OL dept. -..expectations ? ? ?

[kelly]

The offensive line remains the Jets’ biggest question mark on offense heading into training camp.

That was the case this time last year, long before Frank Pollack was hired to Adam Gase’s staff. Pollack is one of the better offensive line coaches around the NFL, but he was not retained by new head coach Zac Taylor after one season in Cincinnati.In Dallas from 2013-17,Pollack helped oversee one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.Now, he has to deal with an offensive line that’s certainly in need of a renovation.“Like every team I’ve been with, it’s a work in progress. There’s a lot to get better at,” Pollack told the team website. “The guys are working really hard, we’re right where we need to be as far as that’s concerned. We’re continuing to master Coach Gase’s offense and increase our ability to work on our fundamentals and techniques that I’m teaching.”

Throughout OTAs and minicamp, Pollack has been able to see the group that he has in front of him against a talented defensive front. However, once they are finally able to put pads on and start training camp, he will be able to see who belongs on his starting unit.“You can see movement skills, you can see how they learn and how they work,” Pollack said. “You get a good feel for all of that stuff, but at the end of the day, once you put the pads on, it really separates the men from the boys, if you will. You get excited about guys’ movement skills, but a lot of guys go away when you put the pads on and a lot of guys rise to the occasion when you put the pads on. You get a good feel for them and how they work in the classroom, understanding the offensive processing. But pads are definitely the most important aspect of that.”

New York did very little to bolster what’s been a consistent position of need for several years now. Previous regimes have done a reckless job of replacing former All-Pro tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and former All-Pro center Nick Mangold.Before being shown the door, Mike Maccagnan traded for All-Pro guard Kelechi Osemele, drafted Chuma Edoga and signed Tom Compton and Jonotthan Harrison as depth pieces. But, he stopped there. The Jets are returning three starters who were inconsistent for two consecutive seasons, as well as ignoring the center position in free agency and going with a career backup in Harrison.With Joe Douglas now in charge, finding offensive line help will be the top priority. He started 45 games at tackle for the University of Richmond during his playing career. The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the strongest offensive lines in the NFL, so the Jets new general manager knows that the key to a Super Bowl run is to build a competent offensive line around a young quarterback.

Gang Green has to make do with what it has at the position right now. There is a large veteran presence, but the unit still has a long way to go.

>     https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2019/07/15/jets-frank-pollack-offensive-line/?utm_source=smg&utm_medium=wasabi&utm_content=home-hero

[BettyBoop]

Nothing surprising but a solid post nonetheless.  I think the best to hope for in '19 is for Chuma to find a home somewhere on the OL even if it's at guard to take Brian Winters job.  Cutting Winters in '20 would be a $7.5mm cap savings and improved play.  Another hope is that Shell comes back and holds down the RT job well for the foreseeable future.  Of course, Harrison is the biggest IF and the only hope is that Douglas can find a veteran backup.  It's clear Douglas will need to invest considerable resources on the OL in 2020 as he needs to find a young LT of the future as well as a center unless Harrison shocks us all.

In the interim Gase and Pollack will need to scheme around the deficiencies so expect a short passing game mixed in with the occasional long ball.

[Rsherman28]

55 minutes ago, BettyBoop said:

I think the best to hope for in '19 is for Chuma to find a home somewhere on the OL even if it's at guard to take Brian Winters job.  Cutting Winters in '20 would be a $7.5mm cap savings and improved play.  Another hope is that Shell comes back and holds down the RT job well for the foreseeable future.

Good news would be for Winters to preform well this year and keep his job. Realistically Tom Compton will be playing RG after our week 4 bye or when the schedule softens after week 7. 

Chuma is an above average pass blocker and below average run blocker. Basically fits right in lol.

I see him being a potential starter at LT in 2020 depending on how his camps go. I can also see him playing limited time at RT this year as depth behind Shell who is coming off a major knee surgery. 

Next year expect to have 4 potential new starters on the line, it would be a surprise if Beachum, Shell, Harrison, or Winters played any better then a fill in role this year. 

[Losmeister]

6 minutes ago, Rsherman28 said:

Good news would be for Winters to preform well this year

expecting him to do what he has never done in his career sounds like a losing proposition...

 

however, miracles DO occur...    just rarely

[Rsherman28]

6 minutes ago, Losmeister said:

expecting him to do what he has never done in his career sounds like a losing proposition...

 

however, miracles DO occur...    just rarely

are you trying to say it would be a Winter miracle ... 

[MaxAF]

It should be interesting to see what a new coaching staff can do with the O-line and the offense and defense as a whole. It just seemed like such a cluster of ineptitude the last few years with our coaching staff. Player utilization, schemes and some infusion of new blood on both sides of the ball may surprise Jet fans....I’m hoping.

