Todd's Changes!

Edition #723

Good morning! ☕

I know I seem to say this every single week, but Sunday’s game is a must win for the Jets. Sitting at 2-4, if they can win in Pittsburgh they’ll head to New England to face the reeling Patriots with a chance to get back to .500.

Right now it seems impossible to imagine the Jets making a run, but that Davante Adams has revitalised me, if only for a few days. We’re still going to have issues defending the run and setting the edge, those won’t go away with an offensive signing.

But, if we can score 30 points instead of 20 points, well that may not have as big an impact. We’ve lost the last three games by a combined 10 points. Sure one of those games was to a poor team (who now find themselves 3-3), but the other two were to the undefeated Vikings and the division leading Bills.

If we want to get to where we want to go we have to win those games, absolutely. But we’re right there and we are a Greg Zuerlein leg away from being 4-2.

I took my day to wallow about the Jets on Tuesday and now I’m right back in the mix. I’m a sucker for punishment, but I’m also not ready to give up on 2024 and start those draft previews when we’re just 6 games into the season.

I do think that Joe Douglas needs to get back into the trade market, and he should have called Caroline about Jadeveon Clowney as soon as Jermaine Johnson went down. But there are more calls to be made, more improvements to be made.

🟢 I realised that I didn’t put in a quote from Head Coach Jeff Ulbrich on the acquisition of Adams in yesterday’s piece: "I didn't find out until not too long ago, but I am ecstatic, super excited," Ulbrich told reporters. "Not only an elite player, as we all know, but the relationship with him and Aaron [Rodgers] just takes his value to a whole other space for us. So super excited and got an opportunity to actually meet him this morning, which was even better. You know, I knew him, obviously from tape and everything that we've seen as a football player, but to get to know the man a little bit this morning was special. You can just feel that on him, just not only that elite player, but an elite human being, and teammates are so excited to get him into the mix."

⚪ He also had a great quote about what he witnessed in San Francisco and how that can help Garrett Wilson: "I was fortunate enough in San Francisco to be around Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice and to see firsthand all that Jerry taught T.O, Jerry, at the time, was in his 18th year, whatever it was, but so established and understood the game at the highest level. I think Davante is going to provide that same thing for Garrett [Wilson] and for all of our receivers. You know, he's done this at an elite level for a long time and on top of all of it, you're just, you're going to see exactly that the reflection of a relationship with Aaron, how the synergy that they've had for so long. So, it's an exciting time to be a Jet."

🟢 Ulbrich believes the Jets are close to putting it all together and I have to say for once after a comment like that, I largely agree. It doesn’t mean we will put it together, but I reviewed that Buffalo Game last night and taking the emotion of the moment away…there was so much to like, but: "From an intense standpoint, strain standpoint, physicality standpoint, even execution standpoint, we just, we got to put four quarters together, and when we do that, we're going to be a problem,"

⚪ Davante Adams will wear the #17 with the Jets having come to an agreement with Malachi Corley who will now switch to #14.

🟢 Adams expressed his desire to be a Jet not only for 2024 but beyond. His contract will need to be re-worked, but I think the Jets have plenty of options to do that. "I hope so. That's the plan. I want to be here. I never go somewhere in hopes of finding new home. So that's the hope."

⚪Adams was asked about reuniting with Aaron Rodgers - "Seriously, it's just great being able to spend time with him again. It's something I put value on," Adams said. "Having his company and having him as my quarterback again, he is part of why I am who I am, what I turned into as a player. My cerebral approach, attention to detail came from watching him operate, how he was dialed in at all times. I felt that had a lot to do with how I function as a player."

🟢 Rodgers was asked what makes Adams so special: "He can do a lot of different things," Rodgers said. "He can play all three positions. He's got a high football IQ and he can help G [Garrett Wilson], who's faced a lot of double teams over the first six weeks. Now you've got to pick your poison. Tae's obviously been a monster in the red zone over the years, a lot of on-schedule and off-schedule touchdowns. I think he can teach those young guys who are willing and eager to listen and learn because he's a master of route-running and release and he's a master of his craft."

⚪ Greg Zuerlein has had a really tough start to the season. You could easily make the argument that if he was performing at even a base level, let alone his 2023 level…the Jets are sitting here at 4-2. Well the Jets are giving him a wake-up call. Yesterday the team worked out three kickers in Cade York, Riley Patterson and Matt Coghlin. This is warning shot across the bow, anymore mistakes and we’ll have to replace you…despite the financial ramifications.

I know that we didn’t get the result we wanted. But can we just take a moment to appreciate the changes that Downing made that unlocked a lot from this offence.

We had some hiccups in the end-zone but from a play-calling perspective I thought he called an outstanding game, and I would argue that the issues in the red-zone came down to execution and not coaching.

With just 4 days to prepare, Downing made some pretty comprehensive changes to the way the Jets ran their offence.

One of the main criticisms of the Hackett led offence is that it was stuck in the early 2000’s, with no motion, no movement, just a HOF QB being asked to drop back and do absolutely everything. It was a warranted piece of criticism.

Well Downing decided to use pre-snap motion on a season-high 72.9% of plays and on those plays that contained pre-snap motion, the team averaged 7.7 yards per play.

Before the Buffalo game the Jets were ranked right at the bottom (31st) of that list and way below the league average.

Some of the best offences in the league use pre-snap motion to confuse defences and change the look pre-snap, Kyle Shanahan does it, Andy Reid does it. If it’s a successful offence in the NFL, chances are they use a lot of pre-snap motion. You can see how well it works here when you focus on the linebackers and how the Jets got them flowing one way with Wilson and went the other.

He also used 11 personnel at a season-high clip as well, meaning that the Jets spread out three wide receivers more than at any other points this season. On those plays they averaged 9.9 yards per play.