Four Minds Don’t Think Alike: The Muddy Waters of the Jets Offense
There’s been some talk over the weekend that the Jets had some interest in adding Tony Sparano to the staff in some capacity. Sparano, of course was at the same time linked with Todd Haley with some speculation that the two wanted to work together — Haley as the passing coordinator and Sparano as the running coordinator. This brought to mind the Jets offensive philosophical mess that the Jets seemed mired in 2011. With so much input, was the team less effective? Was the team pulled into too many directions all at once, with no clear vision? The offensive results from 2011 would seem to indicate that very thing …
Here’s the four major players in shaping the Jets offense, and how we got to where we did in 2011. To try and graphically represent what I’m writing below, here’s a quick graphical explanation of how I see (albeit hyperbolic) practical and idealistic offenses would play themselves out if allowed.
Rex Ryan– Rex Ryan is a man of simple tastes. Rex wants this team to be a run-first team. Ryan wants the offense to be simple and learnable. Ryan wants solid execution by the unit, no turnovers and no bad field position for his defense. Ryan wants his offensive coordinator to not have to be babysat all the time. Once all that happens consistently, I think Ryan is open to the idea of getting more nuanced with the offense as his QB gains experience. Passing is a necessity in the NFL, but one that need not be embraced headlong. Beyond that, I think Rex is pretty hands off. Maybe to his detriment. He seems to intervene in the offense in moments of crisis, but maybe lets that staff do it’s own thing too much – for whatever reason. Over his three years with the team, Ryan has stayed out of the offensive coaches’ way, but will intervene (here, here, here, here, and here) when he thinks things are going off track, or there is need for better team-wide continuity. It could be that he’s not allowed to hire/fire his OC, it could be that he lacks confidence in that area, it could be that he is too trusting … but for whatever reason, he’s not as involved as he should or could be.
Brian Schottenheimer — Schotty is the de jure planner of the offense, but his philosophy and mindset are not in keeping with his head coach. Schottenheimer cut his teeth under high-flying offensive minds like Steve Spurrier and Cam Cameron and since then has looked to continue those Fun n Gun / Coryell traditions with the Jets. The one thing that both the Fun N Gun and Coryell have in common is that the threat of the pass (Fun n Gun) or spreading the field (Coryell) allows for the run. It’s a subtle nuance of philosophy, but one that I think is key to the huge philosophical divide between coach and coordinator. In his first season with the Jets, in 2006, with no Curtis Martin, Schotty favored using west-coast style short passes to either set up the run or act in it’s stead. Laveranues Coles was the Jets best running back it seemed like that year. Since that time, he’s favored the “flood” formations that are trademarks of Coryell systems which many Jets fans are well aware. He’s also had emphasis in drafting of a player like Dustin Keller. High emphasis on pass-catching Tight Ends / H-Backs / F-Backs are the hallmark of many Coryell derived schemes. The problem with Schottenheimer’s Coryell / Spurrier mashup that there’s not the needed emphasis to balance the passing game with the run. Also, without a player like Braylon Edwards able to rip the top off a defense, it’s ultimately impotent. We saw that all too clear in the Giants game. While Rex talked about how the team was down and that precipitated the pass, the team was already halfway to digging their grave by the half.
Bill Callahan — I think Bill Callahan is Rex Ryan’s sounding board. Callahan favors the jumbo formations with extra blockers that allow for effective running plays, or locktight pass protection while receivers work to get open. As a player, Callahan was a QB, and as a coordinator he utilized the West Coast offense, but he’s shown himself to be a great mind as an offensive line coach in his stints with the Raiders and Jets. He’s worked well with the Jets line and made them a pretty cohesive unit – when healthy. As an OL advocate, it makes sense that while Callahan might favor a West Coast scheme, he could easily do so with a stout running game to match. There’s some uncertainty as to just how much influence Callahan has with the Jets and the running game; there was talk at some point that he acted as a run coordinator, but that’s been almost impossible to substantiate. More than anything, Callahan has proved invaluable to Rex because he is the one whom (I guess) Rex either uses as proxy with Schottenheimer or to whom Rex goes for advice when trying to mitigate some of Schottenheimer’s nonsense himself. One caution, Callahan might not be a fit as an offensive coordinator for the Jets. While he’s been a great Coordinator and line coach, there are concerns about his leadership as his players with the Raiders turned on him, just as they did at his last head coaching gig at Nebraska. Current Jet LG Matt Slauson had strong words after he left, as did Ndamukong Suh.
