Failure in Foxborough!
Edition #970: The Jets have clear and obvious issues, but it still doesn't completely diminish the green shoots poking through.
Good morning ☕
That game played out exactly as we all expected it to.
I’d also argue that the game highlighted our status as sellers at the trade deadline with the Patriots taking advantage of the areas we weakened.
Sauce Gardner gone - Stefon Diggs, 9 catches for 105 yards.
Quinnen Williams gone - Henderson, 2 rushing TDS and no internal pressure.
Michael Carter II gone - 3 more penalties for Brownlee
While I hate losing to the Patriots, who now have the best record in the AFC and have won 8 straight games behind good QB play and good coaching. I’m not that discouraged this morning.
The issues we saw last night are not new, they’re problem areas that we all know need to be addressed:
QB is just not good enough.
We need more options at receiver.
Our pass rush is largely non-existent, especially from the interior.
Secondary has been through a lot of change and were playing shorthanded.
The biggest issue on that list by far is Justin Fields.
Glenn defended his QB after the game as you’d expect him to do, but he’s not stupid. He knows that you can’t win with Justin, with a perfect team he may be able to manage you to the playoffs, but even that’s not guaranteed and it leaves no room for error.
But make no mistake about it. The Jets know that and while that contract was ill-advised the trades were made with a focus on securing the QB of the future. That’s why you sacrifice a Sauce Gardner and a Quinnen Williams. Not because they’re bad players or you think you’re better off without them, but because you need the ammunition to move up to grab your #1 option.
The Jets are good enough to beat the likes of the Joe Burrow-less Bengals and the the Dillon Gabriel Browns, but they’re nowhere close to being able to compete with the top teams in the conference.
“One thing that really sticks out are details and discipline — that was one box we didn’t check off today,” AG said. “I am not just talking about the players, I am talking about us as coaches too. We have to make sure we’re on the same page and we’re doing the things we have to do to help those guys.”
It was another week where there was a wide open TD due to the defenses lack of pre-snap communication, if you watch this team closely you’ll see this is a consistent issue and with new players coming in and out after the trade deadline, it’s kind of expected.
That’s not news to us. We know that.
We know that the QB isn’t good enough and that the interior defensive line is lacking in pass-rush potential. We know that the edges are streaky and with Sauce having been traded, Thomas missing with a concussion and Stiggers leaving the game, we’re going to struggle in the secondary. Especially with the safeties we currently have at our disposal. We also have a defense incapable of forcing turnovers and shifting momentum, a huge asset in the NFL.
Glenn mentioned that McDonald was drawing extra attention which is something that was mentioned on broadcast: “It was very obvious they were worried about Will [McDonald]. You see he got chipped a number of times, and when that happens, you’ve got to have other players step up. A number of times we should’ve had the quarterback corralled but we didn’t get him on the ground.”
But it comes back to Justin Fields. You can’t win in the NFL without a QB willing to throw the ball downfield. Fields may have gone for over 100 passing yards for just the second time in the last five games, but that was largely thanks to some late game completions with the Patriots playing some prevent defense and soft underneath coverage. I think Fields only attempted 3 passes that went for 9 or more air yards. You can’t win like that in an NFL that is heavily QB driven. You especially can’t win like that when you have so many holes on defense.
We know all that.
But we also can’t let that take away from some of the positives, some of the building blocks that will lead this team to success when they have that QB1 in place. I know that it’s easier said than done to find a QB, but the Jets will have no better chance than over the next two drafts considering their capital.
It’s hard to look at positives after a loss to a divisional foe but there are green shoots and I’d start straight away with the offensive line, who I felt did a great job in both providing Justin with a clean pocket and generating some push in the run game against the NFL’s #1 run defense. Three of those players are signed long-term and I’d argue that they also happen to be the three strongest players on that line. Putting a capable QB behind that line will instantly lead to better results. Not only because a capable QB will throw on time and in schedule reducing their need to block for longer, but also when you have a QB that teams are scared of they’re less likely to load the box.
We’ve tried getting the QB before the line and it hasn’t worked. Part of the reason Mark Sanchez was able to take us to two AFC Championship games came down to not only the defense but because he came in and started behind one of the best offensive lines in the league. I think that’s the strategy the Jets are adopting. We’ve spent the last couple of years building this line and now we have the draft capital to get the QB and plug him in behind some stellar protection that can also open up holes for a RB.
I thought Metchie was a positive last night and while Mitchell had the drops, I think the release and the speed were evident, his route-running is a + but he just had a bad night of drops. I’d also argue that Fields ball placement and timing didn’t help him, but while Colts fans will be feeling smug about his struggles, I was encouraged by his performance. No, the end product wasn’t there, but his ability to get open will lead to big plays for the Jets. Also don’t forget that AD had a 1.8% drop rate in his year at Texas, his hands weren’t a problem, so I’m not going to overreact to the drops.
Breece Hall became the first RB this season to put up more than 50 rushing yards against this run defense, and Justin Fields also put up 50+ on the ground. The Patriots adapted to Fields and largely nullified him after that first drive (by the way the Patriots lead the league in allowing first drive touchdowns, so the Jets aren’t special), but I thought Breece ran hard and did a decent job.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and the Jets aren’t going to be fixed in a year.
Considering how late the game finished I’m going to leave it here today and hand it over to you guys. But here’s how the draft order is looking before the weekends games. While I won’t cheer for the Jets to lose, I have no problem cheering for losses for others that will improve our draft stock.
Giants play the Packers.
Titans play the Texans
Saints are on a bye week.
Browns play the Ravens
Raiders play the Cowboys
The Texans are 4-5 on the season but playing much better recently, so I wouldn’t bank on the Titans coming away with a win there.
Well, …..Mitchell sure can move! He gets open with ease. We haven’t had a guy like that in years. But he’s gotta come down with at least two of those 3 opportunities he had. He had 2 steps on Gonzalez who’s an outstanding corner. The ball was a bit under thrown which was why Gonzalez was able to catch up and make it a tough catch. Could it have been caught? Absolutely but it would have been an outstanding catch. The second miss was not a good pass. It was late and behind Mitchell. Again it would have required a Garrett Wilson like contortion maneuver to make that catch. And the final miss was the crosser he let go through his hands. He may have been screened by the LB underneath his position but that ball should have been caught. But I like the kid. The talent is clearly there. But catch the freak’n 🤬ball already. 😂
Based on Glenn’s remarks after the game, Fields is here to stay at least for this year.
A future Jets Way? possible stop gaps for 2026 if MouGlenn is waiting for 2027. Off the top of my head, the stop gap quarterback tree is a little sparse of quality fruit.