Robert Saleh content with Mike LaFleur’s play-calling in Week 2 loss to Patriots

Mike LaFleur’s first two games as an offensive coordinator haven’t gone smoothly.

The Jets are 0-2 and the offense ranks 25th in yards, 30th in points and tied for first in turnovers. Gang Green didn’t find the end zone in the team’s 25-6 Week 2 loss to the Patriots.

Despite the minimal output, Robert Saleh refused to criticize his offensive coordinator and even called LaFleur’s playcalling against New England “gold.”

“When you go back and look at the way Mike called the game, he did a really nice job. He really did,” Saleh said Monday. “Mike stuck to the run, he gave [Zach Wilson] some easy completions and we moved the ball. We just gotta get it into the endzone.”

Saleh noted that the Jets only dropped back twice and the run game finished with 152 yards. While those are both positive, the Jets still didn’t score touchdowns and Wilson threw four drive-killing interceptions. While that’s not necessarily on LaFleur, he still needs to resolve the issues that plagued the offense in Week 2.

There was a discussion this summer about where LaFleur would call plays. He could watch the game from above in the booth or down on the sideline. LaFleur elected the sideline so he could be close to Wilson, which Saleh said Wilson prefers. If that’s the case, then LaFleur needs to utilize his presence to make sure Wilson executes the gameplan properly. That means telling the quarterback to check down more and avoid unnecessary throws that turn into interceptions.

That didn’t happen against the Patriots. Wilson forced passes downfield and his four interceptions were all on poorly thrown balls. So even if LaFleur called a great game that included short-yardage attempts and running the ball, the players failed to use that strategy to build long drives that end in points. Regardless of playcalling, that’s on LaFleur to clean up as the season continues.