This needs to change

Jets coach Todd Bowles was asked today the question a lot of Jets fans have on their mind.

Why did it take some long to get Bilal Powell the ball in earnest?

“He’s a good player,” Bowles said. “We have two good backs. Matt’s a good back as well. It was just Bilal’s turn to shine yesterday and he did. You wait and get opportunities. He shined. There’s no reason he shouldn’t play more. Matt was playing well at the same time. You try to split the time and try to split the reps up. Yesterday, it worked out in (Bilal’s) favor.”

I have a small problem with this theorem. While none of us has a crystal ball, you can probably make an argument the Jets don’t win the game if Forte didn’t get banged up.

I know that sounds a little cruel, and Forte is a terrific player, and a better person, but how many of you think that Matt would have produced that performance? Powell finished with 29 rushes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He added five catches.

Of course Forte is capable of this kind of performance. We have seen it a couple in a Jets uniform and many in a Bears uniform.

But here is the main reason I’m thinking the Jets probably won this game with Powell playing for Forte – Powell broke a tremendous number of tackles. He was running like a poor man’s Earl Campbell. He was a man possessed out there. He beat up the Rams and some of their defenders got worn down and some lost their will to tackle him, similar to what Chris Ivory used to did to defenders as games progressed.

Forte doesn’t run this way – he’s a smooth, patient glider with terrific vision, but he doesn’t tend to run through a lot of arm tackles or run like a bull in a china shop. That isn’t his thing.

So the point I’m making is simple – there is no way Powell was getting that kind of workload in San Francisco, or probably ever this season, without an injury.

And that points out an problem with the mindset of the current coaching staff. They seem to have the same problem was Rex Ryan – loyal to the point of defiance.

For instance, it took an unfortunate concussion to Buster Skrine for Juston Burris to take over at corner, and the rookie played very well, with a nice PD down the left seam (turned his head around perfectly to avoid a penalty), and also made a great open field tackle (tackling at cornerback has been a problem for the Jets this year – Burris is a very good tackler).

Aside from Ryan Fitzpatrick being pulled, what other radical changes have taken place?

It’s almost like the only way Darrelle Revis will be pulled is if there is a Supreme Court Ruling dictating that.

It’s almost like the only time anything happens is when they have no choice, and then all of sudden it’s “lo and behold, look what we have here.”

This needs to change.

Forget loyalty, forget contracts, forget depth charts and don’t worry about embarrassing players. Make changes when necessary. Stop standing on ceremony.

December 12, 2016

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