Jets growing pains prove worth of NFL preseason slate

The way most NFL coaches treated the preseason, it would be easy to conclude it doesn’t really matter unless you’re a rookie or a free agent trying to make the team. Any player of substance hardly touched the field until the first game of the regular season.

Jets running back Le’Veon Bell and center Ryan Kalil didn’t see any preseason snaps, and their lack of activity played a part in the dismal performance of the offense in a 17-16 loss to the Bills last Sunday. A week later, Kalil is confident there will be improvement along the offensive line when the Jets play the Browns on Monday night at MetLife Stadium.

“There are still growing pains happening,” Kalil said this week. “We’re working hard and we’re working through a lot of stuff. The more we can play together, the better we’ll be. This is the kind of offense you want to be able to play fast in and we’re getting to that place. We really feel good about what we were able to clean up from last week and looking forward to getting after it on Monday.”

Kalil announced his retirement last season after 12 years with the Panthers but then signed a one-year deal with the Jets just before training camp. He spent the preseason getting acquainted with the playbook and his teammates. Along with an injury that kept Brian Winters out for most of the preseason, the offensive line didn’t work as a tandem in game action until playing the Bills.

The Jets never found a rhythm in the game, managing just 223 yards of net offense and converting just 7 of 17 third-down situations. The Jets had four possessions in the fourth quarter when any kind of score would have won the game. But they punted twice, lost another possession on downs and another on a fumble on the last play of the game. They rushed for just 68 yards, with Bell earning 60 on 17 carries.

The only scoring drive came in the third quarter, when Bell ended a nine-play, 60-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown reception from Sam Darnold.

“At times we were a little bit out of control trying to do too much and then other times playing a little bit slower than we needed to play,” Kalil said. “There were a lot of good things on tape, but nothing that we put together for complete drives except for the one. That’s just something you can’t do. That will kill you even when your defense is playing lights out and giving you plenty of opportunities like they did last week. If we want to win more games, we’re going to have to do a really good job of capitalizing, especially on turnovers.”

The Browns defense comes to MetLife looking to redeem itself after a 43-13 loss at home to the Titans — who totaled 346 yards of offense, including 123 rushing. The Titans won despite converting just 2 of 10 third downs and four quarterback sacks by Cleveland.

Defensive end Myles Garrett had two of the sacks and will be looking to put heat on Jets quarterback Trevor Siemian, who will start for the mono-ridden Darnold. The Browns’ defense also will be motivated to show off in front of their former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, now in the same role with the Jets.

“They’ve got a lot of really talented pieces,” Kalil said. “You watch film, they didn’t get the result they wanted last week given the talent they have. It just looked like at times they were out of place. But they’re a very good defense up front. You have to be great with your technique. That’s something we’ve really stressed this week.”

Kalil doesn’t think the change in quarterback should hurt the Jets. Next Man Up includes a quarterback who hasn’t made a start in two years.

“I’ve played long enough in this league and seen a number of position groups have guys go down: quarterbacks, receivers, defensive ends, All-Pros, rookies. It’s a physical game,” Kalil said. “You have to stay ready no matter what.”

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