One thing I didn't mention in the post was Will McDonald being inactive. I understand the logic with Dallas being run heavy and phsical up-front, but it's still not a good look to have your first round pick inactive in week 2.
A painful night for sure and a reality check too, perhaps. Totally agree about getting out-thought and outmanoeuvred, and our O-line being as problematic as forecast was certainly a huge concern.
I think I’ll chalk this one up to a physical and emotional hangover for the whole organisation after the extremely draining Monday and subsequent week - it can’t have been easy to focus and prep for an away game against a stellar team after all that. I mean, I struggled!
The Patriots next up will define the tone and outlook for the rest of the season IMO.
- Can the line hold up long enough to give Zach a chance?
- On that note, can Zach hold up to physical and psychological pressure (the 4th quarter implosion was a horror show)?
- Will the offensive scheme figure out how to get the ball into the hands of the two best playmakers?
- Can the defence force some turnovers again, especially if they’re without key pieces due to injury?
If it’s a positive performance and good win I think most fans will forgive and forget this one and simply see it as a bad beat against a better-prepared team. Beating the Pats will be a huge boost both to the squad and fan base.
If it’s another error-strewn defeat then the whole season starts to look a whole lot bleaker.
I’m loath to put so much on a week three matchup but that’s where I think we are right now.
David, excellent article. Given that Parsons is such a force and a disruptive player, I find it hard to comprehend that he wasn’t double teamed or a RB wasn’t chipping him. Brown looked sluggish and thoroughly outclassed. Certainly he makes many LT’s look this way. You can’t expect to contain or limit his damage by providing the LT no additional help.
Overall I was more upset by the defensive performance particularly the inability to contain Cee Dee Lamb and pressure the QB. On offense I must sadly confess that I expected that if Wilson was pressured throughout the game that he would make mistakes. Well he did.
I concur that the roughing the passer calls were rather lame
1) A math lesson, what do the following numbers represent ( Answer below my thoughts)
5-2-8
13-12-79
2) I personally don’t like players or coaches who talk too much. To
Mr. Reed, If you really think your defense can be elite like the 85 Bears, how about showing it. The defense’s overall performance today was a disgrace. No way that the Dallas offense is that much better than the Bills. Please stay away from AR’s mushrooms, your quote just made yourself look delusional.
3) Coach Saleh, in the words of the immortal Don Meredith “ If, ifs and buts
we’re candy and nuts, everyday would be Xmas” Saleh’s vocabulary is excellent but unfortunately it doesn’t hide what we see. His comments about Zach and the offensive line today are an insultment to anyone who has a beginners knowledge of football.
4) Zach Wilson will never be a successful NFL quarterback. His third year in the league, still plays like a rookie. The company line says otherwise but then again, I didn’t draft him. If I was in a position to draft him, I wouldn’t have. Plus, my job isn’t on the line.
5) Hackett’s game plan was as imaginative as, a, imaginative as, a, imaginative as his father’s use to be.
After two games, we now see why Hackett was hired. Not for what he knows but who he knows. I hate to say it but there could be some truth in what Payton said about him. Even if it appears that Payton should have stayed retired.
6) It’s time that either Woody or JD or both talk to the league about “ ROUGHING THE QB PENALTIES. Since the beginning of last season and two games this year, that totals 19 games, the Jets are the only team out of 32 teams not to have a roughing called on any hit made on any of their quarterbacks. Yet, a questionable call in last years Foxboro debacle and the two in the second quarter today hurt the Jets chances for a different outcome.
6B) Where is Nick Bawden. We were told he was an intricate part of Hackett’s offense. Like maybe on third and one when Zach was stop. Was Bawden even active.
7) THE MATH ANSWER
5-2-8 Jet targets to our running backs, their receptions, their yardage on receptions
13-12-79 Cowboy targets, receptions and yardage. Do wonder why we couldn’t get near Dax. Intelligent OCs try to use passes to the backfield to cut down on the rush. Again, probably because of a lousy game plan by Mr Rodgers best friend.
Need to see couple changes starting with Tippman & Ruckert playing over Tomlinson/McGovern and Uzomah
Joe Tippman needs to be in the lineup next week. I don’t care if it’s at guard or center he should be out there.
yes, a rough morning no doubt. Lots to learn from last night's game.
JETS DEFENSE
Still Elite, but mis-used, imho. Factors:
> Dak was playing 3 step drops and quick releases during his 13-straight-completion run. These were coming in at less than 2.5 seconds. This is how you beat a fearsome pass rush.
> Dak is vulnerable when pressured; and 2.5 seconds is not enough time for our vaunted pass rush to pressure him.
