Adam Gase And The Jets Hurricane Of A Season

NY Jets Wide Receiver Robby Anderson. Photo Credit: Tom | Under Creative Commons License
NY Jets Wide Receiver Robby Anderson. Photo Credit: Tom | Under Creative Commons License

How is it going LAFB Network! We’re back checking out the second to last of the head coaching changes from last season. Adam Gase came on the scene departing from the Miami Dolphins, and landing on the strip of the New York Jets. What seemed to be fairly vanilla play calling in Miami, turned out to be exactly that in New York.

That’s after signing the year’s hottest commodity, Le’Veon Bell, since holding out all season on the Pittsburgh Steelers. But did Bell’s fantasy output do worse than Kenyan Drake when Adam Gase was running the squad? Let’s find out.

Adam Gase And The Jets Hurricane Of A Season

As per usual, we are going to start off this stat analysis with Gase’s best attribute for our fantasy needs, to his worst.

Receiving Game – Wide Receivers

2018-2019

Rec. Yards – 2,070

Targets – 299

Completions – 164

Rec. TDs – 11

2019-2020

Rec. Yards – 2,417

Targets – 325

Completions – 192

Rec. TDs – 12

Is it just me or is it hard to believe that the Jets actually improved by a fair amount this season? For the most part, Sam Darnold didn’t make any massive waves that stuck out. And Robby Anderson had maybe two or three games where he could have been relevant. But nothing really explains the boost in points.

This conundrum might be explained through Jamison Crowder. Crowder hasn’t exactly been a household name these past few years in the NFL but this season he definitely found his niche with the New York Jets.

Crowder led the Jets receiving corps with 122 targets and 78 receptions. That’s about 7.6 targets and 4.9 receptions a game. These aren’t exactly eye-popping numbers but they are leaps and bounds ahead of the next closest receiver, Mr. Robby Anderson. Anderson had 96 targets and 52 receptions last season.

Passing Game – Quarterbacks

2018-2019

Pass. Yards – 3,404

Attempts – 524

Completions – 299

Pass. TDs – 18

Interceptions – 19

2019-2020

Pass. Yards – 3,443

Attempts – 521

Completions – 323

Pass. TDs – 19

Interceptions – 16

The QB position is next for Gase and for most this would have to be a big surprise. Darnold wasn’t healthy for the whole season, each backup that took his spot got hurt and never at one point did it really seem that the Jets offense was really blending.

This season, the big difference was one TD and three INTs. 39 passing yards isn’t exactly enough to bust or break a week but that stagnation in the Jets’ offense does not bring any reassurance to having New York players on your fantasy team.

Darnold himself totaled the year with 3,024 passing yards, 273 of 441 attempts, all of the 19 passing TDs and 13 INTs. He also started in 13 games instead of the whole 16 because of mono, so when you average him out with the 13 games, he throws about 232.6 yards, 21 of 33.9 attempts and 1.5 TDs to 1 INT.

Those numbers aren’t too flashy and neither would be his fantasy total each week, 13.28. He’s not exactly known for his rushing abilities so these would be some fairly reliable fantasy estimations on his performance. One thing is very true though when contemplating Darnold and Gase’s dynamic; Darnold is coming into his own as a QB and might need some better guidance when it comes to game calling.

Receiving Game – Tight Ends

2018-2019

Rec. Yards – 735

Targets – 102

Completions – 67

Rec. TDs – 5

2019-2020

Rec. Yards – 446

Targets – 57

Completions – 44

Rec. TDs – 6

TEs are the first position that took quite a dive when Adam Gase took over on the play-calling this year. Chris Herndon, last season’s “breakout TE,” played for less than a full game and never returned to the field. Initially, I had thought maybe that was why the position took such a hit, but if that were the case, some TE would have emerged and taken the lead role.

That’s where Ryan Griffin begins to come into the picture. Griffin started 13 of the 16 games this season, largely because of Herndon’s injury, but didn’t actually get involved for fantasy purposes. Griffin found himself in the Jimmy Graham paradox where he has shown glimmers of brilliance but could never be relied upon.

As shotty as he seemed, Griffin finished as the top TE for the New York Jets. In total he finished with 320 receiving yards and five TDs. These totals are obviously miniscule but his five scores stick out to me. It leads me to think that maybe Gase relies on his TEs when it comes to the Redzone or for scoring plays, yet the position’s fantasy total decreased after he arrived.

Rushing Game – Running Backs

2018-2019

Rush. Yards – 1,436

Attempts – 355

Rush. TDs – 10

Rec. Yards – 599

Targets – 102

Completions – 68

Rec. TDs – 2

2019-2020

Rush. Yards – 1,133

Attempts – 344

Rush. TDs – 3

Rec. Yards – 584

Targets – 107

Completions – 86

Rec. TD – 1

Surprise, Surprise. Le’Veon Bell couldn’t carry the Jets to the sweet victory. Unfortunately, Bell didn’t even crack 800 rushing yards like he had four out of his five seasons playing in the NFL. This season ties his career worst totals from 2015 when he played only six games.

In those six games, Bell had 113 carries for 556 rushing yards and three rushing TDs. This season wasn’t any better; he had 245 carries for 789 rushing yards and, again, three rushing TDs. Le’Veon averaged 4.9 yards in 2015, while this season he averaged 3.2 yards per carry.

With all his talents, it is easy to say that Le’Veon Bell did not live up to the large price ticket left on the receipt sent to New York. He didn’t crack 1,000 rushing yards and was barely more useful than Demaryius Thomas in the receiving game. I want to say this could just be another one of the “Jets’ growing pains” since they are a fairly young offense but Gase might be on a short leash to reign it together.

Conclusion

Should Adam Gase keep his Head Coaching position for the New York Jets? UNDECIDED. I have to be honest with you guys. I think Gase was pooped on a lot this season for his football team’s lackluster finish. But the truth is he actually improved the Jets from a 4-12 team to a 7-9 ball club.

Sure their stats didn’t jump through the roof but what can you do when your starting QB goes down for a month, your new top-dollar RB doesn’t completely pan out, and all of your receiving weapons are unreliable?

NY Jets Wide Receiver Robby Anderson. Photo Credit: Tom | Under Creative Commons License

NY Jets Wide Receiver Robby Anderson. Photo Credit: Tom | Under Creative Commons License