One Game at a Time

Edition #697

Good morning!

I have to admit, I wasn’t quite expecting the online meltdown I witnessed yesterday following the Jets loss to the 49ers (not here on TJW thankfully, but on X).

While there was a reasoned debate in the comment section of yesterday’s post, some online forums were calling for a complete clear-out, I even saw one person saying if Sauce can’t play a whole game then he should be traded.

Monday was disappointing on many levels, can’t disagree with that. There are some worrying signs especially when it comes to the Jets ability to defend the run, can’t disagree with that. But we got beat by the defending NFC Champions who were playing in their own backyard. It’s not time to smash that panic button.

Head Coach Robert Saleh believes the players were trying to do too much, which in turn led to many of the issues we saw - "The whole game, it wasn't for a lack of effort as much as guys trying to do too much," Saleh said. "When you play a team like San Francisco, they've been together eight years, they're very precise in what they do. It's as simple as just doing your job. Do your job and we will be in much better shape going forward."

Those mistakes on defence meant the Jets offence rarely had the ball and that impacted the entire game plan as a result - "We only had 49 plays," Saleh said. "If we had that 12-play first drive where we had a chance to go score, and it was a lot of Breece and Garrett, but I think as the game would have opened up with more opportunities, I think it would have given more guys involved. I think I speak for everybody, especially on the offensive side of the ball, when I say there's a lot of confidence on that side. I know what it looks like, but I also know what the film looks like, and I know, just from the process of how the game happened, our offense is going to be really good this year."

One of the positives that I pointed out yesterday was the pass protection, going against an elite unit they held their own and some, that’s extremely encouraging. They do need to improve their run blocking, but I’m confident that if this five can stay together, a lot of good things will happen - "From an offensive line perspective, there's a lot of really good things that happened on tape," Saleh said. "… I thought it was a good first outing in terms for a group that hadn't played together and for the quarterback hadn't played in so long, but there was a lot of encouraging things that I know it's going to be a lot better once we balance out this team."

Tennessee lost to the Chicago Bears in week one, thanks to a blocked punt that was returned for a TD and an interception that was also returned for a TD. Robert Saleh knows that his defensive line needs to control the LOS more than they did on Monday, where they were thrown around like a Raggedy Ann doll, he also knows that they’re going to be facing one of the best o-line coaches in NFL history - "We're going to get a lot better from Week 1 to Week 2," Saleh said. "We got a great opportunity this week against Tennessee, on a short week. They were very unfortunate not to come away with a win in their game but they got one of the best O-line coaches in the history of football [Bill Callahan], who's given us fits over the last few years. So, it's going to be a tremendous challenge."

I’m not sure I agree with the following statement from C. J. Mosley but I understand the sentiment behind it: "They did a really good job running the ball and getting the 4- or 5-yard chunks when they needed to," Mosley said. "Then that created the third-and-shorts and that is when it becomes really hard. At the end of the day, we have to look at the film and get ready for a short week. We have to get our mind right because it is all mental going forward."

Tony Adams got put in some tough alignments in week one, like drawing Brandon Aiyuk on a key 3rd and 5 (not a good idea Jeff) which the 49ers converted. But the former UDFA had a career high 12 tackles, 1 sack and a pass defence to his name and he has faith that the issues can be fixed before Sunday - "The standard for this defense as a whole is excellence and we didn't play to that standard," Adams said. "We are going into a short week and we don't have no other choice but to bounce back and play to that standard in Tennessee." If you want to see that Adams/Aiyuk play in more detail, John B over at GGN did a great job breaking it down HERE.

There was a weird rumour doing the rounds that Sauce Gardner took himself out the game because he didn’t want to tackle Deebo, which is ridiculous. Sauce felt the need to respond saying: “So let me get this straight, y’all really think I tackled Deebo and was just like “man ian doing that nomore” and took myself out the game?😂 Whatever happened was temporary and when it went away, I went back in lol. Simple as that,”

As promised, here are the power rankings update following the week one matchups. I said I was going to keep the same four all season, but for the life of me I can’t find the updated PFF ones, so this week there is just three.

NFL.com - 13th (Down 1)

I forgot how much I missed watching Aaron Rodgers throw the football. It's been nearly two years of more drama than actual play, and after the sloppy start, that third drive was exactly how the Jets' offense can thrive this season. The moment Rodgers was back back, though, was when he got Leonard Floyd -- the guy whose tackle tore Rodgers' Achilles last year -- to jump offsides before hitting Allen Lazard for the freebie TD. There were a few vintage Rodgers moments on Monday, but the Jets' defense was a big disappointment. After the opening three-and-out, the Christian McCaffrey-less 49ers scored on the next eight possessions. Eight! The Jets had a great defense much of last season, but that included a few clunker performances. Gang Green has to hope that's what Monday was, against one of the league's better offenses (even without CMC).

USA Today - 12th (Down 6)

A rocky debut rendered them the only winless team in the AFC East. But QB Aaron Rodgers survived the night, the schedule seems poised to ease up significantly and – who knows? – maybe LB Haason Reddick will even show up rather than continue to miss game checks. Panic would be premature.

ESPN - 15th (No change)

What does it say about the Jets that their backup quarterback was the top newcomer in Week 1? With the game out of reach, Taylor replaced Aaron Rodgers and led a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, hitting Allen Lazard on a 3-yard touchdown pass. Other key newcomers, namely WR Mike Williams, OT Tyron Smith and OT Morgan Moses, didn't distinguish themselves.

There were some pretty obvious flaws for the Jets following a second viewing of the game. But when you take the emotion of the moment away and watch it knowing the outcome, it’s easier to find solace in some of the things the Jets did well…and I promise there were some good things.

There were some strange coaching decisions, like not playing Braelon Allen and being glaringly obvious with your play-call like this 3rd down formation. You want to play smashmouth football, put your big back in there. Corley getting barely any run despite Mike Williams being saddled on the sideline. So many confusing decisions.

I may touch on that tomorrow, but we have a short week and we’ll need to start previewing the Titans…which is quickly turning into a must win game for the Jets.