[MaxAF]

2 hours ago, Rsherman28 said:

are you trying to say it would be a Winter miracle ... 

Winter is coming! ?

[jeremy2020]

just hoping they don't get the QB killed..

[Rsherman28]

21 minutes ago, MaxAF said:

It should be interesting to see what a new coaching staff can do with the O-line and the offense and defense as a whole. It just seemed like such a cluster of ineptitude the last few years with our coaching staff. Player utilization, schemes and some infusion of new blood on both sides of the ball may surprise Jet fans....I’m hoping.

Frank Pollack has seen some talented OL work while beings the offensive line coach in Dallas. 

We have lacked creative offensive play calling since we had a small hint of it with Brian Schottenheimer who was not even that great IMO. 

The defense has not been the same since having a fire head coach/DC type like we saw in Rex. 

Excitement for new coaching is an understatement lol 

[kelly]

20 hours ago, Losmeister said:

expecting him to do what he has never done in his career sounds like a losing proposition...

however, miracles DO occur...    just rarely

..confidence   

[kelly]

Rich Cimini          ESPN Staff Writer 

The Jets' offensive-line depth, already suspect, took a hit Sunday as Brent Qvale was carted off with a potentially serious knee injury. He will have tests. Adam Gase said it doesn't look promising. Le'Veon Bell missed some time with leg cramps.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[kelly]

It would seem you couldn't ask for two more gentle men to fill the guard positions on your offensive line than Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters.

Osemele, who arrived via trade from Oakland this offseason, has the warm smile and well-modulated speaking voice of a DJ or radio talk show host. "When you talk to him," said head coach Adam Gase, "you're kind of like, 'Wow, that's a really nice guy.' "And Winters, one of the longest tenured Jets on this year's training camp roster, has a new soft spot in his heart for his just-born son, Nash.

"It's a blessing, it's exciting, but it's rough," he said with a tired daddy's smile after Monday's practice, adding, "Just the love that you have for someone, I never thought it could be so high, you know?"But put those two guys on either side of center Jonotthan Harrison, blow the whistle and watch out. We'll let Gase describe the mayhem, starting with Osemele, whom he encountered when his Dolphins met the Raiders in 2018.

"Going against him last year, I noticed him because of the physicality he played with. He plays all the way through the whistle, sometimes a little past it — he got one of our guys ejected last year," the coach said. "When he gets between the white lines, he's a different guy. He's violent, he's physical, he brings attitude."I think he and Brian, I don't know if I've been around two guards that have that kind of mentality where they're looking to be violent, aggressive coming off the ball, and really stroking defensive tackles when they get the opportunity."Needless to say, playing guard is about more than just getting physical. Left guard Osemele said one important part of his job, syncing up with Harrison, has been going well this first week of camp.

"We've got good chemistry," he said. "We're talking to each other, spending a lot of time together. That's a good thing about training camp, the camaraderie, getting to know each other. And I'm starting to learn more about what we want on double teams and combos, things like that."And Winters, healthy in coming off the first 16-start season of his six seasons as the Jets' right guard, said jelling on the line isn't quite the same process when veterans are in the mix, such as the Jets with eighth-year LT Kelvin Beachum and fourth-year RT Brandon Shell on the starting unit."Kelechi's played a lot of ball and he knows how to mesh with a lot of people," Winters said. "It's different if you have a young group that doesn't have as many reps or as many games under their belts. But we all come here and we know it's a job, we know what we've got to do, and we work together."

Whether that's as a five-man unit or a tag team.

>    https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/winters-osemele-jets-guardians-of-the-physicality

[kelly]

The Jets are in the market for a backup offensive tackle after the injury to Brent Qvale.

According to ProFootballTalk, free agent offensive tackle Sam Young is visited with the Jets. Young has prior history with Jets head coach Adam Gase, as he was with the Dolphins when Gase was the head coach.Young has been in the NFL for 10 seasons now. He was a sixth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2010 out of Notre Dame. However, he didn’t make their team and then signed on with the Bills for three seasons. The Jaguars picked Young up in 2013 and he spent three years there before going to Miami in 2016. In his career, he has appeared in 88 games and has made 21 starts.

The Jets could use some depth on an offensive line that doesn’t have a lot of talent on it. Behind Kelvin Beachum and Brandon Shell at offensive tackle, the Jets only have a couple more backups, most of which are inexperienced. That includes Chuma Edoga, Calvin Anderson and Eric Smith.Young has plenty of experience in the league and he’s a serviceable offensive tackle in case Beachum or Shell gets hurt this season.

