With his offense threatening franchise marks for futility, embattled New York Jets coach Adam Gase conceded Monday that it might be time to change the playcaller — meaning himself.
“For the last four years, I’ve toyed with the idea every once in a while,” said Gase, alluding to his time as a head coach. “I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever been opposed to trying something to try to change things up. I’d say everything is on the table at this point.”
Whether he actually relinquishes the duty remains to be seen. It’s important to note he didn’t volunteer the admission; it came in direct response to a question about whether he would consider an overview role as head coach. If he’s being forced to make a change, it would be the first sign from management that it’s unhappy with his performance.
1 Related
Despite an 0-5 start, and a 7-14 overall record, Gase always has received public support from the Jets’ hierarchy.
“I’m considering everything,” Gase said. “I’m just looking at everything and trying to figure out whatever can help us turn things in the right direction. I’ll be all for that.”
Gase called the plays in every game as the Miami Dolphins’ coach (2016-2018), and he was hired by the Jets last year, in large part, because of his playcalling ability. But for the second straight year, the offense is experiencing profound struggles. The Jets are ranked 32nd in scoring (15 points per game) and 28th in total yards (279 per game), averages that rank among the worst in franchise history.
If a change is made, the candidates to replace Gase as the playcaller would be offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and running backs coach Jim Bob Cooter, a former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
As if he didn’t have enough challenges, Gase also is dealing with a potential issue with running back Le’Veon Bell, who apparently was frustrated that he had only one target in Sunday’s 30-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. After the game, Bell took to twitter and liked a tweet by a media member that suggested he should be traded because Gase doesn’t use him properly.
Gase made it clear he didn’t appreciate Bell’s method of communication. “I get it in the aspect that players get frustrated when they feel like they should be targeted more, get more touches,” Gase said. “There’s a lot of guys feeling that way… I hate that that’s the route we go with all this instead of just talking about it, but it seems that’s the way guys want to do it nowadays.”
This wasn’t the first dust-up between them. In training camp, Bell was critical of Gase on Twitter after the coach removed him from an intrasquad scrimmage. That disagreement resulted in a long sit-down. Afterward, Bell called it a miscommunication, claiming they cleared the air.
Gase gave a non-answer when asked whether they’re open to trading Bell before the Oct. 29 trading deadline, saying he and general manager Joe Douglas have only talked about Sunday’s game. Gase said he’d like to give more carries to rookie La’Mical Perine, perhaps an indication they’d be willing to move Bell.
Meanwhile, there’s an uncertainty at quarterback. Sam Darnold, who sat out Sunday with a sprained right shoulder, is a question mark for Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Chances are, the team will make a decision by Wednesday on whether to start Joe Flacco again.
Jump to a matchup: LV-KC | CIN-BAL | PHI-PIT LAR-WSH | CAR-ATL | JAX-HOU ARI-NYJ | TB-CHI
Standout performer for LV-KC: Derek Carr, 347 passing yards, 3 TDs 1 INT
Derek Carr said last week he was tired of losing, so what did he do about it? He outplayed Patrick Mahomes to exorcise his Arrowhead Stadium demons, and the Raiders ended a seven-game losing streak at the Kansas City Chiefs with an upset of the defending Super Bowl champions. Carr, who entered the game having lost all six of his games at Kansas City by an average score of 29-12, engineered an efficient ball-control offense that showed just enough explosiveness to keep the Chiefs honest. — Paul Gutierrez
Next game: vs. Tampa Bay (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday in Week 7)
The aura of invincibility that once surrounded the Chiefs offense was further punctured by the Raiders, who became the third opponent in the past four weeks to give the Chiefs fits with their defense. The strategy of getting pressure without the blitz and then blanketing receivers downfield was familiar. The Chiefs will undoubtedly see similar tactics in their next game against the Bills and beyond, so they’re either going to need to protect Mahomes better or get their receivers open quicker. Otherwise, their problems won’t go away. — Adam Teicher
Next game: at Buffalo (5 p.m. ET, Monday)
Standout performer for CIN-BAL: Patrick Queen, 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 TD
The Ravens’ defense has taken over the starring role on the team. Last year, Lamar Jackson and the offense carried Baltimore to the best record in the regular season. Through five games, it’s the defense that’s setting the tone. In sacking Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow seven times, the Ravens came within a late fourth-quarter field goal of their first shutout in two years. Baltimore is limiting teams to 15.2 points per game and has also scored two defensive touchdowns this year. — Jamison Hensley
Next game: at Philadelphia (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
play
0:15
Lamar Jackson tosses the short touchdown to Hollywood Brown to pad the Ravens’ lead.
