Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett: Everyone needs to stop pressing amid offensive woes

Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett admitted Wednesday that like the players, he too is “pressing” as the struggling offense looks to latch onto something that works.

“It’s a combination of a lot of things,” Hackett said in response to a question about whether the recent woes were a matter of needing better execution or trying something different. “We’re all pressing and it starts with me and I have to stop that.

“I think that for us – regardless of what we do, regardless of what play it is – we all have to execute better. And we have to come up with better plays, so I think it’s a combination 'cause you’re always searching when you’re not getting exactly what you want out there.”

Hackett explained that pressing for him can mean “experimenting with too many new things instead of building a foundation or trying to take too many shots or trying to get unique runs instead of just letting those guys go to work.”

One way he is attempting to address that is to fight the natural instinct of a coach to control too much and “let them go out and play and give them the looks and trust that they’re gonna execute it.”

Overall, there is room for improvement, as in terms of yards per game the Jets' offense ranks 31st overall (31st in passing and 27th in rushing) and their 14.8 points per game ranks 30th.

“We go into every game plan feeling great about what we have, the guys feel great, and unfortunately some of the things have not worked,” Hackett said. “And it’s frustrating. And we’ve talked about this now for a couple weeks and you just wanna get the guys in a rhythm cause they’ve worked so hard, everybody worked so hard.”

With inconsistent play at quarterback this season from Zach Wilson before his benching and veteran journeyman Tim Boyle in his first start in Week 12, there was hope the run game could carry more of the load for the offense. But second-year running back Breece Hall is one of the players Hackett has seen pressing as he hunts for big plays over small, tough gains.

“I think Breece is sometimes looking for a big hitter and trying to spring that down-the-field 80-yard touchdown that he’s totally capable of,” he said. “But those come within those small yardage plays first and being able to lower your pads and get downhill and get a couple of those plays. I think we just gotta get into a rhythm and get more plays.”

Hall has just 76 yards on his last 39 carries over the last three games. He also has zero runs of more than 15 yards since a 72-yard run at Denver in Week 5.

The OC’s comments echo those of head coach Robert Saleh, who said the second-year running back needs to reconnect with his “elite ability to lower the shoulder and get vertical when he needs to.”

“Breece is a special talent. We all agree when the ball is in his hands, we’re better, but there’s grimy yards that a back has to understand he has to get,” Saleh said Sunday, adding that Hall was losing the style of play that makes him special by hunting an “explosive” play.

Could this mean more carries for veteran back Dalvin Cook, who has just 11 touches for 68 yards in four games during November?

“We want to give everybody the ball,” Hackett said. “Whether it’s running the ball, we want to get everybody livened up whether it’s in the pass game or the run game, to do that we gotta get some more first downs.”

One potential boost for Boyle as he is set to make his fifth career NFL start Sunday against Atlanta is the familiar face of Aaron Rodgers who returned to practice Wednesday as he continues his rehab from an Achilles injury. Hackett said the return of the veteran QB can help Boyle with “support and confidence.”

“All of us have been together for a long time when you look at Tim and Aaron and myself, I think that’s always gonna help,” he said, referencing the trio's time together in Green Bay. “It also helps all those other guys to inspire confidence into them. So I think any time a guy like Aaron Rodgers is around it’s gonna help everyone that he surrounds himself with.”

On Rodgers, Hackett said his “superpower, I think, is not necessarily how he throws the football or how he runs an offense out there but just how he is with the team. How he approaches everyone, how he pushes everyone just with his presence.”

Hackett said he hopes to see Boyle “continually operating the huddle, operating the line of scrimmage and getting the ball out of his hands and making good decisions” Sunday against the Falcons.

“I thought he did a lot of good things [against Miami], especially once we were out there for a while,” he said. “... I thought there were a lot of things that he saw well, especially for all the dramatic looks given to him. I’m excited for him to have another opportunity."