NY Jets: Where does Adam Gase rank as an analytical coach?

NY Jets’ head coach Adam Gase doesn’t rank favorably as an analytical coach.

NY Jets‘ head coach Adam Gase has received his fair share of criticism during his brief stint with the organization — much of it deserved. And going into 2020, it’s clear that Gase needs to do a much better job of or commanding the offense.

The Jets finished with the No. 32 ranked offense in the NFL last season and while injuries certainly played a part in that, so too did Gase. His inability to maximize the talent on offense led to some pretty awful offensive performances throughout the season.

Gase didn’t pass the eye test — that much was evident. But how did he fair behind the scenes? What do the analytics tell us about Adam Gase?

Hayden Winkes of Rotoworld recently went through and ranked all 32 NFL offenses based on their usage of analytics. The rankings took into account everything from situational pass rate to pre-snap motion to the pace of the offense.

Essentially, everything that makes an offense creative, exciting, and progressive. And when the dust had settled and the rankings had been averaged out, Gase didn’t score very well.

Where did NY Jets’ head coach Adam Gase rank among other coaches?

Gase ranked 23rd among all offensive coaches in terms of analytics while failing to rank above eighth in any of the 10 categories. In fact, he ranked in the top half of teams in just three of the allotted categories.

Not exactly encouraging, but not surprising either.

The full results of the analysis are listed below.

4th Down Aggressiveness: 14th
Pass Rate on Early Downs: 19th
Pass Rate While Trailing: 23rd
Play-Action Rate: 17th
Downfield Pass Rate: 8th
Middle of the Field Pass Rate: 24th
Pre-Snap Motion Percentage: 29th
Outside Run Rate: 28th
Shotgun Run Rate: 14th
Offensive Pace: 16th

Let’s first start with what Gase did well. The Jets’ highest ranking was their downfield pass rate which ranked eighth in the NFL. That stat was certainly helped by the presence of Robby Anderson who remains one of the better deep threats in the league.

Anderson departed in the offseason, but the additions of Breshad Perriman and Denzel Mims should allow the Jets to maintain their downfield presence.

Gase also ranked rather favorably in terms of his fourth-down aggressiveness and shotgun run rate. But while the Jets may have gone for it on fourth down more than many other teams, they weren’t particularly successful converting on just 37 percent of tries.

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And at the same time, they weren’t exactly very effective running out of the shotgun either — as was the same for their running game in general.

But at least the effort was there.

That being said, Gase clearly has plenty of room for improvement. In particular, his lack of pre-snap motion was evident throughout the year and that’s evidenced by his 29th overall ranking in that category.

Just look at the success teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs have had with their constant use of pre-snap motion to provide proof for why it’s useful in diagnosing defenses before the snap.

Gase was also hesitant to run outside the tackles ranking 28th in outside run rate. Part of that was likely due to the abysmal run blocking by the team’s starting offensive tackles.

That’s a fair excuse and the addition of first-round pick Mekhi Becton will certainly go a long way towards helping that out. Here’s to hoping that Gase makes better use of his running backs, particularly Le’Veon Bell, in 2020.

Gase’s shortcomings in his first season with the Jets are highlighted by his failure to adapt to a more analytical offense.

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And he will need to do a much better job in 2020 if the Jets’ offense is to show any meaningful improvement.

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