Coordinating The Jets Offense

[YJF]

Eric Mangini has already gone on record stating that The Jets are going to run schemes on offense and defense that are versatile. Schemes that cater to the teams talent and attack opponents weaknesses. Each weeks gameplan will be different from the last and the playbooks are going to be very deep and complicated. We already heard The Jets rookie players talking about how deep the playbook is. The players will be asked to be able to adapt and do everything on both sides of the ball.

The problem with that is that it's difficult to field an entire team of players who are capable of doing that. It's not an overnight task. It's going to take time. You gotta evaluate your talent by asking them to do things and then seeing which players can best handle it on the field. It's part of the evaluation process and it's why, I see year one under Tangini as an experimental type season.

If you are going to cater to The Jets talent on offense today. Here is how you would coordinate the offense based on the talent we have right now.

After studying The Jets roster, The Jets are best suited right now to run a zone blocking scheme that is a spread offense with the usage of alot of motion to create mismatches. Here's why:

The Jets Quarterbacks

Chad Pennington has played in mostly a west coast offense his entire career. 3 step drops and quick reads. He failed in the shotgun last year despite the fact that he was effective in college under the shotgun and playing in the spread offense. I think his failure had more to do with injury than anything else.

Patrick Ramsey played in a wide open spread offense at Tulane. 4 and 5 WR sets with quick reads. He was very effective in this offense.

Kellen Clemens played in a spread option offense in college. Multiple WR sets and quick reads. He was very effective in the spread, reading the field and reading coverages.

The Jets Offensive Line

If you are going to scheme to best fit your players talents and to maximize their strengths. Then, You want The Jets line to zone block and to be on the move. The Jets have a very athletic offensive line. Mangold was just that, gold in college at pulling and blocking on the move. Pete Kendall and Brandon Moore are also effective at pulling and blocking on the move. D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Adrian Jones are very athletic 300 pounders. Both have great feet and agility. This is not an overpowering, control you at the point of attack type offensive line. The Jets don't really have those type of lineman. By using the spread offense, You make opposing defenses get smaller and quicker on defense. Thereby taking power players off the field. You can also run at teams easier by doing this.

The Jets Running Backs

The Jets don't have a pure lead blocking FB. B.J. Askew is kind of a tweener. Curtis Martin has always had success running out of the spread offense. He's also always has been a strong pass blocker but he is a declining player. Leon Washington and Derrick Blaylock are good receivers out of the backfield and can be lined up out wide and sent in motion. Cedric Houston seems to be The only Jets RB who doesn't have the skillset to play in a spread offense.

The Jets Receivers and Tight Ends

The Jets have only one good blocking TE right now on the roster in Chris Baker. The jury is out on Joel Dreessen and Doug Jolley is more effective in motion and off the line of scrimmage. He has no value as an in point blocker. Jason Pociask is an excellent blocker and real smart. He can be used in a variety of ways and will probably help The Jets offense be more flexible. When you don't have front line talent at WR, The best way to effectively get the most out of them is to use the spread offense. You put your WR's in one on one matchups on the outside. Coles has experience playing in the spread. So does Tim Dwight. Mangini is familiar with Dwight from Tim's role on The Pats last year in their spread sets. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer spent 3 years with Dwight in San Diego. So he is familiar with Dwight's ability as a slot WR. Jerricho Cotchery has some ties with the new staff as well. He worked with new WR coach, Noel Mazzone in college when Noel was his offensive coordinator and Cotchery was breaking NC state records at WR. NC state used the spread alot too. The Jets WR's are all good blockers. The wildcard here is Brad Smith. When he breaks the huddle, He can line up anywhere and he gives you different options. The mistake though that people make is assuming that when you play the spread that a 5th WR has to be a WR. You can use one of your backs or TE's lined up out wide. The Jets have some talent that can do that.

FINAL SUMMARY

The Jets right now, talent wise are not a power football team. They don't have a blow you off the ball type offensive line and they don't have a big power back who can break tackles and wear down a defense.Nor does the offense have strong blockers at FB or TE. Until they find players who can do that. They won't be a complete offense. The real key in a spread offense is having the players that can line up in a base offense and then turn to a spread at the line of scrimmage. You want to be able to catch defenses off guard. The base offense that I would use mostly with The Jets based on their talent is singleback with 3 wr's and one TE. You can flex out of this alignment and use motion effectively. Force teams into the the nickel or having to use a LB or safety to cover out of their base defense. You might see a singleback with two TE's and two WR's with Pociask in motion as a lead blocker. Kind of a roving fullback/tight end/h-back type role. That will probably be The Jets best "power set". In short yardage, Don't rule out the usage of different types of players in FB roles. Like an offensive lineman like Trey Teague or a defensive player. It should be interesting to see how The Jets utilize their talent. On paper, They should be a very good pass blocking offensive line that can move well.

