Jets close but no cigar

Edition #277

Good morning ☀️

Rarely have I ever woken up following a loss with more positivity. As the clock ticked down and the realization hit that the Jets were going to drop a game they should have won, the only thought I had was that not since Rex Ryan have I had so much faith that the Jets were heading in the right direction. We have the GM, we have the coach and we have a lot of the players.

Obviously, the Jets didn't play the cleanest game, but in many ways, it's for that reason that I have so much positivity.

"I was in his s--- all game. He got that one route on me, so I'm frustrated" - DJ Reed on going against Justin Jefferson. JJ had 7 catches for 45 yards and a TD, that’s a good result against arguably the games best receiver.

"Today was the definition of a game of inches -- over and over and over."- Garrett Wilson on the defeat, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Great stat here by Rich Cimini: “Mike White passed for 369 yds, 0 TD, 2 Int -- the most pass yards by a Jets QB in a game with 0 TD in franchise history. Joe Namath: 341 Pass yds, 0 TD, 5 Int in Week 6 of 1968 vs Broncos”

“We stared adversity straight in the face and we responded. Just have to respond better. No moral victories in the NFL.” - Mike White on the defeat, hard to argue there.

“I’m proud to be this team’s coach. This team doesn’t quit.” - Coach Saleh

Saleh also reserved some praise for Mike White saying he thought White did a great job “I thought he kept his composure, made some big kid throws.”

Following the game I usually log into social media to try and get a sense of the mood of the fanbase, yesterday it was a little schizophrenic. I would say the vast majority were positive, but a few were apoplectic.

I understand the disappointment of defeat, the immediate reaction is to look for someone to blame. The person who came under fire was the QB, as so often happens. I'll admit that it shocked me a little bit to see White being dragged over the coals by a portion of the fanbase, and my immediate thought was we were witnessing some box score scouting.

If you glanced at the Box score here's what you'd see. A 54.4% completion with 0 TD and 2 INT. If you watched the game you would have seen a QB who moved the offense at will. There were some red-zone issues, any time you convert 6 red-zone opportunities into a single TD, you're going to ask questions. Some of that was on Mike, some of it on MLF and some of it on receivers.

But White came out in the third quarter with his team down 20-3 and outscored the 9-2 opposition by 16-7 in the 2nd half. Had Braxton held onto a relatively easy chance for an NFL receiver, we'd be looking at a QB who was 2-0 as a starter this year with back-to-back 300+ yard passing games and a road victory to his name against a 9-2 team.

The two interceptions were just unlucky. The first bounced off a receiver and ballooned into the air and the second he had to let go with the game situation, outside of a 4th quarter situation where you needed a touchdown, I don't think he throws that ball but as Saleh mentioned after the game, it was his only choice.

The red-zone offense has been an issue all season, I believe we entered the game as the 29th-best team in that regard and while some of it is on execution, I do feel as though LaFleur tries to get a little cute when in the red-zone with too much passing and not enough running. When he does elect to pass, I don’t understand why our two big-bodied TEs don’t get more targets. I don't love how much shotgun we're in down there and I don't love how many empty sets we run. Being in shotgun gives the defense a better view and being empty largely eliminates the threat of a running play.

I'm not saying White was perfect, he left some throws on the field. That pass down the sideline to Wilson was a perfect read, and had it been 6 inches shorter it's a house call. That's a throw he'd want back. But at the end of the day he gave his team a chance to win and that's what you need from your QB. That 4th down throw to Corey Davis is as good a pass as you'll see, and that wasn't the only pass that made me stand up and take notice. It's time we start considering we may have something in Mike White.

Outside of the QB, two players stood out more than any other. Garrett Wilson is just a special player, he has the potential to be one of the best receivers in football, his route-running, separation and savviness is elite. I'd love to see his season stat line with consistent QB play. Then you have Zonovan Knight who just has something about him, the thought of a backfield of Hall, Knight and Carter is mouthwatering to say the least. As Saleh mentioned after the game, Zonovan just has a little extra juice to him. It's going to be exciting to see him down the stretch.

Defensively the Jets started a little slower than you'd want, but yet again they were elite in the 2nd half, allowing just 7 points and giving the offense a chance to get back in the game. The defensive line didn't dominate as much as I thought they would, but Cousins did a good job getting the ball out quickly, and that in itself led to some incompletions due to the timing being off. So while the sacks didn't flow as freely as we'd like, they did impact the game and gave the secondary something to work with.

I liked the play from the corners, but it became clear yesterday that the Jets need to find a partner for Whitehead at the safety position. The Jets allowed three really explosive plays that I can remember and I think Joyner was involved in all of them. I don't want it to be a finger-pointing exercise at one man, but a team who's about to enter their prime contention years as the Jets are, need to be aware of their deficiencies.

If you read TJW regularly, you'll know I'm not one of those fans who talk about officials a lot. But we have to mention the inconsistency of the crew yesterday, they threw some flags for the Vikings that stayed in their belt for the Jets. The Jets got called for a hit by the safety on a “defenceless receiver” but when Wilson got hit in exactly the same manner, there was nothing. The Jets were flagged 6 times, double the amount of the Vikings, when the officials let them play in the second half we saw who the better team were.

You don’t win games with field goals, but it certainly helps to have a good kicker to keep things close. Greg Zuerlein was true to his “Greg the Leg” name yesterday by hitting all 5 field goals including a franchise-record 60-yarder. We seem to go into every season with questions about the kicker position, it’s nice to have some certainty there going forward.

In the simplest terms, the game can be boiled down to four numbers, two for each team.

1-6 = Jets red-zone conversion

3-3 = Vikings red-zone conversion

18.8% = Jets 3rd down conversion

50% = Vikings 3rd down conversion

Here's why I'm positive. In spite of those numbers, the Jets should have won this game. With 2 minutes to go, White hits Braxton’s hands in the end zone, a score that with a 2-point conversion would have put the Jets up by 3, with the defense playing well.

One thing to note is that the Jets decided to switch George Fant in for Max Mitchell halfway through the game because according to Coach Saleh, he was struggling. The Jets only allowed 1 sack all afternoon and I didn’t notice Max struggling personally, but when we watch it back it may be a little more obvious.

How can you not feel positive about the direction of this team after that? Whether you think the Vikings should be 9-2 is a different debate, but they are 9-2 having beaten the Bills, Dolphins and 7 other teams. They’re now 10-2 and vying for the #1 seed in the NFC, and had Braxton caught a ball that he catches 99/100, we’re taking home a victory on the road, while not playing our best football.

Following the game Mike White took accountability, saying he needs to do better on that Braxton pass and executing in the red-zone, all true but it’s the accountability aspect that is key here. Listen to what Garrett Wilson had to say about White: “He was out there, controlling the huddle, never letting the moment get too big,” Wilson said about his quarterback. “It was cool to see. Looking back on it now, it’s cool to think about. I know I’d go to war for that boy. He’s got something special about him.”

There are no moral victories in the NFL as White pointed out, but there are better losses than others, this was a loss where you could not only see the progress, but you could see the destination. Next week we have a chance to make a statement against the Bills on the road, and I can’t wait to get to that game.