Everyone on the field can get the OD jelly-legs before the opening-day kickoff. Even the OC.
"It was exciting, it was fun for me to be out there," Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said Thursday when reminded that he hadn't been a playcaller since 2020 with the XFL's DC Defenders and before that from 2011-17 with the University of San Diego.
"I think everybody is going to have pregame jitters the night before. I mean, I had pregame jitters."
But Engstrand also had some decent medicine to combat any shakes and quakes he might have had in calling on the likes of QB Justin Fields, RB Breece Hall, WR Garrett Wilson and that O-line that Jets fans were eager to see shoot out of the starting blocks. So while the downside was the 34-32 loss to the Steelers, the upsides were many: 32 points, 394 yards, 182 rushing yards, four touchdown marches, 7-off-14 on third-down conversions and 3-of-4 on red-zone TD drives.
"You're disappointed — our goal is to win every single game, and we've got to put more points on the board, bottom line," he said. "We didn't win the game. But it's OK to be encouraged about what we did, you know what I mean? It was not enough Sunday, but we can be encouraged about what we put on tape, and that's OK."
The coordinator passed around some plaudits:
Fields — "I thought that Justin took what the defense gave him. ... He did a nice job playing the game and playing each individual play that way. ... His leadership showed on the field and in the huddle, which we're always looking for, which was really good, good to see."
Rookie RT Armand Membou — 'I thought he did a really nice job. It wasn't too big for him."
Hall — "Yeah, he's everything that we were hoping he was going to be, and it was exciting."
What's most exciting in anticipation of Buffalo coming to MetLife Stadium is the track record for Hall and the Bills, from last week as well as from the past few seasons.
Hall accumulated 107 rushing yards and 145 yards from scrimmage against the Steelers, creasing the Pitt defense for four runs of 12-plus yards, a 33-yard catch-and-run and 8 total first downs. Hall has eight career games of 140-plus scrimmage yards, with two coming at home against the Bills, 147 yards in 2023 and 169 last season.
Buffalo's run defense, meanwhile, was crunched by Baltimore's Derrick Henry, Lamar Johnson & Co. to the tune of 238 rushing yards at 8.2 per carry, both figures 32nd in the NFL after one week.
Engstrand politely declined to say the Jets made a statement with their much-anticipated run game motoring the way it did, nor that they would repeat that statement against their division rivals.
"What I would say is that something we've talked about throughout the spring and into training camp of what our DNA and what we want to look like on offense, I think that showed up, and that was positive for us in that first game," he said. "So we're looking to continue to develop that, continue to improve every week, and continue to put that on display."
But he knows how the roughshod Buffalo can roam, after his Detroit offense put up 42 points and 521 yards at Ford Field last December —and still lost to the Bills, 48-42.
So no predictions from the Jets OC calling his second game in the pros. Just a whole lot of respect, both for the upcoming opponent and for his new Green & White unit.
"We're off to a good start this week," he said of the practices for the Bills. "Buffalo presents different challenges, they're a well-rounded, well-coached team that's going to be a tough challenge for us.
"And," he said with no trace of the yips, "we're excited for it."
