This unit has improved

Sometimes you need to ignore the metrics and stats a little

and go with the eye test.

Robert Saleh was asked on Monday if his team was establishing an identity.

“I think we all stand in lockstep with Joe (Douglas), in terms of we’re going to be identified upfront,” said Saleh. “And if you look at our o-line has played very well here over the last few weeks, and we anticipate them to continue to play well. Our d-line has been extremely effective, very, very good playing with a lot of energy, a lot of just overpowering teams, overpowering their opponent.”

And here was a follow-up question that I feel was ignoring the eye test to a degree.

“You mentioned the improvement of the offensive line, I’m assuming you’re mostly referring to pass protection because the run the game, statistically anyway, has not been up to the league average. Am I misreading that, or do you see something there that the stats aren’t showing?”

That question, kind of a trap question, is totally stats-driven, and not based on what we have been witnessing.

What even-handed observer would say the Jets’ offensive line hasn’t improved since Week 1?

The Jets had major issues in Week 1. Yes, they lost left tackle Mekhi Becton in the third quarter of that game to a knee injury, but before he went down, he was struggling in pass protection.

In the second quarter, DE Hassan Reddick took advantage of Becton oversetting to the outside, and beat him with an inside move, and got to Zach Wilson as he threw, but he still completed a 10-yard pass to Tyler Kroft. Backup defensive end Marquis Haynes beat Mekhi Becton for a sack late first half to end a series.

So the Becton loss hurt, but it wasn’t the reason for the offensive line struggles in this game. Nobody played well on the Jets’ offensive line – there were protection breakdowns across the board all afternoon and major issues with switch-off blocks on stunts and blitzes.

But since then, with George Fant moving from right tackle to his more natural left tackle position to replace Becton has been solid, Morgan Moses going in at right tackle has been steady, rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker has improved every week, center Connor McGovern and Greg Van Roten have been a little up and down, but pretty decent most of the time; this line has certainly improved.

To point to the run stats, well they actually have had a lot of nice runs this year, with some very good run blocking on a number of plays. The problem is not committing to it, also falling way behind in some games leading to becoming pass-happy, and also platooning so many backs it doesn’t allow any of them to get into a flow. Another issue might be play-caller learning in the job. Sometimes the play-calling has lacked an ideal flow and rhythm.

But this line has settled down nicely in my opinion, to the point that they should absolutely take their time with Becton. No need to rush him back. I actually think Fant is going to get paid pretty well if he hits free agency as a left tackle next off-season. A lot of teams need one. So take your time with Becton, make sure his knee is 100 percent, get him in better shape, and then make a decision.

So I’m going to eschew the running stats and agree with Saleh. The offensive line has definitely improved.

October 19, 2021

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