This season has had 2 turning points. The first being when Rodgers was injured.
The second being when the Jets got a safety on Mahomes and the Chiefs. From that point on, Zach has been a totally different quarterback.
If you go over the play sheet from that safety until the great officials robbery job. Zach was probably the most confident and positively the most aggressive he has ever been as a pro.
We really don’t know how much Hackett was involved in the aggressive attack because Zach could have changed plays.
Zach had two red zone touchdown passes. His td pass to Lazard was probably his best pass as a pro.
The following week in Denver, 4 visits to the red zone not one pass into the end zone, mostly running plays and dump offs. At the time, Denver was statistically the worst defense in the NFL. Being 31st or 32nd in every major category.
The $64,000 Question is what was the reason that force the change from an aggressive upbeat offense to a very overly conservative offense.
For all intent and purposes, the Eagle game had the same docile play calling in the red zone. Hall’s touchdown was a give me td by the Eagles to get the ball back in a 20-14 game.
Aside from the obvious lineup changes, I refuse to mention them again. I think Hackett has to be more aggressive. He should leave his father’s playbook home. This defense can overcome turnovers at the level they currently are playing at.
I’m sure they would prefer seeing red zone touchdowns instead of red zone field goals. Some of the weight has to be taken off of the defense’s backs. The Jets have 11 regular season games, the defense needs a breather in a few games.
While I’m not advocating Air Coryell or the Greatest Show on Turf, but they really need to be more aggressive than the three yards and a cloud of dust offense that is a staple of the Hackett Household.
You're absolutely right Bobber. We were aggressive in the red-zone and had success and now we've gone into the shell for whatever reason. I genuinely believe that there is a conservative theory from the coaching staff that they want to come away with points, and don't want to risk turnovers. But that kind of philosophy will only take you so far.
The issue I'm seeing when I watch games back is that the calls are overly conservative and then when we do have end-zone options, Zach misses them. So it's a little bit of everything and everyone. he encouraging thing for me is that we're a hair away from breaking out in the red-zone, I truly believe that. When we do, these 20 point outputs will turn into 35 point outputs, and if you give our defence 35 points to work with, I'm backing us to win most weeks.
any idea where i can get the name and address of the bought ref who gave the game to the chiefs with that lying PoS interference call? I wanna send him a box full of Fuck You's for Christmas.
David, thanks again, great article once again supported by relevant statistical facts! The bye week comes up at a great time. The players get a break from the physical rigors of the game. There’s a psychological break from the monotony of practice after practice. The players get to spend some time with friends and family that will hopefully rejuvenate them going forward. For the coaching staff things are most likely a little different. Based on all the numbers you just provided us with it’s pretty obvious we have become way to predictable. The bye week is a great week to do some self scouting and look for ways to eliminate some of the tendencies that make us predictable. I think the first thing we need to change up on is our personnel usage and you did hit on this advocating more Gibson- less Cobb. More Ruckert- less Uzomah. And of course maybe we introduce the speed of Izzy and loose the plodding of Cook who looks shot. Strategically we need to utilize Zach athleticism by rolling him out more. Move the pocket. Run some waggles, more play action and how about some screens and even draw plays? One of the high school teams I coached was annually undermanned. We rarely had the best athletes. But we were able to compete against better teams using deception. I’m not suggesting we go the the old single wing veer but it’s amazing what you can do with some creative play call in. Smoke and mirrors my friend.
Here is an interesting statistic that leads to an interesting thought:
Per Ethan Greenberg's "Jets PFF Grades" post on NewYorkJets.com
*** TEs Big Piece of Jets Run Game ****
Jets TE C.J. Uzomah ranks No. 7 among tight ends this season (min. 20%) with a 74.4 run-block grade, helping the Green & White's No. 13-ranked rushing offense. Uzomah's 89.3 run-block grade between Weeks 3-5 ranked No. 2 among TEs.
Second-year TE Jeremy Ruckert, who had a reputation as a good run blocker at Ohio State, led the league with an 86.1 run block grade over the first two weeks of the season. He also has not allowed a QB pressure through the first six games.
