2018 New York Jets Offensive Line Stats: Week 10

(Takes deep breath and sighs) - let’s take a look back at the Jets offensive line in their 41-10 loss to the Bills.

Previous editions: Pre 1, Pre 2, Pre 3, Pre 4, W1-DET, W2-MIA, W3-CLE, W4-JAX, W5-DEN, W6-IND, W7-MIN, W8-CHI, W9-MIA

As I will always mention, it is impossible to capture everything with the stats, but with this series I hope to capture the most impactful plays accumulated by each linemen, both positive and negative, to help better our perspective on their production levels. Every single snap does matter, and here we will only be grading a small portion of those snaps, but this data can still help shape our opinions on players more properly and truly. Do not use these numbers as final judgement, but as useful evidence.

Here’s what I’ve been tracking:

• Stuffs (runs for 2 yards or less and no first down) allowed in the run game
• Rushing first downs assisted
• “Setup runs” assisted (which I now define as a 5+ yard pickup on 1st-3rd down that did not result in a first down). Despite not resulting in a first down, these kinds of pickups are still positive plays that deserve to be tracked.
• Sacks allowed
• QB hits (knockdowns) allowed
• QB pressures allowed (pressure counts include all throws affected by pressure, forced rollouts/dodged defenders, forced throwaways, throwing directly over/around a deeply penetrating defender, footwork/mechanics forced to adjust due to pressure, etc.)
• Deflections allowed (occurrences when allowing the currently engaged defender to bat/deflect a pass at the line)
• Open field assists (blocking assists for significant extra yardage/first down by any player, OL or skill position, in the pass game while a pass receiver has the football)
• Pass blocking snaps (Pass blocking snaps now counted for all players rather than just the base five linemen. Team pass attempts + sacks)
• Penalties (Total accepted, yards, first downs/scores wiped out, and declined)

Here are the numbers for the Jets in Week 10. (Usually, I jovially use an exclamation point there. It takes quite the loss to change that.)

Some takeaways from me:

• The Jets posted their third-lowest pressure percentage allowed of the season, but that’s misleading for a few reasons. Number one, the offensive line was responsible for 4 pass deflections - they had allowed 5 over the rest of the season combined. Number two, the Jets were hyper-conservative in this game and continuously dumped the ball off all afternoon, rarely giving the Bills a chance to get pressure. I think this was a mediocre pass protection performance at best.
• In pass protection, James Carpenter in particular was brutal, while Jonotthan Harrison again struggled with his awareness. Brandon Shell bounced back strongly from a poor performance yet again, giving up just one pressure. Kelvin Beachum played decently.
• The run blocking was abysmal. Elijah McGuire magic was the only thing keeping that phase of the offense remotely respectable, as he racked up yards after contact. Shell and Brian Winters did nicely but Carpenter, Harrison, and Chris Herndon struggled.
• For Herndon in particular, his run blocking continues to look shaky. I think he’s been a stud in pass protection, where he shows very good willingness, has good awareness, gets a good base under him, and is able to hold his position. However, in the run game, he fails to generate enough power when getting out on the move to carve holes and often lets defensive backs and linebackers escape his grasp to make plays. This is a primary area he should look to improve on after the bye week and into this offseason.

Here is how the Jets are stacking up going into the bye.