>    https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2019/07/31/free-agent-ot-sam-young-visits-jets/?utm_source=smg&utm_medium=wasabi&utm_content=home-hero

[kelly]

Rich Cimini    ESPN Staff Writer 

Two quick thoughts on the Jets' addition of former Panthers C Ryan Kalil (pending a physical): 1.) Big picture: Douglas will be a proactive GM, not reactive. He saw a weakness on the offensive line and made a bold move to address it — his first splashy move. The offensive line is his specialty (he's a former college OLM), so you have to trust his eyes. 2.) This is huge for Sam Darnold, a young QB who needs an experienced center. Current C Jonotthan Harrison is athletic, but he hasn't played a lot in the pivot. If healthy, Kalil will be their best center since Nick Mangold. He can read defenses and make blocking adjustments, reducing the burden on Darnold. He will take his physical tomorrow and could practice Saturday.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[DMan77]

I think it's still sort of a question mark... It's more promising than it was a week ago!... And I wouldn't be surprised if another move was made.

But I think as built right now they're a... Lets say top 12 unit? We can work with that! 

[BettyBoop]

I wouldn't discount the improved play calling improving the OL.  Also, I'm hoping that Kalil mentors Harrision the way McCown mentored Darnold.

[Jets723]

Its better.  Is it a top OL? Of course not but Sam doesn't need that, he just needs its to be pretty good and give him time.  Osemele and Kalil bring a lot of leadership., we have more depth.  Also don't forget Wesco is a very good blocker TE which should help.  I expect next years draft Douglas will address in the online in the first 3 rounds.  Supposedly its heavy in OL and WR so I expect two of our first 3 picks to be the OL

[rammagen]

1 hour ago, BettyBoop said:

I wouldn't discount the improved play calling improving the OL.  Also, I'm hoping that Kalil mentors Harrision the way McCown mentored Darnold.

I think the better hope is Toth, Harrison has been around awhile now and he might be what he is, a back up

[kelly]

Rich Cimini     ESPN Staff Writer 

New C Ryan Kalil won't practice tomorrow and it may be a few days before he's on the field. Adam Gase said they will bring him along slowly. Conditioning will be a big issue for Kalil, 34, who came out of retirement. Gase said he's "fired up" to have Kalil. Sam Darnold (pictured) echoed that sentiment, saying he has heard "great things" about Kalil from friends who reached out. They both attended USC, 11 years apart. Darnold said Kalil will be a big help in the film room and on the field. "There's so many things such a vet center can do," he said.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[TNJet]

Edoga may end up Replacing Beachum as our LT in the future imo.

[kelly]

Rich Cimini     ESPN Staff Writer 

Newly-signed Jets C Ryan Kalil is wearing a jersey (No. 55), but he's not practicing. He's off to the side, working in the trainer's area. They're not rushing him as he gets in shape.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[kelly]

The signing of Ryan Kalil comes with many benefits, but one big one isn’t even directly associated with his ability at center.

One of the biggest concerns for the Jets heading into the 2019 season was the team’s offensive line, especially the depth behind the starters. Now that Kalil will start at center, it moves the versatile Jonotthan Harrison to a backup role where he can fill in at multiple positions if needed.Harrison may not have been the best choice as a starter, but he’s been more than capable when called upon in the past as a backup. He’s started 32 games over his career at both center and left guard, including eight for the Jets in 2018. Harrison took over for Spencer Long after a horrific half-season in New York and actually outperformed the original starter. He isn’t better than Kalil but he’s good enough to start in a pinch like he did this past season.

Much of the offensive line is stabilized with Kalil entrenched at center, Kelechi Osemele at left guard, and incumbent starters Brian Winters and Kelvin Beachum at right guard and left tackle, respectively. But they all also have injury histories, so having a solid bench is crucial for consistency on the line in a new offense.There is already a huge question as to who will start at right tackle with both Brandon Shell and Brent Qvale uncertain for Week 1 after suffering knee injuries. Free agent acquisition Tom Compton was the only other capable backup on the Jets with 14 starts in 2018, but now Harrison gives the Jets another competent backup with starter potential.

Offensive line depth is an underrated strength for a team, and the Jets have been burned by bad or injured lines in the past. The Jets don’t have the best protection in the league and certainly not the best depth, but the addition of Kalil helps in both areas.

>     https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2019/08/05/ryan-kalil-gives-jets-actual-offensive-line-depth-off-bench/?utm_source=smg&utm_medium=wasabi&utm_content=home-hero

[kelly]

Rich Cimini     ESPN Staff Writer 

GM Joe Douglas, a former college offensive lineman, is staying true to his roots with two OL additions in a span of four days. First, C Ryan Kalil, now G Alex Lewis. The decision to trade a draft pick (conditional seventh in 2020) is curious because Lewis was on the verge of being released by the Ravens. Silver lining: the Jets had an extra pick in 2020 (a sixth rounder for Darron Lee). Injuries are the issue for Lewis, who has played in only 18 of 48 games. He had been on PUP with a shoulder injury. If healthy, he'll provide depth. On Monday, their No. 2 OL was (l to r) Eric Smith, Ben Braden, Tom Compton, Jordan Morgan and Chuma Edoga. Only Compton has NFL game experience.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[kelly]

