Even though the Jets have only played one preseason game, tackle Kelvin Beachum wasn't pleased with the ground game.
"We could've done a better job sustaining blocks," Beachum said of the preseason opener against the Titans. "We have to find a way to run the ball more efficiently. We threw the ball well, we got down and scored on the first drive, but we need to run the ball and maintain the ball a little bit longer. Have more sustaining drives with the run game. Three yards is cool, but we want to get five, seven, fifteen, twenty yards. We want to hit home runs in the running game and we can do that. We have the guys up front to do that."
The Jets averaged 1.8 yards on the ground Saturday, but they were without their top two backs in Matt Forte and Bilal Powell. Additionally, a pair of holding penalties negated Elijah McGuire's 11- and 14-yard rushes, which would have been the longest runs of the night.
In the Jets' first practice following Saturday's game, head coach Todd Bowles made the team run gassers following a skirmish that included Beachum and outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. When asked about it, Bowles said, "If they have energy to scuffle, they have energy to run."
"We can't have sloppy practice," Beachum said of the encounter. "We have to find a way to get in and out of the huddle, take care of plays and find a way to get things done. You just can't distract practice with nonsense like that."
The 6'3", 308-pounder said altercations like that are simply part of training camp and there were no hard feelings between the teammates. Beachum is focused on igniting the run game as only seven practices remain in JetsCamp.
"Coming off an off day, we have to come in with more focus, understand what's at hand and understand what's the urgency right now," he said. "We have a game in a couple days and the regular season is coming about. We know what's being said. We have to take care of business and come out a lot faster than we did today off the off days. This is the second one that's been a little sluggish off the get."