> Solution? I think what could have worked better (and I was shouting at the TV for... ) was for Brich to both send a 5th pass rusher AND also play press coverage to chip/stall those receivers coming off the line. If you look at how Dan Quinn was running the Dallas defense, that's exactly what they were doing against the Jets. 5 man rush stresses the OLine more, and pressures Dak. Press/Chip the receivers and wouldn't you know it? The 2.5 seconds from hike to Dak passing the ball suddenly becomes a 3 or 3.2 seconds gap - and our guys could have ate that up.
Feast or Famine on the last? Absolutely. Saleh/Brich have our pass defense playing soft coverage, keeping everything in front of them - avoid the "big" plays. Could they have played a press coverage/5man rush like I suggest above? I'm not 100% sure - the Jets don't seem to use this tactic very often; I certainly haven't seen anything about them practicing this in our D.
The other side of that coin, though, is for the front four to pressure and get to the QB. No Pressure = being dinked to death by a quick release and letting the Cowboy skill guys make the plays downfield. So, assuming the Jets D would have stepped up into a 5 man rush/press coverage, then it's take your pick: Feast or Famine, or living and dying by the dink.
I think the Jets would have done pretty OK choosing the former, and at the least this would have been something McCarthy & Quinn would not have been expecting, and in turn would have them adjusting to US. And I don't know, but a couple a three times here, round these parts, I've read postings about the Jets D being kinda predictable.
Those are the Big Things I saw last night. Dallas doing quick play calls to keep us from replacing players, plus not lining up Lamb against Gardner (I think Cee Dee's receptions were anywhere else but against Sauce) were factors, too - but it was the combo of the above factors that I think contributed more to Lamb's success, Dak's success than whether he was lining up against Sauce or not. Sauce was playing standard NYJ soft coverage/keep it in front, too - so I don't think this would have made much of a difference.
So, I call this defensive failure on Saleh and Brich, not on the players.
OFFENSE
> Duane Brown. I hate to say "I told you so" - but I told you so. And so did a million Jets fans. Leaving Duane Brown against any pass rusher w/out help from a TE or Back to chip his guy/provide support was never a good idea. Doing it against Micah Parsons - and NOT ADJUSTING DURING THE GAME WHEN IT CLEARLY WASN'T WORKING - was Criminal. Fault goes to Saleh and Hackett on this.
> Micah Parsons is truly an amazing player. After seeing him twist around and come through the gap left open by McGovern for the sack, I was hoping to see more Michael Carter in the backfield to pick up these stunts. But no, didn't see much of that - didn't see much of any kind of adjustment to deal with Parsons. Last sentence in this paragraph, same as the previous paragraph.
> Running straight at these guys would have been great to see, but that part of the game plan was tossed early, so not so much there, eh? I mean, whatever happened to running behind Becton & AJT, with Ruckert along to pancake someone? Would not this have afforded more chances for Hall, Cook & Carter to do good things? We'll never know.
Long/Short - we played McCarthy/Quinn's game plan; they didn't play Saleh/Brich/Hackett's game plan.
FINAL THOUGHT ON OUR DEFENSE.
No Defense, not the 2023 NYJets or the 2023 Cowboys, nor the 2009/2010 Jets, the '85 Bears, the Steel Curtain, Doomsday Defense, whoever... whatever... NOBODY's gonna play elite when they're on the field as long as the Jets D was last night. They were dragging ass in the 4th quarter.
Credit to McCarthy for executing a great game plan; Turdballs to Saleh, Brich and Hackett for not responding in kind.
Sauce was a BIG disappointment. Yes there was the dropped INT. There was also the first Dallas TD - He and some other DB just waived the Dallas receiver into the end zone. Did he ever come up to squeeze when it was clear Dallas was ignoring passes over 8 yards - many became longer thanks to missed tackles. It was clear we were not going to get to their QB in a meaningful way....I have never witness so many consecutive completions. Miserable coaching!!!!
PostScript on my earlier note. Just read your second half observations - you are absolutely correct. The lack of adjustment by Saleh/Brich/Hackett was the main factor in the loss last night; Wilson did not do a good job, but the failure was Saleh's and Hackett's for leaving him in a position to fail as they did.
No coaching adjustments. Reminds me of the importance of the OODA loop. USAF Colonel John Boyd taught it, resulting in American Fighter Air Combat supremacy during the 60's through Gulf War '91. It stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, and between opponents, whomever can get to complete this loop faster - ie; get "inside" the opponent's OODA loop - wins the combat.
Our guys - Saleh/Brich/Hackett - didn't OODA, it was more like FUBAR for them. McCarthy/Quinn ate that up.
All good points David. I wil try and not over-react (it very hard). There is so much i want to say but for now: This is not a 'elite' defense' and I'm totally disgusted
Defeat in Dallas
One thing I didn't mention in the post was Will McDonald being inactive. I understand the logic with Dallas being run heavy and phsical up-front, but it's still not a good look to have your first round pick inactive in week 2.
