Tag: Adam Gase

9 things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 11

Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Kirk Cousins are the headliners on the list of things we learned in Week 11 of the 2019 NFL season.

Here are nine things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 11 and what they mean for the future:

9. Changing of the QB in Chicago?

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

After the Rams took a 17-10 lead with less than four minutes left, the Bears surprisingly yanked quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and inserted backup Chase Daniel. It didn’t help, but it spoke volumes. Trubisky had no apparent injury. But, like he has been most of the season, Trubisky was ineffective. He completed 24 of 43 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Daniel is not a long-term answer. But, neither is Trubisky, the second overall pick in 2017. His time in Chicago likely is coming to an end. The Bears almost certainly will sign a free agent (Teddy Bridgewater?) or draft a quarterback.

8. The Raiders are for real

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The Raiders have some of the most dedicated fans in the league. They never were a negative factor during the battle to get a new stadium in Oakland. That fiasco was between local government and the team. With the team moving to Las Vegas next year, wouldn’t it be nice to see Oakland fans enjoy a home playoff game before the team leaves? Winning the AFC West might be a stretch. But it’s no stretch to picture the Raiders in the playoffs. Sunday’s victory over winless Cincinnati might not seem like a huge deal. But it was important. The Raiders are 6-4 and very much in contention for the playoffs. Suddenly, their Dec. 1 game with Kansas City is looming large in the AFC West.

7. Kirk Cousins will get another huge contract

David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota quarterback has been on fire since Week 5, after being publicly criticized by receiver Adam Thielen. Cousins had another big game Sunday, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 27-23 win over Denver after rallying from a 20-0 deficit. A lot of people laughed when the Vikings signed Cousins to a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract last year. But no one is laughing now. Cousins still has next year left on the contract. But, if he keeps playing like he has been in recent weeks, Cousins will get an even bigger contract for 2021.

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Instant Analysis: Sam Darnold, Jets make it 2 straight with blowout in D.C.

Like most things in D.C. these days, Sunday’s game at FedExField wasn’t always easy to watch.

Like most things in D.C. these days, Sunday’s game at FedExField wasn’t always easy to watch.

The Jets, however, prevailed in the matchup of NFL bottomfeeders, beating Washington 34-17. New York didn’t exactly play clean football, but it didn’t have to against a rookie quarterback and porous secondary.

With the win, the Jets are now 3-7 and on a two-game winning streak. Washington fell to 1-9 in the race for the top pick in April.

Game Balls:

  • S Jamal Adams: The safety’s reign of terror continued Sunday, as Adams picked up his third, fourth and fifth sacks over his last two games. He seems to be having a lot of fun going up against rookie quarterbacks.
  • TE Ryan Griffin: The Jets offense has not offered many pleasant surprises this season, but Griffin has really made a name for himself in Chris Herndon’s absence. The tight end reeled in five passes for 109 yards and a touchdown against Washington.
  • QB Sam Darnold: Darnold had his best game since New York’s win over Dallas. Granted, Washington left a lot of receivers uncovered, but Darnold threw three touchdowns in a half for the first time and set a new career-high with four touchdowns overall. He only made one notable error…

Quick Thoughts:

  • Darnold’s biggest strength and weakness is that he never gives up on a play. The QB has never seen a throwing window too small, and balance is optional. Tight coverage? Throw it. Under pressure? Throw it. Running like a mad man? Throw it. Darnold will force just about any pass; sometimes that leads to a magical highlight, sometimes that leads to a costly mistake. We saw plenty of the former on Sunday, but his interception was an example of the latter, as he threw into heavy traffic. He still needs to work on limiting those types of mistakes. 
  • The Jets should be encouraged by Darnold’s performance the last two weeks after a nightmarish three-game stretch that was littered with turnovers. However, let’s not forget to consider the competition. Darnold has turned things around against some of the worst pass defenses in football (NYG & WAS). He’s supposed to play well against teams like that. The question now is how sharp will he be against competent defenses moving forward?

