Aaron Glenn admitted the obvious on Monday: Justin Fields took a step back in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
But the first-year Jets head coach isn’t ready to pull the plug because of one bad performance, as ugly as it may have been.
“When you look at what Justin did, the games that he played, listen, I didn’t think he was bad at all. I actually thought he did some pretty good things in those four games,” Glenn said. “In this fifth game, he took a step back and I’m with you guys 100 percent, and we can’t have that. We have to get better at that and he knows that.
“He knows that better than anyone, so I don’t think you just try to bench a player after having one true bad game, because I thought the other games he played fairly well.”
Fields only threw for 45 yards, completing 9-of-17, in the 13-11 loss to the Broncos.
The Jets wound up with minus-10 net passing yards, the worst mark in franchise history.
Fields, ranked 29th out of 33 qualified passers in Total QBR, was sacked nine times, although a good portion of that was the result of him holding the ball too long.
Despite having a capable backup in Tyrod Taylor, Glenn opted against going to him.
He believes that would’ve set a bad precedent.
“Well, I think that’s always an issue, because now you start to bring in the dynamic of, man the quarterback is always thinking, ‘Am I going to get pulled if things are not going right?’ ” Glenn said. “And, again, just like I said before, I think there were a number of things that go into that.”
Glenn felt the offensive struggles weren’t solely on Fields.
The Jets have to block better and receivers have to get open as well, the coach pointed out.
Glenn did say that Fields has to get rid of the ball quicker.
Center Josh Myers came to Fields’ support, when it came to the number of sacks and his plan in general.
“I’ve played a lot of snaps with him and he’s an amazing football player, leader, quarterback,” Myers said. “We have to do a better job around him, just speaking for the offensive line. We gotta give him time and let him get through his reads and all of that stuff. He’s going to be fine. He’s seen adversity and I think you’ll see a bounce-back performance from him.”
Right now, the Jets just need a victory.
They are the lone winless team in the league at 0-6, and fans are tired of the nonstop losing.
Glenn believes it will turn eventually.
“Obviously, everyone wants to make sure they have a winning record, but here’s the thing that wasn’t heard from the very beginning: We’re not talking about [the] Super Bowl, we’re trying to build a foundation, making sure we win consistently,” Glenn said. “To consistently win, I do know this: There has to be improvement and, to me, I saw improvement within that game. Does that mean we’re going to go on this deal of winning every one of our games? No, but I know this: It gives us a better chance to win.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
