NFL

Jets plan to keep running over Bills

The Jets ran for 129 yards last week, getting a ground game going to help out rookie quarterback Geno Smith. Now, can they keep it going?

The Bills defense appears to be susceptible to the run. Through two games they are 30th in the league, allowing an average of 141.5 yards per game.

Chris Ivory ran for 52 yards on 12 carries against the Patriots last week and appears to be over the hamstring injury that cost him a lot of time in training camp.

“Chris is getting better every week,” running backs coach Anthony Lynn said. “He had a slow start to the season because he missed so much time in training camp, but he’s starting to get more and more comfortable with the offense. What we saw on tape we’re starting to see on the field now — his physical running style, yards after contact. His role is going to continue to increase.”

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Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg drew some criticism for going to Ivory just once in the fourth quarter, but that was caused by Ivory’s deficiencies in the passing game. He is not a good receiver out of the backfield, and the Jets were in passing formations for much of the fourth.
That left Ivory on the sidelines, and Bilal Powell carrying the ball.

“I play guys on how the game is going,” Lynn said. “If I see the game is becoming more of a passing/receiving game I put the right personnel in for that. That’s why Bilal was in there more in the fourth quarter. We were in our sub package more. That fits his skill set right now more than Chris’.”

The Jets ran the ball six times in the fourth quarter, half as many times as they passed. That is not an unreasonable number, especially since they had to throw as time wound down and they were trailing. Powell carried the ball four times with Ivory and Tommy Bohanon each getting one carry.

One area Smith desperately needs to improve is getting rid of the ball quickly. According to Pro Football Focus, Smith is taking an average of 3.45 seconds to throw the ball, the worst in the league. He is taking 2.6 seconds or more 74 percent of the time, also a league worst. That has led to him getting sacked nine times.

“He’s working on that now,” Mornhinweg said. “He’s working on it diligently. That is one thing. I want him to go through his progression, go through his reads, make good quick decisions and throw the ball strong with confidence, drill it and emphasize it. He’s getting more comfortable with that.”

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The Jets have never opened a season 1-2 under Rex Ryan. They were 3-0 in his first year and 2-1 the past three seasons.