[SouthernJet]

After studying The Jets roster, The Jets are best suited right now to run a zone blocking scheme that is a spread offense with the usage of alot of motion to create mismatches.

Just like the Panthers with Dan Hennings playbook

[YJF]

Just like the Panthers with Dan Hennings playbook

Yeah. That's basically it.

[SouthernJet]

Yeah. That's basically it.

Fox was quoted down here when they signed Keyshawn as saying he was signed to help the running game more than the passing game,,

said that Key would give Panthers another WR target to loosen up defenses stacking the line cheating on the run. Plus Key is a good blocking WR,, they basically lost a edge in running game when Mosse went to Chicago,,adding good WR isnt always to help the pass game,,,

[Savage69]

Yeah. That's basically it.

One point I always made about how Bad Hermie was as a Coach was him not retaining Henning who would have stayed instead of going with Hackett! Henning was a great OC for Vinny! He also could have been a great OC for Chad!

[SouthernJet]

One point I always made about how Bad Hermie was as a Coach was him not retaining Henning who would have stayed instead of going with Hackett! Henning was a great OC for Vinny! He also could have been a great OC for Chad!

u r right as usual Savage,, but to go further,,

you realize that Fox, Edwards and Marvin Lewis were Bradways last 3 interviews for Head Coach. He had a 66% chance of gettin it right,,

but,, u notice where Henning went,,to Fox, ,tells me we probably would have had Henning anyways if Bradway had hired Fox instead of Turd.

[Savage69]

u r right as usual Savage,, but to go further,,

you realize that Fox, Edwards and Marvin Lewis were Bradways last 3 interviews for Head Coach. He had a 66% chance of gettin it right,,

but,, u notice where Henning went,,to Fox, ,tells me we probably would have had Henning anyways if Bradway had hired Fox instead of Turd.

Yeah but he had Tag's whispering in his Ear saying "Take my Hermie Please"!

(Apologies to Henny Youngman)

[Blackout]

basically, just throw to Coles every play (unless Chad is the QB, then you just run the ball and pray)

[nj meadowlands]

The most important thing about this is Chad Pennington. When a healthy Pennington plays within his game, he is one of the most effective quarterbacks in the NFL. Pennington's game is the 10-20 yard precision pass. Mangini knows this and will cater the offense accordingly if 10 is healthy.

[SouthernJet]

a healthy Pennington .

[nj meadowlands]

When did we get Tim Dwight?

[Bugg]

Yeah but he had Tag's whispering in his Ear saying "Take my Hermie Please"!

(Apologies to Henny Youngman)

Worse than that-they hired Hermie before the Super Bowl, like he was so head and shoulders above the guys coordinating the teams playing in that game they didn't need to talk to FOx or Lewis again.

It's the past, but it still ticks me off.

[bitonti]

great post

only thing i would say is that the Jets actually have underrated run blockers - people think that brick is a pure pass blocker - he's actually strong at the point of attack, believe it or not - he's a guy you can run behind on 3rd and 1 - ditto mangold - NM is fast no doubt but he also can run block guys into the ground and bury them. Moore is straight up country strong former DT and Kendall as well has power north south. These guys aren't pure zone blockers in fact i'd be very surprised if they ran a blocking scheme similar to dinger's.

[Jack Straw]

ditto mangold - NM is fast no doubt but he also can run block guys into the ground and bury them.

If anyone doubts Nick Mangold's ability to run block against bigger opponents, I suggest they take a look at the Michigan V. Ohio State tape and watch him manhandle NT Gabe Watson, who's about 350 pounds.

[LionelRichie]

YJF -

as much as i hate to say it i see the jets using a simialr offense to NE under weiss. they consistenly got production with inferior personnel by using formations to exploit matchups in the short and intermediate passing game.

the challenge with this approach is whether ramsey can succeed in this system. he has the propensity to hold the ball too long and can't seem to make quick decisions/reads in the pocket. pennington had NO arm strength left at all so you can pretty much forget about him. the spread may be great for clemmons, once the season goes in the tank i hope to see him on the field so we can find out if they need to make up for Quinn next year. you only get so many years to rebuild, especially in NY.