***
Combine that with Cobb being one of the statistically worst receivers in football. May I suggest a bunch more 12 and 13 personnel? It sounds like the TE group has been pretty stellar in all facets of the offense. Perhaps Conklin getting into the slot more often would be a welcome change, as well. They need to, of course, get Jeremy Ruckert more snaps. The problem is that the dudes in front of him are, actually, playing quite well. I think cutting back on the amount of 11 personnel could provide the offense with an identity and would get Ruckert, Uzomah, and Conklin all on the field a bunch more.
Great points as usual David. Solid, on point and very informative. There's no one single thing that has caused the paucity of success in the red zone. It's a combination of different factors coming up at the most inopportune moments. Hackett's dad's play-calling is definitely an issue, as is ZW's tendency to throw uncatchable balls into the end zone. It's unfortunate, but the losses of AVT for the season and Tippmann for who knows how long will definitely cause issues in both the run and pass games. I think that putting ZW into positions where his natural talents benefit him is a good point. They should also have some designed run plays for him if they really want to get into the playoffs this season. Maybe that will give other teams pause in their defensive plans, especially in the red zone. I know it's a calculated risk, but it's time for them to "shit or get off the pot", as my Mom would say in situations like this. There has to be something to make opposing defenses worry about him running the ball on certain occasions. Zack is always going to have some difficulty in processing his thoughts during a play, that seems to be pretty clear at this point, but field goals won't win a season for you.
As far as player usage in concerned, you are preaching to the choir. Cook should be a healthy scratch for the rest of the season, Cobb is being relied upon way too much when Gipson shows he can do so much more to help the offense. I haven't closed the book on Hardman, his speed and elusiveness after the catch should be a great help. Ruckert has shown he is more valuable than Uzohma in both the run and pass games. There's just so much meat being left on the bone here. The Jets have to make up their minds on what they want to do, get aggressive, or be passive because they are afraid of ZW making mistakes. You can't have both.
You've made several comments that perhaps I and others were being too harsh on Ulbrich and Saleh. At least in terms of the D, it seems that you are definitely right. At the following link are the Kelce brothers talking about the Jets' D. https://x.com/nyjetsfansonly/status/1714675134076707175?s=20
that's a fantastic link, man! I love it when 1st tier players, and that's abso-effin-lutely what the Kelce brothers are, are letting the world know just how good our defense is.
I'm almost scared to think that next year we're gonna lose Brich, because you just know some team's gonna scoop him for an HC job. But nothing happens in a vacuum, and those assistant coaches are there, soaking it up, learning up how to be the next Brich to be a sterling DC.
However, if by some chance, Brich chooses to stay, work to becoming Dick LeBeau v2.0, then I think I can live with that. Cause if you're gonna emulate a DC, then using the Best Ever like LeBeau - 13 years total as Steelers DC, 137-71 record, and btw, also a HoF Safety - is a pretty good path to take.
And not only that - but Brich is actually pushing press coverages sometimes, blitzing sometimes, often at unexpected moments... blitzing in 4th quarter, when the front four rotation has clearly worn down the opposing OLine, and the QB's nerves are frazzled into making more and more mistakes - see wk6 game vs Eagles as exhibit A. I think Brich is certainly capable of evolving, using every tool and every athlete at his disposal.
CG, The really scary thing is that we could lose Ulbrich, Tony Oden (CB Coach) and Marquand Manuel (S Coach) all this offseason. Ulbrich could get a HC job, and Oden and Manuel get DC jobs. What would that do to our D? It couldn't be good.
But if Oden gets bumped to, say, DC, and Manual gets bumped to a higher position, say Assistant DC (or they give him another role; LB coach, Line, whatever...) than the NFL rules about this stuff doesn't apply, right?
Of course, maybe Oden, Manual or other coaches want to leave - but seriously, if I were a defensive coach in the Jets organization and not the DC, I'd be shooting for that position, or the one below it, before going to another team. That is, if I'm looking to build my resume, being successful at various levels, then DC, which hopefully then gives me a shot at HC somewhere.
Me, I'm more the Dick LeBeau type - I could really see myself being in one organization for 8-10-15 years, constantly and consistently building new and different players into the same dominant, voracious defense that's known for never quitting, for making stud QB's like Mahomes, Hurts, Allen look like mere humans instead of the otherworldly shit we've seen them do on a regular basis.