A painful night for sure and a reality check too, perhaps. Totally agree about getting out-thought and outmanoeuvred, and our O-line being as problematic as forecast was certainly a huge concern.
I think I’ll chalk this one up to a physical and emotional hangover for the whole organisation after the extremely draining Monday and subsequent week - it can’t have been easy to focus and prep for an away game against a stellar team after all that. I mean, I struggled!
The Patriots next up will define the tone and outlook for the rest of the season IMO.
- Can the line hold up long enough to give Zach a chance?
- On that note, can Zach hold up to physical and psychological pressure (the 4th quarter implosion was a horror show)?
- Will the offensive scheme figure out how to get the ball into the hands of the two best playmakers?
- Can the defence force some turnovers again, especially if they’re without key pieces due to injury?
If it’s a positive performance and good win I think most fans will forgive and forget this one and simply see it as a bad beat against a better-prepared team. Beating the Pats will be a huge boost both to the squad and fan base.
If it’s another error-strewn defeat then the whole season starts to look a whole lot bleaker.
I’m loath to put so much on a week three matchup but that’s where I think we are right now.
David, excellent article. Given that Parsons is such a force and a disruptive player, I find it hard to comprehend that he wasn’t double teamed or a RB wasn’t chipping him. Brown looked sluggish and thoroughly outclassed. Certainly he makes many LT’s look this way. You can’t expect to contain or limit his damage by providing the LT no additional help.
Overall I was more upset by the defensive performance particularly the inability to contain Cee Dee Lamb and pressure the QB. On offense I must sadly confess that I expected that if Wilson was pressured throughout the game that he would make mistakes. Well he did.
I concur that the roughing the passer calls were rather lame
1) A math lesson, what do the following numbers represent ( Answer below my thoughts)
5-2-8
13-12-79
2) I personally don’t like players or coaches who talk too much. To
Mr. Reed, If you really think your defense can be elite like the 85 Bears, how about showing it. The defense’s overall performance today was a disgrace. No way that the Dallas offense is that much better than the Bills. Please stay away from AR’s mushrooms, your quote just made yourself look delusional.
3) Coach Saleh, in the words of the immortal Don Meredith “ If, ifs and buts
we’re candy and nuts, everyday would be Xmas” Saleh’s vocabulary is excellent but unfortunately it doesn’t hide what we see. His comments about Zach and the offensive line today are an insultment to anyone who has a beginners knowledge of football.
4) Zach Wilson will never be a successful NFL quarterback. His third year in the league, still plays like a rookie. The company line says otherwise but then again, I didn’t draft him. If I was in a position to draft him, I wouldn’t have. Plus, my job isn’t on the line.
5) Hackett’s game plan was as imaginative as, a, imaginative as, a, imaginative as his father’s use to be.
After two games, we now see why Hackett was hired. Not for what he knows but who he knows. I hate to say it but there could be some truth in what Payton said about him. Even if it appears that Payton should have stayed retired.
6) It’s time that either Woody or JD or both talk to the league about “ ROUGHING THE QB PENALTIES. Since the beginning of last season and two games this year, that totals 19 games, the Jets are the only team out of 32 teams not to have a roughing called on any hit made on any of their quarterbacks. Yet, a questionable call in last years Foxboro debacle and the two in the second quarter today hurt the Jets chances for a different outcome.
6B) Where is Nick Bawden. We were told he was an intricate part of Hackett’s offense. Like maybe on third and one when Zach was stop. Was Bawden even active.
7) THE MATH ANSWER
5-2-8 Jet targets to our running backs, their receptions, their yardage on receptions
13-12-79 Cowboy targets, receptions and yardage. Do wonder why we couldn’t get near Dax. Intelligent OCs try to use passes to the backfield to cut down on the rush. Again, probably because of a lousy game plan by Mr Rodgers best friend.
Need to see couple changes starting with Tippman & Ruckert playing over Tomlinson/McGovern and Uzomah
Joe Tippman needs to be in the lineup next week. I don’t care if it’s at guard or center he should be out there.
Hey David -
yes, a rough morning no doubt. Lots to learn from last night's game.
JETS DEFENSE
Still Elite, but mis-used, imho. Factors:
> Dak was playing 3 step drops and quick releases during his 13-straight-completion run. These were coming in at less than 2.5 seconds. This is how you beat a fearsome pass rush.
> Dak is vulnerable when pressured; and 2.5 seconds is not enough time for our vaunted pass rush to pressure him.
> Solution? I think what could have worked better (and I was shouting at the TV for... ) was for Brich to both send a 5th pass rusher AND also play press coverage to chip/stall those receivers coming off the line. If you look at how Dan Quinn was running the Dallas defense, that's exactly what they were doing against the Jets. 5 man rush stresses the OLine more, and pressures Dak. Press/Chip the receivers and wouldn't you know it? The 2.5 seconds from hike to Dak passing the ball suddenly becomes a 3 or 3.2 seconds gap - and our guys could have ate that up.
