Crisis management is a big part of every NFL head coach's job, especially the HC of the NYJ. For some reason, bad stuff happens a lot to the Jets. When the Carl Lawson injury news broke Thursday, one ex-Jet texted me: "Maybe that [Joe] Namath curse s--- is real. Geezzz."
Welcome to New York, coach Robert Saleh.
Lawson's season-ending Achilles injury is the first significant downer on Saleh's watch. He knew something bad was coming, because it always comes in the NFL. Now we will start to learn about the character of this Jets team. When Saleh talked in June about finding the team's identity, he said he wouldn't know the answer until it had to deal with adversity.
Well, they just lost their best pass-rusher. Now it's on Saleh to maintain the morale, adjust the personnel and tweak the scheme in an effort to compensate for Lawson's absence.
"I've said it before: The NFL train stops for nobody," Saleh said Saturday night after a 23-14 win against the Green Bay Packers. "If someone falls off the train ... it's another opportunity for someone to jump on the train. There are a lot of men on this football team, especially at that D-end spot, that are champing at the bit to get an opportunity -- and they got it."
Saleh has been down this road before.
As the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2020, he lost top pass-rusher Nick Bosa to a torn ACL in Week 2 (against the Jets) and several other starters throughout the course of the season, yet still managed to finish 17th in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed. He's not a big believer in blitzing, but he deviated from his philosophy by increasing the blitz rate to keep the pressure on. Look for him to repeat that plan sans Lawson. Saleh's ability to overcome last year's injury plague is one of the things that attracted the Jets.
Saleh feels awful for Lawson, saying, "You couldn't ask for a more perfect, big-money free agent. ... Despite getting paid, he still wanted more."
Welcome to New York, coach Robert Saleh.
Lawson's season-ending Achilles injury is the first significant downer on Saleh's watch. He knew something bad was coming, because it always comes in the NFL. Now we will start to learn about the character of this Jets team. When Saleh talked in June about finding the team's identity, he said he wouldn't know the answer until it had to deal with adversity.
Well, they just lost their best pass-rusher. Now it's on Saleh to maintain the morale, adjust the personnel and tweak the scheme in an effort to compensate for Lawson's absence.
"I've said it before: The NFL train stops for nobody," Saleh said Saturday night after a 23-14 win against the Green Bay Packers. "If someone falls off the train ... it's another opportunity for someone to jump on the train. There are a lot of men on this football team, especially at that D-end spot, that are champing at the bit to get an opportunity -- and they got it."
Saleh has been down this road before.
As the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2020, he lost top pass-rusher Nick Bosa to a torn ACL in Week 2 (against the Jets) and several other starters throughout the course of the season, yet still managed to finish 17th in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed. He's not a big believer in blitzing, but he deviated from his philosophy by increasing the blitz rate to keep the pressure on. Look for him to repeat that plan sans Lawson. Saleh's ability to overcome last year's injury plague is one of the things that attracted the Jets.
Saleh feels awful for Lawson, saying, "You couldn't ask for a more perfect, big-money free agent. ... Despite getting paid, he still wanted more."