The Jets Running Game Isn't Average

[Darth Vader]

It's Terrible. Stats:

YPG: 96.whatever - it doesn't matter. We are 26th out of 32 teams, meaning we are in the bottom fifth in yards gained by running the ball, on the average per game. But the more significant stat especially for a team that has trouble getting a first down and maintaining drives between the 20's [as opposed to the red zone where we perform better than average]:

YPC: 3.6 - 29th out of 32 teams. which is bottom 8th in the league, meaning only THREE teams are worse than us. Of the 3 teams worse than us two have had major long term injuries to their starting RB: Cleveland's starting and backup RBs are both OUT [Hillis played in 4 games (the first 4) and Hardesty has been out the last 4 (he took two carries in the first of the four)].

NYG's Bradshaw has been out in forever.

Threading these two metrics into the overall picture on offense, you can easily see a major dynamic in the general failure as an offense.

Att/G: 26.9. There are only 11 teams that run the ball more than we do, putting us in the top 3rd of the league in Att/G. Does that mean we're riding a dead horse to the finish line, or what explains for it? Is it because we are always protecting a lead in the fourth quarter? You tell me. I think the playcalling tempo and strategic intuition for playcalling is just so bad on this team.

To round out some of the edges in the data, look at how the averages are formed - it is just consistent mediocrity, with a complete lack of big plays.

Long: 25 yards. Tied for last in the league. We have not had a game-breaking 40 yard run this year. We haven't even had a nice scamper for 30 yards. Wait...we haven't even had a 26 yard run this year.

Other stats marking the form of the data are 40+ and 20+ carries.

40+: 0. Given the above, this is not all too surprising. There are actually 11 teams that have no 40+ runs this year. And 4 actually have less 20+ than us:

20+: 4. There are 4 teams worse than us here, again we are in the bottom 8th of the league. We are tied with two others.

Putting this information together, we can see that because we have 4 carries over 20 and no carries over 25 yards, the four longest carries of the year are between 20-25 yards.

Attempts: 269. Of the 269, exactly 4 have been between 20 and 25. The rest are hovering about the pathetic average - 3.6 - again, there are only three teams in the entire league worse than this.

Fumbles and TDs: 6 and 7. Again, to add dysfunction to inefficacy, there are only 7 teams turning the ball over more. And of the 7 rushing TDs, our QB has 3...

The data can go deeper. But to squash any note of uptrend, two of the last 3 games [after the bye] our ypc is significantly under our aggregate 3.6 - the one vs NE where it is likewise above was a blowout loss in which we never led and in large part, we were more than one score down:

Buffalo: 3.2 ypc

NE: 4.4 ypc

Denver: 3.0 ypc

[CTM]

yep, thanks for providing the data to backup up what our eyes have seen... No holes, and Green looks slow w/poor vision

[JonEJet]

When your QB is having problems, teams focus on the run

[Darth Vader]

When your QB is having problems, teams focus on the run

ummm, no. that isn't close to what has happened...

[CrazyCarl40]

When your QB is having problems, teams focus on the run

It goes both ways JonE. If the running game struggles, the QB will have a tough time. Especially one who likes to play action pass.

[dbatesman]

When your QB is having problems, teams focus on the run

Sanchez was even worse in 2009 and 2010, and in both years we ran all over everybody. Sanchez is the most important thing wrong with the offense, but he's far from the only thing.

[Larz]

hmmm

can't throw it

can't run it

wonder what the real problem is ?

[HessStation]

Chickens or eggs? Is it because the opposing Defense can flood the box? Do they flood the box because of scheme or because the QB stinks and no team is afraid of the pass? Does the QB stink because of the pass protection? Or the WR's can't get open? Are the WR's not getting open because they stink? Or because of the predictable routes/scheme?

A lot is put on the running game in this system. They run the ball to set up the pass. Pats, Colts, Packers, Saints pass the ball to set up the run. So is it the OL the OC the QB or the WR's? Or all the above? And then how much would you weight for each?

