Getty New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh walking off of the field after an NFL game.
The New York Jets have won four out of their first six games.
However, after the latest win versus the Green Bay Packers, there appears to be some trouble in paradise.
Wide receiver Elijah Moore quote tweeted a statistical nugget from Rich Cimini of ESPN that highlighted the fact that he didn’t receive a single target in Week 6.
That was paired with several other tweets saying that this is all “bittersweet” for Moore with the Jets winning football games but him not being involved.
Robert Saleh Squashes the Elijah Moore, Jets Drama
All of these tweets from Moore were sent out hours after the Jets had throttled the Packers 27-10.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh spoke with the media on Monday, October 17, and was asked about the drama around Moore:
“Yeah we had a conversation, he’s fine. He is a competitive young man and like everybody when you’re a competitor like him he wants to contribute. Sometimes we can think that our contributions are production only when contributions can come from a variety of things.
In terms of the way you show up to the building, the way you lead, the way you communicate with your teammates, and the effort you put on the field. There are a million ways to contribute to this football team and he’s a competitor. All he wants to do is contribute.
So I’ve got no problem with Elijah. He is one of our high-character individuals, love him to death, and eventually, the production part of it that he is hoping for will come.”
#Jets HC Robert Saleh spoke to WR Elijah Moore about his cryptic tweets earlier today, ‘he’s fine, EM is a competitive young man. Like everybody he wants to contribute’ + ‘I’ve got no problem with Elijah, he’s one of our high character individuals’: 🎥 @nyjets #TakeFlight
Saleh seemed to handle everything well by squashing the story by talking to Moore and figuring everything out.
He was then asked whether or not he had to talk to Moore about posting things on social media moving forward.
“It’s social media. You’d love them all to be perfect, I’d love to be perfect, I’d love for my family to be perfect, and there are learning lessons for everyone. I don’t think he has any bad intentions and I don’t think he has a bad bone in his body. You know once you put it out there, it’s out there.”
The Jets probably would have preferred Moore never tweeted that out, but nonetheless, everything ended up being handled the right way.
The Jets Can Fix Elijah Moore Problem With a Snap of the Fingers
It is one thing for Moore to not get any meaningful statistics in a game but it is another for him to get zero targets in this offense.
The Jets have been playing the former Ole Miss product on the outside far too much. If they want to get him involved in the offense they can easily make that happen.
On Sunday the Jets will travel to play the Denver Broncos on the road in Week 7. An easy way to fix all of these issues would involve putting Moore in the slot and creating some manufactured touches for him.
Plays like: jet sweeps, bubble screens, and crossers over the middle would get him easy catches to get him engaged and involved in the game plan.
It would be one thing if Moore was just terrible and untalented. You would either cut him, trade him, or just keep not throwing him the football. However, we all know that Moore is ridiculously talented, and getting the ball in his hands more is great for business.
This is much ado about nothing. If the Jets were losing games this would be a serious conversation, but right now the team is absolutely rolling.
Gang Green has won three in a row and has blown out two straight competent opponents. Whatever the team is doing right now is working and they should keep that trend going.
Eventually, the game script will flip and the passing game will be called upon to deliver. When that happens, Moore will get more touches I guarantee it.