FRANKLY, GORE MUST GO
Time has come for Jets to move on from veteran and give young guys try
The Jets’ youth movement in the final seven weeks of this historic season isn’t absolute. For all the wet-behind-the-ears players that Gang Green will roll out the rest of the way, there’s one man curiously immune to it all. At a time when it obviously makes sense to evaluate anyone and everyone with a chance to be a part of the solution in 2021 and beyond, Adam Gase won’t let go of the past.
You’ll drive yourself batty if you dare delve into the head coach’s cranium to understand why Frank Gore still is a significant piece to this winless puzzle. The notion of a 37-year-old running back getting meaningful touches for an 0-9 team is equal parts comical and bizarre.
With all due respect to Gore, who still has an admirable work ethic, it’s time to phase him out. He’s not a part of the future. He should no longer be a part of the present, either.
Gore will provide helpful mentorship to those who require it, but it’s football malpractice at this point to take away valuable touches from rookie La’Mical Perine and second-year player Ty Johnson so that Gore can plod along in the twilight of his career.
It’s mind-boggling by every objective measure. Why on Earth is Gore even playing, let alone getting more carries than Perine?
Remember when Le’Veon Bell was cut last month?
The move ostensibly opened the door for Perine. However, very little changed.
Although Perine has more snaps than Gore (130-86), the veteran is getting more opportunities with the ball.
Gore has 50 touches to Perine’s 40 in the four games since Gase and general manager Joe Douglas cut Bell. Gore has 44 carries since Bell left. Perine has 32.
Johnson, who has been the most explosive running back on the roster, has 57 yards on just six carries in 12 snaps in four games.
Meanwhile, Gore has averaged fewer than 3.9 yards per carry in six of nine games.
If you think none of this makes much sense, you’re not alone.
“Frank… he’s probably played at one of the higher levels of anybody we have right now,” Gase said Wednesday of a 37-year-old running back averaging 3.6 yards per carry with no touchdowns this season.
In case you’re wondering, Gore averaged 3.6 yards per carry last season with the Bills, who phased him out when it became clear that there was little tread left on those tires.
But Gore has safe haven in Chez Gase, where words and actions are rarely aligned.
“Where we’re at right now, we’re really looking to play as many of these young guys as possible,” Gase said Wednesday about why underachieving 30-year-old cornerback Pierre Desir was cut this week.
The Jets played 10 rookies in their Week 9 loss to the Patriots. It’s the sensible approach given that Gang Green will miss the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season.
Douglas maintained this summer that he wasn’t punting on the 2020 season. But he’s left with no other practical choice at 0-9 but to look toward the future. It’s obvious now that winning any of the remaining seven games has taken a backseat to evaluating younger players. So, Gore should take a seat. Perine hasn’t exactly been channeling his inner Curtis Martin this season, but Gase & Co. should give him much more opportunities than they have so far to thoroughly assess how he fits into the 2021 plan. It’s inexcusable and ridiculous that Gore had twice as many carries as Perine (6) in the last game.
The adjustment is clear to those not duped by Gase’s casual relationship with the truth.
Perine and Johnson should be the 1-2 backfield punch for the rest of the season.
“At the running back spot, it’s all about how many plays we have in a game,” Gase said.
“It’s what you envision per game before we go into this thing. And then how the game goes, that’s why sometimes the reps look the way they are. You know, we didn’t anticipate having an 11-play drive, a oneplay drive and then we’re in two-minute. That wasn’t something we anticipated having… that few plays in the second half (against the Patriots).”
“I always see Perine having more reps and Frank having valuable reps and touches throughout the game,” Gase continued. “It’s just we have to have more plays for us to be able to kind of work it out that way. This last game they were about even. We’d love to get Perine some more touches though.”
Gase’s track record of saying one thing and doing another is longer than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
It’s hard to believe anything he says anymore.