I think it starts with the predictable play calling and lack of run blocking due to the fact the QB scares nobody. So does the QB scare nobody because of the playcalling? Or the WR's? Or Pass protection? Why is there no pass protection? Because they can't run? Or because of the...QB? Or the play calling? etc etc etc...

[KINGDIRK]

When your QB is having problems, teams focus on the run

In 2009 teams focused on the run. We averaged 172 yards rushing per game.

In 2010 teams focused on the run. We averaged 148 yards per game.

Im gonna go out on a ledge here and say our Oline is not nearly as good as it once was. And our RBs arent as good either.

This offense has issues at QB, RB, and Oline.....aside from that its an elite unit.

[CoachTsurfing]

Sanchez was even worse in 2009 and 2010, and in both years we ran all over everybody. Sanchez is the most important thing wrong with the offense, but he's far from the only thing.

sanchez is a problem, but not as big as you think. he actually has a better qb rating this year then the last two when he had better o lines, and better run games.

[sirlancemehlot]

If Greene was able to run through defenses during the playoffs, then he is able to run through defenses during the season. The problem is the offensive line. It is very bad. Slauson is Jag. Mangold is gimpy. Moore is having a down season likely due to offseason surgery, D'Brick has taken a step back and was never a road grader, but a good pass protector, Hunter is bench fodder on any other team and the backups are Ducasse who is a major dissapointment, and then Shlauderaff/Felix types who should be practice squad guys only. Nobody is running behind that line. Losing Turner only ensures that we are one injury away from oblivion. I could tell you who I blame for this mess, but you'd all say I was crazy. Again.

[stoicsentry]

sanchez is a problem, but not as big as you think. he actually has a better qb rating this year then the last two when he had better o lines, and better run games.

Nevermind the facts, give me some subjective opinions.

[stoicsentry]

If Greene was able to run through defenses during the playoffs, then he is able to run through defenses during the season. The problem is the offensive line. It is very bad. Slauson is Jag. Mangold is gimpy. Moore is having a down season likely due to offseason surgery, D'Brick has taken a step back and was never a road grader, but a good pass protector, Hunter is bench fodder on any other team and the backups are Ducasse who is a major dissapointment, and then Shlauderaff/Felix types who should be practice squad guys only. Nobody is running behind that line. Losing Turner only ensures that we are one injury away from oblivion. I could tell you who I blame for this mess, but you'd all say I was crazy. Again.

Every offensive line has its weaknesses. Every offensive line has at least one JAG, if not more (Slauson), but IMO, Slauson is having a fine season for himself and was a steal where he was drafted despite every Jets fan wishing otherwise.

Mangold is gimpy this season only, not as a player... I surely hope you aren't labeling him as injury prone because that would be very misguided. He is the best center in all of football. ALL of football. So let's get that straight.

Brick does indeed look much more human this year, for whatever reason. Given his track record, I doubt he's finished as an LT.

Moore had an injury as well.

Hunter is not starting quality.

Injuries happen. Sometimes you don't have 2 pro-bowl offensive lineman sitting on your bench. It's a sad fact in the NFL: if you have quality linemen going to waste, someone will snatch them up. No one has a Brandon Moore on their bench, let alone a Mangold or a Brick, unless it's a rookie 1st round pick that needs to be polished.

[jason423]

Though I have not been able to keep up with it as much this year I normally track the teams performance based on schedule. Forcing the run was something they were doing more early in the season if you adjust the schedules for the opponents. They actually only average about 2.2% more run attempts than most teams do against the Jets specific schedule. The problem is their performance stinks. They average 15% less than the norm in YPA. The only teams worse are the Titans, Browns, and Giants. The big plays are 41% below average. There are only 6 teams worse. As for the attempts being high due to padding leads its not the case for pretty much anyone in the NFL. The top rushing teams in the NFL are Houston, Oakland, Jacksonville, Denver, Philly, SF, Atlanta, and Kansas City. Most of those teams stink. Houston and SF are simply run first teams.