Rich Cimini     ESPN Staff Writer 

The Jets' offensive line is a mess. RT Brandon Shell (knee) was a last-minute scratch, meaning four backups started against the Falcons. Shell hasn't missed any practice time, but he did have knee surgery in the offseason. RG Brian Winters (shoulder) and LG Kelechi Osemele (pec) sat out with injuries. Recently signed C Ryan Kalil should be practicing soon. Chemistry has to be a concern.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[kelly]

Rich Cimini     ESPN Staff Writer 

C Ryan Kalil, who signed Aug. 1, made his practice debut Sunday night before a few thousand fans at MetLife Stadium. Kalil, who worked with the starters, had a couple of bad shotgun snaps. Kalil admitted he's not in football shape and still has a lot to learn about the terminology.

>    https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets

[kelly]

 -- To break up the monotony of training camp, the New York Jets took a little road trip Sunday night to MetLife Stadium, where they held their annual Green & White practice under the lights before a few thousand fans. Thirty minutes before it started, Ryan Kalil was in uniform, pacing the locker room to calm his nerves. Remember, this was a practice, not a game.

"Everybody was making fun of me," he said.

Isn't football great?

Kalil has played 156 games in his decorated career, including a Super Bowl, and yet he couldn't prevent a case of the butterflies. This was his first practice since coming out of retirement on Aug. 1, when he answered the Jets' desperate call for an experienced center. For seven months, he had been "living the beach life" at his home in Southern California. When he arrived in New Jersey for the 2.0 version of his career, it was assumed he would take a few days to work on his conditioning and make a seamless transition into the starting lineup.

That it took nearly three weeks to get on the field underscores the degree of difficulty in going from the beach to the NFL trenches. The man has a Ph.D. in offensive line play, but there's so much more to his job than snapping the ball to quarterback Sam Darnold.Kalil, 34, vowed to be ready for Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, but the calendar is the enemy. He has eight practices and one preseason game to get comfortable with the playbook, learn his fellow linemen (three of whom are injured) and become familiar with the unique style of a running back (Le'Veon Bell) who is being kept in mothballs for the preseason.

The beach never was this stressful.

"It's hard to play when you don't know the plays and you don't know the calls, especially," said Kalil, who spent his first 12 seasons with the Carolina Panthers. "But they're all plays I've done before, all calls I've made before. It's just all different terms, all different code names. They don't have a Rosetta Stone for this. It's like learning a new language."Every play starts with the center. If he botches the snap (which he did twice Sunday night), the play fails. If he makes the wrong line call, it can result in chaos. If he blocks the wrong guy, another guy comes free and blows up the ball carrier or, worse, the quarterback.

Essentially, Kalil is attempting to multi-task while speaking a foreign tongue -- not easy. Ever travel abroad? Then you know the feeling.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," he said. "Some of the plays come faster than others. It's tough because you want to play fast. When you can't play fast, you get pushed back. Football, man, you have to be on. It's hard when everything is going right and you know what to do. It's even that much harder when you're playing a little hesitant."Jets coach Adam Gase said he hopes Kalil can play a series Saturday night against the New Orleans Saints. Right tackle Brandon Shell (knee) could return to the lineup, but guards Kelechi Osemele (strained pectoral muscle) and Brian Winters (shoulder) aren't expected to play until Week 1. It means the starting five will have only a week to practice together, hardly an ideal situation.The Jets are taking a calculated risk with Kalil, betting he can galvanize the offensive line and accelerate Darnold's development. The organization protected itself by tying a chunk of Kalil's one-year contract to roster bonuses -- $3.4 million of $8.4 million, to be exact. He receives a $118,750 bonus for every game he's on the 53-man roster. He gets an additional $93,750 for every game he's on the active 46. It will pay to stay healthy.

Once Kalil settles in, he will be Darnold's eyes at the line of scrimmage, reading defenses and adjusting blocking schemes.

"He has seen it all," former Jets center and recent Pro Football Hall-of-Fame inductee Kevin Mawae said of Kalil. "There's nothing a defense can throw at him that he hasn't seen. He has played against all the coordinators they will face this year. He understands [Bill] Belichick's schemes. For him to make the calls based on intuition that Sam Darnold might not have yet, that definitely takes the pressure off him. He's played in big games before. He can be a calming influence to a young quarterback."Right now, Kalil is "playing slow" (his words) and getting into football shape. He knew only one way for more than a decade -- the Carolina way -- and now he's learning a new team, a new system, a new part of the country, a new everything. But it's football, and it still makes his stomach flutter.

"This is why I came back," he said. "I love football, I just do. We all do. It took me walking away to know that it was done, and I really wanted it not to be done just quite yet. So I'm fired up, I really am."

