I know I shouldn't complain after a great offensive performance propelled the Jets to a thrilling victory last night, but Brian Schottenheimer continues to frustrate me with his overthinking and unwillingness to go with the flow of the game.
1. Sending Brad Smith in motion from the quarterback position in the Tiger formation.
9:03 left, second quarter, 1st and 10 from Miami's 43
Schottenheimer split Smith wide leaving Shonn Greene by himself to take a direct snap. This was done presumably to confuse the defense. The problem is it left Greene by himself with no second option. In a Wildcat look, there is usually a handoff option to keep guys on the other side of the field honest and burn a team for overpursuing. When that handoff option is gone, a defense can send everybody shooting for the back. The play was doomed from the start. Greene ran for no gain.
2. The Tiger formation on 3rd and 15.
15:00 left, fourth quarter, 3rd and 15 from Miami's 22
On a third and long, the Jets don't throw it in scoring range. They give away the run by lining up with Brad Smith at quarterback. Smith makes a great run to pick up the first down. He bailed out his coach. That was a terrible call. It was like hitting on 18 at the blackjack table and getting 3. How often is Smith going to break a 16 yard run? They say an offensive coordinator looks like a genius if the play works. That's not true in that case. It was a crazy call.
3. Throws while trying to salt away the game.
4:46 left, fourth quarter, 1st and 10 from midfield
The Jets had run the ball for 30 yards and 2 first downs in 3 plays on the drive. They were trying to milk the clock. The offensive line was having its way against Miami's front. Schottenheimer decided it was time to throw the ball. Mark Sanchez threw two straight incompletions, including the gift wrapped interception Kendall Langford dropped. The clock stopped. The Jets gained no yardage. On third down, Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards for a 20 yard completion on the next play, which was an obvious passing down. Again, Schottenheimer's players bailed him out.
I think Schottenheimer has done things well. He deserves a lot of credit for the way Sanchez has improved, but his play calling is driving me crazy. These are the typical attempts at deception that make execution more difficult. It also feels at times like Schottenheimer scripts his entire game without regard for situation.