Passing isnt much better, but its a better chance than the run. The Jets pass about 3% less than expected. Completion % is 6.8% below average, YPA is 7.29% below average, YPC is about average, and interceptions are actually 10% below average they are just hideous picks leading to points for the other teams, The problems again come in the big play category. This was not a huge problem in 2010 and even 2009. They are about 13% below average in the 20+ plays and a ridiculous 81% below average in the 40+ category. In 2009 they were -22% and -13.3%. In 2010 they were -8% and 29.7%(yes above average).

Thats really the issue. Whether its the fact that they dont have the right personnel (Braylon was basically a deep route runner almost all the time), dont use the personnel correctly (Holmes YPC has fallen like a brick since coming here and is rarely used to stretch the field), or a byproduct of the poor running game (allowing a safeties to play out of the box and play more deep coverage) thats the problem. The Jets were a big play offense last year. They didnt have a big time running game and Sanchez was far too inconsistent to Pennington his way down the field. They threw deeper routes designed to be big plays in the air. They dont do it anymore and they have the same inconsistent QB running the offense. Its a question that someone in the media should be asking but they never do. The Jets never would have pulled out those miracle wins against Denver, Detroit, and Houston last year if they ran this type of offense.

[jason423]

Every offensive line has its weaknesses. Every offensive line has at least one JAG, if not more (Slauson), but IMO, Slauson is having a fine season for himself and was a steal where he was drafted despite every Jets fan wishing otherwise.

Mangold is gimpy this season only, not as a player... I surely hope you aren't labeling him as injury prone because that would be very misguided. He is the best center in all of football. ALL of football. So let's get that straight.

Brick does indeed look much more human this year, for whatever reason. Given his track record, I doubt he's finished as an LT.

Moore had an injury as well.

Hunter is not starting quality.

Injuries happen. Sometimes you don't have 2 pro-bowl offensive lineman sitting on your bench. It's a sad fact in the NFL: if you have quality linemen going to waste, someone will snatch them up. No one has a Brandon Moore on their bench, let alone a Mangold or a Brick, unless it's a rookie 1st round pick that needs to be polished.

All of these are legit points, but I think it just comes back to a poor personnel decision when they did not ask Woody back and instead went to Wayne Hunter as starter. I could understand moving away from Woody and going to Ducasse as thats a long term solution rather than a short term fix, but Hunter is just a stopgap anyway. Moore's history has always been to be pretty good when he has a guy playing well alongside him and to be kind of mediocre when he has Anthony Clement next to him. The decision to go with Hunter doesnt just affect the quality of the RT position but it affects that of the RG as well. It was just a bad choice. The other issue isnt the bench (as you said teams dont have stockpiles of great backups) personnel, but the decision to waste roster space on guys like Rob Turner and Logan Payne was a big mistake. The more bodies you can bring in the better chance you have of getting lucky and uncovering something, but they decided to play short. Those are the front office mistakes this year, IMO.

[stoicsentry]

All of these are legit points, but I think it just comes back to a poor personnel decision when they did not ask Woody back and instead went to Wayne Hunter as starter.

It has been an enlightening experience to see just how bad Hunter has been this year, and quite surprising... I'll give credit to anyone who predicted this.

I could understand moving away from Woody and going to Ducasse as thats a long term solution rather than a short term fix, but Hunter is just a stopgap anyway. Moore's history has always been to be pretty good when he has a guy playing well alongside him and to be kind of mediocre when he has Anthony Clement next to him.

How could anyone be better than mediocre with Anthony Clement next to him? I know Wayne Hunter has been terrible, but he's not Anthony Clement.

The decision to go with Hunter doesnt just affect the quality of the RT position but it affects that of the RG as well. It was just a bad choice. The other issue isnt the bench (as you said teams dont have stockpiles of great backups) personnel, but the decision to waste roster space on guys like Rob Turner and Logan Payne was a big mistake. The more bodies you can bring in the better chance you have of getting lucky and uncovering something, but they decided to play short. Those are the front office mistakes this year, IMO.