Tom Moore — Moore might be the 2011 Red Zone Savior for this offense, but his purer Coryell tendencies fall more in philosophical line with Brian Schottenheimer than they do with Rex. His particular Coryell flavor has yielded great results with lots of underneath routes (pass catching Tight Ends) thanks to solid outside work by receivers like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Moore utilized the run to great effect in Indy, but only because it was what the defense was giving Peyton Manning. Odd as it may sound, I imagine that Moore has to be something of a fly in the ointment for the Jets’ coaching staff as a whole. It’s a guess, but likely that he was brought in at the request of the GM to monitor and give advice to the coaching staff and players – but maybe also as a mediator / sounding board for GM Mike Tannenbaum in what has to amount an ongoing (behind closed doors) he-said / he-said between Schottenheimer and Ryan. Moore is not likely to advance in rank in the Jets organization, but I do think that his presence has been to help the team’s GM determine how legitimate the team’s current coordinator is – or isn’t. Once Moore was asked to stay on at the facility after the Redskins game, it was clear that tectonic plates were shifting in the organization. Remember, while the final score of the game was 34-19, the Jets offense played shakily for the first 55 minutes of the game. It was clear that the team was losing faith in Schottenheimer.
Mike Tannenbaum (Postlogue) — It’s going to come down to Mike Tannenbaum to break the ties with the Jets offensive philosophies. Does he cut Brian Schottenheimer loose? Does he pursue Bill Callahan as the team’s next OC? Are there other candidates the team wants to bring in? With too much money on the line for Woody Johnson to happily eat, while Rex might play a major role in deciding the team’s coaching future, it’s not going to be without his General Manager’s help.
79 Responses to Four Minds Don’t Think Alike: The Muddy Waters of the Jets Offense
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starz31 says:
I have been shown no reason to believe he can’t be that guy. Mark was very effective throwing deep balls in 09 and 10 and the reasons they usually fell incomplete were either good coverages or simply bad hands (or in one case, off the head of Braylon). Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought he threw a good deep ball.
The fact that we had only 2 plays longer than 40 yards this season is much more a product of not having a deep threat, not having the pass protection to allow that deep route to develop, and the inexplicable lack of attention to running the ball and therefore setting up deep play-action throws.
Talent played a role this year but there is just no excuse for our offensive coach not adapting his gameplan to the talent we did end up playing with. Our offensive attacks should’ve been dictated by our strengths and weaknesses. The ONLY reason one could argue an expanded passing attack was that they though Mark could make the 3rd year jump. Changing the WR-corp, again, with a young QB, minimal off-season coaching, a downgrade in Oline talent, which resulted in a poor run game…I mean, all of those factors should have made it very clear this year…run…the…ball.
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Let me just say, I agree with the rest of your post in that we need some one who will coach Sanchez and mold our gameplan around his and our teams strengths, not just force feed what they think will work.
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greg sec 336 no more says:
…and, I think a multitude of injuries.
Whatever the reasons for it, these numbers make me ill.
In 2011: 3 attempts over 40 yards and 12 over 30
In 2010: 13 attempts over 40 yards and 29 over 30.
In 2009: 13 attempts over 40 yards and 22 over 30.-
Those numbers make me even more confused about our offense. We threw the ball 54% of the time. And STILL attempted far fewer deep passes. Ugh…I’m feeling ill too.
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Clean Sanchez says:
He can throw with precision down the field. He just couldn’t this season
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Great layout of the key issue here, Bassett.
In my mind, if Woody sees Rex as the long-term solution at HC, and if Rex is going to get at least some input into personnel, it just makes sense to have an OC who fits his preferred MO.
