Why Did Joe McKnight Get Zero Offensive Touches?

If somebody told me I could point to only one game to explain why Brian Schottenheimer frustrates me as an offensive coordinator, it would be Week 16 of the 2008 season. The Jets lost to a lousy Seahawks team that day 13-3.

The Jets had a lot of trouble moving the ball. Perhaps the most galling thing, though was that Leon Washington only got one offensive touch. Washington was at the time the best playmaker the Jets had on the offensive side of the ball. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry that year and added 47 catches for 355 yards. On a day where the Jets were struggling to find offense, not getting the ball into a gamebreaker's hands did not make much sense.

I had the same thought last night when Joe McKnight did not get an offensive touch. McKnight was electric on his 107 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The problem is the Ravens have a touchback machine for a placekicker, Billy Cundiff, who only allowed McKnight one more return.

Last night the offense was struggling to generate anything. The blocking was struggling. I am struggling to find a reason they did not even try once to get McKnight the ball in space. Try an outside run. Even if the blocking is bad, he can make people miss. He has great vision. He is a homerun threat. The conventional offense was not generating yardage. Not at least trying McKnight feels almost criminal.