  • Some Hollywood movie studios should hire Adam Gase because the man knows how to write a script. While the coach has drawn plenty of criticism this year, one area in which he and his offense have excelled at recently is opening drives — sequences in which plays are typically predetermined well in advance of kickoff. When Darnold found Daniel Brown for a touchdown right out of the gate, it marked the fourth straight game in which the Jets scored on their opening drive. Remember when that used to be a problem?
  • Gregg Williams looked to be toying with Dwayne Haskins early on. The coordinator threw plenty of confusing schemes at the rookie quarterback, as the Jets often rushed fewer men than they showed at the line of scrimmage. The strategy worked, as Haskins and his line frequently failed to figure out who was blitzing. The Jets, meanwhile, were able to keep more men in the back levels of their defense, a necessary insurance policy given the team’s current cornerback situation. All in all, Williams’ defense allowed 17 points while racking up six sacks and 10 QB hits.
  • The Jets finally hit the century mark on the ground — the first time they’ve done so all season. Gang Green’s ball carriers finished the day with 118 yards rushing. Le’Veon Bell led the way with 59 yards on 18 carries, including a touchdown, while Bilal Powell factored in more than usual, rushing seven times for 42 yards. On an individual level, the Jets would probably still like to get more out of Bell, but this was a strong combined effort for New York’s backs, as well as the line tasked with blocking for them.
  • Not to end on a negative, but the Jets will eventually have to find themselves a better kicker than Sam Ficken, who missed a field goal and an extra point in this one. Fortunately for him, the team has bigger problems at the moment.

Jets’ edge in the trenches among things to know vs. Redskins

The Jets solid defensive line and run defense should have the upper hand against the Redskins’ bad offensive line.

After 11 weeks, you pretty much know the strengths and weaknesses of every team. For the Jets and Redskins, there’s a lot more bad than good and now the two will face off with a combined three wins.

The Jets come off a morale-boosting win over the Giants while the Redskins will be fresh of their bye week, but neither team is playing for much more than pride and a draft pick position. New York likely has the edge given their run defense is among the best in the league and the Redskins have relied heavily on their running backs after Bill Callahan took over after Week 6.

Here are four things to know for Week 11.

(Wilfredo Lee-AP)

Jets should be able to win in the trenches

New York’s defensive line continues to progress this season after they traded away Leonard Williams and they’ll have another mouthwatering matchup against Washington. The Redskins rank 28th in Football Outsiders’ pass blocking DVOA and they have a power success rate of only 20 percent – worst in the league (meaning they’re’ typically stopped on third down or fourth-and-short). 

Though they’ve only been blitzed 67 times, the Redskins have allowed 38 hurries (10th-most in the league) and 24 hits. The Jets defensive line should be able to bully the Redskins up front and the linebackers in middle and on the edge should have no trouble getting into the backfield. The Jets also boast the second-best run defense in the league, which should be able to stifle the Redskins’ run-heavy approach.

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Jets OT Kelvin Beachum reaches out to NFLPA on Quincy Enunwa’s behalf

New York Jets offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum is supporting Quincy Enunwa after the Jets fined him for missing treatment.

As it turns out, Quincy Enunwa isn’t the only person at One Jets Drive who is unhappy with the fine New York issued him for missing treatment.

Kelvin Beachum, who is a player representative for the Jets, reached out to the NFL Players Association on Friday to see if Enunwa has any possible recourse to dispute his fine. Enunwa publicized his fine on Twitter on Thursday night, posting a picture of a television screen displaying his fine for everyone in team facilities to see.

“[The union] will put some things in place to see what’s the course of action,” Beachum said.

Beachum, who has played in the NFL for eight years, said he has never seen a team post fines and make them visible to all players. Gase’s public posting of fines is a practice that dates back to his days as Dolphins head coach.

“We handle our stuff in-house and some people choose to use social media,” Gase said when asked about Enunwa’s unhappiness. “There’s probably a reason they’re doing that.”

According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, players typically don’t have many options for recourse when fighting a team fine as opposed to a league-issued fine.

Since Christopher Johnson announced that Gase would return in 2020, a handful of Jets have come out and supported their head coach. Enunwa and Beachum’s actions show that not everyone in the locker room is on board with how Gase is managing the team right now, though.