>    https://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/80632/jets-new-old-center-ryan-kalil-they-dont-have-a-rosetta-stone-for-this

[kelly]

If the Jets offensive linemen looked like they had never played together before Sunday, that’s because they hadn’t.

Thanks to injuries throughout the preseason, a starting unit featuring newcomers Ryan Kalil and Kelechi Osemele had yet to play in a game all at once. Kalil came out of retirement, signing on to be the Jets’ center on Aug. 1. With only a month to get acclimated, the veteran was a little off in his Jets debut.It did not come as a surprise on Sunday when the Bills’ impressive front seven manhandled the Jets offensive line. Sam Darnold was under constant duress in the Jets’ 17-16 loss. Darnold was sacked four times, had five passes batted down and was hit a total of nine times.

Kalil sounded off on the Jets’ issues in the trenches when he spoke to reporters on Monday, reiterating what Adam Gase had previously said about squandering multiple offensive opportunities.While Kalil was critical of the unit’s play as a whole and he took responsibility for “poor communication.” He added that he should’ve been “more commanding” with his line calls. Kalil looked rusty in his return to action as well.

The Jets offensive line is still a work in progress. It was evident in Darnold’s play on Sunday that he struggled to deal with an enormous amount of pressure. While the Jets’ second-year quarterback excels under duress, stepping up in the pocket and moving around to make throws, it’s incredibly difficult to do so when being swarmed by a sea of Bills defenders.It is likely that the Jets offensive line contingent will improve with more time together, but the team cannot rely on waiting for that to happen. Instead, they should consider catering to their young quarterback and get him some designed rollouts in a moving pocket.

>    https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2019/09/10/ryan-kalil-takes-blame-new-york-jets/

[kelly]

The addition of center Ryan Kalil was supposed to solidify the Jets offensive line, but he has yet to live up to expectations.

Kalil was a late signing by the Jets in July after general manager Joe Douglas convinced him to come out of retirement. However, Adam Gase isn’t seeing what he’d like out of the former All-Pro center just yet.“We’re probably a ways from where he’d like to be,” Gase said earlier this week.The 34-year-old Kalil got a late start in training camp and didn’t play in the preseason, which probably has to do with the rust he’s shown through the first two games of the season. He spent a lot of training camp getting back in game shape and had limited reps in practice. Meanwhile, Kalil hasn’t had much time adjusting to a brand new playbook.

While Kalil has been underwhelming to this point, so has the entire offensive line. This unit didn’t play together during the preseason and are only playing its third game as a complete group on Sunday in New England. However, there have been times where pass rushers have a free shot at the quarterback. They have yet to give the quarterback time to throw the ball and haven’t provided many big holes in the running game.Kalil is the veteran of the group, so it’s on him to correct all the communication mistakes. But his individual play needs to step it up if this offense wants to have any success this season.

>      https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2019/09/20/adam-gase-jets-center-ryan-kali-hasnt-paid-off/

[#27TheDominator]

I don't think Kalil actually signed until August 1st.  He had limited reps in practice and zero preseason snaps.  It seems insane to count on him during games. 

[kelly]

The New York Jets offense has been an absolute mess to begin the 2019 season. And unfortunately, the unit won’t be fixed until the offensive line is fixed.

It’s been a challenging few weeks for the New York Jets. The team currently sits at 0-2 and has suffered through more misfortune in two weeks than most NFL franchises deal with in a decade’s time.

But isn’t that a part of the whole Jets fan experience?

Much has been made about Sam Darnold and subsequently Trevor Siemian‘s injury. The team is still without promising young tight end Chris Herndon as he serves his four-game suspension. And starting wideout Quincy Enunwa is out for the season with a neck injury.Not to mention that they’re still dealing with injuries to C.J. Mosley, Quinnen Williams, and Jordan Jenkins on the defensive side of the ball on top of starting inside linebacker Avery Williamson‘s season-ending torn ACL.

The Jets are beat up — that’s for certain. But despite the countless injuries and suspensions facing the franchise, health isn’t the team’s biggest issue.

Instead, it has been the horrid play of the offensive line that has plagued the organization through two weeks.

Going into the season, there was optimism that the line would be significantly improved. Starters Kelvin Beachum, Brian Winters, and Brandon Shell returned but the trio was joined by two new faces in the form of former All-Pro-caliber players.Left guard Kelechi Osemele was brought over in a trade with the Oakland Raiders just prior to the start of free agency. Osemele was a former two-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro but his 2018 season was marred by injury and inconsistent play.For essentially the price of downgrading from a fifth-round pick to a sixth-round pick, it was certainly worth the risk. And Osemele has arguably been the team’s most consistent offensive lineman thus so far.The other notable addition that was made was the signing of former Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil. Kalil, a five-time Pro Bowler, was coaxed out of retirement by general manager Joe Douglas after the team decided it wasn’t wise to go into the season with Jonotthan Harrison as the starter.

