Latest news with #passing game
Fox News
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Jets QB Justin Fields on Their Passing Game: 'We're Fine With 8-Yard Completions'
The New York Jets' passing game has been short on long passes this summer. The lack of deep throws has some fans anxious, wondering if Justin Fields and the offense will be able to stretch the field against opponents this season when needed. Well, relying on the run and mixing in short passes might be an effective alternative. "I mean, yeah, we're fine with taking 8-yard completions every play, if I'm being honest with you," Fields said Tuesday before practice. Fields and the starters on offense played just two series in the Jets' 31-12 preseason loss to the Giants last Saturday night — and it was hardly an eye-popping display through the air. Fields, signed to a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason to replace Aaron Rodgers as the Jets' starting quarterback, went just 1-for-5 passing for 4 yards. Meanwhile, New York ran the ball 13 times for 55 yards — with Fields getting 5 yards on his lone run, which was originally called a pass play. Boring, sure. And coach Aaron Glenn said the offense, in general, wasn't good enough. But Fields insists there's a method to methodically testing teams on the ground. "Of course, you want explosives, but like I said Saturday, we're not going to force the ball down the field," Fields said. "If they want to get depth on the second level, we're fine with taking the 8-, 10-yard completion and taking time off the clock and just driving down the field and having 10-, 15-play drives. It gets the defense tired." One of the Jets' strengths is their running game with the trio of Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis in the backfield. They've all looked solid throughout training camp and the two preseason games, although Davis sat out against the Giants with an ankle issue. The ground-and-pound approach was on full display Saturday night, when the Jets opened their second possession by running on 10 straight plays before an incompletion by Fields on third-and-2 to Garrett Wilson. The 11-play drive was capped by a 38-yard field goal by Nick Folk. "It might not be as exciting on the offensive side of the ball for the fans," Fields said. "Like I said, it's efficient ball. It's also getting the defense tired and, you know, just driving down the field like that." Left guard John Simpson welcomes it, saying he and his fellow offensive linemen light up a little more when they know it's going to be a run play. "The identity of this team is physicality," Simpson said. "No matter what play it is — run, pass, whatever — I think coach does a good job at telling us that that's what he wants. He wants it to be, whatever it is, to be physical. "And if that means we've got to run the ball 12 times, 15 times in a row, that's what it is, so I'm ready for it." Just as he was Saturday night when he and his O-linemates heard the play calls for almost the entire second series. "Let's go, yeah, I love it," Simpson said with a laugh. "I just want to be as physical as I can and just dominate. It don't really matter to me what the play is, but when I do hear a run call, I do get a little bit excited." Fields would also appear to be a fine fit for a run-first system in new coordinator Tanner Engstrand's offense. He has terrific scrambling ability, with a knack for turning what seems to be a broken play into a positive with his legs. In his second NFL season with Chicago in 2022, Fields ran for a career-best 1,143 yards and eight scores. Simpson is used to playing with a quarterback who can run, having been teammates with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore during the 2023 season. "It's kind of not too different for me," Simpson said. "At the end of the day, it's just football. He'll find an open hole if he's got to get loose and run. It's just us five (O-linemen) doing our job, protecting. And then if he's got to get loose, he'll get loose." Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fields on Jets' passing game: 'We're fine with 8-yard completions' and tiring defenses with runs
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets' passing game has been short on long passes this summer. The lack of deep throws has some fans anxious, wondering if Justin Fields and the offense will be able to stretch the field against opponents this season when needed. Well, relying on the run and mixing in short passes might be an effective alternative. 'I mean, yeah, we're fine with taking 8-yard completions every play, if I'm being honest with you,' Fields said Tuesday before practice. Fields and the starters on offense played just two series in the Jets' 31-12 preseason loss to the Giants last Saturday night — and it was hardly an eye-popping display through the air. Fields, signed to a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason to replace Aaron Rodgers as the Jets' starting quarterback, went just 1-for-5 passing for 4 yards. Meanwhile, New York ran the ball 13 times for 55 yards — with Fields getting 5 yards on his lone run, which was originally called a pass play. Boring, sure. And coach Aaron Glenn said the offense, in general, wasn't good enough. But Fields insists there's a method to methodically testing teams on the ground. 