Targeting Josh Norman among 4 keys to Jets’ offense vs. Washington

The Jets passing offense should succeed against the soft Redskins secondary, and that begins with attacking cornerback Josh Norman.

The Jets take on another easy defense this week in the Washington Redskins and will look to string together consecutive wins for the first time since Week 6 of the 2018 season. Sam Darnold enjoyed a nice bounce-back game against the Giants in Week 10 and will face an even weaker secondary against the lowly Redskins, while Le’Veon Bell could find lots of running lanes against a bad run defense.

The Jets should be able to move the ball effectively considering Washington allows a league-high 6.7 plays per drive and teams convert 50 percent of their third-down attempts against the Redskins. The biggest thing for New York will be its ability to maintain the ball and attack Washington’s weakest points on defense.

Here are four keys to the Jets offense in Week 11. 

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Adam Gase grateful for Jets CEO Christopher Johnson’s support

Jets HC Adam is glad that Christopher Johnson assured him that his job is safe for 2020.

Jets head coach Adam Gase was naturally pleased with what CEO Christopher Johnson had to say about him on Wednesday.

Johnson said that the Jets will not make a head coaching change before or after this season, meaning Gase will be the coach in 2020. While Gase has never worried about his job security, it was still refreshing for the head coach to hear that his boss has confidence in him going forward.

“To get his support, and for him to see what we’re trying to do, that’s an important step for us,” Gase told reporters.

Johnson told the rest of the team the news before the game against the Giants. The news was well-received.

“If everything works out how it’s supposed to and Adam’s here again, that would be absolutely amazing,” Sam Darnold said. “I think most of the guys on the team, if not the whole team, already had that much confidence in Coach Gase.”

When a coach’s job status is brought into question, it could cause players to be distracted from doing their job on the field. However, Gase hasn’t noticed that in this locker room.

“Nobody in this building, but I can’t speak for the outside,” Gase said. “I’m closed in a little bit.”

People on the outside have certainly called for Gase to be fired. Last week, a group of Jets fans organized for a plane to be flown over New York City that carried a banner that read “Fire Adam Gase!” After the Jets lost to the Dolphins, fans could be heard chanting for the coach to be fired.

That’s not going to happen though, at least not any time soon.

Sure-handed Jamison Crowder has become Jets’ slot machine

Jets WR Jamison Crowder is tied for the seventh most catches without a drop in the NFL with 48.

The Washington Redskins allowed Jamison Crowder to walk in free agency. Now, as they prepare to face the Jets, they may be kicking themselves for allowing one of the league’s most productive slot receivers to go without much of a fight.

Crowder has been as reliable as they come in his first season with the Jets. He’s already one of Sam Darnold’s favorite receivers, and that may have something to do with how sure his hands are.

This season, Crowder is tied for the seventh-most catches without a drop in the NFL with 48, tied with Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey.

Crowder signed a three-year deal worth $28.5 million with the Jets and has quickly established himself as the team’s most reliable receiver. He leads the team in both receptions and yards with 42 and 486, respectively.

Before joining the Jets, he studied Adam Gase’s offenses and how he would fit that mold. He studied the coach’s history with slot receivers, going through tapes of Wes Welker and Jarvis Landry with the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins, respectively, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

For quite some time, the Jets have lacked a trustworthy receiver who can space the field like Crowder. Jeremy Kerley was the closest thing resembling that, but a receiver of Crowder’s caliber hasn’t owned the middle of the field since Wayne Chrebet.

It’s clear through nine games that Crowder has carved a Welker- and Landry-like role for himself in Gase’s offense. Despite offensive struggles, Crowder has always posed as a significant threat in the slot.

With Chris Herndon sidelined for the season between a four-game suspension, a nagging hamstring injury and a broken rib that landed him on IR, Darnold has been forced to find a new security blanket.

Crowder has emerged as a dependable option due to Darnold’s increasing trust in the receiver. With his sure hands, it only makes sense to continue to get him involved going forward. After four catches in the first two drives against the Giants in the Jets’ 34-27 win last Sunday, the targets stopped coming for Crowder.

