When Rex Ryan said his New York Jets were going to pass the ball more this year, he wasn’t kidding.
Not only are the Jets throwing more than 60 percent of the time, but their running game is no longer a threat – or at least it hasn’t been through three games. New York is averaging 3.4 yards a carry, which ranks 22nd in the NFL. Starting tailback Shonn Greene hasn't been the effective yard-churning tailback the Jets thought they were getting when the season kicked off.
“You have to give credit to the opponents that you’re playing,” Ryan, the Jets head coach, said during his Wednesday presser. “Sometimes they have things dialed in that are good against runs and all that stuff. I’ll tell you this, we will not give up in the running game, I’ll promise you that.”
The Jets have thrown the ball 112 times to 73 rushing attempts, though quarterback Mark Sanchez said the passing total is probably inflated due to New York playing from behind in two of their three games. He has a point, though the Jets have had to go to the passing game regardless when they couldn’t pound out first downs on the ground like they’ve been able to do, practically at will, the last two seasons.
“Sure, our rushing attack has been great these past couple of years, and we’re still trying to find our way,” Sanchez told the media Wednesday. “We have a couple of guys banged up and a couple new schemes that we’re trying to implement. We don’t want to take all of our playmakers off the field in the pass game. We’ll see how we keep coming along, but whatever it takes to win. If it puts more pressure on the passing offense, then we need to play better.”
The Jets were ranked first in the league in rushing in 2009 and fourth in 2010. They’re currently ranked 25th this season.
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