And it’s not like we’re far away in terms of personnel for this. We’ve got at least 3/5 of an offensive line that can flourish in ground-n-pound. We’ve got a beast of a fullback (albeit a guy who’s still learning). And we’ve got at least one starting-caliber RB who could be part of a power timeshare. Not to mention, our QB can be effective in play-action, excels at simple rollouts and bootlegs, and absolutely stinks at complicated progressive reads.
How does all of this not point to choosing Rex’s preferred offense? What am I missing here?
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was rex hired with the condition he keep shootinthefooter? if not, he should have picked his own man from the get go, considering their philosophies for the offense are so different.
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Yes, word around insider circles was that he wanted Hue Jackson as his OC until he interviewed with the Jets.
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I just googled to confirm where I read that report about him wanting Hue Jackson, but found this from today instead… this could be great news!
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/10277/another-name-for-rumor-mill-hue-jackson
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hmm…I like the sound of this.
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tyler says:
It would be nice, but I’m not getting my hopes up since they were already dashed when the Chargers kept Norval. No way Hue gets fired after his first season… but it is the Raiders, crazier things have happened.
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LJ says:
That diagram is hilarious!
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Jesse says:
Mark’s strengths, size, and intangibles most closely resemble Drew Brees. They need to find people from that Sean Payton offensive coaching tree and go after them hard! Hard like Thomas Jones stiff arming some punk DB out of bounds as he rolls in for a big TD. The good ol days.
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Le' Sean Roberts says:
Hehe, kind of like Penrose diagrams or maybe the punnett square. Schotteheimer would be the recessive gene. Mathematically (an exaggeration), Schottenheimer is “asymptotic” to the run. In Relativity Theory Schottenheimer is like below the event horizon.
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That diagonal becomes like a null tragectory. Only considering Schwarzschild geometry.
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What’s so frustrating about this post is that I don’t see one positive argument to keeping Schottenheimer. I feel like I need to make plans in acquiring a firearm in anticipation of the news that Schotty will in fact be our coach next season.
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WW85 says:
Need to ask about Rex’s perception of the offense. If he wanted just a running game manager QB who can throw the occasional ball, WTF did we trade up to the #5 spot in the draft for Sanchez? We could have gotten a Jim Mcmahon clone lots of places in the draft.
I think Rex needs to see that in today’s NFL(unlike his Dad’s), you need to have the ability to score in bunches.
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Brendan says:
I would think that the Jets trading up into the top 10 to draft a franchise QB would show that they are fully aware you need a franchise QB (and not some plug-and-play game manager) in order to win it all.
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Honestly, I was kind of hoping we jumped up to get Crabtree when it happened… But to be fair, we gave away almost nothing to trade up besides one other draft pick and replaceable players. In hindsight I am happy with the way things played out.
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Josh Freeman was the next QB selected, ironically in the spot the Jets would have selected. He is not a McMahon clone capable of managing a game.
Pat White was the next QB taken, and then Stephen McGee, Mike Teel, Nate Davis, Tom Brandstater, Rhett Bomar, Keith Null and Curtis Painter.
Which one of them are you taking?
They traded up not because they wanted to upgrade, but because they felt the only worthy QB left in the entire draft after Stafford was going to be off the board in the top 10.
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I know Freeman had an awful year, but I have to be honest & say I was all for him at the time & I still probably am. I don’t want a game manager–I was just responding to Bassett’s commentary on Rex. The jury is still out on who is better Freeman or Sanchez.
My main point was that if Bass is correct about Rex, we shouldn’t be trading up for any QB.
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I think I’d rather have Sanchez than Freeman, Ratliff, Coleman, Elam and a late 2nd rounder, altho LeSean McCoy was drafted right after the pick we gave away. :)
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Jeez, Curtis Painter was on the board when the Jets took Sanchez? What in the world were they thinking?
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He might become one. But draft position is rarely important. Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers and Blaine Gabbert are the only active QBs that were top 10 picks not picked first overall (which is a different animal altogether). I’d put Rivers as a franchise QN and Ryan and Sanchez in the wait and see. Middle of the pack right now for a top 10 pick.
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Correction: they are the only four QBs active in that they started this year. There is also Vince Young and Byron Leftwich sitting on the bench.
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Only the complete, exact, polar opposite?
