When it comes to evaluating the New York Jets offense, the best way to describe it is having the word embarrassment in it. In the last five years they have ranked in the top 20 in terms of total offense only once and that was in 2015, when they had Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, and Eric Decker at the helm. That offense was electric, so much to the fact that there were only a few times they scored under 24 points. Since then however, they have been having a tough time scoring 20 points and part of that is the failure of drafting or bringing in playmakers. Since drafting Darnold, there have been signs that this team can score more than 24 points but the problem is if they can stay healthy and be consistent.
The main reason why the Jets brought in Adam Gase is to help get the offense on the right track, before he became the head coach in Miami he had some success as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears. Since then his offense has been ranked in the mid to bottom tier, due to players being injured and inconsistency time after time. The most frustrating part is that we’ve seen what his offense can do so it’s not impossible to be at the top, but it comes down making sure everyone is healthy and good game planning.
Last season was a perfect example of what I've been talking about. The first seven games were abysmal, they couldn’t even score ten points if their life was on the line. Darnold was out due to mono, and the offensive lineman was the worst. But it got better during the last eight games when the team finished 6-2, now the team is poised to pick up where they left off. Although the team doesn’t have any big name receivers outside of Le’Veon Bell, they have young players who can be productive in this offense. Plus people seem to forget that they have two tight ends who are studs in Chris Herndon who had a good rookie season, Ryan Griffin who was a surprise for the Jets last year, and Jamison Crowder who was Darnold’s security blanket.
The talent on the offensive side of the ball is one of those things where you have to really observe to see what I’m talking about. There is no Julio Jones, no Keenan Allen, or DeAndre Hopkins; and that’s okay because before you can bring in that type of talent, you have to make sure that your quarterback is comfortable. Although training camp just started, players have seen a different Sam Darnold. He is more in command of the offense, he knows where guys should be on a particular play. Le’Veon Bell described ``night and day” from last year to this year when describing Darnold’s comfortability in the huddle during an interview this week.
Bottom line is with a healthy Darnold, a new offensive line, a more in shape Bell, and a healthier Herndon as well as receiver core this team is ready to make a big jump in 2020. We have seen this team score thirty four points with a bunch of second string players, with a healthy roster this team can do it on a consistent basis. Not to mention that Sam Darnold will finally show us why he was the third overall pick in the draft.