New York Jets Feeling Heat Following 10-9 Loss to Denver
The water is starting to boil under the seat of the New York Jets and Head Coach Robert Saleh. You can sense it just from the outraged fans in the hours following a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos at home on Sunday.
The Jets looked unfocused, undisciplined, and poorly coached against a young Broncos team that was begging to lose. Instead, the Jets lost for them.
Sure it was pouring rain for most of the afternoon on Sunday, but that was far from an excuse after the Jets were flagged for 13 penalties, five of them for false starts on the offensive line.
Breece Hall, the Jets all-world running back was held to just four yards on 10 carries. He looked sluggish whenever he touched the ball. The logical answer would be to run rookie Braelon Allen for the majority of the carries. Whenever Allen touched the ball on Sunday he was more explosive than Hall was, gaining 34 yards on eight carries. Yet, the Jets didn’t use Allen in short-yardage situations often, if at all on Sunday.
It made no sense.
Not to mention, the Jets offensive line was just bad. They were bad in run blocking, and even worse in pass blocking as 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers was totally under siege, sacked five times, including twice at the end of the contest.
After one sack in the fourth quarter, Rodgers had to peel himself off the ground, reached back to his hamstring, and limped off the field. While Rodgers said later he was fine, “just banged up.”
For the Jets to go anywhere this can’t continue. Rodgers can’t be a sitting duck behind center, and he should have to run to take off and run down the sideline for extra yards at his age, just one year separated from an Achilles tear.
With a huge trip to London, England coming up this week to face former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings (4-0), things could unravel fast for the Jets.
Many are already speculating that is happening, considering Rodgers’ answer to Saleh’s apparent criticism that Rodgers’ hard count drawing may have caused the false starts.
HOT SEAT?
Obviously the poor play on Sunday will get tagged on the Jets coaching staff. The Jets had 10 days to prepare for the Broncos and looked ill-prepared as a result.
Would the Jets dare make a change should things spiral out of control? The fans seem to want a change if you believe social media, but this is Woody Johnson’s call. Johnson has never fired a head coach in the middle of a season. Even Adam Gase was given a chance to complete two full seasons before his time concluded. Plus a change now would be an extreme admission of failure on a season many thought would be a playoff year.