Feast or Famine on the last? Absolutely. Saleh/Brich have our pass defense playing soft coverage, keeping everything in front of them - avoid the "big" plays. Could they have played a press coverage/5man rush like I suggest above? I'm not 100% sure - the Jets don't seem to use this tactic very often; I certainly haven't seen anything about them practicing this in our D.
The other side of that coin, though, is for the front four to pressure and get to the QB. No Pressure = being dinked to death by a quick release and letting the Cowboy skill guys make the plays downfield. So, assuming the Jets D would have stepped up into a 5 man rush/press coverage, then it's take your pick: Feast or Famine, or living and dying by the dink.
I think the Jets would have done pretty OK choosing the former, and at the least this would have been something McCarthy & Quinn would not have been expecting, and in turn would have them adjusting to US. And I don't know, but a couple a three times here, round these parts, I've read postings about the Jets D being kinda predictable.
Those are the Big Things I saw last night. Dallas doing quick play calls to keep us from replacing players, plus not lining up Lamb against Gardner (I think Cee Dee's receptions were anywhere else but against Sauce) were factors, too - but it was the combo of the above factors that I think contributed more to Lamb's success, Dak's success than whether he was lining up against Sauce or not. Sauce was playing standard NYJ soft coverage/keep it in front, too - so I don't think this would have made much of a difference.
So, I call this defensive failure on Saleh and Brich, not on the players.
OFFENSE
> Duane Brown. I hate to say "I told you so" - but I told you so. And so did a million Jets fans. Leaving Duane Brown against any pass rusher w/out help from a TE or Back to chip his guy/provide support was never a good idea. Doing it against Micah Parsons - and NOT ADJUSTING DURING THE GAME WHEN IT CLEARLY WASN'T WORKING - was Criminal. Fault goes to Saleh and Hackett on this.
> Micah Parsons is truly an amazing player. After seeing him twist around and come through the gap left open by McGovern for the sack, I was hoping to see more Michael Carter in the backfield to pick up these stunts. But no, didn't see much of that - didn't see much of any kind of adjustment to deal with Parsons. Last sentence in this paragraph, same as the previous paragraph.
> Running straight at these guys would have been great to see, but that part of the game plan was tossed early, so not so much there, eh? I mean, whatever happened to running behind Becton & AJT, with Ruckert along to pancake someone? Would not this have afforded more chances for Hall, Cook & Carter to do good things? We'll never know.
Long/Short - we played McCarthy/Quinn's game plan; they didn't play Saleh/Brich/Hackett's game plan.
FINAL THOUGHT ON OUR DEFENSE.
No Defense, not the 2023 NYJets or the 2023 Cowboys, nor the 2009/2010 Jets, the '85 Bears, the Steel Curtain, Doomsday Defense, whoever... whatever... NOBODY's gonna play elite when they're on the field as long as the Jets D was last night. They were dragging ass in the 4th quarter.
Credit to McCarthy for executing a great game plan; Turdballs to Saleh, Brich and Hackett for not responding in kind.
CGVet58
Sauce was a BIG disappointment. Yes there was the dropped INT. There was also the first Dallas TD - He and some other DB just waived the Dallas receiver into the end zone. Did he ever come up to squeeze when it was clear Dallas was ignoring passes over 8 yards - many became longer thanks to missed tackles. It was clear we were not going to get to their QB in a meaningful way....I have never witness so many consecutive completions. Miserable coaching!!!!
hey Ron!
Tippmann has very limited experience at guard. Much more at Center. McG has alot of experience at guard.
I think Tippmann has a higher ceiling than McG, but McG is already playing at avg level, and I would think his play would continue at avg level at G.
David -
PostScript on my earlier note. Just read your second half observations - you are absolutely correct. The lack of adjustment by Saleh/Brich/Hackett was the main factor in the loss last night; Wilson did not do a good job, but the failure was Saleh's and Hackett's for leaving him in a position to fail as they did.
No coaching adjustments. Reminds me of the importance of the OODA loop. USAF Colonel John Boyd taught it, resulting in American Fighter Air Combat supremacy during the 60's through Gulf War '91. It stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, and between opponents, whomever can get to complete this loop faster - ie; get "inside" the opponent's OODA loop - wins the combat.
Our guys - Saleh/Brich/Hackett - didn't OODA, it was more like FUBAR for them. McCarthy/Quinn ate that up.
CGVet58
All good points David. I wil try and not over-react (it very hard). There is so much i want to say but for now: This is not a 'elite' defense' and I'm totally disgusted