New York Jets: Defense should be all or nothing for Todd Bowles

Todd Bowles shouldn’t take over only part of the time on the defensive play calls for the New York Jets. He should completely take over or not.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News is reporting that New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles will take over “some of the play calling duties” from defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers.

The Jets defense struggled against the Browns after Baker Mayfield entered the game, and that seems to be the impetus of the change. That said, it’s the wrong move to have Bowles take over if it turns out to be true.

When Tyrod Taylor was in the game against the Browns, the Jets consistently got pressure. But when Mayfield entered, that changed. The game plan also changed from heavy blitzing to simply not.

According to Rich Cimini of ESPN, Jamal Adams said that they weren’t prepared for Mayfield entering the game:

"“We had to be open to knowing that Baker could come in, but we were prepared for Tyrod. When Baker came in, obviously we didn’t have a game plan for him. But hats off to him. He came in, he definitely played lights out. They gained momentum, and we just couldn’t grab it back.”"

That’s on both Bowles and Rodgers, but mostly Rodgers. He calls the plays, and they should’ve stuck with what was working until Mayfield proved that it wouldn’t work.

The defense struggled against the Browns’ hurry-up and two-minute offenses, which is what Bowles is reportedly taking over. However, that’s not the right approach. Sure, they’ve been successful, but it should be all or nothing for Bowles.

There needs to be one voice in command of the defense. It’s the specialty of Bowles. If he feels there needs to be a change, it should be full bore not just taking over the parts where the team struggles. If he feels Rodgers can’t do the job adequately enough, then he should let him go and take over all of the defensive play calling.