Unfortunately, it was Harrison himself who replaced a struggling Kalil towards the end of the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. It’s safe to say that the Kalil signing has been a bit of a bust so far.

Struggles were expected early in the season as the unit had very little time to work together in training camp and the preseason. Kalil didn’t even join the team until August and the likes of Beachum, Osemele, and Winters dealt with injuries throughout the summer.That led to the starting five making their in-game debut together in Week 1. And as expected, developing chemistry has been a difficult process to this point. The Jets have dealt with countless issues regarding miscommunication up front and it’s limited what the offense could do.And that’s just it. The Jets offensive struggles don’t come from their depleted playmakers and the fact that they’re starting a third-string quarterback — although they certainly don’t help matters.

Rather, everything boils down to the poor play of the offensive line.

Head coach Adam Gase has received plenty of criticism for his gameplan through the first two weeks of the season — and rightfully so. But a poor line handicaps a coach and limits what an offense can actually accomplish.With no time to operate, the passing game is relegated to five-yard dump-offs, flat routes, crossing patterns, and quick screens. And with no push up front, the team’s running backs have no room to work.

Le’Veon Bell is doing his best out there but much of his effort has been for naught.

Some of this is on the coaching staff too as adjustments should be made to aid the team’s struggling players. Beachum was manhandled this past week by talented pass rusher Myles Garrett allowing three sacks in the team’s loss to the Browns.But a closer look at the tape shows that this was not entirely the fault of Beachum — who was playing through an ankle injury.Instead of keeping in an extra tight end to block or even chip Garrett, and instead of using Bell or another back to assist Beachum, Gase left him on an island alone by himself.

It was straight-up Garrett versus a hobbled Beachum and that’s a matchup that the former is going to win 10 times out of 10.

Miscommunication, poor coaching schemes, and an overall step-back from a talent perspective have contributed to a disastrous two weeks for the offensive line. And unfortunately, there have been few signs of improvement.The hope is that the five-man unit could continue to develop chemistry with each other, but the Jets’ offense will continue to struggle while that happens.Growing pains were expected, but what we’ve seen through two weeks has been downright horrid. And until the offensive line is fixed, the Jets offense will remain broken.

>    https://thejetpress.com/2019/09/20/new-york-jets-offense-fix-offensive-line/

[Losmeister]

1 hour ago, kelly said:

And until the offensive line is fixed, the Jets offense will remain broken.

A fine summation.

[BettyBoop]

The starting OL five are earning $36,683,992 against the cap this year.  To date, they have earned $0 of that.

[kelly]

. -- The stakes got higher this week for the New York Jets' maligned offensive line. Quarterback Sam Darnold returns to the lineup, which means the five guys up front are charged with protecting the franchise's most precious commodity. Every sack -- heck, every quarterback hit -- should serve notice to general manager Joe Douglas that his No. 1 priority in the offseason needs to be the line. Darnold's future (and his present) depend on it.

"They're retarding his growth," a longtime personnel executive said this week. "You just hope it's not a sign of things to come."

If Douglas needs a blueprint for the rebuild, all he has to do is study this week's opponent, the Dallas Cowboys (3-2). Unlike the Jets, who have refused to invest significant draft capital in the position, the Cowboys have poured major resources (picks and money) into their line.

Fewest O-Line Draft Picks

Here are fewest offensive line draft picks taken in the first three rounds from 2010-2019:

Team	R1	R2	R3	Total
Source: Pro Football Reference
Jets	0	1	2	3
Bucs	0	2	1	3
Cardinals	2	0	1	3
Ravens	1	1	2	4
Giants	2	2	0	4
Eagles	3	0	1	4
Panthers	0	3	1	4
Packers	2	2	0	4

They used first-round picks on left tackle Tyron Smith (2011), center Travis Frederick (2013) and right guard Zack Martin (2014). They selected left guard Connor Williams in the second round (2018) and signed right tackle La'el Collins as an undrafted free agent (2015) after he slid because of character concerns.The Cowboys' homegrown starting five have combined for 15 Pro Bowls and six All-Pro (first team) selections, forming the foundation of the team's recent success.

The Jets? When they go into the draft, they treat college linemen as if they're B-list wedding guests. Since 2010, they have picked only three linemen in the first three rounds, tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals for the fewest, according to Pro Football Reference.Take a harder look and you will see the Jets' neglect runs deeper than that of the Bucs and Cards. The Cards used two of the picks in the first round, the Bucs two in the second. The Jets have no first-rounders, one second-rounder (Vlad Ducasse, 2010) and two third-rounders (Brian Winters, 2013, and Chuma Edoga, 2019). The last time the Jets spent a first-round pick on a lineman was 2006, when they drafted left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson and center Nick Mangold -- a double-barrel move that was a catalyst for the playoff runs in 2009 and 2010.

