long term. Santana Moss was one the team did acquire, but the team ultimately unloaded him for possession receiver Laveranues Coles. The Jets also swung and missed with castoff WR David Clowney, but ended up releasing him after he didn’t develop. The Jets also were rumored to have tried to acquire Percy Harvin in the 2009 Draft … so while the Jets have tried, it’s just not worked out.
The team has Dustin Keller for one more year, Holmes for a few more, and Jeremy Kerley will only get better with time. The team is going to have to take a serious look at the tradeoff that Plaxico has provided this season — red zone efficiency or third down efficiency.
While I’m happy they’re scoring more consistently, it doesn’t matter if they can’t sustain those long drives to get there in the first place. I’ll take third down efficiency over red zone efficiency.
124 Responses to Lack of Playmakers the Difference?
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You’re forgetting that it is hard to throw deep routes accurately when your WRs are not fast, or are small, or run sloppy routes, or you get beat up everytime you have to stand in the pocket for more then 3 seconds.
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Kyle says:
+1
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Matt3222 says:
amen to this – Sanchez IS NOT PERFECT – i get that, but too many people blame only him. There have literally been times this year when he gets LEVELED on three step drops. Absolutely crushed. our receivers get absolutely no separation.
Look – I am disappointed with Sanchez. I was hoping he would take ‘the leap’ and overcome some of this but he is not the only problem. In his three years here, this is by far IMO the least amount of talent we’ve surrounded him with. Braylon/Cotch last year to Plax/Kerlay this year was a huge downgrade. Plax added a nice element in the red zone no doubt and I am optimistic about Kerlay’s future but in a straight comparison of last year to this year, it’s a no brainer.
Oh – and i like keller – he has nice physical tools but he has the football IQ of a rock. How many times must we see the ball bounce off his facemask? do they even practice during the week? The one against the Giants this weekend was terrible. I could tell from my couch they were blitzing and the ball was coming out hot – how did he not?
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Blowyabackout says:
+1
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Green Lantern says:
You haven’t seen Mark with Braylon as a receiver at all have you?
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Courtesy of the WSJ:
For instance, while his completion percentage is better, a greater proportion of Sanchez’s throws have been underneath routes. Just over 23% of his pass attempts this season have been to running backs, the highest rate of Sanchez’s career.
And while his touchdown numbers are significantly better, a staggering 79% of those scoring passes have been from inside the redzone, up from 47% last season, according to Stats LLC. That may suggest that the 6-foot-5 Burress maybe a larger factor in Sanchez’s touchdown total than whatever improvements Sanchez, himself, has made.
Additionally, with just 48 passing attempts of 20 yards or more, he’s thrown fewer deep balls this year than in either of his first two seasons, according to Stats. He’s also completing a career-low 21% on such throws.
Maybe the loss of Edwards was more significant than many of us thought.
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he proved that with Braylon.he could throw accurate but he tends not to trust his new receivers.like every year he has been a Jet.
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I agree with the need for more speed on offense—as I watch games, it doesn’t seem the Jets have anyone on offense who’s a threat to take it all the way on any given play like they had with Leon, Brad Smith or Braylon.
That being said, I am really liking what I’m seeing out of Kerley, both in terms of becoming a dangerous punt returner and a reliable, dare I say Chrebet-like, 3rd-down option. He always seems to know where the chains are (unlike Keller, for example) and how to get there.
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Great reveal: We can’t stretch the field because our WRs are not fast. Is the next article about how our Oline does not give Holmes enough time to work his triple-move routes in order to get open?
I thought we sucked because Sanchez is a garbage QB??? O_o I am confused?!?! (sarcasm)
Vincent Jackson in 2012!!! Who is with me?-
Once you say that Sanchez is a garbage QB nobody should take anything else that you say seriously.
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And if you cannot manage to read the word “sarcasm” which I wrote because ppl like you are not able to comprehend subtlety (even though it was anything but), well no need to reply to my posts.
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I read it as the “Am I confused” was where you were being sarcastic, and that you weren’t confused at, knowing that Sanchez is a garbage QB. Sarcasm is pretty hard to pick up on in text.
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Right on, sorry it was misleading. I consider myself, along with johnnyreefer to be two of the very few ardent Sanchez supporters so I didn’t really think my statement would be misinterpreted. Re-reading it, I don’t see how the Sanchez comment would be taken literally, given the context of the post.
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Either Vincent Jackson, Desean Jackson, a new Right Tackle and a new OC and I wanna see how that offense performs.
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Desean Jackson is bad news. He’s a cancer in the Iggles locker room this year.
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If Sanchez couldn’t do it with Braylon & Santonio on the field at the same time then it doesn’t matter who the Jets sign at WR. With an incapable QB you can only go so far. Last year some games were won by pure luck with Holmes running down the field and avoiding tackles in the last few seconds. Everytime Sanchez drops back I cringe. It is either an INT or a 2 yard pass. 2 weeks ago it was 3rd & 14 and Sanchez threw a 3 yard screen pass. Makes me sick!
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wunky says:
So they couldn’t do out last year except the fact that they did it? Last seconds, broken tackles, who cares–that’s how all nfl games are won.
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Longshot says:
Still do not understand why Rex refuses to make REAL SUBSTANTIVE changes during the season. If he sees these problems, does he just decide to watch them all season long. Heck, even teams with good winning records made changes — they knew where the weaknesses were and tried to do something about instead of wandering the sidelines looking bewildered.
