Coaches need to better support Christian Hackenberg

By Michael Pallas | Aug 21, 2017

GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 17: Head coach Todd Bowles of the New York Jets watches from the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on October 17, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Jets 28-3. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The coaching staff of the New York Jets made Christian Hackenberg look bad on Saturday night. They need to do a better job to support him and put him in a position to succeed.

Say what you will about the performance of the New York Jets offense when quarterback Christian Hackenberg was on the field against the Detroit Lions, but the coaches didn’t do any favors for him. The poor performance of some of the receivers didn’t help either.

Hackenberg fell victim to three things on Saturday night:

1. Poor offensive line play2. Dropped passes3. Poor coaching

The Jets had 21 first down plays that counted (plus two that were called back by penalties). Four of them came in the first half and 17 came in the second half.

During the first half, the Lions were stacking the box on seemingly every play. However, the Jets were firm on trying to establish the run, and it got them nowhere. All four first half drives ended in punts, and three were three and out. Hackenberg was sacked twice, and there were two drops. He finished the game 2/6, 14 yards.

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Say what you will about the second half, but the Jets didn’t need to pass a lot because they were only down by 13. However, it was night and day on first down between the two halves.

On the 17 second half first down plays, Petty threw the ball 13 times. That number is slightly inflated by the final drive, but if you take that drive out, it was still nine out of 13.

It was a much smaller sample size in the first half, as the Jets only had four first down plays with which to work. However, they ran the ball three out of the four times, and only gained 10 total yards.

If we’re going to hold the players accountable for poor performance in the preseason, then we also have to take a hard look at the coaches also. Even though the game plans are much simpler in the preseason, that doesn’t mean they can’t devise one that helps the growth of the player. If you see your opponent stacking the box, pass more. Give Hackenberg a chance to show what he’s got. Otherwise, it’s not a true competition.

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