Aaron Glenn was born a fighter, so it was no surprise to see the Jets' first-year head coach throwing haymakers at practice this week. Wearing a black boxing glove on his right hand, Glenn repeatedly punched at the ball as his receivers and running backs alternated reps in a ball security drill. The Jets (0-4) hope to land a victorious blow for the first time this season when they host the Cowboys (1-2-1) Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
"This thing has to be built the right way," Glenn said this week.
Small Victories in What We're Doing
The Jets lost a pair of nailbiters — Week 1 to the Steelers, 34-32, and Week 3 to the Buccaneers, 29-27. They dropped a competitive, 27-21 contest, at Miami Monday night after turning the ball over three times and committing 13 penalties for 101 yards marked off. The Jets enter Sunday's contest with a minus-7 turnover differential, and they've had some untimely penalties that cost them in September.
"You can't get away from those little detailed points that you want to be able to fix when it comes to the things we did wrong in the Miami game and then again be able to highlight the things we did well, so we can try to build on those things," Aaron Glenn said. "We have a really good opponent coming into our house that we have to do a good job getting ready to game plan against because they have a number of good players on that team that we have to watch out for."
Glenn continues to lay the groundwork for a young team that can take another step forward when it eliminates its self-inflicted wounds.
"There are a lot of small victories in what we're doing that sometimes people overlook," he said.
With QB Justin Fields returning to the lineup against the Dolphins, the Jets amassed 404 yards of total offense including 197 on the ground. Fields hit on 74% of his passes (20 of 27/226/1TD) and ripped off 81 yards on the ground including a 43-yard electrifying score.
"I thought he did a really good job, and he was really spinning the ball," Glenn said. "… And then his run ability really showed up. So when I look at these three games he actually played in, obviously the two games against Pittsburgh and Miami, that's exactly how we see our offense operating."
The Fields-led offense will match up with a Cowboys' defense that ranks 32nd (420.5 yds/g) and 31st in scoring (33 pts/g). In addition to a young offensive line that is showing immense potential with a punishing run game featuring Breece Hall and Fields, WR Garrett Wilson is playing at an elite level and rookie TE Mason Taylor, who recorded a career-high 65 yards on 5 receptions at Miami, is rapidly progressing.
"He came out here and showed us who he was early by his work ethic, by his execution in practice, by his focus," Fields said of Taylor. "He's really smart and that's always good to have as a quarterback, and like I said, he's a smooth route runner, has natural hands, and is just a playmaker at the end of the day. So, of course, glad to have him."
Glenn added: "He's getting more and more comfortable with this offense. Man, he is a true weapon for us."
Faith in the Plan
While Mason Taylor has played four NFL games, Garrett Wilson, the fourth-year star wideout who leads the AFC with 27 catches, feels like the tide is going to turn under Aaron Glenn.
"We've been building this thing," Wilson said Thursday. "It's kind of a new collection of teammates when this thing started. We've had a good amount of time together, but it's still the first quarter of the season. We're going to keep getting better. I just have faith in the plan that Coach has proposed to us. I have faith in my teammates. We're going to turn this thing turned around. We're going to get this thing rolling and when it does -- it's going to feel real good. I have all the confidence in the world in this group."
The Jets' defense will be challenged by Dallas QB Dak Prescott. Off to a torrid start, Prescott's 1,119 pass yards, 121 completions and 56 passing first downs lead the NFL. He is also hitting on 72.9% of his throws, which ranks third.
"He's a very composed quarterback," Glenn said. "He is very tough; he is an anticipatory thrower which is big for a quarterback. You saw it in the last game on some of these throws that he had, so we have to make sure coverage-wise -- we have to be in the right place at the right time because he's going to get it out of his hand and he trusts that he can make the throw. And there's not one throw in the quarterback playbook that he can't throw. To me, he's a special player and he deserves everything that he's getting."
A Tough Contest
The Jets know what they're getting into. After dropping three one-possession games early, they'll need a solid effort in all three phases to beat a banged-up Cowboys club that will always be dangerous with Dak Prescott under center.
"This is going to be a tough contest for us," Aaron Glenn said. "Dak is playing outstanding, so defensively we have to be on top of it. They have some guys on that defense that has made a lot of plays in this league. [Trevon] Diggs, for example, the corner, we have to watch him. [DaRon] Bland, the other corner, those guys are pretty tricky as far as reading the quarterback and going to get the football. So, we have to be on our Ps and Qs when it comes to that. It's going to be a hard-fought battle, but we're going to do everything we can to go out and win this game."
Against Dallas, the devil will be in the details.
"We've shown the glimpses, it's about being consistent," Garrett Wilson said.
