NY Jets coaching staff faces crucial test in New England

The NY Jets defensive coaching staff deserves blame too

The defensive staff is not absolved of the Jets' problems either. Although New York's defensive unit led by Jeff Ulbrich has played well, for the most part, all things considered, the team's loss to Atlanta was alarming because the defensive staff did not have a game plan specific for their opponents.

The Jets went into Week 5 facing a team in Atlanta without their star receiver in Calvin Ridley. Ulbrich and his staff relied on sticking with their scheme, rather than gameplan to take away the Falcons' best weapons in Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson.

The result? Pitts and Patterson combined for 16 receptions and 233 yards of offense.

It wasn't just the numbers produced by two very talented players in Pitts and Patterson. After all, both are capable of playing well against any NFL defense. The problem was that the Falcons' first two scores were allowed by Jets defensive ends dropping into coverage.

The New York Jets did not pay defensive end John Franklin-Myers a hefty contract extension to cover Kyle Pitts. Bryce Huff should not be called upon to shadow athletic tight ends down the field. Arthur Smith took Jeff Ulbrich to school in London.

Quality coaching staffs led by Bill Belichick, like the Patriots, work hard to take away a team's favorite plays and players. Rather than stubbornly sticking to their scheme regardless of opponent.

The Jets coaching staff has not been flexible and hasn't game-planned properly towards opponent tendencies. Couple that with the issue of the team's self-scouting and the utilization of their players, and what you have is a coaching staff that has lost faith from some of its most loyal supporters.

It's not about the wins and losses right now with the Jets. The expectations are tempered for the NFL's youngest team, but part of the evaluation process is the franchise's competency as the season progresses.

A big part of that falls on the Jets' entire coaching staff and their performance over the next 12 games, starting with this Sunday.