Logan Payne... pfft... I don't wanna speak to that subject. I don't know anything about the guy so I'll just assume you're right.

As to Turner: when they first made the decision to carry Turner while injured, I think it made plenty of sense. The understanding was: 1) the injury wouldn't last all season, 2) As a guy that can play multiple positions along the offensive line as well as tight end (kinda) and play each of them effectively, that's a tremendous player to have available on your bench, as it hedges against injury at numerous positions, 3) Mangold was still healthy.

Basically, they took a bet there, and I still don't think it was a bad one in retrospect. Who could have figured that Mangold, a guy that is perennially healthy, would go down..? Especially so soon into the season?

I see what you mean, I just disagree. I think that was the right move. They just lost the gamble. And it hurt.

[Maxman]

All of these are legit points, but I think it just comes back to a poor personnel decision when they did not ask Woody back and instead went to Wayne Hunter as starter. I could understand moving away from Woody and going to Ducasse as thats a long term solution rather than a short term fix, but Hunter is just a stopgap anyway. Moore's history has always been to be pretty good when he has a guy playing well alongside him and to be kind of mediocre when he has Anthony Clement next to him. The decision to go with Hunter doesnt just affect the quality of the RT position but it affects that of the RG as well. It was just a bad choice. The other issue isnt the bench (as you said teams dont have stockpiles of great backups) personnel, but the decision to waste roster space on guys like Rob Turner and Logan Payne was a big mistake. The more bodies you can bring in the better chance you have of getting lucky and uncovering something, but they decided to play short. Those are the front office mistakes this year, IMO.

I just want to know how Hunter was able to convince so many people he could be a starter (myself included) in that short stint last year. I am a broken record with this but going into that regular season game when Woody first got hurt, I thought Hunter was going to get slaughtered. But he played great -- where is that guy?

[jason423]

I just want to know how Hunter was able to convince so many people he could be a starter (myself included) in that short stint last year. I am a broken record with this but going into that regular season game when Woody first got hurt, I thought Hunter was going to get slaughtered. But he played great -- where is that guy?

I honestly never saw that last year. I think everyone got caught up in two games (the Bears game where he dominated Peppers and the Pats playoff game where he gave up a sack early but then played great in all phases after that) rather than looking at a bigger body of work. It was clear he was a big downgrade from Woody in the running game. Plus Im always wary of backups getting starters minutes. At the point when Hunter started he matched up against guys that had 13 or so weeks of wear and tear on them while he was relatively fresh. Now you are asking him to play even with far superior players and I think that rarely works. Maybe for young guys it can, but for veterans who have bounced around the NFL its not realistic to expect someone who is a career backup hanger on to somehow blossom into a starter.

[Maxman]

I honestly never saw that last year. I think everyone got caught up in two games (the Bears game where he dominated Peppers and the Pats playoff game where he gave up a sack early but then played great in all phases after that) rather than looking at a bigger body of work. It was clear he was a big downgrade from Woody in the running game. Plus Im always wary of backups getting starters minutes. At the point when Hunter started he matched up against guys that had 13 or so weeks of wear and tear on them while he was relatively fresh. Now you are asking him to play even with far superior players and I think that rarely works. Maybe for young guys it can, but for veterans who have bounced around the NFL its not realistic to expect someone who is a career backup hanger on to somehow blossom into a starter.

Well clearly what you are saying is true. I had no doubts after the Pitt game because I watched him in person and he did so well. I thought that he had put some of his earlier career problems (character stuff) behind him and had concentrated on working hard.

Now it looks like maybe he is still working hard, just not that good. Ugh.