The Jets (0-4) have to get back to that O-line mentality. They have to do it for Darnold, who never will reach his potential if they Andrew-Luck him.

"When you look at the personnel of the best offensive lines, they've invested in a lot of top picks," the executive said. "Every once in a while you get lucky and find a college free agent, but if you want to do it and do it right, you have to invest with picks."On the day he was hired, Douglas explained his philosophy, saying he believes winning teams are built from the inside out -- i.e. in the trenches. He also expressed a sense of urgency to get it done while Darnold is on his rookie contract, which runs through 2021. It means he needs to get to work, quickly, but don't expect an overnight fix. This will take years.Not one of the Jets' starting five is guaranteed to be back in 2020. Left tackle Kelvin Beachum, center Ryan Kalil and right tackle Brandon Shell (benched on Sunday) will be unrestricted free agents, and injured left guard Kelechi Osemele ($11.7 million) could be a cap casualty. Winters has the best chance to stick, along with Edoga (replaced Shell) and versatile backup Jonotthan Harrison.

"Overall, we just haven't played very well," coach Adam Gase said of the line, which has allowed 23 sacks. "There's just no way around it. We just haven't played very good as an offense in general."It's never a good thing when the coach still is tinkering with lineup combinations after four games. The early word is that it will be the same five as last week, with Alex Lewis at left guard and Edoga and right tackle.

"You'd like to be able to say, 'These are our five and here we go,' but we're trying to figure that out," Gase said.

The good news for the Jets is the draft figures to include a handful of highly-ranked offensive tackles. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. rates Tristan Wirfs (Iowa), Andrew Thomas (Georgia) and Alex Leatherwood (Alabama) as potential top-20 picks. A peek at free agency shows Brandon Scherff, Anthony Castonzo and Andrus Peat as top names who could hit the market.Good players are always available, but it takes a shrewd talent evaluator to find them. The successful teams know how to marry talent and system, but it takes continuity to achieve that -- something the Jets have lacked. They're on the fifth offensive line coach since 2012, and current coach Frank Pollack can't feel too secure with the way things have unraveled.

From 2008 to 2011, they had one of the best in the business in Bill Callahan. That, veteran NFL observers say, is the key -- find a blue-chip coach who can teach and develop talent. Before Callahan, they had Doug Marrone and Bill Muir, both well-respected line coaches. Is it a coincidence they always had top-notch line play in that era? Of course not.Ironically, Pollack was the Cowboys' line coach from 2015 to 2017, so he knows what it's supposed to look like. The Cowboys moved on from Pollack when their pass protection crumbled, a theme that sounds familiar.Ultimately, it's up to Douglas -- a former college lineman -- to rebuild the talent base and create a pipeline. You can't overcome a decade of neglect in one offseason, but he needs a big start.

"I hope Joe Douglas is pretty good and understands the blueprint," the personnel executive said. "If not, they'll continue to stay in the abyss."

Most O-Line Draft Picks

Here are most offensive line draft picks taken in the first three rounds from 2010-2019:

Team	R1	R2	R3	Total
Source: Pro Football Reference >    https://www.espn.com/blog/new-york-jets/post/_/id/81160/for-sam-darnolds-sake-jets-must-rebuild-o-line-the-dallas-way
Colts	3	3	2	8
Raiders	1	2	5	8
Dolphins	3	1	4	8
Seahawks	3	2	2	7
Texans	1	3	3	7
Lions	4	1	2	7
Broncos	1	4	2	7

[kelly]

Death is the last thing anyone wants to think about, but with Sam Darnold and his spleen returning to play behind a struggling offensive line, it’s hard not to fear for the quarterback.Darnold has dealt with mononucleosis over the last month and an enlarged spleen comes with that illness. The enlarged spleen was the biggest hurdle that Darnold had to overcome before playing again. While Darnold has been medically cleared to play this Sunday against the Cowboys, he still doesn’t want him to get hit in that area. Given the way the line has played lately, though — it allowed 10 sacks against the Eagles last weekend — odds are Darnold is going to get roughed up.

But Adam Gase doesn’t seem too concerned with Darnold’s health.

“Yeah, he should be good, we should not have him dying on the field,” the head coach said Thursday. “We need to do a better job protecting the quarterback and we need to get the ball out on time, we need to run the right routes, it’s got to be the right play call.”Darnold will wear extra protective padding for his spleen on Sunday, just in case anything were to go wrong. But the hope is the offensive line will be extra motivated that Darnold is back and will step up its play.There are still some people who think Darnold is being rushed back too soon. However, mono typically lasts two to four weeks and Darnold has been out with it for about four weeks. At the end of the day, Darnold has trust in the Jets doctors and knows they wouldn’t put him out there if they knew it was unsafe.