It was a playoff game and his team scored zero offensive points. Pretty sure that’s the exact opposite of how Sanchez plays in the playoffs…
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…well, he didn’t play in any playoff games, so obviously not this year. Matt Ryan sucks in pressure games, Sanchez doesn’t. I think we have a large enough sample size to say that with some certainty now.
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Sure. Even if you count all three of those games, Sanchez still has a better % of pressure games with good performances, since he has performed well in just one pressure game. Matty Ice hasn’t…ever.
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steviek says:
except if Ryan had just finished losing his 3rd playoff games in 3 tries here, jet fans and media would be just as busy trying to run him out of town…. “good pocket qb, cant win a big game!” or something to that effect.
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Adam R says:
Great article however, if you put any of these coach with Brady/Manning/Bress all there philosophies would work if executed and with quality players.
Moving forward, the ( current or new) coach needs to have respect from all the Jets players’ offense and defense. The front office needs to provide the coach with quality players and back-ups. The front office is more to blame this year. They planned on having Sanchez air it out with old receivers (Plax and mason) and it failed. Furthermore, their failure to address the offensive line with quality starters and backups was clearly evident.
Shotty doesn’t seem to have all the offensive players respect. Rex needs to fix that and make sure all the players are on the same page. Jets need to take a page ( just one page) from Mangini book and bring in some guys via free agency and draft that are high character and team first attitude.
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Don’t be ridiculous, those players are legendary for their talent to improvise. You think Schotty and Peyton would get along. Peyton’s mental capacity dwarf’s Schottenheimer’s on the field and off. Don’t try to make the the case for Schoty and Brees, because Schotty wasn’t the OC; compare NO’s offensive at the time to ours. A Quarterback coach (Schottenheimer) is not the OC. Quarterback coaches emphasize fundamentals, game reads, analysis after play observations, etc. They have to put up with the OC’s crap as well.
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Too prove my point Tom Moore let Peyton Manning loose, and he’s been in the business for decades.
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orjetsfan says:
Good article on the Jets. I did not realize that the defense faced most snaps in NFL tied with Bears and Lions…
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Wow.
Perhaps even more amazing is yards per drive.
Jets defense led the league in possessions yet was 2nd in yards allowed per drive.
Jets offense was one drive behind Denver for the most possessions in the NFL yet was 28th in yards per drive.
Says a lot.
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mattm says:
I don’t think Rex ever wanted any part of BS. For some reason, WoodBaum love the guy, which shows how neither knows anything about football. Nobody keeps an inferior OC and play caller around for 7 years without showing any kind of success.
If daddy didn’t keep hiring him, nobody would have given him a job.
Now the FO is showing how weak they are by praying somebody-ANYBODY-will hire this fool.
What other FO secretly gives a failure a raise and an extension so the fans won’t revolt? What FO fires their GM, promotes a capologist accountant to his position, and then has the new GM hire the former GM to handle the team’s personnel? And then has WoodBaum, Bradway, and anybody else with an office extol on the virtues of continuity for a franchise that hasn’t been in a Super Bowl for 43 years?
Time for all Jet fans to get loud on this point. Stop buying tickets and Jets gear and the nightmare of an OC will be history.
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I’m still going to buy tickets, as will many other fans. It would likely be damn neary impossible to boycott your way into pressuring the team to fire a coordinator.
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I’d think making money an issue for them would only give them more reason not to fire him.
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I don’t follow you. Because they’d have to spend more on a new GM? If that’s what you mean-maybe, maybe not.
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Aren’t most GMs in the league lawyers by training?
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yeah, after 51 years as a Jet fan, I’m done if this fraud comes back as OC. They will win nothing while he is calling plays.
19 straight games without a 1st Quarter TD? Has any OC ever proved that incompetent in the history of the league? And that guy keeps his job for 7 years?
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Fine, then you deserve what you get. I noticed the stadium isn’t even close to filled up. You think Woody doesn’t notice it?
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If the empty seats are already getting Woody’s attention and he is extending Schottenheimer two years anyway, you are proving your own boycott theory false.
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Well, if they secretly extended him, which they did, WoodBaum obviously did not want that information released to the media. Why do you think that is?
