The New York Jets Still Have a Discipline Problem
The New York Jets were finally doing things the right way. They cleaned house after yet another disappointing season, hired a franchise legend and true culture-changer in Aaron Glenn as head coach, and got a progressive, forward-thinking general manager to boot in Darren Mougey. The media coverage was fairly quiet, but the vibes were high at One Jets Drive. Then, the season started.
The Jets, after all the offseason talk about instilling a tough, winning culture, have started the season 0-4, and they look every part of it. Their latest loss came in a nationally televised game on Monday night against a struggling Dolphins team that was also 0-3. Throughout the game, the Jets were marred by pre-snap penalties and tackling issues, a major problem last season that Coach Glenn said would be a major emphasis in the offseason. New York ended the game in Miami with 13 accepted penalties and three more that weren’t. The tackling effort was also subpar, with multiple plays where it looked like defenders just weren’t even trying.
The issue many fans are taking is that these were specifically problems that Glenn was brought in to fix and ones that he specifically mentioned as points of emphasis. You can make the argument that it’s early in the season and to give them time, but it’s not like these issues are showing any signs of getting better. If anything, they’re getting worse. Their defensive effort turned a struggling Dolphins offense into a borderline unstoppable force, and 13 penalties are absolutely unacceptable by any standard. Running back Breece Hall commented on the mistakes after the game, saying that “teams shoot themselves in the foot, then we come back and shoot ourselves in the head.” It’s a gruesome image, but an accurate one. Three of the four of the Jets’ losses have been one-score games, and all three of them have been losses due to self-inflicted errors. You can’t create a tough, winning culture if you’re not winning or playing tough. It’s still fairly early in the season, but as the mistakes and losses continue to pile up, there will be calls for change. Glenn, barring some kind of unprecedented disaster, will not be fired this year, but that doesn’t mean players and coordinators’ jobs are safe. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks already has many fans calling for his head, and if the trends persist, he won’t be the only one.