That should change on Sunday. The Redskins have struggled against the slot all season and with the defense’s inability to get off the field on third down, Darnold will surely be targeting his new favorite receiver in his return back to Washington this weekend.

2019 Bills opponents: Jets’ Adam Gase will be back in 2020

Christopher Johnson said Adam Gase will return as the New York Jets head coach in 2020.

The New York media cycle has recently been tossing out the name of Christopher Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets.

He waited until this week to finally speak to reporters about the state of his 2-7 football team.

Based on what he said, that makes sense.

After a 1-7 start, the Jets beat the Giants 34-27 last week. With a few good vibes out there after the win, the owner assured fans of Gang Green that head coach Adam Gase would be back in 2020.

“I want to assure you there will be no changes in coaches here,” Johnson said via Jets Wire. “Adam has the trust of this team. He has the trust of Sam. He has Joe’s trust. He has my trust. He’s a good man. He’s a good coach.”

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Johnson added. “There’s a great deal of work to do. Everyone understands that and we’re just getting started. But I feel really good about this team moving forward.”

The Bills and the Jets will wrap their season series up in their finales, Week 17. That could be a big game for Buffalo, but it won’t be for the Jets, unless they win the rest of their games they’re already out of the postseason icutre. That seems unlikely considering their record.

But, there you have it. Buffalo’s AFC East foe won’t have a new head coach next season. That’s probably the right call, too. Even after such a poor season, most coaches deserve a at least two seasons to turn things around.

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5 reasons why Jets won’t fire Adam Gase after 2019

Jets Wire breaks down four reasons New York has for keeping Adam Gase in 2020.

Adam Gase is going to get another chance to get things right at One Jets Drive in 2020.

Christopher Johnson reaffirmed his faith in Gase on Wednesday, stating that there would be no head coaching change at season’s end. Gase will return.

Between Sam Darnold’s regression and numerous embarrassing losses in winnable games, Jets fans have been calling for Gase’s head for a while now. It seems like there is an endless list of reasons why New York should part ways with its embattled first-year head coach. However, there are still a few reasons why Gase returning in 2020 makes sense.

Let’s take a look at what those reasons could be.

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Chris Herndon’s lost season tells the story of the 2019 Jets

Chris Herndon was supposed to be an integral part of the Jets offense in 2019. Instead, he caught just one pass.

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Chris Herndon’s sophomore season in the NFL fell apart before it could even begin.

Herndon was supposed to be an integral part of the Jets’ offense in 2019, one of Sam Darnold’s top targets. The two developed a solid rapport in their rookie seasons and Herndon quickly established himself as a reliable option in the passing game, catching 39 passes for 502 yards and four touchdowns. With how strongly they closed out the regular season, the sky seemed to be the limit for the duo.

Instead, Darnold got the chance to throw only one pass Herndon’s way this season. After missing New York’s first four games due to a suspension, the Miami product injured his hamstring before returning against the Giants in Week 10, only to sustain a fractured rib that landed him on injured reserve.

“It’s obviously not ideal when you go through something like that and you go through a hamstring and you’re excited to go back out there and play ball,” Darnold said of Herndon’s injury. “Me and Chris are pretty close, so this one sucks, but it is what it is. I know he’s going to attack rehab like he always will. It’s never good when you lose a weapon like Chris.”

Not only is Darnold now missing one of his most talented targets for an extended period of time, but Herndon is robbed of a season that was supposed to be integral in his development. Yes, his suspension was a self-inflicted wound, but Herndon was able to move forward after his DWI charge. He instead appeared to learn from the inexcusable decision.

“It’s disappointing. I feel bad for Chris, because he was excited to get back out there,” Gase said. “For whatever reason, he couldn’t catch a break this year.”

The good news is Herndon will be back and ready to go next year. The former fourth-round pick has a lot of good football left in him and plenty of untapped potential to unlock.

Regardless, Herndon’s nightmare of a season tells the story of the 2019 Jets. Nothing has gone right at One Jets drive so far this year. Herndon is just the latest casualty of New York’s porous luck.