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Agreed that the o-line hasn’t given Sanchez the time needed to be successful on deep passes this year. But don’t forget that we had a top-10 o-line (and Braylon) the past 2 years, and Sanchez was still pretty bad on the deep stuff. He completed only 11% of deep passes last year, and only 8% of bombs.
Sanchez just hasn’t shown the ability to be particularly accurate on any set of throws – short, intermediate, or (especially) deep. I’m not saying we ditch him – he’s still a better option for next year than anyone else we could reasonably get, and he’s young enough that there’s still a chance he improves significantly. I want him to succeed. But if the light bulb doesn’t go on next year, with a new OC and (presumably) new pieces on the o-line, we have to look at alternatives. Having a QB who misses so many opportunities puts a ton of pressure on the rest of the team to be perfect – and we’re not.
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Bent says: I’m not sure that the number of deep passes is affected by the line. I see plenty of times where the protection holds up and you can stretch the field with a throw down the seam off a three step drop.
What I see is a lot of teams leaving both safeties deep to prevent the long pass and daring Sanchez to beat them underneath, testing his accuracy. I’m not sure Braylon would have prevented that.
Having said that, I’ve seen several examples of one on one coverage where Sanchez looks deep and decides against it. That’s either because he doesn’t see separation or is too scared of making a mistake. Maybe he’d have more confidence in throwing that to Braylon.
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I’ve also seen a bunch of times someone had one on one coverage, or even is wide open, but Sanchez is locked in on the short pass on the other side of the field, with plenty of time to recognize the coverage and give it a heave. I’m not sure if this is Schotty/Rex telling him not to take shots (red/yellow/green) or if he just doesn’t recognize it, but they are there.
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Revis24Island says:
The more I look at the playoff situation, the more I believe the Jets have a really good shot at getting in.
1. Bengals are home playing the Ravens. The Ravens need to win to secure home field advantage. Ravens are a much better team than the Bengals.
2. The Texans are home against the Titans. The Texans coach has stated that TJ Yates will play the entire game because he needs as many snaps as possible. I believe the Texans and their good defense can pull it out.
3. Raiders home against the Chargers and Broncos home against the Chiefs. We only need one of these teams to lose (Raiders or Broncos). Tim Tebow has really come back down to earth. Orton seems to be settling into the Chiefs offense and you know he will be out for revenge. With the Raiders/Chargers game you never know which Charger team you’re going to see. I can see either team the Raiders or the Broncos losing this game.
First and foremost, the JETS HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS ON SUNDAY! If they do, I think there is a realistic shot of us in the playoffs.
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Better shot than 2 years ago.
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Pretty much the same as 2002, which seemed like a longer shot then.
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And then we have to play good teams, which we’ve responded to soooo well this season. I’m as optimistic as the next guy but what have you seen during this season that would have you believe this team is capable of anything more then “one and done”?
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Whether we go one and done or not, I’d like to have the chance to compete in the playoffs. We don’t necessarily deserve to be in the playoffs because we’ve lost so many games to beatable oponents or not shown up in critical games, but anything can happen.
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elmoron says:
#1
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agreed — right now I don’t think they can beat the Dolphins. But if they do, I want those other teams to lose, because Houston is not that good a team anymore, and I’m sure off a Dolphins win the team could muster up enough to beat them. Do I think they can beat any of the remaining teams? No, but again, right now I’m not so sure they can beat Miami. In two weeks, off a Dolphins road win and a Texans road win, the perception will change dramatically.
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Tom in Raleigh says:
The scenario is hopeful that they make the playoffs. Based on the way the Jets have played this year the SOJs fan in me expects that they will have everything else break their way and manage to lose in Miami or will beat Miami and get all but one of the other games to go their way.
I will be shocked if they make the playoffs.
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Is there any other way for them not to make it other than the two ways you described?
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Chakrabs says:
Why? Texans are locked into the 3-spot. The Titans will have to play for their playoff lives. The Texans can just play vanilla defense and offense while forcing the Titans to reveal their playbook to win. Remember, Titans will get the final spot if they win (I think), so for the Texans, they’d rather see the Titans a second time, which gives them more time to study and find weaknesses than the Jets.
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SackDance99 says:
Texans would play the Titans next week, so they really only have 2 choices: either go all out and beat the Titans or completely tank, so as not to give the Titans any read on your team in order to retain some surprise factor the next week. IMO, it’s always bad karma to let a divisional opponent beat you and then face them again the following week. With Yates, it’s not like they can just turn on their offense; he’s either in there to win or doesn’t play. I’m not being a Jets homer here, but I can’t envision us ever letting the Bills, Dolphins or Pats beat us so we can play them the next week. I’d much rather play the other no. 6 seed that doesn’t play us 2 times a year.
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The Texans have also lost two straight, both with the DC out. I know from reading their papers that they are dead-set on going in with a win, and the DC wants to get the D playing well again. Andre Johnson may even play, that’s how badly they want to get a W heading into the postseason.
Additionally, I don’t care who you are, it is never easy to beat a team three times in one season. The Texans want this game, and then they’ll take their chances with the Raiders, Jets or Bengals.
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http://blogs.tennessean.com/titans/2011/12/28/kubiak-texans-will-be-going-full-speed-against-titans/
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Like I said before, the Ravens and Texans are going all out and both of those teams are better than the Bengals and Titans. The Broncos are in a free fall and the Raiders have lacked consistency in the second half of the season.
If the Jets take care of business against the Dolhpins, I think we will have a decent shot to make the playoffs.
PS-How did the Bengals vs’ing us twice in a row work for them in 2009?
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Bent says:
I was thinking about this the other day.