I'm hoping that we don't lose any of them and we don't have to find out! The crazy thing about the NFL is that if one has great success as a coordinator one often gets a shot as a HC, but just because one is a great coordinator doesn't mean that one can be even a good HC. The Peter Principle applies.
If Ulbrich gets lured away first with a HC job, then we could quite possibly keep both Oden and Manuel or at least one of them and make him the DC if Saleh thinks he's ready. The problem is that Oden and Manuel could get hired away first (and Manuel has been a DC before with Atlanta). Then if Ulbrich leaves, we'd have a huge hole on our D coaching staff.
LeBeau was an unusual situation. Perhaps he realized his limitations, or didn't have any desires to become a HC and was happy as a DC. Hopefully, that will be the case with Ulbrich and he'll stay. I wouldn't hold my breath on that, however. Coaches, just like people in the business world, usually want to move up the ladder, make more money, and make a bigger name for themselves. We'll see what happens. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed (figuratively rather than literally, because that would make it awfully hard to type)!
I'm, actually, about to listen to the Kelce brothers this afternoon! I love hearing the players talk about stuff. It is always neat to get that inside perspective.
Excellent write-up. Your more-and-less list, looks like you read my mind :-).
Bud, am concerned about the right side of the line. We're HOPEFUL that schweitzer and Mitchell hold up - but lets face it; their names aren't Tippmann & AVT. Plus we no longer have viable depth on the OL if someone else goes down. And if another OL goes down in injury again, I think we're fucked.
There have to be better-quality OG's out there in Free Agency. JD needs to get aggressive on this; fuhgehddabboud getting another playmaker, we've got studs - but if the OL foundation can't hold up, there's a high chance we're gonna start seeing Zach Turtle shell up, Zach 2022 start showing, and Torches and Pitchforks for Hackett again.
JD, get hoppin' Man! Just like you did a mini Hop just before Coach landed in your arms last Sunday, you need to get a good OG in FA STAT!
This season has had 2 turning points. The first being when Rodgers was injured.
The second being when the Jets got a safety on Mahomes and the Chiefs. From that point on, Zach has been a totally different quarterback.
If you go over the play sheet from that safety until the great officials robbery job. Zach was probably the most confident and positively the most aggressive he has ever been as a pro.
We really don’t know how much Hackett was involved in the aggressive attack because Zach could have changed plays.
Zach had two red zone touchdown passes. His td pass to Lazard was probably his best pass as a pro.
The following week in Denver, 4 visits to the red zone not one pass into the end zone, mostly running plays and dump offs. At the time, Denver was statistically the worst defense in the NFL. Being 31st or 32nd in every major category.
The $64,000 Question is what was the reason that force the change from an aggressive upbeat offense to a very overly conservative offense.
For all intent and purposes, the Eagle game had the same docile play calling in the red zone. Hall’s touchdown was a give me td by the Eagles to get the ball back in a 20-14 game.
Aside from the obvious lineup changes, I refuse to mention them again. I think Hackett has to be more aggressive. He should leave his father’s playbook home. This defense can overcome turnovers at the level they currently are playing at.
I’m sure they would prefer seeing red zone touchdowns instead of red zone field goals. Some of the weight has to be taken off of the defense’s backs. The Jets have 11 regular season games, the defense needs a breather in a few games.
While I’m not advocating Air Coryell or the Greatest Show on Turf, but they really need to be more aggressive than the three yards and a cloud of dust offense that is a staple of the Hackett Household.
You're absolutely right Bobber. We were aggressive in the red-zone and had success and now we've gone into the shell for whatever reason. I genuinely believe that there is a conservative theory from the coaching staff that they want to come away with points, and don't want to risk turnovers. But that kind of philosophy will only take you so far.
The issue I'm seeing when I watch games back is that the calls are overly conservative and then when we do have end-zone options, Zach misses them. So it's a little bit of everything and everyone. he encouraging thing for me is that we're a hair away from breaking out in the red-zone, I truly believe that. When we do, these 20 point outputs will turn into 35 point outputs, and if you give our defence 35 points to work with, I'm backing us to win most weeks.
hey Bobber!
any idea where i can get the name and address of the bought ref who gave the game to the chiefs with that lying PoS interference call? I wanna send him a box full of Fuck You's for Christmas.
