Mental mistakes and Rodgers' cadence become hot topics for Jets' offense after awful performance

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Mental mistakes and Rodgers' cadence become hot topics for Jets' offense after awful performance

2024-10-01 01:20 Last Updated At：01:31

New York Jets fans had a bad case of déja vu watching the offense struggle mightily.

And it wasn't even Zach Wilson's fault. He was on the other sideline.

One game after Aaron Rodgers was in total control of an offense that moved up and down the field at will against New England, the star quarterback was banged up and frustrated against the Denver Broncos in an ugly 10-9 loss Sunday.

“That’s a really good defense, but when your defense holds them to 10, you’ve got to win that game 100% of the time,” Rodgers said after the loss. “That’s on the offense. That’s on me. Not good enough.”

The Jets (2-2) had scored three offensive touchdowns in each of their first three games. Against Denver, they couldn't find the end zone. It was similar to the issues offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett faced last season with Wilson — the Jets' onetime face of the franchise — at quarterback.

Rodgers was 24 of 42 for 225 yards and was sacked five times and hit 14 times. He limped off the field late in the game after a sack that brought back some bad memories of the four-time MVP tearing his left Achilles tendon four snaps into his Jets debut last year.

Rodgers said he was “banged up” and both legs were dealing with “stuff,” but he insisted he was OK. On Monday, coach Robert Saleh said he didn't anticipate Rodgers appearing on the team's injury report.

“It's just the standard wear and tear,” Saleh said, “getting beat up a little bit yesterday.”

But whether the 40-year-old quarterback will be able to withstand too many more of those types of games should concern the Jets — and make it a priority to get the offense humming again in a hurry.

“To be honest, it would make you sick if he were a 20-year-old quarterback,” Saleh said. “You want your quarterback feeling comfy back there and he definitely wasn't comfortable.”

Saleh credited the Broncos, whom he called “a legit top-five, top-three defense — legit top defense.”

But the loss also was a product of mental mistakes, something Saleh and his coaching staff spoke about fixing. The Jets were called for 15 penalties, 13 of which were accepted. Five were false starts by the offense, including one on left guard John Simpson on fourth-and-goal from the Broncos 1-yard line early in the second quarter. New York had to settle for a field goal instead of a potential touchdown.

The pre-snap penalties also brought into question whether Rodgers' cadence — something the quarterback has used to his advantage his entire career to confuse defenses — is an issue for his own offense.

After the game, Saleh said the Jets need to figure out "whether or not we’re good enough or ready to handle all the cadence.” He added that it hadn't been an issue during camp and the offense's operation had been smooth.

Rodgers called the five pre-snap penalties “an outlier” and suggested that while adjusting his cadence is “one way to do it,” he added: “The other way is to hold them accountable.”

Saleh clarified Monday that the Jets will “always push the envelope with cadence” and he meant the overall operation is “something that I think we can definitely get fixed.”

So, Rodgers' cadence will stay as is. The rest of the offense — and the coaching staff — needs to adjust. And quickly.

Pass defense. The Jets stymied rookie Bo Nix for much of the game, allowing him to throw for minus-7 in the first half and just 60 overall. Nix threw his first NFL touchdown pass in the third quarter, but the secondary had a mostly solid day when little else went right for New York.

Saleh and his coaching staff. When a team appears undisciplined and makes the number of mental mistakes the Jets did against the Broncos, the blame falls first on the head coach. This is a big season for Saleh, who needs to prove he can lead the franchise — with or without Rodgers as his quarterback. His team's performance Sunday was a major step back.

“We take responsibility for everything that happens on the football field,” Saleh said. “Because it’s the seat we live in.”

WR Mike Williams. He is seeing a increase in his workload after being eased in following last season's knee injury. Williams had a season-high four catches for a team-high 67 yards against Denver and appears to be developing a rapport with Rodgers, especially with opponents zeroing in on stopping Garrett Wilson.

WR Malachi Corley. The third-round pick has been a nonfactor on offense with just two snaps this season. He didn't even get on the field Sunday despite being active.

“There’s a group of receivers ahead of him, obviously, that are operating a little bit better than he is right now,” Saleh said.

Saleh said DT Leki Fotu (hamstring) has a chance of being activated from injured reserve this week. ... LB C.J. Mosley has missed two straight games with a toe injury.

96 — That's how many yards Rodgers needs to throw for to become the ninth player in NFL history with 60,000 in the regular season.

Things don't get any easier for the Jets, who travel to London to face Sam Darnold — another former face of the franchise — and the undefeated Minnesota Vikings next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Israel launches small raids against Hezbollah across the Lebanese border, official says

2024-10-01 01:22 Last Updated At：01:30

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel launched small ground raids against Hezbollah as it prepares for a larger ground operation in Lebanon, officials said Monday.

A U.S. official said Israel has informed the U.S about the raids that are underway and that Israel has not provided timing on plans for a larger operation. The U.S. has not told Israel to halt all of its operations in Lebanon and wouldn’t do so as Washington supports Israel’s right to defend itself, according to the official.