'Of course you want explosives, but like I said Saturday, we're not going to force the ball down the field,' Fields said. 'If they want to get depth on the second level, we're fine with taking the 8-, 10-yard completion and taking time off the clock and just driving down the field and having 10-, 15-play drives. It gets the defense tired.' One of the Jets' strengths is their running game with the trio of Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis in the backfield. They've all looked solid throughout training camp and the two preseason games, although Davis sat out against the Giants with an ankle issue. The ground-and-pound approach was on full display Saturday night, when the Jets opened their second possession by running on 10 straight plays before an incompletion by Fields on third-and-2 to Garrett Wilson. The 11-play drive was capped by a 38-yard field goal by Nick Folk. 'It might not be as exciting on the offensive side of the ball for the fans,' Fields said. 'Like I said, it's efficient ball. It's also getting the defense tired and, you know, just driving down the field like that.' Left guard John Simpson welcomes it, saying he and his fellow offensive linemen light up a little more when they know it's going to be a run play. 'The identity of this team is physicality,' Simpson said. "No matter what play it is — run, pass, whatever — I think coach does a good job at telling us that that's what he wants. He wants it to be, whatever it is, to be physical. 'And if that means we've got to run the ball 12 times, 15 times in a row, that's what it is, so I'm ready for it.' Just as he was Saturday night when he and his O-linemates heard the play calls for almost the entire second series. 'Let's go, yeah, I love it,' Simpson said with a laugh. 'I just want to be as physical as I can and just dominate. It don't really matter to me what the play is, but when I do hear a run call, I do get a little bit excited.' Fields would also appear to be a fine fit for a run-first system in new coordinator Tanner Engstrand's offense. He has terrific scrambling ability, with a knack for turning what seems to be a broken play into a positive with his legs. In his second NFL season with Chicago in 2022, Fields ran for a career-best 1,143 yards and eight scores. Simpson is used to playing with a quarterback who can run, having been teammates with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore during the 2023 season. 'It's kind of not too different for me,' Simpson said. 'At the end of the day, it's just football. He'll find an open hole if he's got to get loose and run. It's just us five (O-linemen) doing our job, protecting. And then if he's got to get loose, he'll get loose.' ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Fields on Jets' passing game: 'We're fine with 8-yard completions' and tiring defenses with runs
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets' passing game has been short on long passes this summer. The lack of deep throws has some fans anxious, wondering if Justin Fields and the offense will be able to stretch the field against opponents this season when needed. Well, relying on the run and mixing in short passes might be an effective alternative. 'I mean, yeah, we're fine with taking 8-yard completions every play, if I'm being honest with you,' Fields said Tuesday before practice. Fields and the starters on offense played just two series in the Jets' 31-12 preseason loss to the Giants last Saturday night — and it was hardly an eye-popping display through the air. Fields, signed to a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason to replace Aaron Rodgers as the Jets' starting quarterback, went just 1-for-5 passing for 4 yards. Meanwhile, New York ran the ball 13 times for 55 yards — with Fields getting 5 yards on his lone run, which was originally called a pass play. Boring, sure. And coach Aaron Glenn said the offense, in general, wasn't good enough. But Fields insists there's a method to methodically testing teams on the ground. 'Of course you want explosives, but like I said Saturday, we're not going to force the ball down the field,' Fields said. 'If they want to get depth on the second level, we're fine with taking the 8-, 10-yard completion and taking time off the clock and just driving down the field and having 10-, 15-play drives. It gets the defense tired.' One of the Jets' strengths is their running game with the trio of Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis in the backfield. They've all looked solid throughout training camp and the two preseason games, although Davis sat out against the Giants with an ankle issue. The ground-and-pound approach was on full display Saturday night, when the Jets opened their second possession by running on 10 straight plays before an incompletion by Fields on third-and-2 to Garrett Wilson. The 11-play drive was capped by a 38-yard field goal by Nick Folk. 'It might not be as exciting on the offensive side of the ball for the fans,' Fields said. 'Like I said, it's efficient ball. It's also getting the defense tired and, you know, just driving down the field like that.' Left guard John Simpson welcomes it, saying he and his fellow offensive linemen light up a little more when they know it's going to be a run play. 