The Jets went from basically no playmakers in 2005 to having Leon, Brad Smith, Braylon, Clowney, Holmes all over the next few years. Greene also showed some breakaway ability at the end of 2009.
However, nobody on that list has been a playmaker this year, apart from maybe Holmes who is still here. They brought in McKnight and Kerley but they haven’t had much of a shot and the offense relies on Plax and Tomlinson who no longer possess that dynamicism.
A lot of it comes down to Sanchez’s inability to hit people in stride, but overall it just seems like they’re consistituted to be more of a march down the field than a quick strike offense. Unfortunately, that requires consistency. It doesn’t surprise me that red zone execution is up, but so are the number of stalled drives and it does look like this is at least partially attributable to the personnel.
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Looking at the offense in a slightly different way…who on the offense(at any position) has had a better than expected year?
I actually had trouble coming up with ANY name!! Perhaps Kerley? Unbelievable that nobody has exceeded expectations. It is not a surprise that the O has struggled.
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Bent says:
Plax has done better than I expected.
Conner has improved a lot.
McKnight has made more of a contribution.
Cumberland made an impact and is a bigger loss than you might think.
Turner and Baker showed they could be useful backups in future.Agreed that all of these are incremental improvements at best. (I guess Sanchez himself falls in that category, maybe Greene too once you factor in his receiving yards).
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Plax under 3 catches per game.
Connor under 50 rushing yards and 2 total catches! Yes, he has blocked better.
McKnight’s contributions have been mostly on special teams.
Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree.
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Bent says:
Blocking is Conner’s main job! How many rushing yards and catches did Richardson used to get?
Those players exceeded MY expectations, so you can’t disagree. My expectations were my own.
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I mostly agree with that. Our offense isn’t really built for 60-yard gains; it’s built to get one first down after another and march down the field. As you pointed out elsewhere, our running game has actually held up its end of the bargain pretty well since Mangold came back. Imho, the biggest problems have been:
1. Sanchez consistently misses on the short-to-intermediate stuff that should gain 10-15 yards. He either throws incompletions, or misses the guy in stride so that even a completion doesn’t get the first down.
2. Getting away from the run too quickly.
3. Only one gamebreaker (Holmes), and he’s been double-teamed and/or disinterested on a lot of plays.I’m hoping a new OC (even if it’s Callahan) will address #2 next year. We could try to draft or sign someone to address #3. But we still face #1, which I think will continue to be the biggest issue as long as we want to be a ball-control team.
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Bent says:
Please not Callahan.
Not because he’d do a bad job, just because unless they are hypocrites, the Schotty-bashers will hate him.
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Why do you say that?
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Bent says:
Stubborn
Inability to adjust
Too many shifts and motion
Overly complex playbook
Mistakes in execution
Doesn’t tailor scheme to personnelThese are all things that Schotty gets criticized for, but Callahan does MORE than him. So, Schotty bashers should be careful what they wish for…
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Interesting. I hadn’t considered that. In light of the current situation, have you by chance looked back at some of Callahan’s Raider days? Might be an interesting BGA.
Also, should we get our wish and Schotty does go, who would you prefer to see?
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Bent says:
Mostly based on Nebraska.
Give me someone young and keep Moore and Callahan in their current roles to ease the transition.
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I’ve held back from commenting for a while now, mostly because it’s all been said and said and said again. But a point that I feel is often left out – as in the above post – is this:
The front office made a huge mistake letting Braylon Edwards walk and signing Plax. Ok, that’s certainly been said by some, but my reasoning isn’t said much: it’s not that I think Braylon is all that much better than Plax , I don’t (though I do think Edwards gets better separation). But in an offseason cut ridiculously short because of the lockout AND considering your QB is still developing with not a lot of pro/college starts to his resume, I found it just plain stupid to change 2/3rds of the starting WRs. Edwards may not be fantastically better than Plax, but he knew the offense and had a good chemistry with Sanchez. Plax on the other hand, had been out of the game for two years and didn’t know the O. Did it drive anyone else nuts to still be hearing halfway through the season that the QB and WR were not yet on the same page? Rex said in many pressers that it would take Plax several games into the season to find a real rhythm with the offense. So that’s the plan? Bring in a guy who hasn’t played in two years and who will admittedly not be in full sync with the O until many weeks into the season? Yeah he ended up with good red zone production, but he’s mostly non-existent on the other 4/5ths of the field. Not what I expect from the #2 receiver. And his red zone efficiency could just as well have in large part been due to Tom Moore’s influence.
In a lockout shortened offseason, to me the logical thing to do is to keep as many parts as possible in place to alleviate the burden of cramming 6 months worth of prep into 4 weeks. Sanchez especially – supposedly ready to make that quantum leap – needed continuity and comfort-level to have a chance at that happening, not radical change. (As an aside, for this reason I believe it was very logical for the FO to sign Wayne Hunter – he had played well last year and with not a lot of options out there (or time) it made sense to keep a guy who already knew and had experience in the system. Sucks that he didn’t play like we hoped, but it was sensible move to make).
