In-Depth Analysis - Jets @ Lions (Offense)
We're reviewing last night's Jets/Lions preseason game in-depth. Earlier today, we took a detailed look at the defense, but now we're moving on to the offense.
Quarterbacks - Pride from his grasp
An early surprise saw Christian Hackenberg as the starting quarterback. This seemed like a golden opportunity for him to work with the first unit and face the opposing team's starters.
Unfortunately, Hackenberg looked completely out of his depth and the Jets offense got nothing done, going in 13-0 down at the half.
At halftime, Todd Bowles suggested it was difficult to evaluate Hackenberg because he didn't have enough time. Part of that was no doubt because the "first unit" he was working with actually included three back-up linemen. However, he did get to work with the starters later on and still didn't get much done.
Bowles letting Hackenberg off the hook after a performance where the Jets amassed minus-three passing yards in the first half seems like apologism, but there's probably an element of supporting him and not wanting to destroy his confidence. However, when the pass protection can't even keep him clean for a one-count on a play designed for him to throw an immediate pass to the flat, there's a kernel of truth to it too:
We'll come back to the offensive line's struggles in due course.
Ultimately, Hackenberg only threw six passes, completing two dump-offs to Bilal Powell, one of which went for a first down with the other losing yardage. Hackenberg also stepped up and scrambled for another first down.
Hackenberg was sacked twice, including one on the first series where the protection was set incorrectly and a defensive end not only came unblocked off the edge but also caught Hackenberg completely by surprise, knocking the ball away for a fumble. That would appear to be Hackenberg's fault.
Another third down play saw Hackenberg about to throw over the middle, but then he changed his mind at the last minute and looked to take off again. Unfortunately, the ball slipped out of his hand and he spiked it for an incompletion. A review of the film on that play shows that he made a good read to not force that throw, but likely wouldn't have made the first down on the run.
On the throws he was unable to connect with, Hackenberg was inaccurate and one was forced into traffic and almost picked off on the ricochet. He appeared to hesitate as he received the snap, which threw off the timing on that play, so that may be indicative of more communication issues with his center.
Does the fact they started Hackenberg and rested Josh McCown tell us that they intend (or perhaps hoped) for Hackenberg to win the job? It seems unlikely, as they can still get McCown enough preparation reps next week and presumably just wanted to give Hackenberg extended work against starters so he's prepared in the event of an injury. It certainly would have been interesting - and perhaps a useful learning experience for Hackenberg - to see how McCown handled himself under the same conditions though.
A conspiracy theorist might even suggest that they set Hackenberg up to fail in an effort to quieten calls for him to replace McCown prematurely.
Bryce Petty had the luxury of going against the Lions' reserves and he put together a pretty good display, although maybe it looked better than it was by virtue of following Hackenberg's listless first half. Still, the Jets won the second half, 6-3, and ultimately ended up being outgained by just 20 yards overall.
Petty made some nice first downs throws, including a few over the middle, a back shoulder fade to Myles White and this crossing route to Jordan Leggett, which the rookie tight end was able to take in stride to gain some extra yardage:
However, after a good start, Petty misfired on a few throws, with one almost intercepted. His last throw of the day, in the closing seconds, was intercepted in the end zone, but that was basically just a desperation jump ball.
On the whole, Petty's performance raises the question as to whether he should receive more consideration to be the number two quarterback, especially early in the season if Hackenberg continues to show signs that he might not yet be ready to play at this level.
Offensive Linemen - Tamer Winters than expected
The Jets made wholesale changes on the offensive line last night, with Wesley Johnson, Kelvin Beachum and Brent Qvale moved onto the second unit and Jonotthan Harrison, Ben Ijalana and Brandon Shell starting. That weakened starting group struggled badly, although it was the struggles of one of the established starters that were at the root of their issues.
As already seen on the earlier gif, Brian Winters allowed his man into the backfield almost immediately for a sack. That wasn't his only bad play though, as he was called for a hold, bull rushed into the quarterback for a pressure and missed a couple of blocks in the running game. He had one nice pulling lead block but that was on a 3rd-and-long play that still came up short.
The other guard, James Carpenter, was better, but still not perfect. He was called for an illegal hands to the face penalty and stood up at the point of attack a couple of times. He had some good run blocks though, and showed great hustle to recover Hackenberg's fumble.
As anticipated, the reserves who moved into the starting line-up didn't find life quite so easy against starter-level defenders. In each case the incumbent starter had the edge, albeit that they of course had the benefit of facing more back-ups.
At center, Harrison was stood up, allowing his defender to shed his block for a run stuff. He had a few decent run blocks later on but Johnson was more consistent overall.
At right tackle, Qvale had a good kick-out block on one run, before moving to right guard in the second half. He had a few more good run blocks from there and wasn't troubled in pass protection, but did have a false start.
Shell drove his man back and to the ground on one block in the first half and an effective block on the edge in the second half, although he looked relieved not to be flagged for holding. He made too many mistakes in the running game, though, especially in the second half when you'd expect him to fare better. One running play was blown up for a loss by his man. He was also beaten around the edge for a pressure.
