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The New York Jets have been hard to watch at times this season, stop me if you have heard that one before.
Although there has been a recent surprising change that has inspired hope for the future.
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Where the Heck Did That Come From?
Through the first six weeks of the Jets season, they averaged a measly 13.3 points per game which ranked dead last in the league.
Then everything changed over the last two games vs the Cincinnati Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts.
Gang Green has scored a combined 64 points and has found ways to move the football with 62 first downs during that span.
Although the most impressive statistic is the team’s offensive yardage output (997) in these back-to-back contests. According to Jets contributor Randy Lange, that is the third-highest total in consecutive games in franchise history.
That production would be impressive under any circumstances, let alone when the Jets have been operating with a combination of backup quarterbacks at the helm (Mike White and Josh Johnson).
The other notable change is offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur moving up to the booth. When he was first hired, he wanted to stay up there, but peer pressure from Zach Wilson and Robert Saleh kept him down on the field.
Those results were unspectacular, then ahead of the Bengals game he moved upstairs and the results were stunning. LaFleur followed that up with an exceptional encore vs the Colts on Thursday Night Football.
It seems like the causation of this success has been the perfect storm of more aggressive play-calling, the players feeling more comfortable in the scheme this deep into the season, and straight-up execution.
The Ceiling Is the Roof
If you think of the Jets offense like a car, it was operating at an insane level with an SUV engine the past couple of weeks. Imagine how good this offense can be with a Ferrari engine?
Well, we’re about to find out sooner rather than later.
Jets’ rookie quarterback Zach Wilson has been on the shelf with a PCL strain, but he is expected to practice this week ahead of the matchup vs the Buffalo Bills. The team is extremely optimistic that he’ll be available to play barring a setback.
A lot of fans have examined this situation the wrong way.
If LaFleur could do this with backups, imagine what he’ll be able to do with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft?
Wilson during his time away observed and learned how this offense is supposed to look when you’re playing boring football.
The former BYU stud didn’t have a tangible product to show that boring football resulted in success. Now after the last two weeks, he has that.
Those backup quarterbacks ran the same exact offense and made decisions based on the things they saw. Wilson will be able to study that tape and see how it happened and why they made each of the throws they did.
No one in the Jets organization would’ve wanted to see their young 22-year-old gunslinger injured, but all of this time away will prove to be a major blessing in disguise.
The offense is now revving on all cylinders which is something we haven’t seen with the Jets in over 35 years. LaFleur is gaining confidence as a first-time play-caller and he is learning what he likes and what he doesn’t. The weapons on offense are finding their swagger in back-to-back weeks with Michael Carter and Elijah Moore having their best games as pros.
White and Johnson performed admirably considering the circumstances, but there is a reason they each have been cut so many times. They aren’t as good or as talented as Wilson is and he clearly has a much higher ceiling.
This is the perfect time for the young quarterback to return to the lineup and show everyone why he was the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
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