Bowles just got outcoached by the worst situational coach in football

[flgreen]

Todd Bowles looks every bit the rookie with late-game gaffes

By Brian Costello

November 13, 2015 | 1:19pm

 

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Jets coach Todd Bowles was widely criticized for his fourth-down decisions late in the Nov. 12 loss to the Bills.Photo: Charles Wenzelberg

 

The Jets dropped a heartbreaking game to the Bills, 22-17, on Thursday night as former coach Rex Ryan returned to MetLife Stadium and escaped with a win. Here are some thoughts and observations on the game:

1. Is it time to get concerned about Jets coach Todd Bowles’ in-game decisions? This is four straight weeks in which Bowles has made some choices that were debatable at best and downright wrong at worst — after he had timeout issues in New England, punted down two touchdowns late in Oakland and mismanaged the end of the first half last week against the Jaguars.

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There were two aspects of Thursday night’s game that you could take issue with. The first was after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter to cut the Bills’ lead to 22-9, should the Jets have gone for the two-point conversion? I think they should have. If you make it, the score is 22-11 and now you are a field goal, a touchdown and another two-point conversion away from tying it. That would have made the first fourth-down decision a no-brainer for the Jets to kick the field goal. Instead they went for it and got stopped. There is no difference between being down 12 or 13 if you miss the conversion . Then you still need two touchdowns to win the game.

The other decision that seems to have more fans upset was going for the touchdown when they got the ball at the 13 with 5:12 left after the botched snap on a Bills punt. They were down 22-17 with all of their timeouts remaining. The fourth down came with 3:02 left to play. If you kick the field goal, you are counting on your defense to get a stop while you use the timeouts to maximize the amount of time you would have left when you get the ball.

I don’t have an issue with Bowles going for it here. It felt like the momentum had completely swung in the Jets’ direction. Go for the kill. The defense had stopped the Bills repeatedly, but asking them to come up with another three-and-out is risky. If they give up a first down, you have very little time left to work with.

So I am OK with the decision to go for it but …

 

2. How do you throw it to Kellen Davis on fourth down? The Jets entered the game with the best red-zone offense in the NFL. You know why? Because they have Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, two great red-zone receivers, and Chris Ivory, who is a threat inside the 10. Instead, Chan Gailey threw to Davis, who has one catch this season? I don’t get it.

Overall, I think Gailey has done a good job this year. He is the best offensive coordinator the Jets have had in a long time. But he had a bad night against the Bills. It was not just the fourth-down call. The third-down call before it was strange with the short pass to Decker behind the line of scrimmage. The fourth-and-2 call early in the fourth quarter was awful. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a hitch pass to Marshall behind the line of scrimmage and he was tackled for a 2-yard loss.

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Devin Smith carries a kickoff return that ended in a fumble.Photo: Joseph E. Amaturo

3. There was plenty of blame to go around after the loss. At the top of the list, though, is rookie Devin Smith, who fumbled a kickoff the Bills returned for a touchdown. Smith’s rookie season is rapidly becoming one to forget. He did have a nice catch in the game, his seventh of the season, but it was overshadowed by his gaffe on the kickoff.

It is too soon to call Smith a bust, but he is leaning in that direction. What is with the Jets and second-round picks? Look at the list since 2010:

2010: Vlad Ducasse
2012: Stephen Hill
2013: Geno Smith
2014: Jace Amaro
2015: Devin Smith

Yikes.

There is still time for Smith to turn it around, obviously, but this is looking like a lost season for him.

4. One positive from Thursday’s game was the play of safety Rontez Miles. Making his first start in his third career game, Miles was all over the field making plays. He finished with seven tackles and showed his skill as a blitzer and an open-field tackler.

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Rontez MilesPhoto: Charles Wenzelberg

Miles is a great story. He had a rough upbringing and has fought through a lot to get to the NFL. An undrafted free agent, he suffered a bad injury last year just after the team brought him up from the practice squad.

He is getting a chance now because the Jets are so banged up at safety. On Thursday, Miles looked like he belonged.

