Thank goodness for defense and special teams. If not for those two units, the Jets would have been shut out against the New England Patriots as Adam Gase spent the day not figuring out how to get his offense in the end zone, but how to convert a third down. In case you’re wondering, he’s still working on it.
Even being shorthanded on offense, Gase is drawing criticism not only from the fans, but former Jets players:
Gase, the offensive mastermind, saw his offense go 0-13 on third down as the Jets only scores of the day came on an Arthur Maulet fumble recovery on a muffed punt and a garbage-time pick-six for Jamal Adams against rookie QB Jarrett Stidham.
How did Gang Green grade out in the loss? It’s not pretty.
Quarterback: C
Giving Luke Falk (12-22 98 yds, 0 TD’s 1 INT) anything less than a “C” might be classified as cruel and unusual punishment at this point. The offensive line was a total disaster once again the play calling was abhorrent. His lone interception came on what was clearly a miscommunication with a receiver as the ball was picked off in no-man’s land. Not a single Jets player within 15 yards of the ball.
Running Back: C
See above. Le’Veon Bell (18 carries, 35 yards) was often bottled up before he took his second step, so I’m not sure how he can be knocked for his play. Somehow, the Jets managed to add a pair of former All Pros to the offensive line in Kelechi Osemel and Ryan Kalil and still take a huge step backward.
Wide Receivers: D
We’re not sure how often the Jets had any wide receivers on the field, but it felt like it was about half the time. Despite offseason rumors that Adam Gase didn’t want to pay Le’Veon Bell to be on his roster, he seems determined to make sure Bell is the only player on offense to touch the football. Braxton Berrios led all receivers with 29 yards through the air. Take that, Belichick!
Tight Ends: F
In his last full season, tight end Ryan Griffin (1 catch, 5 yards) had 305 yards receiving. Under Gase, he is on pace for 80. It’s almost as if Chan Gailey has a hand in calling the plays.
Offensive line: F-
Following last week’s loss, Adam Gase said he would have to take a look at which players were doing their jobs and which players weren’t, so that he could see what changes needed to be made. With that in mind, he made zero changes to an offensive line that makes last year’s unit look like the 2009 Jets. Teams continue to get pressure while rushing 3 to 4 defenders. Given the added players (Osemele and Kalil) and the giant leap backward this unit has taken, it’s worth asking how much of this is on the talent and how much of it is on the coaching.
Defensive Line: D
The D-line was respectable against the run as Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel (20 carries, 58 yds, 2 TD’s) didn’t to a ton of damage and averaged just 2.9 YPC. But as usual, zero sacks, very little pressure and no impact plays. Leonard Williams had three tackles. Want a rare bright spot in this one? Undrafted rookie free agent Kyle Phillips looked good in limited action once again.
Linebackers: C+
All backups this time out as Harvey Langi, Neville Hewitt, Blake Cashman and Tarell Basham. Cashman and Hewitt continue to play decent football on the inside as they combined for 11 tackles a sack (Hewitt) and a pair of tackles for loss.
Secondary: D
Tom Brady looked like he was running drills in training camp for much of this one. He finished up 28-42 for 306 yards and a pair of TD’s. There was a bright spot in garbage time when Jamal Adams had a 61-yard INT return for a touchdown against rookie QB Jarrett Stidham.
Special Teams: A+
Hey, they scored the fist Jets TD in Foxboro since Drew Bledsoe was under center. What? It hadn’t been that long? Tell that to my ulcer.
Coaching: F
It’s early, but it’s starting to look like Adam Gase’s coaching philosophy is to sit on the ball if the other team has good players on defense. After dinking and dunking his way to a loss in week one, Gase was asked why he took so few shots down the field. His answer was that the Bills have a good secondary. When asked today why he didn’t try to get creative on offense, he said he didn’t want to utilize deep threat Robby Anderson because Devin McCourty is “the best” corner in the NFL. So for those fans waiting to see what Adam Gase really has up his sleeve, it sounds like he’ll be ready to let it rip once Gang Green lines up against a defense that he doesn’t feel intimidated by.
No urgency on offense (again), relied too heavily on Le’Veon Bell (again), started an over-matched Ryan Kalil (again) and when asked if any changes would be made, he said that they would first have to review the film (again).