New York Jets’ New York Jets’ head coach Robert Saleh smiles as he talks to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, right, during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
At 3-3, the New York Jets know they are within striking distance of finally ending their decade-long playoff drought this season.
The only thing seemingly standing in their way happens to be themselves.
Gang Green has lost their last seven contests following their bye week – a staggering number when 55% of the teams who come off their byes usually win with the extra rest. With the Jets coming off the Week 6 bye this season with a contest against the New York Giants, the coaching staff is looking at different ways to help the overall roster get through the usual rust that they’ve been accustomed to seeing.
“I think this is the third time we’ve tried something different to see if we could kickstart ourselves coming off the bye week,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Monday. “The shame of last year, just offensively, I think we were so depleted, within the first couple of weeks after the bye week, we just couldn’t recover. The important thing is to stay healthy, keep preparing the way we prepare, keep playing the way we play, and hopefully, we end up on the right side of the result.”
Saleh saw up close and personal last season how poor play immediately following the bye week can destroy an entire season. Following a huge victory over the Bills in 2022, the Jets laid a 10-3 egg in Foxboro against the Patriots. New York was never really able to recover from that loss and it spiraled into a six-game losing streak to end the year.
Part of the reason for the late-season slide was due to a rash of injuries that plagued the entire offense as a whole. The 2023 team has already lost their starting quarterback and All-Pro caliber right tackle, but improved depth has helped…
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