New York Jets: Three reasons why Jeremy Bates cannot call plays

First Play of 2018

The opening game turned into one that was a highlight of the early season for the Jets and their fans. They took down the Lions by the score of 48-17 and Sam Darnold was simply terrific.

However, the opening play of the night for the Jets? That didn’t go so well. For anyone who forgot, it was a pick six.

Take a look at it one more time to remind yourselves. (Watch)

Obviously making a throw across your body is a no-no and Darnold hasn’t done that since. But the play call was simply horrible. It was one of the more ill-conceived ideas at the beginning of a game that I have seen.

First of all, he runs a play action on the first play. Why? You have to make the defense concerned about the run before a fake run is going to work. Hello! Why would the defense worry about the run if they haven’t been run on yet?

If you pause the video at ten seconds, you will notice that nobody took the bait. Everyone has their eyes on Darnold. Why would they? The Jets hadn’t run a play yet. No reason to take the bait.

With everyone watching the quarterback’s eyes, they had no problem breaking on the ball and making the interception. Bates cannot expect Darnold to have the patience to throw the ball away on his first play as a pro.

Just so silly.