✈️ Jets Air Traffic Report Week 8: Geno Smith finally delivers but the Jets blow it

Well done. Well done, Geno Smith. Well done, Frank Reich. Well done, New York Jets offense. 10 drives. 439 total yards. 26 first downs. 33 points. In the NFL, this is called lighting it up.

Since Week 2, I've been critical of the idea that Smith's cautiousness would hold this offense back. And these last two performances feel like validation.

After six weeks of checkdowns and trepidation, Smith seems to have joined the conversation about what this passing offense is supposed to look like over the last two weeks. And the data proves it.

Geno Smith has finally gotten the message

According to Lindsay Rhodes (via SumerSports), against the Raiders, Smith had the highest ADOT (average depth of target) of any quarterback this season (15.58 yards).

Smith's ADOT through the first seven weeks? 29th in the NFL.

As the metric that measures how far a quarterback is pushing the ball downfield, this all but confirms my theory.

However, instead of dwelling on the past, I'd rather focus on the positive right in front of us. That is, in this game, the Jets' offense hummed.

Frank Reich officially found 'not guilty'?

Throughout this series, I've defended Reich while the rest of the football world has rolled its eyes.

If this latest passing performance doesn't prove that it's been Smith in the library with the candlestick, while Reich was the one being bludgeoned, I think you might have a personal issue with Reich that you need to unpack.

Offensive coordinators put people in positions to be successful. As much as Reich would probably like to, he can't relive his glory days by taking the snaps himself.

This season, the Jets lead the league in the number of different receivers with a 100-yard game.

Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Omar Cooper Jr., and Kenyon Sadiq have each reached the century mark in a game.

That is an offensive coordinator stat. Not a quarterback stat. The job is to put people in positions to be successful. And this is confirmation that Reich has done that better than anyone in the NFL.

So I reiterate: if you read the above and still think Reich is to blame, your future includes therapy.

Take the small win

As Jets fans, we spend a lot of time sifting through the details. In our defense, when your team never wins, the details are all you have left.

When it comes to this week's offensive performance against the Raiders, however, the picture is pretty easy.

While Las Vegas' defense is not on All-Madden difficulty, the Jets' offense was more successful against it than against some of the league's premier units.

New York put up more yards than the Buffalo Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Los Angeles Rams did against the Raiders' defense, and aside from the New England Patriots and Rams by two, tallied the most points of any team this year.

You can say what you want about red zone efficiency or prior games, but the point of the sport is to move the ball and score points. In this game, the Jets nailed both.

One tiny concern

The only footnote, besides the loss, is what impact this latest performance may have on the approaching trade deadline. Primarily, what it means for Wilson.

While the star receiver was targeted aggressively, he fell below Mitchell in relative production. He's also been listed as being in concussion protocol and unavailable for New York's next matchup with the Chiefs.

As a team that's been in the headlines for wanting a WR1, this scares me.

Recency bias is real. And although Wilson has stated publicly that he's not looking to be traded, I know that if I were supposed to be my team's favorite child, being consistently outperformed by supporting siblings would surely make a Super Bowl run with the greatest quarterback in the game look like a tropical paradise.

Overall Rating: 9.2 ⭐️

Like being the mom in Home Alone. You finally got the whole family on the same plane, and just when you start to let yourself dream of a Paris reprieve, you realize you forgot your best kid.

The vacation is a wash. It's time to move heaven and earth to save your son.

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