CGVet58
David, thanks again, great article once again supported by relevant statistical facts! The bye week comes up at a great time. The players get a break from the physical rigors of the game. There’s a psychological break from the monotony of practice after practice. The players get to spend some time with friends and family that will hopefully rejuvenate them going forward. For the coaching staff things are most likely a little different. Based on all the numbers you just provided us with it’s pretty obvious we have become way to predictable. The bye week is a great week to do some self scouting and look for ways to eliminate some of the tendencies that make us predictable. I think the first thing we need to change up on is our personnel usage and you did hit on this advocating more Gibson- less Cobb. More Ruckert- less Uzomah. And of course maybe we introduce the speed of Izzy and loose the plodding of Cook who looks shot. Strategically we need to utilize Zach athleticism by rolling him out more. Move the pocket. Run some waggles, more play action and how about some screens and even draw plays? One of the high school teams I coached was annually undermanned. We rarely had the best athletes. But we were able to compete against better teams using deception. I’m not suggesting we go the the old single wing veer but it’s amazing what you can do with some creative play call in. Smoke and mirrors my friend.
Here is an interesting statistic that leads to an interesting thought:
Per Ethan Greenberg's "Jets PFF Grades" post on NewYorkJets.com
*** TEs Big Piece of Jets Run Game ****
Jets TE C.J. Uzomah ranks No. 7 among tight ends this season (min. 20%) with a 74.4 run-block grade, helping the Green & White's No. 13-ranked rushing offense. Uzomah's 89.3 run-block grade between Weeks 3-5 ranked No. 2 among TEs.
Second-year TE Jeremy Ruckert, who had a reputation as a good run blocker at Ohio State, led the league with an 86.1 run block grade over the first two weeks of the season. He also has not allowed a QB pressure through the first six games.
***
Combine that with Cobb being one of the statistically worst receivers in football. May I suggest a bunch more 12 and 13 personnel? It sounds like the TE group has been pretty stellar in all facets of the offense. Perhaps Conklin getting into the slot more often would be a welcome change, as well. They need to, of course, get Jeremy Ruckert more snaps. The problem is that the dudes in front of him are, actually, playing quite well. I think cutting back on the amount of 11 personnel could provide the offense with an identity and would get Ruckert, Uzomah, and Conklin all on the field a bunch more.
Great points as usual David. Solid, on point and very informative. There's no one single thing that has caused the paucity of success in the red zone. It's a combination of different factors coming up at the most inopportune moments. Hackett's dad's play-calling is definitely an issue, as is ZW's tendency to throw uncatchable balls into the end zone. It's unfortunate, but the losses of AVT for the season and Tippmann for who knows how long will definitely cause issues in both the run and pass games. I think that putting ZW into positions where his natural talents benefit him is a good point. They should also have some designed run plays for him if they really want to get into the playoffs this season. Maybe that will give other teams pause in their defensive plans, especially in the red zone. I know it's a calculated risk, but it's time for them to "shit or get off the pot", as my Mom would say in situations like this. There has to be something to make opposing defenses worry about him running the ball on certain occasions. Zack is always going to have some difficulty in processing his thoughts during a play, that seems to be pretty clear at this point, but field goals won't win a season for you.
As far as player usage in concerned, you are preaching to the choir. Cook should be a healthy scratch for the rest of the season, Cobb is being relied upon way too much when Gipson shows he can do so much more to help the offense. I haven't closed the book on Hardman, his speed and elusiveness after the catch should be a great help. Ruckert has shown he is more valuable than Uzohma in both the run and pass games. There's just so much meat being left on the bone here. The Jets have to make up their minds on what they want to do, get aggressive, or be passive because they are afraid of ZW making mistakes. You can't have both.
not so much a flash bit of news: Mecole Hardman traded back to the Chiefs.
From Matt O'Leary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iFkBruyy5w
Daniel,
You've made several comments that perhaps I and others were being too harsh on Ulbrich and Saleh. At least in terms of the D, it seems that you are definitely right. At the following link are the Kelce brothers talking about the Jets' D. https://x.com/nyjetsfansonly/status/1714675134076707175?s=20
hey Craig!
that's a fantastic link, man! I love it when 1st tier players, and that's abso-effin-lutely what the Kelce brothers are, are letting the world know just how good our defense is.