[ThunderbirdJet]

great post

only thing i would say is that the Jets actually have underrated run blockers - people think that brick is a pure pass blocker - he's actually strong at the point of attack, believe it or not - he's a guy you can run behind on 3rd and 1 - ditto mangold - NM is fast no doubt but he also can run block guys into the ground and bury them. Moore is straight up country strong former DT and Kendall as well has power north south. These guys aren't pure zone blockers in fact i'd be very surprised if they ran a blocking scheme similar to dinger's.

With all due respect.... to say Ferguson and Mangold will be strong at the point of attack in the NFL is premature. Yes, they both were good in college, but this is the NFL now. Jones, Ferguson and Mangold need to get a little stronger in their leg drive to be strong at the point of attack in the NFL, imo.

I really don't like zone blocking. For one thing, you need a QB that is mobile, and is good at the roll out, and throwing on the run. It also takes a long time for an O line to get it right. The Jets don't have a zone blocking guru on the CS. A few years ago, the Jets O line was pretty good, not at the point of attack, as much as being able to get outside and run block. This line is the same way, same talent set.

The O line of 2002 wasn't very good at run blocking inside the five, and this group is very similar. The upside is that I think Mangold, Ferguson and Jones can improve in straight power blocking.

The spread offense.... ack! That is exactly why Ramsey got the **** beat out of him in Washington. It's fine to run on occassions, but not as a base offense. I think this offense will look a lot like the SD offense, but with more screens and outsdie running plays. Houston has just, just enough speed to get outside, but isn't a home run threat. Blaylock and Washington should be very good in an offense like that, and Dontrelle Moore may just surprise peole and make this team because he's more versatile than either Blaylock or Washington. houston is the only power runner on the team, unless Moore proves out. Curtis is Curtis, but he's a 33 year old Curtis.

The Jets spent a fairly high draft pick on a FB. That doesn't sound like a spread offense draft pick to me.

I think Mangini will stick to this "versatile" O scheme he's talked about. The thing is, don't expect it to be pretty this year. It won't be. It's about progress, not winning right now.... same thing Saban said about his Fins last year.

[bitonti]

With all due respect.... to say Ferguson and Mangold will be strong at the point of attack in the NFL is premature. Yes, they both were good in college, but this is the NFL now. Jones, Ferguson and Mangold need to get a little stronger in their leg drive to be strong at the point of attack in the NFL, imo.

hey don't get me wrong i definately respect your opinion but i think it's time to go back and re-evaluate first impressions.

Thunderbird let's just call a spade a spade - you don't believe in Ferguson's run blocking ability and never really did -The guy yes has to get stronger but he's got a max squat of 600 and the frame to grow. he's not orlando pace but he should be fine - what he lacks in brute strength (and i use the word lacks lightly) he makes up for with other attributes like technique and wingspan... and his black belt in karate. Make no mistake the brick is a badass and would have been top 5 as a 20 year old junior. He can definately run block.

[Green DNA]

One point I always made about how Bad Hermie was as a Coach was him not retaining Henning who would have stayed instead of going with Hackett! Henning was a great OC for Vinny! He also could have been a great OC for Chad!

I hate to defend Herm, but I am pretty sure that Henning "retired" and was not fired, probably because he didn't want to work with Herm.

[SouthernJet]

I hate to defend Herm, but I am pretty sure that Henning "retired" and was not fired, probably because he didn't want to work with Herm.

ya think?

[Savage69]

I hate to defend Herm, but I am pretty sure that Henning "retired" and was not fired, probably because he didn't want to work with Herm.

I agree Henning wasn't fired..He just wasn't asked to stay with the new Regime! So he went with Fox to the Panthers! I saw him on a TV interview where he said he wasn't asked to stay! But if he didn't want to work with the Iron Chef I could see that also!

[PeterNorth09]

How can you guys seriously talk about the Jets' offense? Just because we drafted a couple O-linemen doesn't mean it will magically fix the O-line and turn scrubs like McCariens and Jolley into superstars.

Our O-line has to be one of the smallest in the NFL. Our two starting tackles are both undersized. Yeah yeah I know Ferguson weighed in at the workouts at 312 lbs but he was less than 300 lbs before that and he will probably revert to that weight after a mini-camp and the first couple games of the season.

