Aaron Glenn backs Jets' play-calling, but not using Garrett Wilson is a problem

Aaron Glenn remains in coordinator Frank Reich’s corner despite the offensive struggles that are costing the Jets a chance to win games.

Glenn expressed support for Reich following another poor performance by the offense in Sunday’s 26-19 loss in New England and said six games is too soon to make any judgments.

“I think he’s done a good job. I really do,” Glenn said Monday morning. “Obviously, there's a number of things that we can improve on. … After six games, it's hard to just say, ‘OK, we're this.’ We have to see how this thing plays out. But I think he's done a good job.”

All of the metrics would say otherwise. The Jets’ 2-4 record could be reversed if their offense lived up to some of the hype following all the changes they made in the offseason, including hiring Reich.

The Jets have the seventh-best scoring defense, allowing 20.3 points per game. But they are the sixth-worst scoring offense, producing just 18.7 points. They’re 1-3 in one-score games.

Being one of the NFL’s worst scoring offenses is nothing new. The Jets have ranked 28th or worse in points 10 times in the last 14 seasons and have been bottom-10 in scoring for 10 consecutive years. This year was supposed to be different, though, and for a lot of reasons.

Glenn parted ways with last year’s coordinator Tanner Engstrand for the more experienced Reich, who was serving as a senior advisor for the Stanford football program. The Jets acquired Geno Smith to lead this offense and open it up with his ability to push the ball down the field. They drafted versatile tight end Kenyon Sadiq and receiver Omar Cooper Jr. in the first round to join an offense that already featured Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and Mason Taylor.

The idea was that the Jets have the talent and depth to be able to create mismatches and force defenses to decide who they’re going to try to take away. It sounded good and looked promising in Week 1 when Reich showed a lot of creativity with his formations against the Titans.

Reich used several multiple-tight end sets, including five on one play. The Jets scored a touchdown on the opening drive on an end around with Sadiq. Since then, the Jets have been a vanilla offense with not much creativity or multiplicity, and have squandered scoring opportunities with curious play calls in fourth-and-short situations.

The Jets have been held under 20 points in four of their last five games. They’ve averaged 16.3 points in their last three. Only the winless Dolphins (14.7) and Chargers (15.3) and one-win Titans (13.0) have scored less over that time. The Jets’ four touchdowns in the last three weeks are tied for the fewest with the Chargers and Titans.

“We have so many playmakers on this offense,” Taylor said. “So for us to be doing this right now is very frustrating. I know it's frustrating for fans. It's frustrating for us as well.”

Making it more so, Wilson spent most of Sunday doing cardio.

The Jets’ top playmaker was on the field running routes or blocking for all but one offensive snap. Yet on a day when the Jets had difficulty scoring, Wilson was targeted just six times and finished with four catches.

Forty-four different NFL players were targeted more than Wilson on Sunday. That falls on Reich and Smith, who has to make sure Wilson gets the ball in one-on-one coverage.

Glenn reasoned that the Jets were running the ball well with Braelon Allen – who has really provided a lift with Hall out the last three games with a quad injury – and other players need to get their targets.

“But,” Glenn said, “anytime you have a player of Garrett’s magnitude you always feel like there's an opportunity with him.”

Broken record alert: the Jets have to get Wilson the ball more.

Wilson certainly looked frustrated. He hates losing and he believes – like everyone else – that he can impact winning. Patriots corner Christian Gonzalez is one of the best in the league, but it’s hard to justify Wilson not getting a pass thrown his way for seven consecutive  series. He was targeted twice on the Jets’ opening drive and then not again until the fourth quarter.

“Not every game is going to go your way,” Wilson said. “I don’t know. I try and reason it in my head because we have got another whole fourth quarter, and I know that the game can change at any moment. So just try and keep playing my role - waiting for that moment that they want to call on me.”

Wilson should never wait that long. The Jets can’t wait much longer for their offense to get going. These are opportunities wasted.