As the Jets prepare to close out their home slate in Week 17 against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, HC Aaron Glenn shared that QB Brady Cook will make his third consecutive start.
"Listen, there were some things in that game -- and I think if you go back and watch the beginning of the game -- I thought he was doing a really, really good job," Glenn said of Cook's performance against New Orleans.
Cook led two scoring drives in the first half. After the Jets recovered a fumble on the opening possession, Cook orchestrated an 8-play, 26-yard drive that was capped by a 29-yard Nick Folk FG.
At the end of the first quarter, Cook had completed 5-of-6 pass attempts for 40 yards, and the game was tied, 3-3.
At halftime, the Jets trailed by 9-6. Cook, who led a 6-play, 47-yard scoring drive in the second quarter, was 8-of-12 passing for 74 yards. The rookie connected with 5 pass catchers before heading to the locker room. In the third quarter, however, the game began to slip away.
"As the game progressed, I will say this: Between Brady making some mistakes, between the protection of the O-line, between some of the concepts we had for him -- all of our hands are involved in some of the mistakes that happened in that game," Glenn said. "But, I thought he did a really good job at the beginning of the game, managing the game the right way."
Cook said Sunday of his performance: "Good moments, but not enough. Not enough points, not enough sustained drives. We are putting our defense on the field way too often."
Cook finished his second start 22-of-35 passing for 188 yards, with 1 INT and 1 fumble. He was sacked 8 times -- 6 during the second half -- in the 29-6 loss. The Jets were unable to put points on the board following the break.
"All of our hands are bloody in that instance," Glenn said of the second-half pressure the QB faced. "Brady for one -- you have to get the ball out of your hands in some of those. We have to understand where the pressure is coming from. Two, the O-line -- we have to do a better job in protection. … And thirdly, we have to do a better job with the concepts that we have, to make sure that he's allowed to get the ball out of his hands."
Cook, who stressed the need to be more efficient on first and second down, is 0-2 in his starts with the Jets. He has been intercepted 6 times in three game appearances. Glenn will look to make critical adjustments ahead of a Week 17 AFC East matchup.
"That is a collective effort in making sure that we correct that problem," Glenn said of the mistakes in New Orleans. "It's not a Brady effort, it's not an O-line effort, and it's not just a coaching effort. Everybody is involved in that."
Cook said following Sunday's loss: "This locker room is bought in, and we're going to stay in for these last two games. We're going to fight, and we're going to go back to work."
