After his team committed three more turnovers in Monday night’s loss to the Miami Dolphins, Aaron Glenn is taking action to correct the problem.
Glenn was seen on Thursday with a boxing glove on his hand, trying to punch the ball out of the players’ hands after they finished their drills.
“There’s so much emphasis on this right now and I get it because it does lose you games,” the Jets head coach said. “But these things can turn instantly and I’m looking for our guys to make that same type of impact when it comes to taking the ball away. The thing is, we have to be intentional about it. It has been talked about and we are doing everything we can to improve on that. And these things come in bunches and hopefully our bunches are out the way.
“I’ve always been a coach of action. I really want to get down and dirty to show the players exactly how you want to do things. I just thought it was important for all of our coaches to be a part of it. You saw a number of coaches out there punching at the ball and the players understand the emphasis of that when you do.”
Through four weeks, the Jets have seven giveaways, which is tied for the second most in the NFL with the Vikings. In addition, the Jets rank last in the league in turnover ratio (-7). With Glenn being a former cornerback, he understands the importance of ball security and also creating fumbles, having forced six during his 15-year career.
The Jets are the only team that has not forced a takeaway this season. Following a 0-4 start, that has been a point of emphasis.
‘It is very surprising,” Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner said about the lack of takeaways. “We just gotta be more cognisant with the ball. I know we had a couple of opportunities in the Steelers game or Buffalo game or both, but it is other ways to get it.
“If it’s a run play, just searching for the ball to get punch outs. Just finding a way to get the ball. I just been a part of so many years of the ball being on the ground and I just feel like we never recover them. So whenever we get one of those, just one fumble recovery, it is going to turn all the way around in terms of takeaways.”
After he became the Jets coach, Glenn vowed to clean up the constant penalties and mistakes. But that has continued to be one of the reasons for the team’s poor start.
Following the Jets’ loss to the Dolphins, in which they also committed 13 penalties for 101 yards, Glenn ripped the team in the locker room, which was audible from the media press conference room directly next door. Six of the 13 penalties the Jets committed on Monday were pre-snap penalties on offense.
“I think there’s always a continued focus on it,” Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. “We’ve got to put them through some drills in practice. I know, daily, we go through ball security drills and so we’re going to continue to do that and we’re going to continue to harp on that, and you really have to focus on that.
“At the end we’ve got to protect that ball at all costs. So, I think we’ve got some things, like we said, that we’re going to work on and see some improvement going forward.”
ALLEN OUT UP TO 12 WEEKS
Running back Braelon Allen, who was placed on injured reserve on Thursday due to a knee injury, will be out eight to 12 weeks, according to Glenn.
Allen suffered the injury, which is reportedly an MCL injury, during a kickoff return on Monday night. He is still undecided about whether to undergo surgery on the knee or attempt to rehabilitate the injury.
“There’s two different ways he can go about it,” Glenn said. “He could actually rehab this and it will be the same time frame or he could have surgery and get it cleaned up. But the rehab time will be exactly the same.
“That will be a decision him and his agent will have to make. I’m not making that decision.”
On Wednesday, Glenn called Allen’s injury “pretty serious,” but said the second-year running back was still waiting for a second opinion. Now that the timeline has been given, Allen could possibly return by late November or early December at the earliest. If Allen is out closer to 12 weeks, he would miss the rest of the season.
One of the few bright spots during the Jets’ winless start is their rushing attack, which ranks third in the league. Without Allen, Breece Hall, Justin Fields and Isaiah Davis will all have to step up even more in Allen’s absence.
Allen was the Jets’ option in short-yardage situations. He rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Now that responsibility will fall to Davis, who has registered 27 yards on five carries.
The Jets also signed veteran running back Khalil Herbert off the Seahawks’ practice squad on Thursday. Kene Nwangwu also figures to receive some carries, but he has missed the previous three games because of a hamstring injury. Glenn said on Friday that Nwangwu would be a game-time decision.
