Jets’ offensive problems: where to start?

Aaron Rodgers thought the Jets would have an explosive offense that was hard to stop—and that was before they acquired Davante Adams.

Another revaluation of the Jets this year.

“If we don’t score 30 points, we’re underperforming,” Rodgers said after the Jets’ 25-22 loss in New England on Sunday. “This crime can do this every week.”

The Jets haven’t scored 30 points in a game this season. They peaked at 24, which they reached in the second and third weeks. Those were also the last two games the Jets won before Thursday night’s showdown against the Texans at MetLife Stadium.

Rodgers backtracked a bit this week and said he didn’t say “if” (he did). But he admitted they must score 30 points.

“I just said we need to focus on doing our role, and that means we’re getting 28+,” Rogers said. “I think I said 30.”

It’s hard to imagine an offense that features Rodgers leading weapons like Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Adams and the underused Mike Williams having trouble putting up points. Adams didn’t make much of an impact. In his first two games as a Jet, he had seven catches for 84 yards.

The Jets haven’t scored 30 goals since last season, when they were a historically bad offense. They did this three times: twice under Zach Wilson and once with Trevor Siemian.

The offense led to 18 touchdowns on the season. The Jets accomplished that already this season, but it wasn’t enough.

The Jets snapped a five-game losing streak Thursday. Disappointment reigns everywhere. No more so than on offense because of all the mistakes and execution issues. Rogers said it all comes down to the details.

“Not all 11 do this all the time,” he said. “We talked about this a lot. Nine or ten get it right, and one or two sometimes get it wrong, sometimes me.”

Much of the blame for the Jets’ three-point loss in New England fell on ineffective defensive and kicking play.

Rodgers scored a touchdown with 2:57 left. The defense was unable to stop the NFL’s second-ranked offense and gave up a touchdown in the final seconds. Greg Zuerlein missed the field goal and extra point in the game.

However, the crime is not without guilt.

The Jets wasted three timeouts in the first quarter because Rodgers couldn’t start the play on time or didn’t like the challenge he saw against the defense. They were also flagged for delay of game twice. One of them inexplicably occurred on a two-point conversion after a late positive. The Jets failed to convert a two-point play after being pushed five yards.

Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said the operational issues have been resolved and he expects them to be “significantly improved” going forward.

“We’ve covered a lot of things about this,” he said. “It was resolved with the offensive personnel. It’s a combination of getting the call, getting the information quickly, processing it immediately, getting to the line of scrimmage quickly, and doing all those things that give Aaron the opportunity to use his superpowers. This is, firstly, a chance to look at the defense and process the information he sees. and two use its rhythm, which historically has been a great weapon.”

Rodgers often spends most of his playing time watching the defense and trying to get it to jump by eavesdropping or gesturing for a different play. Those “superpowers” ​​have served Rodgers well in his Hall of Fame career, but not so much this year.

The Jets rank second in the NFL in delay-of-game penalties (five on offense) and have committed nine false starts during this five-game losing streak.

“We need to line up, we need to make good decisions, but at the end of the day, I have to catch the ball if I can,” Rodgers said. “We just have to line up and then I have to make sure we get out of the crowd faster.”

The Jets have started using more pre-snap motions since passing game coordinator Todd Downing took over running plays from Nathaniel Hackett. Rogers said they have several long calls with different options.

“I have to spit that call out,” Rogers said. “We need to get to the line and get this thing going.”

Ulbrich believes the offense as a whole is improving. When he replaced Robert Saleh three weeks ago, Ulbrich said he would ultimately try to “put his stamp” on the crime. He thinks so and says the run and defense have gotten better.

“I feel like a lot has improved,” Ulbrich said. “Are we where we need to be? Absolutely not, but I think the trajectory is going in the right direction.”

New kicker

The Jets signed Riley Patterson to the active roster after placing him on the practice squad on Wednesday. Patterson takes over kicking duties from Greg Zuerlein, who went on injured reserve with a knee injury.

The train is moving

Allen Lazard (chest) and Leki Fotu (knee) were placed on IR… Kenny Yeboah was activated from IR and Anthony Firkser was released. … Forward Alex Lindstrom was signed to the active roster. … Takk McKinley was signed to the practice squad.