[raffyD]

How can you guys seriously talk about the Jets' offense? Just because we drafted a couple O-linemen doesn't mean it will magically fix the O-line and turn scrubs like McCariens and Jolley into superstars.

Our O-line has to be one of the smallest in the NFL. Our two starting tackles are both undersized. Yeah yeah I know Ferguson weighed in at the workouts at 312 lbs but he was less than 300 lbs before that and he will probably revert to that weight after a mini-camp and the first couple games of the season.

If he weighed 320 at the start of the season would that make you happy?

[ThunderbirdJet]

hey don't get me wrong i definately respect your opinion but i think it's time to go back and re-evaluate first impressions.

Thunderbird let's just call a spade a spade - you don't believe in Ferguson's run blocking ability and never really did -The guy yes has to get stronger but he's got a max squat of 600 and the frame to grow. he's not orlando pace but he should be fine - what he lacks in brute strength (and i use the word lacks lightly) he makes up for with other attributes like technique and wingspan... and his black belt in karate. Make no mistake the brick is a badass and would have been top 5 as a 20 year old junior. He can definately run block.

LOL! I give up! Just kidding.... but yeah, we haven't agreed in Fergy's run blocking.... I think both he and Mangold can becoeme good NFL run blockers, never said they couldn't, it's just I don't think they are there yet.... but will be in time. How much time? Can't say, won't guess.....

[SouthernJet]

How can you guys seriously talk about the Jets' offense? Just because we drafted a couple O-linemen doesn't mean it will magically fix the O-line and turn scrubs like McCariens and Jolley into superstars.

Our O-line has to be one of the smallest in the NFL. Our two starting tackles are both undersized. Yeah yeah I know Ferguson weighed in at the workouts at 312 lbs but he was less than 300 lbs before that and he will probably revert to that weight after a mini-camp and the first couple games of the season.

OK fair comment,,

but what are the main positives, in your opinion, so far with new regime, draft, direction etc?

[JetsMan57]

I agree Henning wasn't fired..He just wasn't asked to stay with the new Regime! So he went with Fox to the Panthers! I saw him on a TV interview where he said he wasn't asked to stay! But if he didn't want to work with the Iron Chef I could see that also!

Bill Muir had one sniff of the Herm/Hackette clown show and headed for the hills immediately after the season.

[YJF]

How can you guys seriously talk about the Jets' offense? Just because we drafted a couple O-linemen doesn't mean it will magically fix the O-line and turn scrubs like McCariens and Jolley into superstars.

Our O-line has to be one of the smallest in the NFL. Our two starting tackles are both undersized. Yeah yeah I know Ferguson weighed in at the workouts at 312 lbs but he was less than 300 lbs before that and he will probably revert to that weight after a mini-camp and the first couple games of the season.

D'Brickashaw Ferguson-312 pounds

Some other prominent offensive tackles

Jeff Backus-305 pounds

Jordan Gross-300 pounds

Matt Lepsis-290 pounds

Matt Light-305 pounds

Chris Samuels-310 pounds

Walter Jones-315 pounds

Mark Tauscheer-315 pounds

Kevin Schaffer-290 pounds

John Tait-315 pounds

All offensive tackles in The NFL are 300 to 330 with the exception of a few players. There are very few effective jumbo sized offensive lineman. You gotta be in that weight range. Weight doesn't make you a great lineman though. Strength does and technique does. Both of which Ferguson has. I'd prefer that my left tackle be in that 300 to 315 range. I want him to be able to move and have quick feet. I don't want a slow plodder who is limited in what he can do as a lineman.

[SouthernJet]

D'Brickashaw Ferguson-312 pounds

Some other prominent offensive tackles

Jeff Backus-305 pounds

Jordan Gross-300 pounds

Matt Lepsis-290 pounds

Matt Light-305 pounds

Chris Samuels-310 pounds

Walter Jones-315 pounds

Mark Tauscheer-315 pounds

Kevin Schaffer-290 pounds

John Tait-315 pounds

All offensive tackles in The NFL are 300 to 330 with the exception of a few players. There are very few effective jumbo sized offensive lineman. You gotta be in that weight range. Weight doesn't make you a great lineman though. Strength does and technique does. Both of which Ferguson has. I'd prefer that my left tackle be in that 300 to 315 range. I want him to be able to move and have quick feet. I don't want a slow plodder who is limited in what he can do as a lineman.

agree