When the Jets made Adam Gase their first head coach with an offensive background since the disaster that was Rich Kotite, nobody envisioned a situation in which Gase would make Kotite look worthy of Ring of Honor consideration, yet here we are. Hired to turn around one of the league’s worst offenses and develop quarterback Sam Darnold, Gase has failed at a level that was previously incomprehensible and it all starts up front.
With an offensive line that allowed 37 sacks in 16 games last season, the expectation was that with the additions of center Ryan Kalil and left guard Kelechi Osemele with Alex Lewis to back him up that things would get better up front. Boy, was that wrong. In fact it was so far off that Gase’s O-line is on pace to give up more than 80 sacks this season. No, you didn’t read that wrong. The Jets offensive line is on pace to surrender EIGHTY sacks.
In fact, if the Jets continue at their current pace of allowing just over five sacks per game, they’ll eclipse last year’s total of 37 sacks allowed when they take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday, at the season’s mid-way point.
There is no denying that the Jets offensive line has been neglected in recent years, but this isn’t a unit that looks only to lack talent, but their preparation from week to week is abysmal. It doesn’t matter if it’s off the edge or up the middle, but free runners are consistently getting shots at the quarterback whose development has stalled as a result.
In fact, anyone who watches this year’s Sam Darnold compared to Sam Darnold late last season can see a you quarterback who is all out of sorts. Darnold has never had the best footwork, but behind this O-line, the QB is getting battered and bruised and he’s starting to panic as a result. His footwork is noticeably worse than when he was drafted and if the hits keep on coming, he might not be upright much longer, and Chris Johnson might be left wondering why he ever took that call from Peyton Manning just a few short months ago.