Reavealing number: The turnover margin was 4-0 in favor of the Bills. That was the game. The first three turnovers led to 12 points and the final turnover ended the game. On defense, the Jets were unable to get any takeaways. After a strong start in that department, the Jets are not forcing many turnovers anymore. In three of the past four games they have not had any takeaways. Not coincidentally, those three were all losses.

Surprising snap count: Lorenzo Mauldin only played eight snaps after having a strong game last week against the Jaguars. I did not expect Mauldin to get starter snaps, but I figured he would be in the 20-30 range this week.

Game ball: Muhammad Wilkerson had a huge game for the Jets. The defensive end had two sacks and six tackles. His rundown of Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor was really impressive. For a man that large to move that fast is amazing. He also had a big stop on third-and-short against the Bills late in the game. Wilkerson is making a push in his contract year. If he keeps playing like he did Thursday, the Jets must pay him.

[rillo]

whats really comical is this post. nowhere on this entire message board has any poster stated  that he wants bowles fired. now do you see how comical your post is? its the ultimate straw man argument. criticism=wants fired. lmao

You're not reading close enough. 

[Smashmouth]

Team is just an average team if that.  

I think its more like average coaching

[UnitedWhofans]

 

You're not reading close enough. 

He has to read between the lines.

[drdetroit]

Devin Smith can blow me.

[PatriotReign37]

You take the points with the FG and let the defense stop the Bills.

The Jets have one of the best DLs in the NFL and Revis. Bowles is supposed to be a defensive guru. With 4 timeouts, you cant stop the Bills for a shot at another FG to win??

[UnitedWhofans]

You take the points with the FG and let the defense stop the Bills.

The Jets have one of the best DLs in the NFL and Revis. Bowles is supposed to be a defensive guru. With 4 timeouts, you cant stop the Bills for a shot at another FG to win??

I don't know if it was that or he didn't trust the offense to move the ball a long distance against the Bills defense

[Sperm Edwards]

You take the points with the FG and let the defense stop the Bills.

The Jets have one of the best DLs in the NFL and Revis. Bowles is supposed to be a defensive guru. With 4 timeouts, you cant stop the Bills for a shot at another FG to win??

Plus how many consecutive 3 and outs did the D just pull off? If there was ever at time to rely on his D, it would have been then.

What's worse is he didn't kick the FG because he said he would have done an onside kick and was worried about his team recovering it. 

Kick the FG, touchback the ensuing kickoff, force Buffalo to punt again from inside their own 20, and get the ball back again with plenty of time to move the 20-30 yards needed into FG range. Where the hell does an onside kick factor into things with 4 more clock-stops and you're down only 2 points?

[flgreen]

Yeah.  As much as anything else, the 2 pt conversion, or not taking the FG's, the onside kick comment really had me confused

[PatriotReign37]

Plus how many consecutive 3 and outs did the D just pull off? If there was ever at time to rely on his D, it would have been then.

What's worse is he didn't kick the FG because he said he would have done an onside kick and was worried about his team recovering it. 

Kick the FG, touchback the ensuing kickoff, force Buffalo to punt again from inside their own 20, and get the ball back again with plenty of time to move the 20-30 yards needed into FG range. Where the hell does an onside kick factor into things with 4 more clock-stops and you're down only 2 points?

Exactly

Make it a 3 point game to win. Fitz, Marshall and Decker? Surely you can get in FG range.

[chirorob]

**** that fat ****. 

He went for it on fourth all the time.  I just posted an article from when he was with the Cowboys and he went for it up 3-0 and down like 13-10 in the third quarter, was stopped both times and lost to the Giants.  Stop acting like that fat ******* oracle would do the right thing.  Going for it on fourth was actually very Pacellsian. 

Parcells totally went for it a lot on 4th down. 

And so does the demon spawn BB. 

I didn't agree with it at the time, but again, I'd rather my coach lose being aggressive than being scared.

[Sperm Edwards]

Parcells totally went for it a lot on 4th down. 

And so does the demon spawn BB. 

I didn't agree with it at the time, but again, I'd rather my coach lose being aggressive than being scared.