At left tackle, Ijalana executed well on a couple of run blocks, but didn't have much impact and was badly beaten for a pressure. Beachum had an excellent edge setting block and a good driving block in the second half, but allowed his man to leverage himself into the path of the ball carrier for a stuff. In pass protection, he was rocked back off his spot on one play, flushing the quarterback from the pocket. He also allowed his man to stunt underneath to create pressure on this play:
Arguably, the best back-up lineman the Jets have is the one guy not receiving any consideration for a starting role. Dakota Dozier once again played well. He looks stronger than last year in terms of his ability to re-anchor and his technique in terms of staying on his block seems better too. He saw time at guard and center and had a couple of good seal blocks. He also drew a hold on a play where a lineman grabbed him to stop him getting to the second level.
Craig Watts, Ben Braden, Jeff Adams and Javarius Leamon all saw action on the final series. The pass protection on those plays was pretty good, but Leamon did allow his man to squeeze the pocket a couple of times.
Alex Balducci and Chris Bordelon did not receive any reps this time.
Running Backs - Roaring Back
It was good to see Powell back in the line-up and he contributed 46 yards in the first half on 11 touches.
However, Connor Hughes shared the following supposedly worrying statistic:
Seven of Bilal Powell’s nine rushes went for five yards or less. The offensive line’s struggles are real, and alarming. #jets
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 20, 2017
The offense line's struggles ARE real and it IS alarming, but that's not a particularly great stat to illustrate it. Two out of nine gaining more than five is a perfectly fine ratio.
For example, if you look at Matt Forté's most recent 100-yard game, 25 of his 30 carries went for five yards or less in a win over the Ravens.
Powell looked sharp on one driving run and accounted for the Jets' only passing first down before half time on a 17-yard catch and run in the flat.
Elijah McGuire was the first of the other four backs that saw action to get in the game. He had a short yardage conversion and picked up seven on a first down run. It would be good to see them involve him in the passing game, but maybe they're keeping that aspect of his game under wraps until the regular season.
Marcus Murphy saw his first action, driving the pile on one run and bouncing outside on another, but Jordan Todman and Romar Morris combined for just six yards on their four touches. Todman showed soft hands in catching a short pass, but also semi-whiffed on a cut block in pass protection.
At fullback, Anthony Firkser was the only player to see any playing time, catching a couple of short passes in the flat, including one for a first down. He wasn't employed much as a lead blocker though and didn't face starters, so the prospect of adding a more conventional fullback through cutdowns or deploying one of their tight ends there seems far more likely than Firkser having any kind of significant role.
On the two plays where he was used as a lead blocker, Firkser did well on the first one, helping to open a lane for McGuire to gain seven. However, on the other, he got stood up and Murphy ran into his back for a short gain.
Pass catchers - One of the mane concerns
Bowles said it was difficult to evaluate Hackenberg in the first half, but it was even more difficult to evaluate the receivers. Hackenberg threw just six passes and only one that went to a wide receiver was even remotely catchable, as the ball deflected off Charone Peake with a defender draped all over him and was almost intercepted.
Anderson went deep on one play, but Hackenberg's overthrown pass landed out of bounds. Then, as seen above, Hackenberg was sacked before he could throw a quick pass to Anderson in the flat.
Jalin Marshall wasn't targeted, but at least found another way to contribute with a downfield block on Hackenberg's first down scramble.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins was another who had to try and contribute as a blocker. His only target was a low throw at his shoe-tops that he wasn't able to scoop off the turf and would only have been a short gain anyway. He made a key block on the screen to Powell, albeit that the amount of technique and effort he put into it was not exactly inspirational:
Otherwise, his blocking wasn't as good as last week, as he got stood up on one play, but he did have a nice kick-out block in the running game.
Again receiving early reps was Chris Harper, who was not targeted. In this game, if you wanted to make an impression, it might have been better to be further down the depth chart.
With Petty at quarterback, rookies ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen each had a couple of catches with Stewart showing good concentration to come up with a pass thrown slightly behind him and Hansen picking up a third down conversion on a slant. Fellow rookie Gabe Marks, in his first game, also picked up a first down on a slant and drew a flag on a go-route.
The Jets' leading receiver - with three catches for 43 yards - was Myles White, who made a nice adjustment to the ball to come down with a back-shoulder fade. However, you'd like to see him get both feet inbounds on a throw to the sideline that could have given him a fourth catch.
Frankie Hammond did come down with a sideline catch for his only reception and the returning Kenbrell Thompkins also caught a short pass.
Leggett was the only one of the four back-up tight ends targeted in the passing game. Aside from his nice gain on the crossing route from Petty, Leggett also had a first down catch at the marker. However, he displayed a case of alligator arms on Petty's throw to him in the end zone:
In defense of Leggett, Petty should probably have thrown that one a bit higher and Leggett was perhaps crossed up by the fact that it wasn't.
In terms of blocking, Eric Tomlinson didn't play much, but remains the most viable option off the bench. Jason Vander Laan remains a work in progress. He was blown up into the backfield on a short yardage run, although the Jets did still pick up a first down on the play. Chris Gragg didn't fare much better, missing a block at the second level and allowing his man to stuff a run.
Check back this afternoon for the special teams review!