(for Greg)
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we agree with you matt. the poll showed almost 90% in favor of getting rid of him. it’s the florham park crew that needs to be convinced.
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agree John. That’s why I believe it will get done, no matter what spin we’re hearing from T-Baum. No fan of fat Mike, but that interview the other day hit home with the Jets FO. As they proved in Hard Knocks, they copy and read EVERYTHING. If they didn’t care what the fans think, why go through the trouble?
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joeyboy79 says:
How did we get to Two AFC playoffs with him and raw qb who didnt even have a full college career? Do you think T neglecting the oline,downgrading the wrs and having only one deep threat who was always doubled, and having a #29th run game had anything to do with it? The oline had Sanchez beat to a pulp all year and worse when mangold went down and some guy we obtained at a temp agency stepped in at center! Do you really think under those conditions anyone else at OC could do better? We were set to make the leap and T muffed it!
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Wait, you mean there was a dropoff in performance from the team’s All-Pro center and an UDFA rookie who took his place? I don’t believe you.
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Stop it, it was a cluster FCK and Sanchez was beaten to a pulp! I wish it was just a drop off. Depth at least has to be servicable like when the giants Center went down they had slight drop off but Eli was still rolling!Thats the difference.
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Bent says: The Jets OL VASTLY outperformed the Giants’ this year. They had the worst running game in the league and Eli was under pressure FIVE TIMES MORE PER GAME on average than Sanchez.
The Giants “neglected” their offensive line far worse than the Jets did this year and that’s why they barely had a better record than the Jets. The difference is down to Eli handling the pressure better and the Giants coaching their way around it better.
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Sanchez is not Eli. We all knew he needs a solid supporting cast and it was downgraded. He was sacked much more this and has never been hit as many times. I find it hard to believe that he just forgot how to handle pressure from the last two years.
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Bent says:
I wouldn’t say he forgot – he was already one of the worst QBs when pressured in each of the last two years.
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I remember early in the season the Giants perception was one of a throw away season. We? We were on our way deep in the playoffs to settle two years of unfinished business. Look at how both ended up. In the end (imho) I think its mind over matter. The team is divided and the problem un-addressed will only get worse.
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who cares there in the tournament that we could have clenched like 3 weeks in a row and the team never showed up. It was a disgrace.. Rex lost the team plain and simple. Bad coaching. Did schotty have a hand in that In my book it did. Go read the article about the nightmare season. Rex and Mike are two big fat liars and have big trouble on their hands. If schotty does not go look for 4-12 next season.
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I hope T is not reading this blog.If he is, he would say cool, they all think that getting rid of Shotty is the magic bullet! This way,I give them what they want and can get back to counting my beans,life is good!
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I like how anyone who doesn’t come from a football background is a “bean counter”. Ask the Lions how hiring an ex-player like Matt Millen worked out.
Interesting fact: Scott Pioli never played in the NFL. Neither did Mickey Loomis (Saints’ GM), Kevin Colbert (Steelers), Jerry Reese, Tom Dimitroff (Falcons), Martin Mayhew (Lions), Brian Xanders (Broncos), Rick Smith (Texans), Mike Brown (Bengals), and Trent Baalke (Niners).
For the record, that list (outside of Pioli) includes every playoff team from this year except the Packers (Ted Thompson), Pats (Belichick), and Ravens (Newsome). Belichick never played in the NFL, but I’ll give him credit for being a sound football mind. Thompson and Newsome both played in the NFL.
That still means 75% of the playoff teams from this year have “bean counters” as their GMs.
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No, it just means they have GMS with no football background. Bean counting is a whole other story. You can still succeed without having a football backround, but T has not.
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That’s the first bullet. The other five are RT, S, 2 LBs, and VP of Player Personnel.
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Frankly, I hope he is reading, because right now getting rid of Schotty IS the only thing I want him to do. Then in a few weeks, he can read all about the things we want him to do in March when moves are allowed.
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I dont know, we were all screaming for the oline to be addressed and that fell on deaf ears, lke a pass rusher and speed at safety for two years, but its worth a try.
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Schottenheimer stinks but if I had to chose between him being replaced an a solid O line, I’d pick the latter. People complain about not throwing the deep ball but it has less to do with Schottenheimer and/or Sanchez than the “protection”.
