Ground-and-Pound Should Be New York Jets' Philosophy Under Todd Bowles

Much has been written about the New York Jets' need to get competent quarterback play this season to have a chance at winning the AFC East or making the playoffs.

But if the Jets can rely on steady production from their running game, they have a puncher's chance of success in 2015—so long as that puncher's name isn't linebacker IK Enemkpali. 

It may be the last thing Jets fans want to hear right now, but a solid dose of ground-and-pound may be the best alternative until the team finds out whether it has a quarterback who can actually, well, quarterback.

On Thursday in preseason action against the Detroit Lions (the Jets lost 23-3), quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick completed two of his three pass attempts for 16 yards on one drive before his night was over. He had twice as many handoffs as pass attempts, with running back Chris Ivory picking up 25 yards on six carries (4.2 yards per attempt).

Rookie quarterback Bryce Petty showed that he's not yet ready for the spotlight in going 2-of-5 for nine yards while eating a 10-yard sack in his three drives in the first half. He finished 10-of-18 for 50 yards on the night.

Running back Bilal Powell, on the other hand? He ran the rock eight times for 35 yards (4.4 yards per carry) in the first half and had his longest carry in nearly a full calendar year.

He even gave a big assist to his quarterback at one point by helping Petty get lined up correctly. 

The Jets ran for 60 yards in the first half and passed for only 25. 

Don't go grabbing your pitchforks and forming riot brigades outside the doors of MetLife Stadium just yet. Overreacting to the preseason is a bit like panicking at the sight of a snowflake for fear of an ice age. The preseason is a microscopically small sample size compared to what we'll see from the Jets in the regular season.  

There are also some positives to being an effective running football team. Fitzpatrick is used to having a highly effective backfield from his days under Chan Gailey with the Buffalo Bills. The threat of the run will help open things up for Fitzpatrick when the veteran is under center.

That being said, he may not be under center all that often. 

Gailey has become synonymous with the spread offense and shotgun formations. If the Jets can incorporate some misdirection in their offense in the form of draw runs, they could present the threat of either a run or pass when lined up either in a single-back or shotgun formation. Running from those alignments can be difficult because of the lack of big-bodied blockers and the lack of a running head start for the ball-carrier.

Gailey's best bet is to balance out the offense, which is exactly what Todd Bowles brought him in to do. Gailey has shown an ability to do that too; in 2012, the Bills had 511 pass attempts and 442 rush attempts. 

Make no mistake—with so many pass-catching weapons in wide receivers Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Devin Smith and Jeremy Kerley, Gailey is going to want to spread out the defense and air out the ball at some point. That just may not be feasible given the quarterback situation. Fitzpatrick knows Gailey's offense and has been effective in running it in the past.

Gailey could help Fitzpatrick by making use of the two ball-carrying weapons he has in the backfield: Ivory and Powell. The two aren't exactly fits in the Jets offense, but you wouldn't be able to tell from their performance on Thursday night. 

That being said, Ivory and Powell couldn't have done it alone. 

There's one more weapon Gailey shouldn't be afraid to use: a road-grading offensive line. The Jets opened up good holes and got good push against the Detroit Lions' front seven. If that group continues to play at the level it showed on Thursday night, it would be a mistake for Gailey not to run the ball a healthy amount.

The Jets could be an explosive aerial attack at some point; they have the personnel at wide receiver to do it. The question is whether they have the quarterback to do it. Until they know the answer, a heavy dose of the running game wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.