After Joe Burrow secured his first NFL win last weekend and became the first rookie to throw for 300 or more yards in three consecutive games, he didn’t look like a 23-year-old who just turned pro. That wasn’t the case Sunday, as Cincinnati mustered only 205 total yards and didn’t get inside the Ravens’ 30-yard line until the end of the game. Sunday was a sobering reminder of what it will take for Burrow to succeed in the NFL. “We just didn’t execute our plan very well,” Burrow said. “I didn’t play very well and we as an offense didn’t play very well.” — Ben Baby
Next game: at Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for LAR-WSH: Aaron Donald, 4 sacks
The Rams improved to 4-1 and after sweeping the NFC East are primed to begin division play next Sunday against the 49ers. The Rams are in second place in the NFC West behind the Seattle Seahawks, as they attempt to reclaim the division title after winning it two consecutive seasons before the 49ers claimed the division and conference last year. With Jared Goff regaining his form from two years ago when the team advanced to the Super Bowl and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald leading the league in sacks including four on Sunday, the Rams could once again be positioning themselves for deep playoff run. — Lindsey Thiry
Next game: at San Francisco (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Washington’s problems run deeper than Dwayne Haskins. The benched quarterback wasn’t showing the team what it wanted, which is why it started Kyle Allen on Sunday. But without him — and with Allen hurt in the second quarter and Alex Smith seeing his first action in almost two years — Washington managed 108 total yards. And the defense, once more, was gashed. That side of the ball was supposed to provide the backbone of the team, but instead it allows way too many big plays. Washington entered the game tied for the second most plays of 25 yards or more allowed this season with four; Sunday, they allowed five such plays. It has allowed at least 30 points each of the last four games. — John Keim
Next game: at N.Y. Giants (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for PHI-PIT: Chase Claypool, 116 total yards, 4 TDs
Chase Claypool is for real. The rookie second-round pick from Notre Dame got heaps of praise from Mike Tomlin and his teammates during training camp. And with a four-touchdown performance in the Steelers’ win against the Eagles, he showed he’s worthy of it. It’s not just impressive that Claypool became the first rookie in team history to score four touchdowns in a single game, but how he did it. The final score came on a play he’d never run from that spot. But his ability to adapt to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s audibles makes him a special talent. “We expected them to go all-out blitz,” Roethlisberger told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio after the game. “So we had a play called and they sat back in a zone and we had him in a spot and I just called a play that he never ran in that spot and obviously he knows what he is doing and I was proud of him.” — Brooke Pryor
Next game: vs. Cleveland (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
2 Related
The future of Atlanta coach Dan Quinn might be in doubt after an 0-5 start, but first-year Panthers coach Matt Rhule’s future is bright after Sunday’s victory at the Mercedes-Benz Dome. It was Carolina’s third consecutive win and forced a tie with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South. It was the result of the same things Rhule demands that led to the previous two wins: fast play, physical play and mistake-free football on both sides of the ball. With star running back Christian McCaffrey (ankle) likely to return in a couple of weeks, this team should only get better. — David Newton
Next game: vs. Chicago (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
There’s no other way to look at the Falcons’ 0-5 start then to say it’s time to make a coaching change. Dan Quinn was supposed to turn things around after back-to-back 7-9 seasons. Now the Falcons have little to no chance to make the playoffs, as no team in the Super Bowl Era has made the postseason after an 0-5 start. We’ll see how long it takes for Arthur Blank to make an official announcement on Quinn’s status, but change is inevitable. — Vaughn McClure
Next game: at Minnesota (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for ARI-NYJ: Kyler Murray, 380 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
The Cardinals bounced back from two consecutive losses with a commanding win over the Jets and career-high 380 passing yards from Kyler Murray, who had his own personal rebound from last week’s 133 passing yards. But the win was a bit overshadowed by Chandler Jones’ biceps injury, which coach Kliff Kingsbury said could be season-ending. Losing Jones would take away the Cardinals’ most effective pass-rushing weapon because, even with just one sack this season, Jones commands enough attention to draw personnel away from the other side where the likes of Devon Kennard and Haason Reddick — the likely candidate to replace Jones in the starting lineup — were able to work mostly one-on-one. — Josh Weinfuss
Next game: at Dallas (8:15 p.m. ET, Monday)
play
0:30
Kyler Murray launches a 37-yard pass to a double-covered DeAndre Hopkins, who still finds a way to hold on to the ball and score.