'The identity of this team is physicality,' Simpson said. 'No matter what play it is — run, pass, whatever — I think coach does a good job at telling us that that's what he wants. He wants it to be, whatever it is, to be physical. 'And if that means we've got to run the ball 12 times, 15 times in a row, that's what it is, so I'm ready for it.' Just as he was Saturday night when he and his O-linemates heard the play calls for almost the entire second series. 'Let's go, yeah, I love it,' Simpson said with a laugh. 'I just want to be as physical as I can and just dominate. It don't really matter to me what the play is, but when I do hear a run call, I do get a little bit excited.' Fields would also appear to be a fine fit for a run-first system in new coordinator Tanner Engstrand's offense. He has terrific scrambling ability, with a knack for turning what seems to be a broken play into a positive with his legs. In his second NFL season with Chicago in 2022, Fields ran for a career-best 1,143 yards and eight scores. Simpson is used to playing with a quarterback who can run, having been teammates with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore during the 2023 season. 'It's kind of not too different for me,' Simpson said. 'At the end of the day, it's just football. He'll find an open hole if he's got to get loose and run. It's just us five (O-linemen) doing our job, protecting. And then if he's got to get loose, he'll get loose.' ___ AP NFL:
Washington Post
a day ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Fields on Jets' passing game: 'We're fine with 8-yard completions' and tiring defenses with runs
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets' passing game has been short on long passes this summer. The lack of deep throws has some fans anxious, wondering if Justin Fields and the offense will be able to stretch the field against opponents this season when needed. Well, relying on the run and mixing in short passes might be an effective alternative.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
John Mateer shares excitement about playing with Deion Burks
The wide receiver position has not seen a lot of its way in the last year and a half at the University of Oklahoma. Heading into 2024, it was arguably the deepest position on the roster. However, injuries decimated the wide receiver room, and it led to an offense that struggled week in and week out to find any consistency in the passing game. Deion Burks made it four games before getting injured against the Tennessee Volunteers. In his first three games of the season, Burks recorded 22 receptions for 169 yards and three touchdowns. But the injury in the Tennessee loss kept him out until the second-to-last game of the season against Missouri. In the loss to the Tigers, Burks suffered a concussion that would keep him out of the LSU game to close out the season and the Sooners held him out of the Armed Forces Bowl loss to Navy. But in limited time, Burks showed off the ability to get open, especially in the red zone. His speed will create problems for defenses. He has a chance to be a problem in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle's system this season. The Oklahoma Sooners need a healthy Deion Burks to have a resurgent season. He was one of the more sought-after players in the 2024 transfer portal and had a huge spring game last year. Now, it's time for that potential to come to fruition. At SEC media days, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer spoke about where Burks is at ahead of the 2025 season. "I'm super proud of Deion," Mateer said. "He had a rough year last year, on and off the field. But he's super promising. He cares a lot about football and he cares a lot about the Sooners." Though he didn't have the production he would have liked last year, Burks had the opportunity to go off to the NFL, or even leave in the transfer portal like Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Jalil Farroq, J.J. Hester, or Brenen Thompson did. But Burks opted to return to the Sooners for the 2025 season. But Burks is now a leader for a completely remade wide receiver group. The Sooners will need his veteran presence as they welcomed seven new wide receivers this offseason and had four true freshmen returning from the 2024 season. Burks is the veteran presence in the group. The talent is there. The attitude and the effort are there. He just needs to stay healthy to realize the potential that could put Burks among the top wide receivers selected in the 2026 NFL draft. "I'm super happy for him and proud of him, just where he's came with his body and his mind," Mateer continued. "He knows the game of football a lot better this year than he did last year. Super proud of him. I'm real excited to play with him." The Sooners are hoping for two of their wide receivers, Javonnie Gibson and Jayden Gibson, to return for the start of the 2025 season. But it's Burks who has the biggest opportunity to thrive in Arbuckle's spread-out passing attack. His quickness, speed, and ability to create after the catch will be a problem against the SEC. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams. This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma QB John Mateer excited about playing with WR Deion Burks