Of course, some will argue that Edwards wouldn’t have taken less money here and Cotch wanted out. And that is all speculation. Edwards ended up taking very little money in SF and I doubt Cotch would’ve walked out or made as big a public stink as he did if they hadn’t signed Plax and then Mason (another new piece – great move there). Cotch would’ve been unhappy, but he probably would’ve stayed and gave his all. Or maybe he wouldn’t have – Cotch was good but never great and his role was minor compared to Edwards – maybe Kerley would’ve passed Cotch on the depth chart by midseason anyway. But I believe to have Edwards and Cotch’s knowledge of and comfort level with the system could have made a huge difference. And with Edwards especially, it seemed like they didn’t even try to get him back with an incentive laden and or backloaded deal. They went all in on Aso and then scrambled like idiots to put the pieces together when that fell through. Had they focused on Cro from the start, they likely would’ve gotten him for less than they did which would’ve freed up more money for Edwards. Very shortsighted of the FO considering the circumstances surrounding the offseason.
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Bent says:
Good post. All offseason I said how important continuity was to Sanchez, but like you say we don’t know the story behind Cotchery wanting to leave and it looked like Braylon was headed for jail and would only accept a big money deal. Maybe they knew his knee was a potential issue too. I thought it was telling that (a) Cotchery joined a disciplined, businesslike organization and (b) all Braylon could get was a one year deal for $1m with incentives.
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Bent, do you know at what point did Edwards sustain his knee injury? I don;t remember that being talked about at all in the offseason – for some reason I thought it happened once he got to SF.
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Bent says:
It happened early in the year, but maybe he had some kind of condition where it was susceptible to damage or would take longer to heal if injured. Not sure of the exact nature of the injury but it could be something like Tendonitis or a bone on bone issue where the problem was already there but reached a point where he was slowed down and couldn’t play through the pain.
That’s what I was referring to, but I have no insight into the nature of the injury…perhaps the Jets do though,
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Bent says:
Taking that point a step further, maybe that explains why Braylon stopped going deep down the stretch last year. From about week 13 onwards he was used in a possession receiver role. He did it really well, but he certainly wasn’t a deep threat from then on.
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It’s interesting speculation.
I always assumed that the big reason he got so little cash in SF was because of his idiocy getting into that fight (or being there when his posse did) as he was trying to get a deal somewhere as a FA. That happening, in conjunction with his past record, showed a complete lack of discipline and common sense. (kinda like Plax going into a crowded club with a loaded gun in his pocket).
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Bent says:
When I heard that news, I didn’t want them to go anywhere near him, so I’m not surprised they took a wide berth to be honest.
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WW85 says:
+1. I’ve said this several times as well. Attempting to disrupt the receiving corps yet again with a young QB & no real training camp was a really dumb idea….even if some of you think Plax is better than Bray, it was just dumb.
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Harlan Lachman says:
Bassett, I completely disagree with your premise. You are talking about the gingerbread on the house when the foundation is crumbling. Other than a moron for an OC and a OL line coach who cannot coach up his players, our 2011 problem is the OL.
Wayne Hunter is a sick joke played on us by Tanny who did nothing to fix the problem during the season. Slauson and Moore are adequate guards but we don’t have a real mauler or puller. And, then Brick has a down year for us in spite of the unjustified pro bowl selection.
Don’t waste time with the icing. We need a much better OC and OL Coach, a new RT and a new Guard. Sanchez will look better, Kerley and Holmes will look better, and we could even have Braylon back.
Fix the foundation.
harlan
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Rocky says:
I agree letting Braylon walk was a silly decision but the lack of moves we made in this offseason is really what hurt us.
1. No RT signing, there were a lot of players out there who we could have signed but instead we stuck with our jumbo tight end who has never started despite being 30, it was a huge risk and from the first snap it was obviously a mistake.
2. No backup Running back. I am flabbergasted that this team didn’t make a push for Darren Sproles, he was readily available and would have given us the screen/ outside the tackle option that we hadn’t had since Leon and he would be much more effective than LT.
3. No safety signing. OJ Atogwe was available again this year but for whatever reason the Jets chose to re-sign slower and less talented Eric Smith. Atogwe would have given us a dimension we hadn’t had since Kerry.
This offseason I hope Tanny takes a big look in the mirror and addresses these issues. He’s gone all out before (in 08 when he signed Favre, Faneca, Jenkins, Woody, Richardson and Pace) and I expect him to do it this year with RT, S, OLB and a WR
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Bent says:
There was essentially nobody out there at RT with a resume any better than Hunter. Anyone they could have signed would have been a bigger risk than Hunter because they didn’t know the system and there are really no free agent RTs that have done any better than he did.
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Man, you’re quick, was gonna say the same thing. Guess that’s why you get paid the big bucks!
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Bent says:
Riiight.
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Bent, I am confused. Are you saying that there were no teams with OL depth who might have entertained a trade? Are Free Agents the only way to obtain players? Are you positive that there were no Practice Squad players the equal of turnstile Hunter?
Harlan
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Bent says:
Harlan – If you look around the league, at least half the teams in the league start a lineman equivalent to – or worse than – Hunter. Hunter is probably about the 50th best tackle in the league and there are only 64 starting tackles available, so the caliber of player available on the open market pretty much plateaued at Wayne Hunter, especially since he knew (and had played well in) the system.
They may have explored trades, but teams with depth have depth because they want depth, not so they can fill holes on other teams.
It just wasn’t a good year for tackles. If you asked me to name a free agent pass rusher they could have got to upgrade themselves (ignoring the fact that they got Maybin) then I could name you five or six. At tackle, I’d struggle to come up with a single name.
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Brad R. says:
Like 2011, there are not many 2012 free agent tackles. There are, however, a number of FA safeties (Tyvon Branch, Michael Griffin, Laron Landry) – some who appear to be an upgrade over our current corps. Since our two starting safeties are both free agents, it would be wise to address the S position first in the offseason and look for Hunter’s replacement early in the draft. Seems clear we can’t have Hunter in there again next year, and Vlad is not ready for prime time. (It is seems unclear if he ever will be.)