The Jets are 0-5 for the first time since 1996. They’ve lost every game by at least nine points. The defense has allowed at least 27 points in every game. They’ve been outscored, 161-75. We could go on, but you get the point. This is as bad as it’s ever been in a quarter century, and there’s little hope for a turnaround. — Rich Cimini
Next game: at Miami (4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for JAX-HOU: Brandin Cooks, 8 catches for 161 yards and a TD
There was a lot of excitement at NRG Stadium as the Texans got their first win of the season under interim coach Romeo Crennel. It’s clear there’s still a lot of work to be done for this 1-4 team, however. A promising start: Deshaun Watson was able to connect with wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who had his best game for the Texans. — Sarah Barshop
Next game: at Tennessee (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Just another week in which the Jaguars couldn’t put together anything resembling a complete game. The defense, minus three starters before the game and losing two others during because of injuries, managed to keep the game close into the fourth quarter but this week the offense and special teams self-destructed. Kicker Stephen Hauschka missed two field goals, James Robinson fumbled on a fourth-down play inside the 10-yard line, and Gardner Minshew lost another fumble. That’s what bad teams do, and the Jaguars, at 1-4 after their fourth consecutive loss, are definitely a bad team. — Mike DiRocco
Next game: vs. Detroit (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Standout performer for TB-CHI: Khalil Mack, 2 sacks
The Bears are tough to figure out. They have been outplayed most of the season, yet they are 4-1. Is Chicago a true contender? Time will tell, but it has positioned itself in the thick of the NFC playoff picture by virtue of Thursday’s win over Tampa. Quarterback Nick Foles was good (30-of-42, 243 yards, TD, INT), not great, proving the team needs just adequate play on offense to compliment its strong defense. — Jeff Dickerson
With few playmakers at his disposal, Bucs quarterback Tom Brady found himself on the losing end of a fourth-quarter comeback, falling to the Bears. Not only did he appear to lose track of down and distance on fourth down play (depending who you ask) on Tampa’s final drive, one of their top players on defense – defensive tackle Vita Vea – is now out for the season with broken ankle. At 3-2 with the Packers coming to town next week, the Bucs need to focus on getting Chris Godwin, Scotty Miller, Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans 100% healthy, and limiting destructive penalties that continue to plague them. — Jenna Laine
The New York Jets won’t have quarterback Sam Darnold, already ruled out for Sunday, but they will have running back Le’Veon Bell in the lineup.
Bell, who pulled his left hamstring in Week 1, was activated Saturday from injured reserve Saturday. He returned to practice this week.
The winless Jets (0-4) hope Bell can spark a struggling offense, which ranks 31st in scoring and 31st in total yards.
1 Related
It will be interesting to see how coach Adam Gase divides the work against the Arizona Cardinals (2-2). In Bell’s absence, he leaned heavily on Frank Gore, who got 49 of the 64 running back carries. The 37-year-old Gore was ineffective, rushing for only 150 yards — a 3.1 average.
“I think he can be pretty effective,” Gase said of Bell. “He did a good job of getting healthy and then staying in good shape. [He] did a good job making sure that he maintained where his weight was. … I think he feels even better now than he did when we kind of hit that first game.”
Bell didn’t show much in brief action. After predicting a career year in training camp, he carried six times for 14 yards in the season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills. He injured his hamstring late in the first half but tried to play in the third quarter, perhaps making it worse.
Afterward, Gase said he was “mad” at himself for sending Bell back in the game.
The running game has been a major disappointment. The Jets are averaging 4.1 yards per carry, but that number is deceiving because 46 yards came on a touchdown scramble by Darnold — by far their longest run of the season.
The Jets’ backfield will have an old AFC North feel to it, featuring Bell and quarterback Joe Flacco, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, respectively.
