Aaron Glenn’s praise of Frank Reich invites scrutiny

After the Jets’ Week 6 loss to the Patriots, offensive coordinator Frank Reich has been a target of fan and media criticism for his playcalling.

Head coach Aaron Glenn said positive things about Reich’s performance to the media on Wednesday.

Asked if the offensive struggles might prompt him to get more involved in helping Frank Reich, Aaron Glenn said he’s always collaborating with his coordinators on ways to improve. He also said we should “acknowledge” some of the positives on offense. He mentioned their explosive plays on play-action (six pass plays of 20+ yards, T-9th) and an improved run game (12th in rushing over last two weeks). #Jets

Glenn noting explosive plays off play action in combination with the run game is interesting to me. Many offensive coordinators effectively build their deep passing game off their run game and play action.

And according to the advanced stats at Pro Football Reference, the Jets have the fourth best average per passing attempt off play action in the league through the season’s first six weeks.

However, only 22% of Jets passes come off play action per PFR, which is 21st highest in the league.

What stands out to me is how often the Jets offense stalls on drives after a series of consecutive runs. This began in Week 1 when the Jets were forced to settle for a field goal after a 19 play drive. Against New England, the Jets had three first half drives stall out after a series four consecutive rushes. There has been a pattern of running effectively and then eventually getting stopped instead of building to deep shots off play action.

I understand the argument that the Jets’ efficiency on play action might be aided by how infrequently they use it. It might catch opponents by surprise to a degree.

Still, it’s notable to hear Glenn cite play action performance to defend his play caller, when there is some evidence that Reich isn’t leaning into it enough.