Trades are always an option, but I can’t think of a team who has an extra starting quality RT.
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Bent, what grade do you give Schotty for working around Hunter’s deficiencies? Do you think Schotty & his team did the best they could with Vlad & TEs supporting Hunter?
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Bent says:
Hunter’s better games came when he had help from the inside. When they gave him help from the outside, it sometimes ended up getting in his way.
They’ve done well against some teams and not others. If Hunter is as terrible as everyone says, then Schotty must deserve credit because he’s actually played reasonably well in over half the games this year.
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Jet 4 Life says:
Wait. To all you people questioning Sanchez on deep routes, look at his old USC games. He had no problem then. Schotenheimer NEVER calls vertical routes EVER! That is the problem. When Braylon was here, we did it. count how many times they threw a pass to a receiver running straight down the sideline this year. I bet its single digits! Next season DUMP SCHOTTY! Plax can go unless he wants to stay as a 3rd receiver. Get Braylon back,bring in or draft another big time speed receiver and you will see a difference. Also another o lineman both as a free agent and in the draft is a must.
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see above for my prior post from the WSJ — Sanchez is throwing fewer deep balls this year than the past two AND is completing a lower percentage!!
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I don’t think personnel changes are the issue. What is the Jets’ offensive philosophy? It’s not “ground and pound”. It’s not a “West Coast” system. It’s not a straight drop back, vertical system. It’s not even, as far as I can tell, a combination or variation of any offensive system that I’ve ever seen. So, without a bona fide system, how do we know if the right offensive personnel are on the Jets? Also, at this point, I don’t know whether Sanchez can be a West Coast QB…accuracy is at a premium in the West Coast offense, as is timing, and these are two attributes that Sanchez doesn’t have in abundance, so far. Although Sanchez is, IMO, too short to be a straight drop back QB, I think the Jets should take a page from the 80s/90s Redskins and put more than a normal amount of cap space into the OL (get Nicks (or Grubbs)) as a UFA, improve RT) and match Tone with a WR that can also get deep and go run first with an accent on play action. Then, sign Peyton Hillis, who should be very undervalued, and either draft or sign a better run blocking/pass catching TE with height. Then, pound the football, with a mix of play action and straight drop backs. Run/pass mix should be 53/47. Greene, Hillis (who can split LT’s role as the pass catching RB with McKnight, as well as share the pounding with Greene) and McKnight behind an OL that has Nicks, Mangold and Moore in the interior and I will guarantee 12 wins next year. Bring those safeties in to stop the run and Tone and no. 2 WR (whoever it is) can get deep. More than anything, I want an offense that forces the defensive to change, not vice versa.
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IF mark doesn’t have enough accuracy or timing, should we be paying him $14mm next year? I’m not being facetious…truly wondering if he would take a paycut. What would Mark get paid on the open market?
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I can’t take Mark’s performance and look at in a vacuum. The OC has not gotten the most out of him or the Jets’ offense. There has been no commitment to the run, making play action less effective. And, as far as I can tell, the Jets don’t run a West Coast offense, where mobility, accuracy and timing have to be pinpoint. If the Jets had that type of offense, then the Jets couldn’t just “plug and play” WRs, like they did this year. To me, it looks like the Jets were constructed like a fantasy football team with no thought as to whether all the parts meshed togethed.
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Agree with this post, no identity on offense.
I also feel that in addition to lack of system, there are intangibles that are hard to quantify which Shotty and his coaches lack. For instance, there’s been much talk of game plan vs execution when trying to find the culprit for the offenses woes. But execution has been a problem during Shotty’s entire 6 year tenure. Every year we’ve seen games where the offense just disappears or seems lost for most of the game (including a few games we’ve won, especially last year). So in 6 years we’ve had what, 100 players or so on offense? And year in and year out execution is a problem. I find it hard to fault the players over such a long span for execution problems – that falls on coaching.
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Brendan says:
This is almost the same roster as last season. A lack of playmakers is not even close to the issue at hand. The team downgraded their run-blocking TE, lost their “6th man”, and didn’t get the improvement from Hunter being a full time starter that they had hoped.
Braylon/Plax is a wash for me. Plax greatly impacted the red zone offense (anyone who says it had nothing to do with the guy are just hating, lying to themselves, or both). I’ve said this many times, but the loss of the deep passing game wasn’t because Braylon left. They have one of the most gifted receivers at going deep in the league on their roster (Holmes). The deep passing game disappeared because they couldn’t consistently run it (or refused to), thus rendering their play-action deep balls non-existent. Without those play-action deep balls, the safeties creep up and close down the 10-20 yard range (which Plax would have been a force in without safeties sitting in the path of his much beloved slant pattern).
And I’m not absolving Schotty in this post, for those of you who will undoubtedly read it that way. The lack of a commitment to the run is on Schotty. Without it, his complicated passing game became rather simple. Would Braylon have gotten a few deep balls? Sure. He wouldn’t have gotten enough to change the path of the season, though.
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I’m not really clear on why we didn’t give Plax more passes. Even without separation, he had the physical advantages over the corners.
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You would think the Jets would make the back-shoulder toss (a play that basically eliminates the advantage of a double-team and gives a receiver with Plax’s build a perfect pass to “box out” the defender for) a staple. It still pisses me off they didn’t throw many of them.
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EXACTLY. WTF didn’t we have a couple every game on the Plax mismatch? Schotty just finds new ways for me to scratch my head every day.