“When I do get hit, I know I’m not in danger anymore,” Darnold said. “They’re letting me go out there and play because it’s safe, so I’m not worried about that.”

>    https://jetswire.usatoday.com/2019/10/11/adam-gase-would-prefer-jets-o-line-keeps-sam-darnold-from-dying/

[kelly]

Professional athletes are full of one-day-at-a-time cliches. To some degree, that mindset is necessary to be among the world’s best at a given skill. It can also be a convenient crutch.

Count Jets’ new starting left guard Alex Lewis among the crop that actually lives it.

That’ll happen when you spend 28 days in Boulder Jail.

“It taught me so much I can’t even express it in words to guys," Lewis said. "It’s just something you go through and you’re going to learn on your own. Either you’re going to step up to the adversity or you’re going to fold.

"I’m not going to quit.”

In May 2013, Lewis decided to transfer from Colorado to Nebraska to finish out his college football career. Within a week, he was arrested in Boulder, Colorado for second-degree assault after a late-night fight. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to 45 days; he wound up serving 28, thanks to good behavior.But between the arrest and sentencing, Lewis made the move to Nebraska. It wasn’t until March 2014 that he finally learned his fate – and had to briefly walk away from football to serve his time.Lewis walked into Boulder Jail at 300 pounds. Four weeks later, he left at just 272.Going from 6,000 to 1,500 calories per day will do that.

Then, Lewis had to bounce back. He resumed life as a college athlete with eyes on a professional career.

So, no, losing a game or the starting role he once had with the Ravens isn’t likely to shake his worldview. It’s already been set in stone by those four weeks - and the months of legal proceedings and real-world headaches that led up to them.“I’m in there trying to get money in my books from my family so I can try to get commissary – get those extra ramen noodles and Doritos, whatever the hell it was, just to try to maintain weight," Lewis said. "I’m making that trade to get that extra biscuit off someone’s tray, whatever it was. Physically it’s draining, but there’s nothing you can do about it other than to control your attitude.”That’s what Lewis is trying to bring to the table in his new role with the 0-4 Jets and their shoddy offensive line – a healthy, relentlessly upbeat attitude.

“I think attitude is the biggest thing we have to be able to control right now,” Lewis said. “We have to be on an even plan. Ryan Kalil talked about it (during a players-only meeting Monday) – we have to be even across the board, we can’t ride the roller coaster. We can’t be too high on the highs, can’t be too low on the lows.”

Kalil isn’t the first longtime NFL vet Lewis has heard echo that mantra, either; Ravens offensive lineman Marshal Yanda spent years doing it, too.Lewis was drafted to play alongside Yanda in the fourth round in 2016 and quickly worked his way into Baltimore’s starting lineup; he played 10 games and started eight as a rookie. But he missed the final six weeks of that season due to an ankle injury – then had his 2017 erased by a shoulder issue.2018 wasn’t much kinder to Lewis. He finally got back on the field, but managed just 10 games – again because of injury. The lone bright side was that a neck injury that was initially feared to be serious turned out to be relatively minor.Still, that all of that physical turmoil put an end to Lewis’ time with the Ravens. This August, they decided to cut bait, dealing him to the Jets for a conditional seventh-round pick. In other words: He was traded for almost nothing.

Given his last six years, Lewis was unfazed.

“You start looking forward, a week, two weeks down the road, mentally you’re just going to drain yourself out,” Lewis said.

Instead, he dedicated himself to absorbing head coach Adam Gase’s system as quickly as possible and putting his head down, hellbent on creating an opportunity for himself down the road.That chance came last Sunday, when Kelechi Osemele was too banged up to play against the Eagles.On the whole, the Jets’ offensive line was catastrophic – but Lewis was a bright light among the misery. He received an 82.0 grade from analytics site ProFootballFocus.com, including an 88.2 pass-blocking mark, despite the 10 sacks his unit allowed.It was the best grade given to any Jets offensive lineman during a game this season – by nearly 12 points.Lewis will almost certainly start again this Sunday against the Cowboys; Osemele remains out of practice due to shoulder and knee injuries. But neither issue is considered serious. Osemele is expected to return eventually.When he does, the 30-year-old former All-Pro will no doubt want his job back.

Lewis, as you’d expect, isn’t worried about the competition.“The only focus I have right now is what I can do in the moment I have and take full advantage of it,” Lewis said.That single-mindedness has worked the past five years, since the day he left Boulder Jail. It worked last Sunday, too.

Why change now?

“The light is starting to shine,” Lewis said.

>    https://www.nj.com/jets/2019/10/the-light-is-starting-to-shine-how-28-days-in-jail-molded-jets-alex-lewis-for-his-new-starting-role.html