I'd rather my coach win than be misguidedly aggressive for aggressiveness' sake.

[Rangers9]

It's really easy to second guess. I thought on the first one he should have gone for the three. But I have no problem going for it both times because he would have gotten killed by Jets fans either way. That is if it didn't work.  For being too conservative, etc. If it did work he's the hero, of course. Good teams have to learn how to win these kinds of games. We're not there yet. A season is dependent on winning close games. If you lose a bunch by a field goal or less you end up under .500. If you win them you're in the playoffs. It's skill and luck. 

[#27TheDominator]

The one thing Parcells used to say that I agreed with was that the offense had to earn his trust for him to go for it on 4th down.  This offense has been doing pretty well, but it seems that trust was a bit misguided in this case.  Every QB and OC should want to go for it on 4th every time.  It's up to them to make the head coach believe they can make it.  

[bitonti]

everyone's talking about taking the FG points but with this guy Bullock they just signed and Folk their franchise tagged kicker on IR it's possible those points weren't really there. Bullock was missing extra points before he was cut earlier in the year 

[Jet Nut]

Two weeks ago it was a thread that Bowles was too conservative.

A week later its a thread that he was too aggressive.

I had no problem going for it instead of the FG, would do it again next week.  Can't imagine the thread if he kicks the FG and the Jets never get the ball back.  

Great being a MMQB

 

[#27TheDominator]

Two weeks ago it was a thread that Bowles was too conservative.

A week later its a thread that he was too aggressive.

I had no problem going for it instead of the FG, would do it again next week.  Can't imagine the thread if he kicks the FG and the Jets never get the ball back.  

Great being a MMQB

 

It was the third ******* quarter.  If they didn't get the ball back he would deserve every negative thing ever said about him, including dbatesman's plan in the event they lose to the Texans with Yates at QB.

[Jet Nut]

It was the third ******* quarter.  If they didn't get the ball back he would deserve every negative thing ever said about him, including dbatesman's plan in the event they lose to the Texans with Yates at QB.

I'm talking about late in the game, 4th and goal, passing on the FG and instead going for 7.  

Having nothing to do with Bowles was ripped as too conservative, now he's too aggressive.  No matter the quarter.

[#27TheDominator]

I'm talking about late in the game, 4th and goal, passing on the FG and instead going for 7.  

Having nothing to do with Bowles was ripped as too conservative, now he's too aggressive.  No matter the quarter.

The two are related.  You can't kick a FG late in the game if you didn't pick up the 3 earlier.  Doing it that early forced his hand later in the game.

[Jet Nut]

The two are related.  You can't kick a FG late in the game if you didn't pick up the 3 earlier.  Doing it that early forced his hand later in the game.

Thats nonsnese.  His hand wasnt forced late.  Even the commentary was should he go for 3 and try to get the ball back and then win it with another FG.

And is precisely the argument I was talking about.  And both decisions come down to being aggressive.  Or the opposite of what he was accused of being a week earlier.

Do you get paid by the post? This is about as simple a statement as there is 

[drsamuel84]

everyone's talking about taking the FG points but with this guy Bullock they just signed and Folk their franchise tagged kicker on IR it's possible those points weren't really there. Bullock was missing extra points before he was cut earlier in the year 

Exactly, I think this is a point being missed by many especially considering the Jets are trying out kickers this week.  It's definitely possible Bowles was not confident in Bullock and thought the team had a better chance converting the first downs then kicking FG's there.  If the Jets took the field goals and he missed everyone would be screaming around here about going for it and being aggressive especially when you just signed a kicker off the street less than a week ago.

[#27TheDominator]

Thats nonsnese.  His hand wasnt forced late.  Even the commentary was should he go for 3 and try to get the ball back and then win it with another FG.

And is precisely the argument I was talking about.  And both decisions come down to being aggressive.  Or the opposite of what he was accused of being a week earlier.

