Saleh looks for adjustments to Jets’ ‘D’
New coach with N.Y. says coaches have to do a better job with unit
This is absolutely not what anyone envisioned for the New York Jets.
Especially on defense. Robert Saleh came to New York with a reputation as a defensive guru who would establish a dominant presence on that side of the football while a rookie quarterback develops on a young offense.
So far, the Jets’ defense has been embarrassingly bad. A lack of execution by the players and adjustments by Saleh and his staff are largely to blame.
“It always starts with me first, but we’ve got to coach it a lot better,” Saleh said Monday, less than 24 hours after a 45-17 loss to Buffalo. “We’ve got to understand that as players and we’ve got to stick to our fundamentals and not panic in situations and make stuff up. But collectively, obviously, it’s got to get better and we’ve got eight games to embrace the opportunity to go play great ball and improve on what we’ve put out in the first nine games.” That’s putting it mildly. Not only has the defense been bad, it is historically awful.
The Jets (2-7) are the first team to give up at least 45 points three times in a four-game span since the Giants in 1966, according to ESPN Stats & Info. After allowing 489 yards against Buffalo, teams have rolled up 1,890 yards in the past four games — the most given up by New York in a four-game span in team history.
“Our job is to go out there and stop people and we haven’t done it over the last few outings,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. “So for us, yeah, we’re embarrassed, because it’s not our standard.”
More Jets: Saleh is hearing plenty of
criticism these days — from the fans, media and now, the always boisterous Rex Ryan. The current Jets coach was ripped Monday morning on ESPN Radio by Ryan, who led the team from 200914, for New York’s 2-7 start punctuated by embarrassing showings on defense. Ryan, now an analyst for ESPN, said he
also takes it personal some have likened the energetic Saleh to him “but without the bad part.” When asked about Ryan’s comments a few hours later during his weekly appearance on ESPN Radio, Saleh didn’t back down. “I’ve never met Rex,” Saleh said on “The Michael Kay Show.” “I’ve never had a conversation with Rex. I don’t even know him, except for people who know him throughout the league. Obviously, if it’s that personal for him, he knows where to find me.”
Steelers: Pittsburgh on Monday placed safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on the NFL’S reserve/covid-19 list, where he joins quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Browns: Cleveland cornerback Troy Hill was released from a Boston-area hospital after being treated for a neck sprain suffered in Sunday’s 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots.
Packers: Any Green Bay fans wanting to invest a personal stake in their favorite team has a chance to do so this week. The NFL’S only communityowned team is opening the sixth stock offering in franchise history Tuesday morning. The price per share is $300 and is limited to people in the United States as well as Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Awards: NFL Honors, the prime-time television program during which The Associated Press individual league awards are revealed, will be held on a Thursday for the first time, and will be broadcast live by ABC. The show on Feb. 10 will originate from the Youtube Theater at the Sofi Entertainment District in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, and also will be available on NFL Network and ESPN+.