Clearly, a significant boost in yds/att and completion pct is in order to increase the TD numbers. At least some legitimate looking wide outs are in place...for now...
How about a viable plan to actually get into the end zone for once? A real OC would have a plan set up for the red zone. We don't have one of those yet..
the jets also have had the worst qb passing rating the last 3 years with 2 different qbs. what a joke
A QB drafted number 2 overall should have a basic understanding on how football works. Unless MLF is actually hiding the playbook from Zach there’s absolutely no way this is a lack of support issue. Zach is completely clueless out there
The Shanahan Offense is one of the toughest to teach. It requires a well-integrated line that is able to run the Outside Zone and it requires backups who are capable of running the scheme because OL go down every season. This is one of the reasons I hate the offense. You're dependent on too many guys who weigh 300+ lbs to make it run right and it's not something that a guy can pick up on the fly even if he has the leverage skills and mobility to play it at all. Throw in northeast weather and it just seems like a really shitty scheme to be trying to run in NJ/Buffalo and New England in November/December and January.
The Jets haven't had a QB reach 20 TD passes since Fitzpatrick had 31 in 2015. Before that they went back to 2011 when Sanchez had 26. For the NY Jets the forward pass seems to not exist except in rare Brigadoon like seasons. Now add in the fact that we haven't reached 2,000 yards rushing since Rex left town and it's fair to ask "what exactly are we doing out there?"
Well, if you want to truly use Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation for the starting QB not throwing even a miniscule number of TDs is the starting QB.
Perhaps. But when a team fails to develop a QB over decades, during which time they persistently hire coaches from the defensive side of football, the one constant in that failure regardless of who the QB is, is the insistence on making DCs - or defensive minded coaches - their HC. I really wanted them to hire Daboll who has a proven track record as an offensive coach, and who had helped Josh Allen become an All Pro. But again, they hired a DC instead. Given all the glowing reports of him and his energy and enthusiasm and how he seemed to be open to developing a balanced team, not one focused just on defense, I had hope that he might prove to be the exception, but here we are again. I'm not calling for Saleh's head...yet. But he had better figure out a way to build a modern NFL offense that doesn't fade down the stretch. If that means he fires MLF, so be it. I actually think LaFleur has promise, but I think he too was overwhelmed with all the responsibilities of being an OC for the first time. My "best case" would be for them to demote MLF and bring in someone like Reich or some other proven veteran offensive mind. And to hire an honest to god QB who knows how to get a young QB to play in the NFL.
That just proves Mlf sucks, but he is the coaches best friend so he will be here as long as Saleh is.
I too wanted Daboll as #1 guy, but was happy with Saleh as #2 guy at the time, partly because he was bringing in MILF, who I thought had a lot of potential, and Knapp. In retrospect that was a huge mistake by JD that cannot be underestimated. Recall that prior to that Gase was the coach, and Sam regressed under him, and he was the offensive guy, who coached Payton Manning before, and whom Payton recommended. So, it's not just defensive head coaches that were the problem. But ... it's spilled milk at this point. MILF admitted that playing Zach early was a mistake. But really, whom should they have played last year? At that time Mike White was a scrub, coming off terrible showing in preseason in Dallas, and James Morgan turns out was a bigger scrub. Zach actually won the job fair and square, it's that JD didn't bring any competition for it. And this is not just in retrospect, majority of the board wanted a vet at least to be on the roster at the time. Then Knapp passed away. JD later rectified with Flacco, Cavanaugh, and Beck probably too late, and actually Zach did end up sitting mid year due to injury and then improving after, so it wasn't an obvious call to continue playing Flacco when Zach got healthy. Then after improvement in the first season you wouldn't expect him to sit the second year. And still he did sit for 3 games, again due to injury, then came in and actually played well early, but then regressed. Honestly, I just think Zach's situation was completely mishandled in part due to JD for not bringing in a vet before the first year and Knapp replacement for year two, in part due to coaching, in part due to tragic killing of Knapp, and also in big part due to Zach himself. The regression he experienced wasn't solely on the coaching. To me right now - I don't see a way how we can get a new OC of Reich's caliber. This regime has 1 year left if they don't make play-offs. A highly sought after OC will probably look to join a brand new coach or established staff, not the one possibly on the last year of tenure. So, they need to find someone who is not really high on OC candidates list, but someone who has good experience with QBs and can help he OC, like Knapp was. I am thinking Kubiak could be the guy. I don't think he is high on OCs list for the teams, but has wealth of knowledge and experience. But I would not let go of the current staff at this time. Yes, they did a poor job. But they are young and they just gained a lot of valuable experience in the last two years. Just get that Knapp replacement finally, and I think they can do much better next year.
I don't really disagree with anything you said here. Except maybe the part about the JD regime being on its last year. I don't think Woody will fire Douglas unless he hires a "big name HC" who demands full control, and I don't think that's going to happen. And I'm okay with them keeping LaFleur as long as they bring in somebody who knows how to develop young QBs. Nor am I set on Reich, Kubiak would be good, and there are probably several others that would fit the bill too. I know it won't happen - mostly because I think he's too smart and doesn't need to risk tarnishing his hard won HOF reputation - but I would love to have Kurt Warner brought in as the QB "guru" to work with Zach. He's been down that road of failure and resurrection and never giving up, and I think he could teach Zach lot beyond just Xs & Os. Yes, Zach has to own responsibility for his failure - as every adult does - but playing QB in the NFL is perhaps the single hardest job in sports. The entire offense, 10 other guys , revolves around you and your performance. Add to that that the "Shanahan Offense" is one of the more complex ones, and frankly not really suited to Zach's physical strengths, demanding that he make major changes not only in how he plays but how he thinks while he plays. And you can see the results of this in his performance over two years: when he played loose - usually when they were behind or struggling and the "Shanahan script" went out the window - he played like he did in college; when he tried to stay within the script he was over thinking and always late to make decisions. If it were me, I'd set aside the Shanahan Offense, at least for now, and come up with one better suited to Zach's strengths. He can still play within that system, but it has to be one that he's comfortable with and one where doesn't have to think so much. Again, the Jets failure comes down to a CS that insists on forcing their "system" on their players regardless of whether it's the best fit for those players. If MLF can't, or won't, do this, then he needs to go. Moreover, assuming they bring in an experienced vet, unless it's Jimmie G who I hope it isn't, they'll likely be used to another system altogether anyway. Again, if it were me, I'd look to bring in a vet who played in a way that Zach could watch and learn from, and they could develop a system that works for the vet and for Zach who they ultimately want to take the reins. But that's just my opinion.
