New York Jets: Adam Gase has no more excuses on offense

With the return of dynamic duo Sam Darnold and Chris Herndon, New York Jets head coach Adam Gase is out of excuses to get the offense up and running.

Adam Gase’s offense has been flat out pathetic through the first quarter of the season. It’s been far beyond disappointing watching the New York Jets‘ brand new head coach, who was made out to be an “innovator” and “offensive guru”, lead such a bad offense.

It got to the point where it was difficult to watch over the past couple of weeks.

Gase was given a partial pass by some fans due to some obvious reasons. He lost his starting quarterback, Sam Darnold, after Week 1 to mononucleosis, and lost his second-string quarterback not even halfway through Week 2.

Then, Luke Falk came in, and things got really, really ugly.

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The Jets offense ranks dead last in, well, almost everything so far this season. They rank 32nd in total offense, passing offense, yards per play, first downs per game, third-down efficiency, offensive touchdowns, and, well, you get the point.

Darnold is finally back, as he was cleared on Tuesday for contact. He’ll get a full week of practice and the start on Sunday.

Also returning to the Jets is Chris Herndon, who was suspended for four games due to a DUI. That being said, Gase is out of excuses for his team’s lack of production on offense.

If Gase is truly an offensive innovator, this offense’s efficiency should skyrocket over the next few weeks.

Darnold is back along with his favorite target, and playtime is over. The Jets aren’t an elite offense even with Darnold playing, but at the very least, they need to compete.

Gase’s play calls since Darnold’s injury have been the most conservative I’ve seen in a long time out of the Jets. It felt like nearly no deep balls were thrown in the entire three-week stretch, and the ball was thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage a ridiculous amount.

This should end with Darnold returning. It’s time to use the Jets’ playmakers to their strengths.

They have a premier deep threat in Robby Anderson that hasn’t seen the ball much this season, a reception machine in Jamison Crowder, and a receiving tight end that could develop into one of the better pass catchers at his position in Herndon.

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Now, with a healthy Darnold on the field, Gase needs to use them.

Anderson and Darnold had a strong connection during the final quarter of the season in 2018 and unfortunately, Jets fans haven’t gotten to witness it yet in 2019. Hopefully the return of Darnold means the return of Anderson, and if it doesn’t, Anderson could be in trouble at the trade deadline.

Robby Anderson in the four games following Sam Darnold's return (Weeks 14-17):

23 catches336 yards3 touchdowns112.8 passer rating when targeted

DeAndre Hopkins and Julio Jones were the only other WRs to match all of those numbers over that span.#Jets

— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) April 8, 2019

The bottom line is that the offense needs to fix the mess that they have been for the first four games of the season. That starts with Gase, and with Darnold back, he has no excuses.

Next. New York Jets: 3 positive takeaways from Week 5 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles

If his offense doesn’t see significant improvement, consider his seat hot come December.

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