The New York Jets are hoping to have a much more productive offense this upcoming season after several upgrades to the roster. Both Brandon Marshall and Devin Smith should be crucial to the receiving game while Zac Stacy and Stevan Ridley join Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell on the ground. The Jets are hoping to run the ball much more effectively in order to take pressure off of Geno Smith in the upcoming season, but will a lack of speed hurt them in the end?
According to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York, the big factor missing from the run game is speed which is becoming a concern. The Jets have solid running backs, but they are all more downfield rushers instead of players that can break away from tackles to score. Cimini reports that the combined four running backs have just eight runs of 40+ yards in their career. According to offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, that is not a lingering issue in his mind as he aims for all four to simply be productive in their own way.
"That's not that big a deal to me," Gailey said, via ESPN.com. "I've had Emmitt (Smith), I've had (Jerome) Bettis and neither one of them are going to run 70 yards. You just adjust to what you have. You set it up to where you become an execution-oriented offense and don't rely on the big play. If you get one, great, but you don't rely on it on a consistent basis. Sometimes with certain types of people with certain types of backs, you say, 'Well, we're going to get one the next time.' Well, you may not either."
The Jets do not have a clear No.1 back. They do not even have a clear No.2 back right now. Ridley is nursing a knee injury suffered last season. Powell has been forgettable. Stacy and Ivory appear to be the only healthy contenders. That might not be enough to get the improvement from Smith the Jets are in need of. New York has plenty of roster depth at the position, but the quality is lacking.
New York could be relying on the upgrades at wide receiver to bail the quarterback out more than the run game will. Marshall and Eric Decker have both been complimentary of the quarterback's improvement while Smith has been flashing real potential on the field. They could be what helps push Smith, or they could be what causes Smith to be benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Bryce Petty.
