Three takeaways from Jets vs. Dolphins in Week 4
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Jets couldn’t get out of their own way in their 27-21 loss to the Dolphins on Monday night. Here are three takeaways:
1. Frustration is HIGH
No one likes losing, but it’s getting to the players who have been here and experienced this over and over. Two in particular are Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, and this is concerning.
Gardner said he feels he’s getting calls against him because the Jets are a bad team. He said he watches a lot of football and he sees guys playing more physically than him and they get away with it.
“I’m personally frustrated,” Gardner said. “I just feel like — I don’t know if this is wrong to say — I think I get called for more stuff just based on us not winning. I watch these winning programs and there can be some egregious things and it don’t get called, letting the players play … We don’t win, we don’t get the calls we should get and we get calls we probably shouldn’t get called for.”
The Jets were called for 13 penalties. They also turned the football over three times. Wilson said they talk about cleaning it up all the time and it keeps happening.
“First thing we talk about when we get in the locker room, so let's fix it next week,” Wilson said. “We don't fix it next week, that’s ridiculous. But let's fix it next week.”
Wilson also said this was “a got to have it” game. Now, it makes Sunday “an absolutely we gotta have it” against Dallas.
“At the end of the day, what do you want your legacy to be in this league?” Wilson said. “I look back on my time, and, man, we gotta go now. There's no time. We got to have it this week.”
2. So much for being disciplined
No one expected the Jets to be an instant contender, but they keep making the same mistakes and committing crushing penalties.
Aaron Glenn was adamant that he would change things and that he would make sure the Jets are a more disciplined team. He said during training camp that undisciplined teams don’t win football games. The Jets are winless because not much has changed.
“We got to figure that out,” Glenn said. “We got to figure it out. And that's the part that's disappointing, because we go through certain times where we do a hell of a job, especially with the pre-snap penalties. And then we just revert back.”
Sounds a little like “Same Old…” never mind.
3. Special teams letdown
Isaiah Williams had a rough night. He fumbled the third-quarter kickoff with the Jets down only 10-3. The Dolphins recovered and converted the turnover into a touchdown.
Then early in the fourth, Williams backed up and called for a fair catch on a ball that was going to go in the end zone. He caught it at the 3. Had he let it bounce, the Jets would have started the possession at the 20.
“One thing we've been talking about this whole week is not losing games,” Williams said. “That's the type of play that loses games.”
The score was 24-13 at the time and the Jets ended up punting.
“Those situations, we've got to be smarter,” Glenn said. “You have to be smarter. You can't allow that to put us in a situation where the offense is backed up because now it's a field position game. We can't allow it to happen to us.”
It was just one of several mistakes and poor decisions the Jets made in their latest loss.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