Do you get paid by the post? This is about as simple a statement as there is 

Sure, I'm full of nonsense.  Exactly the same thing going for it down 12 with a quarter to play and down 5 with 3 minutes.  I don't have a problem with him being aggressive, but I think most people were just counting 6 points, not 3 here or 3 there.  The commentary is not something I would point to, they were not exactly "on" that night.  Bowles could have kicked and tried to hold for 3 or gone for the onside kick which is what I guess the interview was about, but I don't think many people thought that made much sense.

[Jet Nut]

Sure, I'm full of nonsense.  Exactly the same thing going for it down 12 with a quarter to play and down 5 with 3 minutes.  I don't have a problem with him being aggressive, but I think most people were just counting 6 points, not 3 here or 3 there.  The commentary is not something I would point to, they were not exactly "on" that night.  Bowles could have kicked and tried to hold for 3 or gone for the onside kick which is what I guess the interview was about, but I don't think many people thought that made much sense.

No, not full of nonsense.  Thats nonsense.  But none of your long drawn out, multiple posts has a ******* thing to do with or ******* contradicts the comment that Bowles was accused of being too conservative one week and people complained that he was aggressive going for a TD over a FG. I don't give a **** why he did what he did, its an observations that you just have to argue 

[#27TheDominator]

No, not full of nonsense.  Thats nonsense.  But none of your long drawn out, multiple posts has a ******* thing to do with or ******* contradicts the comment that Bowles was accused of being too conservative one week and people complained that he was aggressive going for a TD over a FG. I don't give a **** why he did what he did, its an observations that you just have to argue 

So that is all that I am allowed to comment on?  What are we arguing about?  I said the first decision dictated the second.  I stand by that, though the intervening TD negates that a bit.  You really don't seem to be the one to complain about "multiple posts."  If you don't want to discuss things why come here?  It isn't such an argument.  I don't deny your main point.  I just think the play most are complaining about came seconds into the 4th quarter and they KNEW they were getting the ball back.  IMO, outside the red zone you usually take the points, but I am not killing him for being aggressive.  Few people are all riled up about the 3 minute decision other than the Kellen Davis aspect. 

[Jet Nut]

So that is all that I am allowed to comment on?  What are we arguing about?  I said the first decision dictated the second.  I stand by that, though the intervening TD negates that a bit.  You really don't seem to be the one to complain about "multiple posts."  If you don't want to discuss things why come here?  It isn't such an argument.  I don't deny your main point.  I just think the play most are complaining about came seconds into the 4th quarter and they KNEW they were getting the ball back.  IMO, outside the red zone you usually take the points, but I am not killing him for being aggressive.  Few people are all riled up about the 3 minute decision other than the Kellen Davis aspect. 

You will argue with anyone, anything, and never end the argument.  You keep arguing it until people want to puke, its not this hard.  Your reasons why he did what he did are meaningless to anyone but you and your rant.  A simple statement, they b1tched when he was conservative and b1tched when he was aggressive doesnt require deep discussion  You can explain it all you want, the statement still stands

[#27TheDominator]

You will argue with anyone, anything, and never end the argument.  You keep arguing it until people want to puke, its not this hard.  Your reasons why he did what he did are meaningless to anyone but you and your rant.  A simple statement, they b1tched when he was conservative and b1tched when he was aggressive doesnt require deep discussion  You can explain it all you want, the statement still stands

b1tched?

[Jet Nut]

b1tched?

Yes, they did.   

[fitzgod]

Todd Bowles has proved conclusively that he was the right man for the job

His detailed preparation, in game coaching and ability to adjust and his quiet and steady demeanor are 180 degrees different and superior to the loud, turbulant and mismanaged clown show of the past 6 seasons

And as for record, as we prepare for only week 10 we have already surpassed the 2014 16 game win total of the bragging buffoon

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[Savage69]

Todd Bowles has proved conclusively that he was the right man for the job

 

 

His detailed preparation, in game coaching and ability to adjust and his quiet and steady demeanor are 180 degrees different and superior to the loud, turbulant and mismanaged clown show of the past 6 seasons

 

And as for record, as we prepare for only week 10 we have already surpassed the 2014 16 game win total of the bragging buffoon

 

 

 

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Without 1 change to the team yep the same exact team that we had last year..