A Western official, a diplomat in Cairo whose country is directly involved in de-escalation efforts, said an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon is “imminent.” The diplomat said Israel has shared its plans with the United States and other Western allies and that the operation will “be limited.”

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. It was not clear if Israel had made a final decision on a broader operation. The Israeli military did not comment.

Hezbollah vowed Monday it was ready to keep fighting even after much of its top command, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, was recently wiped out.

Israeli strikes have killed Nasrallah and six of his top commanders and officials in the last 10 days, and have hit what the military says are thousands of militant targets across large parts of Lebanon. Over 1,000 people have been killed in the country in the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry.

Early Monday, an airstrike hit a residential building in central Beirut, wiping out one apartment, damaging others, and killing three Palestinian militants, as Israel appeared to send a clear message that no part of Lebanon is out of bounds.

Despite the heavy blow Hezbollah has suffered in recent weeks, acting leader Naim Kassem said in a televised statement that if Israel decides to launch a ground offensive, the group's fighters are ready. He said the commanders killed have already been replaced.

“Israel was not able to affect our (military) capabilities,” Kassem said in a televised statement, the first time any senior Hezbollah figure has been seen since Nasrallah was killed. “There are deputy commanders and there are replacements in case a commander is wounded in any post.”

He added that Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a stalemate in their monthlong war in 2006, anticipated “the battle could be long.”

A founding member of the militant group who had been Nasrallah’s longtime deputy, Kassem will remain in his acting position until the group’s leadership elects a replacement. The man widely expected to take over the top post is Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah who oversees Hezbollah’s political affairs.

Hezbollah has significantly increased its rocket attacks in the past week to several hundred daily, but most have been intercepted or fallen in open areas. Several people have been wounded in Israel. There have been no fatalities since two soldiers were killed near the border on Sept. 19.

But Hezbollah’s capabilities remain unclear.

As recently as two weeks ago, a strike like Monday's in central Beirut — outside of the main areas where Hezbollah operates and next to a busy transportation hub normally crowded with buses and taxis — would have been seen as a major escalation and likely followed by a long-range Hezbollah strike into Israel.

But the unspoken rules of the long-running conflict no longer seem to be in effect.

It's possible that Hezbollah is holding back to save resources for a bigger battle, including a threatened Israeli ground invasion. But the militant group might also be in disarray after Israeli intelligence apparently penetrated its highest levels.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, meeting with Israeli troops on Monday, said Israel would “use all the capabilities we have,” hinting at a ground operation. “You are part of this effort,” he added.

Some European countries began pulling their diplomats and citizens out of Lebanon on Monday. Germany, which has been calling on its citizens to leave Lebanon since October 2023, sent a military plane to evacuate diplomats’ relatives and others. Bulgaria sent a government jet to get the first group of its citizens out, with priority being given to families with children and vulnerable groups.

In the past week, Israel has frequently targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, including the massive strike on Friday that killed Nasrallah. But it had not hit locations closer to the city center.

The strike early Monday killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small, leftist faction that has not been meaningfully involved in months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has not claimed the strike but is widely assumed to have carried it out.

Also Monday, Hamas announced that its top commander in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif, was killed with his family in an airstrike on the Al-Buss refugee camp in the southern port city of Tyre. The Israeli military confirmed that it had targeted him.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sharif was an employee, and was put on administrative leave without pay in March as it investigated allegations about his political activities. Israel has accused the agency, known as UNRWA, of links to Palestinian militant groups, while the agency says it is committed to neutrality and works to prevent any such infiltration.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into northern Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into Israel sparked the war in the Palestinian territory. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies and both supported by Iran, and Hezbollah said it would continue the attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians until there was a cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel responded to the rockets with airstrikes in Lebanon, and the fighting has steadily escalated over the past year. The Lebanese government says the fighting may have displaced up to a million people, although the U.N. estimate is around 200,000.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have also been displaced. Israel has vowed to keep fighting until the attacks stop and its citizens can return to their homes.

The United States and its allies have called for a cease-fire, hoping to avoid further escalation that could draw in Iran and set off a wider war. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown little interest, as his country racks up military achievements against a longtime foe.

France, which has close ties to Lebanon, has joined the United States in calling for a cease-fire. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking during a visit to Beirut Monday, urged Israel to refrain from a ground offensive.

Barrot also called on Hezbollah to stop firing on Israel, saying the group “bears heavy responsibility in the current situation, given its choice to enter the conflict.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, speaking after meeting with Barrot, said the country is committed to an immediate cease-fire followed by the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south, in keeping with a U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war but was never fully implemented.

Hezbollah, which boasts tens of thousands of battle-hardened fighters and long-range missiles capable of hitting anywhere inside Israel, has long been seen as the most powerful militant group in the region and a key partner to Iran in both threatening and deterring Israel.

But Hezbollah has never faced an onslaught quite like this one, which began with a sophisticated attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies in mid-September that killed dozens of people and wounded around 3,000 — including many fighters but also many civilians.

This story has been updated to correct that Monday’s strike in central Beirut hit an apartment building, but it did not level it.

Melzer reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, contributed reporting.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war