I'm almost scared to think that next year we're gonna lose Brich, because you just know some team's gonna scoop him for an HC job. But nothing happens in a vacuum, and those assistant coaches are there, soaking it up, learning up how to be the next Brich to be a sterling DC.
However, if by some chance, Brich chooses to stay, work to becoming Dick LeBeau v2.0, then I think I can live with that. Cause if you're gonna emulate a DC, then using the Best Ever like LeBeau - 13 years total as Steelers DC, 137-71 record, and btw, also a HoF Safety - is a pretty good path to take.
And not only that - but Brich is actually pushing press coverages sometimes, blitzing sometimes, often at unexpected moments... blitzing in 4th quarter, when the front four rotation has clearly worn down the opposing OLine, and the QB's nerves are frazzled into making more and more mistakes - see wk6 game vs Eagles as exhibit A. I think Brich is certainly capable of evolving, using every tool and every athlete at his disposal.
And he probably reads The Jets Way, too!
CGVet58
CG, The really scary thing is that we could lose Ulbrich, Tony Oden (CB Coach) and Marquand Manuel (S Coach) all this offseason. Ulbrich could get a HC job, and Oden and Manuel get DC jobs. What would that do to our D? It couldn't be good.
hey Craig!
But if Oden gets bumped to, say, DC, and Manual gets bumped to a higher position, say Assistant DC (or they give him another role; LB coach, Line, whatever...) than the NFL rules about this stuff doesn't apply, right?
Of course, maybe Oden, Manual or other coaches want to leave - but seriously, if I were a defensive coach in the Jets organization and not the DC, I'd be shooting for that position, or the one below it, before going to another team. That is, if I'm looking to build my resume, being successful at various levels, then DC, which hopefully then gives me a shot at HC somewhere.
Me, I'm more the Dick LeBeau type - I could really see myself being in one organization for 8-10-15 years, constantly and consistently building new and different players into the same dominant, voracious defense that's known for never quitting, for making stud QB's like Mahomes, Hurts, Allen look like mere humans instead of the otherworldly shit we've seen them do on a regular basis.
I agree with everything you said.
I'm hoping that we don't lose any of them and we don't have to find out! The crazy thing about the NFL is that if one has great success as a coordinator one often gets a shot as a HC, but just because one is a great coordinator doesn't mean that one can be even a good HC. The Peter Principle applies.
If Ulbrich gets lured away first with a HC job, then we could quite possibly keep both Oden and Manuel or at least one of them and make him the DC if Saleh thinks he's ready. The problem is that Oden and Manuel could get hired away first (and Manuel has been a DC before with Atlanta). Then if Ulbrich leaves, we'd have a huge hole on our D coaching staff.
LeBeau was an unusual situation. Perhaps he realized his limitations, or didn't have any desires to become a HC and was happy as a DC. Hopefully, that will be the case with Ulbrich and he'll stay. I wouldn't hold my breath on that, however. Coaches, just like people in the business world, usually want to move up the ladder, make more money, and make a bigger name for themselves. We'll see what happens. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed (figuratively rather than literally, because that would make it awfully hard to type)!
I'm, actually, about to listen to the Kelce brothers this afternoon! I love hearing the players talk about stuff. It is always neat to get that inside perspective.
Great newsletter and stats, David! As alway, thanks!
hey David!
Excellent write-up. Your more-and-less list, looks like you read my mind :-).
Bud, am concerned about the right side of the line. We're HOPEFUL that schweitzer and Mitchell hold up - but lets face it; their names aren't Tippmann & AVT. Plus we no longer have viable depth on the OL if someone else goes down. And if another OL goes down in injury again, I think we're fucked.
There have to be better-quality OG's out there in Free Agency. JD needs to get aggressive on this; fuhgehddabboud getting another playmaker, we've got studs - but if the OL foundation can't hold up, there's a high chance we're gonna start seeing Zach Turtle shell up, Zach 2022 start showing, and Torches and Pitchforks for Hackett again.
JD, get hoppin' Man! Just like you did a mini Hop just before Coach landed in your arms last Sunday, you need to get a good OG in FA STAT!
CGVet58
🤡💰🤡💰💴🤡💴💰🤡💴💰 You mean this guy