Aaron Glenn admission over Breece Hall sums up Jets issue

New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn conceded that the team needs to do a better job of utilizing one of their best offensive weapons.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Glenn admitted that the Jets have to target Breece Hall “a lot more” in the passing game. The star running back remains an integral part of New York’s offense despite being actively shopped ahead of the NFL trade deadline earlier this month.

During the Jets’ 27-14 loss to the New England Patriots on "Thursday Night Football," Hall reeled in each of his two targets for a mere six yards — marking the fifth consecutive game he’s amassed two or less catches.

Though Glenn attributed the underwhelming output to a series of factors, he acknowledged that the Jets would be wise to get the ball in Hall’s hands more often. "That's something that we've got to get better at, and we've got to make sure we target Breece a lot more,” he said.

“A lot of the route concepts that we had were really set for certain guys to get the ball. When that guy’s not open, then we get ready to dump it off, and Breece [is] a part of that.

“But also, Breece is in protection quite a bit too. So that has a lot to do with it, too, but we have to make sure that we can build these concepts to where Breece gets the ball more in the passing game."

Hall’s usage this season is all the more peculiar given his immense impact last season. Over 16 games, the Iowa State product ranked third on the Jets with 76 targets — 57 of which he caught for 483 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

When asked if his latest lackluster performance was the result of something specific that the Patriots did, Breece replied: “Nothing that they were doing.

"I know for most defenses I’m gonna get a lot of attention. So, you know, it’s up for other guys to make plays and … today we just didn’t make enough plays as a whole.

“So we gotta get back to the drawing board and figure it out, because I feel like Justin did his thing today.

“And we gotta do a better job of making the game easier for him just like he wants to make it easy for him.”

Though many fans and pundits have slammed Jets quarterback Justin Fields for not getting the ball to Hall enough, the 24-year-old insisted that the signal-caller isn’t solely to blame. “Honestly, it was really just on us not making plays,” Hall said.

“I felt like Justin played his tail off today. He put the ball out there. We’ve just got to do a better job of making plays for him,” he said when asked about how things went after the Jets’ first opening drive TD since Week 16 of last season.

“Not every ball’s going to be perfect. Not every situation’s going to be ideal, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to still find a way to make a play. I feel like as a skill group, we’ve got to do a better job of making it easier for our O-line and quarterback.”

Super Bowl Champion Defends Embattled Bo Nix: ‘He’s Not Perfect, But He Wins’

Sometimes it’s good to listen to the guys who have been through the battles and come out the other side. Guys like former Denver Broncos safety and Super Bowl champion T.J. Ward.

Ward found himself in the vocal minority by coming to the defense of second year Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after it seemed like the whole world had turned against Nix following a 10-7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10.

The Broncos, as Ward pointed, out are 8-2 and have won 7 consecutive games with Nix leading the way, even if that path can be a bit unpredictable at times.

Nix went 16-of-28 passing for 150 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions against the Raiders.

“I like Bo, he’s not perfect,” Ward said on Gridiron: The Arena podcast on November 7. “What young quarterback is? You tell me to take a young quarterback now, there’s not too many you’re going to take over Bo … how he’s playing is more of a result of the system he’s playing in and how the NFL is now. It’s not like the pocket passers we were used to. We don’t want these guys standing in there and taking hits and getting hurt. The thing Bo does really good is he’s really good in crunch time. And we’re 8-2. How can you argue with that?”

Ward, a second round pick (No. 38 overall) in the 2010 NFL draft, played 8 seasons in the NFL for 4 teams. Ward was an NFL All-Pro in 2013 and was a 3-time Pro Bowler, as well as being a key piece on the Broncos’ defense on the way to a win in Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.

Nix Takes Fire From All Sides After Win

Nix’s up and down play in his second season is probably the only thing keeping the Broncos from being 10-0 instead of 8-2 and the worry from “experts” is that Nix might ultimately cost Denver in the playoffs and with a defense that could be one of the greatest in NFL history.

“This was Bo Nix’s third consecutive game with an interception,” former NFL quarterback and Amazon Prime football analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick said after the win over the Raiders. “He has been wild and erratic and unpredictable this season, and you can see why (Broncos head coach) Sean Payton has been so frustrated at times. He can also be incredible and do things that will wow you, but you just never know what you’re going to get.”

One Nix interception at the end of the first half was particularly frustrating to watch as he tried to force a long throw downfield to a streaking Troy Franklin — who wasn’t open and had 3 Raiders around him.

The win over the Raiders was the second consecutive game Nix failed to crack 200 passing yards.

Broncos Have Wild Schedule Coming Up

The final 7 games of the regular season for the Broncos should be a rollercoaster — which means Nix should be right at home.

They host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 — one of 2 times they’ll face the Chiefs over the final 7 games — along with home games against the Green Bay Packers (Week 15), Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 16) and Los Angeles Chargers (Week 18).