[Smashmouth]

yep, thanks for providing the data to backup up what our eyes have seen... No holes, and Green looks slow w/poor vision

You cant keep pointing to "no Vision" it makes no sense. We have seen Greene hit holes like a bulldozer in the past, but now the holes are not opening which makes a RB have to try another option which most of the time = tackled. You can never claim a RB has bad vision if hes not getting any holes to run through. Im not a big fan of Greene because he is a huge liability catching the football which means when he is in the game it puts us in a very predictable mode. Teams dont respect him out of the back field. Sanchez will eventually stop checking down to him since he cant catch the football when our asshat WR's cant get open. The problems are on every level of this offense and yes they cause QB issues as well. Im not sure there is a QB in the NFL right now who would succeed in this horrid Offense. Take a look at some of Green Bays games where WR's are running wide open all over the field and Rodgers is basicly playing catch with them. Wide Open

[FloridaJetsFan]

I think it starts with the predictable play calling and lack of run blocking due to the fact the QB scares nobody. So does the QB scare nobody because of the playcalling? Or the WR's? Or Pass protection? Why is there no pass protection? Because they can't run? Or because of the...QB? Or the play calling? etc etc etc...

Ding, Ding, Ding!!! This!

[SenorGato]

Once you get past the OLine the thing I can't stand is how often Greene goes down. This complaint is my zomg fire Schitty/Bench Sanchez/Shoulda signed Braylon....to me a starting RB isn't a nagging injury machine, and that means we currently do not have a starting caliber RB on the roster to me. Once in a while Greene makes for a good plow...the rest of the time not so much.

I hope after last week that they let McKnight help out there. If there's no starting caliber guy then rotate more guys.

[CTM]

The problems are on every level of this offense and yes they cause QB issues as well. Im not sure there is a QB in the NFL right now who would succeed in this horrid Offense. Take a look at some of Green Bays games where WR's are running wide open all over the field and Rodgers is basicly playing catch with them. Wide Open

SIGH

[Barton]

If Slauson can play RT, he should be moved there.

And I'd have no issue with this team taking a 1st rd guard or tackle.

[Smashmouth]

SIGH

You can sigh all you want but its true Rodgers is hitting wide open receivers all over the field. This is not a knock on Rodgers by any stretch since i feel hes the best QB in the NFL right now without a doubt its just a fact when watching the games. Its a well designed offense that protects the QB unlike the Hot mess we march out onto the field every week.

[Barton]

Only the Jets can take a guy like Santonio Holmes and make him look like Sinorice Moss.

[SenorGato]

SIGH

He's got a point. Aaron Rodgers is mostly successful because the offense is designed to protect him and get WRs open. It's a very unique situation that only seems to pop up on teams with strong QB play for some reason.

[CTM]

He's got a point. Aaron Rodgers is mostly successful because the offense is designed to protect him and get WRs open. It's a very unique situation that only seems to pop up on teams with strong QB play for some reason.

It's a chicken and an egg thing, there's really no difference to the eye between sanchez and rodgers...

[Darth Vader]

It's a chicken and an egg thing, there's really no difference to the eye between sanchez and rodgers...

there are four differences between Sanchez and Rodgers.

1. Mental Fortitude.

2. Design of Offense.

3. Accuracy.

4. Depth at WR.

[CTM]

there are four differences between Sanchez and Rodgers.

1. Mental Fortitude.

2. Design of Offense.

3. Accuracy.

4. Depth at WR.

If Rodgers was here and Sancheese there, you'd realize only 1 and 3 were correct.. And add in a few others, like pocket presence, QB IQ, throwing on the run, etc..

[Darth Vader]

If Rodgers was here and Sancheese there, you'd realize only 1 and 3 were correct.. And add in a few others, like pocket presence, QB IQ, throwing on the run, etc..

pocket presence and QB IQ IMO are functions of the mental - actually psychological - aspect of the QB. In terms of Depth -- the Jets WRs are terrible. That aspect ties into offense design - they are reciprocal functions of each other.

[CTM]

pocket presence and QB IQ IMO are functions of the mental - actually psychological - aspect of the QB. In terms of Depth -- the Jets WRs are terrible. That aspect ties into offense design - they are reciprocal functions of each other.

I forgot arm strength.. that too