NY Jets placed an emphasis on the running game in their virtual offseason

The NY Jets reportedly placed an extra emphasis on the running game in their virtual offseason.

The NY Jets‘ running game was an absolute mess in 2019. And that’s a statement that few probably expected to hear following the star-studded signing of All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell in the offseason.

Bell was expected to provide a major boost not only to the Jets’ running game, but their offense as a whole. But by the end of the season, the Jets finished with the worst offense in football and the second-worst rushing offense.

In what was likely the most challenging season of Bell’s entire football career, the three-time Pro Bowler rushed for just 789 yards and three touchdowns on an atrocious 3.2 yards per carry.

That average yards per rush ranked dead last in the NFL among qualifiers making the season the worst of Bell’s NFL career by a large margin.

Of course, anyone who watched the Jets play last season will tell you that this was far from Bell’s fault. Sure you could argue that he may have lost a step or two, but he was doomed to fail from the very start.

An abysmal run-blocking offensive line and a poor offensive scheme set Bell up to fail and there wasn’t really much he could do.

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General manager Joe Douglas clearly did his part to ensure that the offensive line was improved from last season. And it seems as though the coaching staff is intent on fixing the running game as well.

The Jets concluded their so-called virtual offseason earlier this month with any in-person meetings such as minicamp and OTA’s canceled due to the ongoing worldwide pandemic.

These virtual meetings were great for the new players on the roster to get acquainted with their new teammates and coaching staff. But the Jets took it a step further in hopes of solving their issues on the ground.

The NY Jets placed an added emphasis on the running game this offseason.

Per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the Jets “held a separate virtual meeting for the offensive linemen, tight ends and running backs” in an effort to find some solutions for their lackluster running game from a year ago.

Cimini stated that the meetings were designed to discuss various terminology and concepts in Adam Gase’s complex offensive system. Gase said that this allowed them to “clean up any gray we might have had last year.”

It’s encouraging to see the Jets take these necessary steps as with a new-look offensive line, building chemistry remains of the utmost importance this offseason. And given the limited time they will have to actually take reps alongside each other, this is the best that they can do.

Jets fans will be hoping for a vastly improved running game this season and here’s to hoping that the organization’s offseason efforts pay off in the long run.