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Lam Jones says:
Agreed 100%… I have been really surprised that there weren’t more jump balls along the sidelines to Plax… either he comes down with it, draws a flag or ball goes OB… seems like that would also cause the Defense to shift coverage and open things up elsewhere?
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How about the TD pass to the Saints tight end Graham Monday night? There is zero reason that the Jets could not run the same type of route with Plax.
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Plax got many of his long gains because the CB made the mistake of playing him like a normal WR, between him and the QB. In single coverage, down the sideline, a CB who has this coverage could lose a jump ball and get toasted for a huge gain…it happened to Jets against the Giants. I’ve said this a lot about Mark, but he has a tendency to pass too low and when he tries to pass high he ends up aiming and missing. A capable vet (Orton?) would just launch it up high to Plax when he’s in single coverage and see if he can make a play…how often has Mark done that this season?
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Either the coaches haven’t taught Mark how to throw this pass or Mark isn’t capable of throwing it. Yet another no-brainer reason to fire some offensive coaches & see what Mark is capable of.
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Johnnyjetson says:
Dude how can you sit there and say that bray and plax is a wash? Lets compare shall we: bray was a much better run locker then plax, bray is much faster the. Plax, bray could actually get seperation from cbs, bray didnt run lazy routes like plax does, bray played with much more emotion then plax. That right there makes a huge difference between then two of them. Now as far as ability to catch the ball, bray has less drops in 2010 then plax has had this year. Plax has dropped alot of big passes at crucial times this year. Its not even close bray is the better player.
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Bent says:
I strongly disagree that Braylon was any better as a run blocker than Plax.
Their catch rate is similar and although the statistical production is not as high, he has more touchdowns than Braylon and a higher percentage of Sanchez’s throws have gone to RBs.
I think it’s closer to a wash than you think, especially given the fact that Plax’s salary is about half what Braylon earned last year.
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DUDE, do you just go off of your gut?
Braylon is not a better run blocker than Plax. At best, they’re even, but Plax is bigger and can manhandle DBs far more often than Braylon. Neither is consistent, but Plax is better.
Braylon was much faster, yes. He didn’t look too fast gimping around the field this year, though.
Braylon runs sloppy routes. He may not run “lazy” routes, but his route running ability is one of his biggest negatives.
Plax doesn’t play with emotion? Must be why he was seen leveling CBs, thumping his chest, dragging DBs, firing up his teammates, etc. A real emotional dud that guy is.
2010 was Braylon’s best catch rate….ever. So, in a career of, what, seven seasons you are going to take the one huge outlier as your example? That’s a flawed system right there. And, for the record, 2010 Braylon had the exact same # of drops as 2011 Plax. True story.
I’ll continue to sit here and say that it was a wash. Plax did exactly what he was brought in for, it’s not his fault the running game collapsed. Put Braylon on the 2011 Jets and his numbers take a swan dive off the Metlife sign. The disappearance of the deep pass was not due to a lack of personnel at skill positions, it was a lack of a running game and an inability to keep Sanchez upright.
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Ok but again the great brendini is play doctor…how do you know he would have gotten injured here? You dont neither do i…this offense has very little speed and the nly guy who does have speed is always double teamed. Plax couldnt outrun me out there on the field never mind pro players. At least with bray you could throw the ball downfield and he would have the speed to get under it. The only way plax can get seperation is if he does what he did last week and push or pull down the cb. Give me bray anyday of the week
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My big concern in the bray vs plax debate is that bray knew the O well and had a great rapport with Sanchez. Plax was out of the game for two years and spent half this season getting on the same page with his qb. It’s not just about who’s better (few would argue that Plax in his prime isn’t the better player), but who would have been a better fit this year, under the strange circumstances caused by the lockout and who would provide better comfort level for the qb and hence the offense. For that reason alone, it was not a wash for me.
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Jeti Master says:
Totally disagree. Please compare Braylon’s (last year) and Plax’ (this year) stats across the board after 15 games. Team is at exactly the same place it was in 2009 before they got Braylon. No deep threat=hampered running game.
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Braylon came to the team in 2009…
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That’s my point. He came to the team during the season and the offense immediately improved, including the running game.
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I feel like this team doesn’t have talent anywhere. I don’t play fantasy, but I look at fantasy advice and stuff, and someone on the Jets is never mentioned, unless they are saying “Don’t go with that guy!”
I want to know why other teams seem to be able to do it. The Pats are sending almost their entire 53 man roster to the pro bowl, and we have Revis and a couple alternates. We don’t even have playmakers on defense but Revis, and we haven’t seemed to have any for a while. Cromartie is decent, but only because he is a first string corner playing second string. How can we expect to be in the running like this, and how come other teams can get talent in all of the skill positions, when we only get it in center and cornerback? Why doesn’t the RT for other teams give them problems? Why can all of the good teams fix their issues, but we never can?
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I think it plays to what SD99 posted above: “No identity”. If the team had some level of consistency from the coaches, everyone we brought in would know what would be expected of them. We started off with Rex being the “ground and pound” offense with a stingy defense. Before this year he was calling ticket holders promising more of an “air it out” offense. Why would he make this change? Was it his decision?
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Bob Kole says:
Winning 11-13 games a season will help send people to pro-bowls as well.
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—fence, Great post. Remember the game in Mangini’s last year when SF had 5 backup O-Linemen starting the game and we did nothing against them. I beleive it comes down to coaching and scheming. Does anyone think if Sean Payton had this personnel our offense would play like a tooth extraction?