Flacco, 35, replacing the injured Darnold (sprained right shoulder), will make his Jets starting debut. He played four snaps last week after Darnold left briefly to get his shoulder examined in the locker room. It will be Flacco’s first start since last Oct. 27, when he played for the Denver Broncos.
In other moves Saturday, the Jets signed offensive lineman Jimmy Murray to the active roster and released linebacker Alec Ogletree and wide receiver Josh Malone.
The Jets also elevated quarterback Mike White and cornerback Lamar Jackson from the practice squad. White will be the backup quarterback on Sunday. They Jets did not activate linebacker Blake Cashman, defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga and wide receiver Vyncint Smith off IR. All three players were designated to return this week. That the Jets didn’t put Darnold on IR likley means they expect him back in less than three weeks.
Each week of the NFL season, we will identify fantasy football waiver-wire pickups specifically for those of you looking for streaming options in deeper formats (including IDP leagues). These are players available in a majority of ESPN Fantasy leagues, who have enticing matchups in the week ahead that may make them worthy of consideration for your lineup.
Looking to make a trade but not sure where to start? New in the ESPN App, the Trade Assistant is a matchmaking tool which assesses your team needs and depth versus every other team in your league and suggests trades for fantasy managers to either propose or dismiss.
Most Traded Player: Joe Mixon (14,070 accepted trades) Mixon is a very good player, but now is the time to exit the Mixon business. Yes, he posted a career high in fantasy points last week, but game script isn’t always going to be that favorable. In addition to his value peaking, the Bengals’ schedule profiles as pass-heavy game plans and that’s not how Mixon figures to pay the fantasy bills.
Highest Rejection Rate (among 100 most common players in trades): Alvin Kamara (97.2%) Kamara’s value is going nowhere when Michael Thomas returns and it seems that managers are wise to his stable role. His third season with 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns seems likely and his December schedule is all sorts of friendly.
Trade Success: Mike Gesicki (9.4%) Gesicki has one catch in each of the past two weeks and managers are getting antsy. Hang in there. Gesicki leads the position in air yards this season and over the past three weeks, the Dolphins (27.3 PPG) rank between the Chiefs and Falcons in scoring.
Trade Assistant with IBM Watson brought to you in partnership with ESPN
While you may notice some overlap with Field Yates’ pickup column that publishes on Mondays, an important distinction to make between that column and this one is that the options mentioned in this column are focused solely on this week’s matchup and not the players’ value for the remainder of the season.
Do you need replacement options for injured players? Or are you merely dealing with depth issues? A roundtable of fantasy analysts and NFL Nation reporters will join me to identify some choice names to consider each week.
Here are some of our favorites for Week 5:
Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers (37.6% rostered; at Falcons)
In deeper leagues, such as 12 to 14 teams, Bridgewater fits as a matchup-dependent quarterback in this week’s game versus the Falcons. Bridgewater was efficient as a thrower last week, completing 70.3% of his passes for 276 yards with two TDs in the win over Arizona. And now he gets a Falcons defense that has really struggled with alignment, assignment and communication in the secondary. Look for Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady to scheme-up Atlanta’s single-high coverages, which will create catch-and-run opportunities for Bridgewater’s targets in the route tree. -Matt Bowen, NFL writer and analyst
Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders (15.9% rostered; at Chiefs)
Eighth in QBR and second in completion rate among qualified arms this season, Carr heads into Arrowhead with real fantasy helium given the Chiefs were ceding 19.1 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks before dismantling New England’s duo of backup signal-callers on Monday night. Carr serves as a high-floor streaming option in a game that has Kansas City favored by more than a dozen points with a total of at least 56 across most books, which means Las Vegas could spend much of the game simply trying to keep pace with the Chiefs’ elite offense. Essentially, a blend of volume and efficiency aids Carr’s case as a solid streamer this Sunday. -Jim McCormick
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (29.6% rostered; at Saints)
Herbert is coming off his best game as a pro and now gets to face the worst red zone defense in the league through four weeks. He has shown no reservations about weighing down Keenan Allen with as many looks as he can handle, and without Austin Ekeler in the mix, Herbert’s rushing potential takes a mini step forward. He’s a versatile option and viable for those with Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford on bye. -Kyle Soppe, ESPN Fantasy researcher.
