Conservative game plan by Jets fails against Rams

The New York Jets went into their Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams with a very conservative game plan.  The result of this was far from good as New York lost in what was a completely dismal performance.

For a good portion of the 2016-2017 NFL season to this point, the coaching staff of the New York Jets has been criticized for being way too conservative in games. There have been many in-game situations where the Jets have decided to play it safe instead of taking a shot to try and win the game.

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Nothing changed at home against the Rams in week ten as the team continued to play with this conservative approach. Quarterback Bryce Petty was given very few opportunities to really take shots with the football. The team stuck with a game plan consisting of a large amount of rushes, and some short and simple passing plays.

At this point in the season, being conservative just doesn’t make much sense for the Jets because they have almost nothing to lose. Coming into the game at 3-6, it wouldn’t have hurt to have given  the offense a chance to make more explosive plays down the field.

While easing Petty into the game wasn’t a bad idea in any way, limiting him throughout the game to such an extent just didn’t make sense. In such a low-pressure situation, the Jets needed to get more of a feel for what they have in their second-year quarterback.

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Not only did their game plan keep them from getting a good evaluation on Petty, but it also hurt the offense as a whole. With simple draw plays, handoffs, and short underneath passes being the majority of the offense, they became very predictable as a whole. This allowed the Rams’ defense to have a great day with ease.

This conservative style of play on offense has been something that the Jets have stuck with since the early parts of this season. You have to wonder whether this approach has hurt them as much as any shortcomings from the players have.

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Limiting Petty didn’t accomplish anything against the Rams just as being conservative has not accomplished anything for the Jets all season. Going forward, they must take a different approach on offense in order to open things up and get a better evaluation of their quarterbacks.