NFL
Former New York Jets Player Turned Analyst Rips Head Coach Robert Saleh
There has been a lot of ugly football played by the New York Jets in recent years. But, their performance in Week 4 against the Denver Broncos might take the cake as the worst.
Everything was seemingly in the Jets’ favor heading into the game.
They were riding positive momentum, picking up two straight victories over the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots. The victory over the Patriots came on Thursday Night Football in Week 3, meaning they had extra time to rest and prepare for the Broncos.
New York had the added advantage of not dealing with Hurricane Helene. Because Denver played on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, they opted to stay at Greenbriar Resort in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia.
However, the weather impacted their practice schedule, forcing them inside to tennis courts. The travel itinerary to New Jersey was also changed.
What transpired on Sunday in a rain-soaked MetLife Stadium was a terrible display of football. Despite all of the advantages they had going into the game, the Jets suffered an embarrassing 10-9 loss.
There was a lot of blame to go around, but head coach Robert Saleh deserves a lot of it. He was the main target for former New York offensive lineman Damien Woody, who is now an ESPN analyst.
During a segment on Get Up on Monday morning, he ripped into Saleh, placing the blame solely on his shoulders.
“What the hell is going on Robert [Saleh]? … This team looks sloppy. … It’s unacceptable. It’s a bad freaking loss and I put that strictly on the head coach,” Woody said on air.
13 penalties were committed by New York in the game, with five of them coming pre-snap and 10 being on the offense. That kind of sloppiness and lack of preparedness falls on the coaching staff not having the players ready to perform.
Woody also called out the personnel decisions when the team approached the end zone. For whatever reason, Saleh and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett kept stellar rookie running back Braelon Allen, who is listed at 6’1” and 235 pounds, on the sideline.
The cadence that Aaron Rodgers uses offensively is something Saleh mentioned as a reason for struggles, but Woody isn’t buying that. It is a weapon for the team that they need to take advantage of, not scale back.
It was an emotional tirade by a former player who hates to see how much his team his struggling. A bad loss could quickly snowball as things aren’t getting any easier with New York set to head across the pond and face the Minnesota Vikings in England in Week 5.