Robert Saleh had plenty to say in his Wednesday afternoon media availability.
Regarding the New York Jets’ offense, Saleh said there is “a lot to build on” in Week 2 against the Titans.
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“Yeah, the 12-play drive was awesome. Even though the first drive was a three-and-out, I thought it was good that we got to a third and three, which we struggled to get to last year, if you guys remember. It felt like every single drive was third and eleven plus, but if we got to a third and manageable, we had an easy completion. It didn’t work out that way. Now, that’s okay, it happens. We fumbled on the second drive, but that was going to be another positive play, so we had a lot of positive plays where we weren’t getting ourselves behind the sticks like we did a year ago,” said Saleh.
“We still had three touchdown drives. You can say the last one was BS, but their starters were still out there too, still trying to produce, (Nick) Bosa’s still rushing the passer trying to get sacks, and they were still trying to produce at a high level, and we were still able to move the ball. Obviously, the consistency of drive-to-drive wasn’t there because we had that lull, and I attribute that lull to not getting off the field on defense and having them lap us at the end of the first half and the start of the second half. It’s a big 10-point swing that got the game to 23-7, but like I said, with regards to the offense, there were a lot of promising things.”
Saleh said that Michael Carter II is dealing with the same ankle injury from the preseason, while D.J. Reed is dealing with knee soreness. However, the head coach said both players were “going to be fine for the game” this weekend.
Asked about the defense’s performance, Saleh said the performance was “surprising” to him.
“We pride ourselves on discipline and doing our jobs. It felt like we got a little out of whack in that regard. I am not going to get into specific details about what we need to get fixed, but at the same time, I know we are capable of much more, and it wasn’t a physical thing; it was more of guys just trying to do a little bit too much.”
Additionally, Saleh spoke about his confidence in the overall unit.
“They will bounce back. I thought the meetings were really good this morning; the initial walk-through was good, and we will have another one today, but it is not the first time we have gotten punched in the mouth here on defense, and I felt like we have always responded, so they will respond.”
Saleh described his thoughts on the team’s upcoming opponent, the Tennessee Titans.
“They’re a talented group, they really are. Obviously, new staff, a lot of guys that have produced a lot in all three phases: offense, defense, special teams, but well-respected O-line coach in Bill Callahan, so their run schemes, which we’ve had to deal with and have had troubles with. It will be a great challenge for us from a defensive perspective. Offensively, dealing with their scheme and the things they do also presents different challenges that we haven’t seen, more five-down front and all that stuff, but a good team, young team, and it will be a great challenge.”
Saleh’s words make sense in the grand scheme of the season. The defense has a track record of success, so expecting them to bounce back in Week 2 is reasonable. The offense showed signs of success and should only improve in future weeks with Aaron Rodgers under center.
However, it all comes down to execution and preparation. If the Jets do well with both of those aspects, they will be in a great position to win on Sunday.