Hopefully both OC and O line improvements will be made though.
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+1. It all start with the oline. The first play of our season, Sanchez was pancaked! And it got worse from there on, right to the end.Hopefully we will addresss the oline, wrs, so the offense can improve. If a New OC comes with it, so be it, but you need the pieces first!That is the major problem.
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I have to admit, Sunday was the first time in my life that I rooted for the Giants. It actually felt good. Dont get me wrong, I did for my family as I didnt want them as disappointed as me and I hope that it changes the karma for the jets. I actually think as long as the giants are not playing us, I will root them on from now on. It was nice to see a balanced offense with down field passing and a running game that can break on here and there. Also the solid Defense.I definitely think the giants have a shot Sunday. Our time will come! The way I look at is they are a NY team also. They got hot at the right time.
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Give me a team with shotty but a solid RT, some depth and two deep threat wrs VS the team we have now with ANY OC and hands down, I will take the former!
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Bent says:
Who were the two deep threat WRs they had in 2009 again?
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2009 was Sanchez first year as pro with limited college experience. It wouldnt have mattered much as he was rawer than raw, but due to an overwhelming defense and Rex catching teams by surprise, we did well.
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Darwin says:
The problem is not that Schottenheimer and Rex have different philosophies. The problem is that Schottenheimer is not a good Offensive Coordinator. He does not coach to the strengths and weaknesses of our team. Not to mention how he continually ignores the opposing defenses strengths and weaknesses.
The most disturbing part about that is that he’s done this since Mangini was here and he was awarded a contract extension this year! For what exactly? As Jets fans we should be very worried about the direction and leadership of the franchise from Woody Johnson right on down to Rex Ryan.
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2009 was a tough year to determine any real conclusions based on a new HC and QB. What 2010 showed me though, was two solid deep threats, a stable oline and good running game, we can make headway. Unfortunately in 2011, it was not tended to by management. To have such a drastic results from one year to the next(2010-2011), when the only thing that changed was the above,shows that this was the problem. The offense in 2010 with a still raw qb and Shotty was fine.It would have been even better in 2011 if the talent wasnt downgraded and depth addressed. T planned on an oline excelling with a career back up at RT and hoping the rest of the line stays healthy which had no depth. He was wrong!
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F 16 says:
I don’t blame the whole mess on Shotty, there were a lot of other factors that led to this. On the flip side, before Sanchaz was here I didn’t like the play calling. As for this year, why is it that it always seems like Sanchaz is trying to thread the needle with 2 to 4 defenders around the receiver? Because he forgets routes and doesn’t see the whole field or because the route design is to tight?
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When I was watching the playoffs this weekend ,on more than one occasion the announcers mentioned that Eli, even when scrambling and under attack, his eyes were all over the field and he would hit a target. I will admit that sanchez doesnt see the whole field. This is why he needs a solid line to buy some time.All qbs of course benefit with a strong line but some are just better at dealing with pressure better than others. Qbs like rodgers dont need a strong running game, not that it wouldnt benefit him, but some qbs just need a more sound supporting cast around them. This was not a revelation with Sanchez, so when we didnt address the issues that we had this offseason it was baffling. It is what it is with Sanchez. The bottom line is the Jets either furnish him with what he needs or find a qb that can improvise better. I think the former is the way to go.
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sean says:
Yes elisa always been so wonderful… his development took time… he also has two receivers that can turn 7around yd routes into 80 yd Tds at anytime
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I hear that Joeyboy, he’s going to get paid anyhow so it would be wise to make him comfortable. But how many times do you see the receiver break right, and Sanchez throws left? I think, because of the time he has in his mind to make the throw, he forgets routes at certain points.
In order to have a downfield passing attack you need a QB who can throw the ball with precision down the field. I don’t think Mark is ever going to be that guy. You need a coordinator that is going to complement him the best. He needs to be able to use the run to his advantage so Mark can run play action passes which are usually successful. He’s not a pocket passer either, he is his best when he rolls out of the pocket. I don’t know..Shoddy seemed to have understood that in 09/10 much more than he did last year. Someone put the bug in his ear that this offense could be more.