Too early or not, Jets' poor start on offense begs many questions for Adam Gase

This wasn’t supposed to happen to the Jets again, not after they endured last year’s offensive disaster. This year was supposed to be immediately better. This time they had a healthy quarterback with a rebuilt offensive line in front of him.

This was when the world was going to see the best of Sam Darnold, and what all the fuss about Adam Gase, offensive genius, was really all about.

Instead …

“It was about as bad of a start offensively as we could’ve had,” Gase said, shortly after the Jets lost their season opener, 27-17 to the Bills up in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Sunday. “Complimentary football was nonexistent throughout most of the game.

“It’s disappointing.”

Yes it is, because if this is what the Gase-Darnold offense is going to look like, everything about that tandem will have to be questioned. 

Darnold looked off in this game, starting a miserable 1-for-6 and throwing for just 215 yards total despite being down three touchdowns in the first half. And the offense gained only 254 yards -- a total inflated by a short pass that Jamison Crowder turned into a 69-yard touchdown.

They were so unable to sustain drives, they held the ball for only 18 minutes and 44 seconds despite having the ball 11 times. That’s horrible.

Maybe they don’t have the weapons. Maybe their timing was just off due to all the injuries to receivers this summer.

But what if Gase or Darnold just aren’t what so many in the Jets organization are hoping they will be?

It’s way too early to pass any judgements, of course, but the stakes are really that high -- particularly for a coach who was brought in because of his offensive mind. Remember, Gase didn’t have a lot of success as a head coach in Miami, going just 23-25 in his three seasons. But the Jets believed and were convinced he was an offensive guru with a history of getting the most out of quarterbacks.

In other words, they believed he was the right man to get the most out of Darnold, who they believed would be the savior of their franchise.

And it’s just not going well so far.

“When we had opportunities to make plays, we didn’t make them,” Gase said. “We were not good in the passing game today.”

“I missed way too many throws today,” Darnold added. “We had opportunities. I just missed guys. I just flat-out missed guys. That’s on me. I’ve got to be better.”

Maybe that’s true, and if it were just one game it would be excusable. But this isn’t just a one-game problem. Darnold was generally not good in 13 games last season, throwing for 3,024 yards with 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Those numbers weren’t terrible considering he battled mononucleosis in the first half and a terrible offensive line all season long. But it wasn’t nearly good enough for a man who is probably less than a year away from a $200 million contract. It was just like his 21-for-35, 215-yard performance on Sunday: Not terrible, but the Jets rightfully expected so much more.

And there are no more excuses for Darnold, and definitely not for Gase. No, they aren’t exactly loaded with offensive weapons and it didn’t help that Le’Veon Bell was hurt and missed most of the second half. But the really good quarterbacks rise above that, and the good coaches find a way, too. The offense is Gase’s responsibility, maybe moreso than the team as a whole. It’s his well-defined area of expertise. Gregg Williams might work another miracle with the Jets’ undermanned defense, but if Gase offense is more of a pop-gun attack again, nothing Williams squeezes out of the defense will be enough.

So Gase needs to find a solution to the Jets’ offensive problems fast.

“I just think we couldn’t get into that rhythm,” said receiver Jamison Crowder. “I just felt like guys were trying to press to hard and we couldn’t get into that rhythm. Guys just weren’t on the same page.”

“I really have to go look at this,” Gase said. “The first half it felt like we were just trying to get a first down. I’ve really got to go back and look at this. Seems like a lot of things that occurred in this game that were preventable for sure.”

If they’re not, this could very quickly end up as another lost season, especially with the San Francisco 49ers coming to town next and a trip to Denver coming two weeks later. The schedule makers didn’t make this easy for the Jets. Darnold has to start playing like a franchise quarterback for them to have any chance to survive.

Gase’s most important job is to make that happen. It is the main reason why he was hired two years ago. He was supposed to be an offensive guru, who could turn Darnold into a star and make the offense a high-scoring juggernaut. He got a pass last year because of the circumstances around him.

He won’t get a pass from anyone again.