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Slightly different question, we know Sanchez only had 1 year of college QB experience so who is responsible for teaching him the possition? Shotty? Or are his deficiencies something that can’t be corrected with teaching. Do we need a QB coach for Sanchez?
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Sanchez has an O.C. (Schoddy) a QB coach (Cavanaugh) a mentor (Brunnel) and a consultant (Moore.) Perhaps there are too many voices in his head!
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Hangar says:
He has a QB coach. He needs a new one
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Tuco says:
From yesterday’s NY Times, a comparison of Eli Manning’s third year and this year, Sanchez’s third year:
In his third season, in 2006, Manning was 25 years old; the Giants finished 8-8; he was 301 for 522 for 3,244 yards and a 57.7 completion percentage; he had 24 touchdown passes with 18 interceptions; his passer rating was 77.0; he was sacked 25 times; and his yards per pass attempt was 6.2.
In his third season through 15 games, Sanchez is 25 years old; the Jets are 8-7; he is 287 for 511 for 3,267 yards and a 56.2 completion percentage; he has 24 touchdown passes with 15 interceptions; he has a 79.0 passer rating; he has been sacked 37 times (ouch); his yards per pass attempt is 6.4.
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And what did TC do for Manning? Got him a new OC. I’m not saying Gilbride is good, I’m just hoping the Jets follow suit and say bye-bye to Schittenwhiner
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joeyboy79 says:
Before play makers you need a solid oline. If the line implodes in a second or two how do you throw the deep ball? I have seen sanchez take snaps and have no time at all. They showed this on extra point last night. Play makers are important but with the trenches not being sound it will make it very difficult if not impossible.Our line has been the clear weak link that has affected the offense this season. From Sanchez performance, to a less dominant run game to down field passing. The line is the problem. Last season when the line was more stable, all these areas were more efficient.
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joeyboy79,
I guess the reason Bent and I (among others) disagree with you is because the OL isn’t that bad as compared to other teams. I’ve done this before, but here we go: 40% of the OL is elite (Mangold, Brick), 40% is average to above-average (Slauson and Moore, respectively) and 20% is below average. By my reckoning, that means the Jets’ OL is an above average OL overall. The real problem is that the OC has not maximized the talent and minimized the weaknesses. Passing over 50 times doesn’t play to the Jets’ strength. Passing against the Ravens (with Baxter at center) or against the Broncos (with the OL laboring on a short week and with a TD lead) just wasn’t smart. Remember, it’s easier to run block than pass block. And, as Bent pointed out, the Jets OL play was really only weak from a run blocking perspective during Mangold’s absence and when he was still banged up on his return. I want the Jets to add a Nicks or Grubbs because I think the Jets should play to their strength: a running game that is complementary to their normally solid defense. But, picking on the OL is not seeing the forest through the trees. It’s the OC that’s the problem.
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I can just go with my eyes and the results. The difference is we have a career back up who is getting torched every game. I posted many links from many analysts who agree that the line is the weak link. Just about every broadcast game the announcers say they have to help Hunter as he is getting run over and the line is very shaky. I dont how more apparent this can be. Lucas said the same thing last night. I have to go with the experts an ex qb opinions over us fans on this one. It is too obvious when you see Sanchezs protection constantly imploding.
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So, your theory is that Wayne Hunter tanked the season? An above-average RT, whoever that would be is something you’ve never addressed, and the pass protection issues are over, Sanchez has plenty of time and the Jets have 13 wins? Sorry, when the other team knows that you are passing, then any team can pressure any other team. I don’t disagree with the pundits, but I could send you as many articles decrying the fact that the Jets don’t run more. And, more damning than any article, is Rex’s admission that the Jets passed too much against the Giants. The Steelers, Colts, Packers, Cowboys and Giants all have weak offensive lines. And, the Jets OL isn’t weak, it just has one player that is not a good pass blocker. Plus, it’s been proven that it’s not the overall quality of the individual offensive lineman that is important for success at OL, it’s how well they play together as a unit. The sum is often greater than the parts. So, even your central thesis about just changing Hunter is, IMO, flawed. The lockout, combined with the Moore and Mangold injuries likely had as much to do with the pass protection issues as did Hunter’s individual failings because the core 5 OL didn’t have enough time together to form a cohesive unit. And, don’t forget, even Woody had Turner and Hartsock around last year. The OL got weaker not necessarily just because of Hunter. I agree that Tanny screwed the pooch on the OL this season, but my complaint is that he should’ve gotten a vet once Turner was injured because the Jets relied upon him so much and when Mulligan was a horror show, I have to believe that a vet blocking TE would have helped. The Jets interviewed a bunch of vet TEs, I’d like to hear Tanny’s explanation for not signing one. Also, Sanchez’s protection doesn’t implode as much as you think…he makes matters much worse by holding on to the ball too much. For much of the Giants game he had plenty of time to throw.
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Sanchez has never been beat up , sacked, or hit as many times this season, what does that tell you? For the first several games he had an injury every game and is still getting hammered! It is on the line! Last season when the line was more stable, we had a better pass game , run game and he wasnt nearly sacked and hit as much as this year. One major weak link can really hurt the performance of the line and that is whats happening. The results on pressure, sacks and hits this season show the line is underachieving big time. Most knowledgeable football people will tell you that the best friend of a qb is his oline and this oline is far from friendly.
