Joe Douglas seems to be a little bit confused about the way the Jets performed on offense down the stretch in 2019.
New York’s first-year general manager held his end of the year press conference on Tuesday and made some remarks about Adam Gase’s offense that makes you wonder what exactly he was watching as the season came to a close. Douglas praised the direction of the Jets’ offense in the final eight weeks of the season, pointing at player growth as a reason to have confidence in Gase heading into 2020. Considering New York finished the season on a 6-2 hot streak, it’s understandable that Douglas had praises for the man leading the charge on the sideline.
Douglas highlights the growth of players and play of offense the final eight weeks as reason there should be confidence in Gase. #Jets
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) December 31, 2019
The only problem is, Gase didn’t orchestrate an offense that provided any reason for confidence or hope for the future.
Yes, the Jets finished on a high note after a brutal 1-7 start, but New York averaged just 15.6 points per game over its final five games. That stretch included a six-point showing in a loss to the previously winless Bengals and just 13 points in a season finale win against a Buffalo Bills defense littered with backups and practice squad players.
The Jets started the second half with three consecutive 34-point showing, but those came against porous Big Blue, Washington and Oakland secondaries. After that, it was back to sputtering the rest of the way. If it weren’t for Gregg Williams calling excellent games on a weekly basis on the other side of the ball, odds are New York’s run at the end of the season would not have transpired.
It’s not like Sam Darnold took any major steps forward in the second half, either. Douglas praised player growth in New York’s final eight games, but the team’s most important offensive player and future of the franchise wasn’t really a shining example of any kind of growth. In fact, he occasionally showed signs of regression.
Darnold completed only 59 percent of his passes over the Jets’ final five games. He threw for six touchdowns and only three interceptions, but those final five games were littered with questionable decisions and a bevy of missed throws the USC product typically makes in his sleep. That’s not growth. That’s being stuck in the mud.
Speaking of being stuck in the mud, New York’s rushing attack was essentially non-existent because of Gase’s inability or lack of desire to feature Le’Veon Bell and play to his strengths as a rusher. Bell recorded under three yards per carry in the Jets’ final two games. He finished the season with only 3.2 yards per carry. You could point to an underperforming and banged-up offensive line as a major reason for Bell’s lack of production, but that would be ignoring the problem at hand.
Gase didn’t lead an offense that offers Jets fans any reason to have confidence in him going into his second season at the helm. Frankly, New York’s higher-ups shouldn’t have much confidence based on the results. Gase’s offense was among the worst in the league at the start of the season and wound up finishing dead last. Supposed offensive masterminds typically don’t boast the worst offense in the NFL.
You can’t blame Douglas for taking pride in New York’s strong finish to the season. It’s hard to believe the Jets managed to finish 7-9 after all the team had to overcome to get to that point. Still, Douglas’ praise for an offense that was not good at any point in 2019 begs a question that needs to be answered:
What the heck was he watching?