The clock appears to be ticking for Aaron Glenn. And that’s precisely one of the major reasons he and the New York Jets are in this mess.
After a 28-25 loss to the previously winless Miami Dolphins, the Jets sit at 2-5 and at yet another low point. Early defensive struggles against an offense that was among the NFL’s worst were an issue, as was poor play-calling at the goal line with a chance to tie the game.
But Glenn’s mismanagement of the clock and his timeouts in two-minute situations have been a recurring theme in his 24-game tenure. The most damning statistic: Glenn’s Jets have been outscored 107-6 in the final two minutes of the first half during the last two seasons.
“Well, the thing is we’re trying,” said Glenn, who explained that the Jets practice two-minute drills throughout the week. “So it’s not like we’re not trying to get that done. We’ve just got to improve in our execution. I have to improve on, on both sides, how we manufacture these things. So, I mean, it’s a process of getting these things done.
“I know it’s frustrating for the fans, I know it’s frustrating for the players. It’s frustrating for us as coaches, but we’ve just got to continue to work at it. And as long as we continue to do that, I just know that we’ll get better at it.”
That’s a tough sell to anyone who watched the Dolphins — leading 14-7 at the time — get the ball at their 9-yard line with 8:44 left in the second quarter and go on a clock-chewing, 91-yard drive that ended 15 plays and 8:38 later with a 2-yard touchdown run by Malik Willis.
And with all three timeouts still in Glenn’s pocket.
With only 6 seconds left before halftime, Geno Smith took a knee and Jets fans booed loudly as the team headed into the locker room.
Glenn said after the game he didn’t use his timeouts because he thought his defense would stop the Dolphins to give the Jets the ball back. He added that, in retrospect, he should’ve used them. Glenn reiterated Monday that the thinking was that the Dolphins could negate the Jets’ timeouts by getting first downs, and if they used all of them, Miami could run out the clock.
The Dolphins did — and got into the end zone.
“We’ve got to do a better job and I have to do better job, and I said that yesterday,” Glenn said. “And to me, I think that’s the most important part of making sure we just try to improve in those areas.”
Getting the ball to rookie Omar Cooper Jr. The first-round draft pick has thrived in his two games since returning from injured reserve. He had five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown against Miami, making him the third player in NFL history with at least five receptions, 100 yards receiving and a TD catch in two of his first three career games, joining Don Looney (1940, Philadelphia) and Bobby Johnson (1984, Giants).
“It’s a long year, so two games, you can’t just say you established yourself,” Cooper said. “I will say, I’m grateful that I was able to play two games, play healthy and I feel like me and Geno are connecting really well. I feel like we can continue to grow on that.”
Among the laundry list of items is finding ways to get No. 1 wide receiver Garrett Wilson the football more consistently. His first official target came in the third quarter and he finished with two catches for 26 yards on three targets. Wilson was noticeably frustrated during a sideline outburst that Glenn said was “overblown.”
There’s also the curious calls by offensive coordinator Frank Reich on first-and-goal at the 1 in the fourth quarter and the Jets down 21-14. Fullback/tight end Andrew Beck — who had no carries this season — lost a yard on first down. Braelon Allen lost another yard on the next play and Smith was sacked for a 12-yard loss on third down, so New York had to settle for a field goal.
TE Mason Taylor. The second-year tight end had a season-high five catches for 62 yards and his first two-touchdown game. Taylor, a second-round pick last year, also made a toe-tapping grab on a late 2-point conversion to make it a three-point game.
CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. He was a surprise healthy inactive and Glenn declined to go into details, saying he was going to “keep that in-house between me and Jarvis.” Brownlee, acquired last year from Tennessee, didn’t play at the end of New York’s loss at New England last week and was replaced as the nickel cornerback by rookie D’Angelo Ponds.
DT T’Vondre Sweat left Sunday with a knee injury. … RB Breece Hall (quadriceps) and LG Dylan Parham (knee) have missed four straight games.
5-19 — Glenn’s record as Jets coach, including 0-8 vs. AFC East opponents.
Glenn is on the hot seat and things could get worse Sunday in front of the home crowd if the Jets can’t find a way to beat Las Vegas, which is on a four-game skid.
Glenn said he knows “it’s going to get noisy,” but the Jets are blocking out the outside noise.
“Just focus on who we have in this building,” he said, “and then just improving.”
___