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It tells me that the Jets are having him pass more in situations when he’ll be pressured. It tells me that he isn’t being decisive and isn’t throwing the ball away when his options aren’t open. It tells me that Sanchez may have regressed and is having trouble reading defenses. It tells me that the Jets aren’t running enough and Sanchez is facing too many unfavorable down and distance situations. Did you even listen to Gannon on Saturday? Did you hear how many times he said “Sanchez has to get rid of the ball there?” Sanchez has virtually the same sack rate as Rodgers and his is better than Big Ben’s and Alex Smith’s. And all 3 of those guys are division leading QBs. I’ll post every time you post on this. It’s not the offensive line that’s the problem, it’s the offense run by the OC.
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And, maybe it’s the QB. I’m not giving up on Sanchez, but Rodgers, Big Ben and Smith have completion percentages of, respectively, 68%, 64% and 61%. Sanchez likely has much more of an impact on how often he’s sacked than Hunter does.
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subwayfare says:
If your QB, or offensive scheme, requires near perfect OL play, you are going to have some very rough seasons in this league.
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frustratedjetfan says:
Lack of playmakers? Agree, because this team DOES lack the one guy who can take over the game. Yes, Holmes can make an impact play especially if someone is making an occasional play on the other side of the field (i.e., runs the right pattern & Mark (God forbid) hits him in stride), but there’s no one who you can give the ball to, climb on his back and just ride.
But in addition to a lack of a playmaker(s), you can add team speed and football smarts / instincts. JL has them, but is slow & winding down his career after two injury plagued seasons. But after JL & one or two others (Revis & Mangold), I don’t see it. From VG to Ducasse to Pool to Smith to Wilson this roster is loaded with guys who either lack football instincts or have an idea but are too slow on the pro level to execute on it.
I’m just tired of seeing an offense that looks like the players never met each other before game time & a slow defense that never saw a TE they wanted to get close to.
Time for Tanny to increase team speed & plug obvious holes too numerous to mention.
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There is a small handful of players that impact the game in the way you described that don’t play QB. And they’re not sure-things, either (see Adrien Peterson and Andre Johnson from this year).
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Yeah, but you can get close. Look around the league and players that scare you when you prepare to play that team jump out at you.Sometimes it’s a strong armed QB, a slippery RB, sometimes a blazing WR or an unstoppable TE.
I guess I have star envy because I want the Jets to have one kickaxx dominant force.
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Real Jets fan says:
Maybe we should get a OC that let Sanchez throw a deep ball
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Just can’t get onboard the OL being the entire issue. They lost one aging RT, who was out for several games last year. As has been stated, other QBs have performed better under more pressure. The OL may not be performing up to last year’s standards, but that’s the NFL. It’s hard to keep any unit at a completely consistent level, year to year. Which is why I am more apt to question the use of the available personnel. I am with those who feel the team lacks an offensive identity, and players confident in what it is they are trying to execute. Everyone on offense looks like they are always in the middle of a pop quiz they didn’t get study materials for.
I also get the feeling that there is poor reaction to what is actually happening on the field vs. what the offense had planned. If it’s clear the OL is giving up more pressure than usual, why does everyone seem so surprised and unprepared when a play that requires 3-4 seconds to develop gets blown up? Watch NE launch play after play designed to counterattack anything a D does.
There just seems to be some disconnect between whatever is going on in the playbook/meetings/classroom, and the field on game day.
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Joey The Jet says:
Im not a big fan of sancheese,however when schittenheimer is your OC,you arent going to be any good.
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JayGo says:
OL, particularly Hunter, is the root of the problem. Shotty came up with nothing to scheme around that. Did you notice that once Tom Moore showed up they started throwing screens? What took so long? Still don’t run draws, still don’t feature misdirection plays, still don’t act like Sanchez getting frazzeled is a problem. We need a need RT in the draft and a new OC. Plax vs. Braylon is not the issue. There is no ingenuity or creativity from the offense from week to week. Jets play like they can outmuscle everyone but they can’t. They need a scheme to outsmart, not outmuscle, the defense.
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Sign Carl Nicks to play LG next to Mangold and defenses will be manhandled.
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Gotta say, If we can make a concentrated effort towards returning to a power running offense and upgrade our safety/OLB positions, the sky is the limit. If we could sign Nicks and Landry and draft LB/Oline/WR/RB we could be pretty good.
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Johnny Reefer says:
Plain and simple,
Schotty must go. He leaves. We win. Its really that simple.
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Last year, with all the talent we had on O, to not be top 10 was insulting to all of us.
Now without the top flight players, the O is back to being in the 20s, where its always been with Schotty running the system.
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No more from me on the oline. I am now just looking to the phins game and hope we get a win and the cards fall the right way. More important is addressing our needs next season no matter what the final outcome is this season. It is up to management and the coaches to key in on our weaknesses and improve them. One thing for certain, with the team we have now, with or without shotty , it cant play with the big boys until we have some key upgrades. Lets get them phins, they would love nothing better than to ruin our New Year.
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I wonder what Moore would honestly say about Sanchez? And Shotty?
Btw, it looks like Philly won’t sign D-Jax. Should him the money and he would play hard for us.
A deep threat means absolutely nothing if the QB cant throw the ball deep with accuracy. How many times has #6 overthrown a deep ball to a wide receiver? Then look at times like the Jax game last year where he throws a INT on the first play of the game, throwing a deep ball.
While throwing the deep ball stretches out defenses, takes some pressure off, and has a low percentage of INTs (and if it is picked off it is like a long punt), Sanchez simply cannot throw the long ball with any accuracy or consistency. We all knock Schotty, and dont get me wrong he is average, but imagine having to work with a quarterback that cannot execute simple screen passes? Where do you go from there?