New York Giants Week 8: Examining the New York Jets Offense

Let's take a look at the New York Jets offense.

The New York Giants are looking to start what we in the industry call “a winning streak” if they can knock off the New York Jets this weekend. What should Giants fans expect to see from this Jets offense?

Personnel

The Jets were met with a ton of criticism when they drafted Zach Wilson out of BYU with the second overall pick in 2021, and so far, the skeptics have been right. Wilson’s improved as this season has gone on, but that’s compared to the standard of poor play he’s put on film since entering the NFL.

Even in the past three games where Wilson has been praised for his play, he’s been more so just “not screwing it all up” instead of playing well. He has tremendous arm strength and plenty of ability to make plays with his legs, but putting it all together with any consistency has been an issue.

In the backfield with Wilson is Breece Hall, the second-year back out of Iowa State. Hall was phenomenal in college and has had some great performances in the NFL but has struggled to get into a rhythm, which falls more on the play-calling and offensive line than Hall himself.

Hall’s role is becoming more defined with the impending departure of Dalvin Cook. Of his 425 rushing yards this season, Hall has picked up 278 of them after initial contact, helping hide how poor the Jets offensive line has played.

As a pass-catcher, Hall has been involved as a safety valve for Wilson to look to underneath as the team’s fourth-leading receiver in terms of both catches and receiving yards despite having an average depth of target behind the line of scrimmage.

At receiver, Garrett Wilson is the alpha of this group - as the second-year man has established himself as one of the best young receivers in the entire NFL and appears to be well on his way to proving he’s an elite wide receiver, period. With Garrett Wilson being targeted 52 times this season, that’s more than double the second-most targeted receiver on the team with Tyler Conklin’s 25.

With a knack for making circus catches, Garrett Wilson has also been the “screw it, he’s down there somewhere” player. It’s debatable that Garrett Wilson is one of the most valuable receivers in the league right now, as this Jets passing attack would be almost embarrassing without him.

The former Green Bay Packers (Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb) have been underwhelming to this point in the season. In their defense, the big selling point for signing them this past offseason was because of their incredible chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, but of course, with him getting injured in week one, that hasn’t been something they’ve been able to rely on.

Lazard has proven himself to be a more consistent secondary option opposite Garrett Wilson, posting 14 catches for 210 yards. Cobb has been on the field but is relatively non-existent as far as being an actual contributor in this offense.

Tight ends have taken a step up in this offense as Tyler Conklin has made his presence felt in the passing game and blocking, where Jeremy Ruckert has established himself. Conklin has the second-most catches and yards on the team right now, with almost half of his production coming after the catch.

Ruckert appears to be taking steps towards becoming a legit TE1 option with his versatility as a run-blocker and potential as a pass-catcher. CJ Uzomah has played the second-most snaps on the team at tight end and is a viable option when he’s targeted, but it’s been a struggle to get him involved.

New York Giants: Week 8 Storylines to Watch

Scheme

NFL teams have started shifting towards 12 (1 running back, two tight ends) and 13 (1 running back, three tight ends) personnel usage, and the Jets are one of those teams. That could be due to their lack of confidence in their wide receiver room, the ghost of Green Bay Packers’ past, or their team having some reliable talent in the tight end room.

The Jets tend to start drives with heavy personnel groupings, operating out of 12 personnel on 23% of first downs, 13 personnel on 13% of first downs, and 21 personnel on 11% of first downs. The Jets also come out on first down in single back on 38% of first downs and I-formation on 12% of first downs.

Despite going heavy on early downs, the Jets call a very even number of runs and passes on first and second downs. That’s where teams are starting to find success with 12 and 13 personnel again - force defenses to either bring in more linebackers, then throw the ball, or run the ball if defenses keep extra defensive backs on the field.

With all these heavy sets and the success this team has had running the ball, the expectation should be that when the Jets throw the ball, they make the most of play action, but it’s quite the opposite. This season, Wilson has thrown out of play-action on just 18.3% of his dropbacks, ranking 27th among qualifiers, 10th-lowest in the league.

The primary reason is that the Jets offensive line leaves Wilson susceptible to taking hits, whether or not a defense blitzes. Wilson’s been blitzed on 30% of his dropbacks but pressured on 41.7%.

Wilson does a good job of extending plays with his legs - the ability to create plays out of structure was a big reason the Jets made him the second overall pick in the NFL draft just two years ago.

The run game is versatile schematically but similar to the Giants, a bad offensive line can destroy any good game plan. The Jets rushing attack is very inside or out in that the carries usually go either between the guards and center or outside the tackles, very rarely going between the guards and tackles.

What This Means for the Giants

Yet again, I’m writing this article and suggesting that the Giants continue to avoid blitzing and opting to drop seven defenders in coverage. This isn’t a knock on the team at this point; it’s what the opposing matchup calls for, and the defense is making significant improvements in recent weeks.

As I mentioned earlier, defenses haven’t blitzed the Jets much because of their success in rushing just four defenders while still generating consistent pressure. Part of that is because of the Jets' poor offensive line, part of it is due to the Jets not keeping a sixth pass-protector available, and it’s also due to the Jets lacking receivers that consistently create separation.

It’s also important for the Giants to keep their contain along the edge, as Wilson has no problem taking off running or escaping the pocket to create plays downfield. If Wilson does escape the pocket at all, it’s equally important for defenders on the back end not to bail too early, allowing Wilson to make that deep throw.

If I were Wink Martindale, I would turn up the frequency of simulated pressures. Martindale has broken out simulated pressures and stunts this season to add more to the pass-rush plan while not blitzing and sacrificing coverage on the back end.

With simulated pressures, the Giants would crowd the line of scrimmage with five or more defenders but only rush four, dropping the others into coverage. This could trick offensive linemen and quarterbacks into thinking there’s a blitz coming when there isn’t.

Final Thoughts

Expect a low-scoring game here, as the Jets have been elite defensively this season, and the Giants are allowing just 17.3 points per game over the last three games. Add that neither of these offenses inspires any confidence, and it could be a slugfest that could go either way.

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