2018 New York Jets Offensive Line Stats: Week 13

The Jets collapsed against the Titans and fell 26-22, scoring only 15 points on offense and failing to find the end zone on that side of the ball. Was the offensive line at fault? Let’s take a look.

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, W10-BUF

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 blocker, 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 against Tennessee!

Some takeaways:

• I only tacked three total pressures (plus one pass deflection) on the offensive line. The Jets did get some rollouts and quick releases going for McCown, but they’ve done this all year for him and Darnold. Even when McCown did have a prolonged dropback, the front five held up pretty well.
• The Jets also ran the ball for over 150 yards on 4.8 yards per carry, and racked up more positive runs than stuffs. Isaiah Crowell and Elijah McGuire both created a lot of their own yardage, and the skill position blocking in the run game was solid. I think the running performance of the backs and the blocking contribution from Jermaine Kearse, Chris Herndon, Quincy Enunwa, and Robby Anderson deserve the most credit for the strong rushing output. The offensive line wasn’t very good when the Jets looked to run the ball between the tackles.
• I liked what I saw from Dakota Dozier in his season starting debut, filling at left guard for Spencer Long and becoming the third Jet to start in that spot this season. I did not blame him for a single pressure allowed, while crediting him with a 2:0 assist to stuff ratio in the run game.

CLIPS

Let’s take a look at new left guard starter Dakota Dozier. His previous appearances for the Jets have not been very good (or else he wouldn’t be a backup on a team with struggles up front), but at his best, he reminds me of peak James Carpenter from 2015-16. He’s a big bruiser. When he has it going, he’s a strong, head-on blocker who might not punish in the run game but can carve the needed hole. He can also be solid in pass protection, as you can see here with a little bit of help from Jonotthan Harrison.

Here’s one of Dozier’s best run blocks in the game. Nice job firing off the ball and sealing #90 DaQuan Jones out of the play.

I’d like to see more of Dozier at left guard. Perhaps he could make a convincing case to enter the conversation to start at the position next year. Upgrades in free agency will be hard to come by for the Jets, so any in-house solutions would be welcomed.

Here are the numbers for the Jets on the season.