Percy Harvin's Debut Ruined by New York Jets' Inept Offense
Not much went right for the New York Jets during Percy Harvin's debut.
Harvin himself was a peripheral figure on the field, as a disastrous start from Geno Smith forced Rex Ryan to change his starting quarterback. The Jets turned to Michael Vick, the 34-year-old veteran who also came in during the San Diego Chargers game this season.
While Vick was an improvement over Smith, he still proved incapable of elevating the offense around him to a respectable level.
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The Buffalo Bills emphatically beat the Jets by a score of 43-23. Harvin compiled just seven total touches for 50 yards as offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg tried to feature him in the offense in different ways. Although Harvin's production was curtailed, that was largely a result of things that were out of his control.
Smith didn't target the former Seahawk on the team's first drive. Harvin ran a slant route from the outside that was well-covered before running a bubble-screen option for Smith when the quarterback kept the ball to run it. His first two targets came on the following drive, but neither was catchable.
For the first, Harvin was motioning infield at the snap.
That pre-snap motion gave him a free release as he ran a short crossing route underneath. Harvin shifted his way through some traffic over the middle of the field before finding space underneath. Smith located him and attempted to throw him the ball, but it sailed over his head.
His second target came immediately after the first on 3rd-and-8.
Harvin lined up wide to the left of the formation. He was facing the Buffalo Bills' most talented defensive back, Stephon Gilmore, who was lying deep in off-coverage. Harvin ran a deep route down the sideline that always played into Gilmore's favor because of the technique he was in from the start of the play.
The route Harvin was running sent him to the outside of Gilmore, but the ball arrived short and to the inside. That gave the defensive back a simple catch for the turnover.
After this play, the Jets' medical staff took a look at Harvin, and he went back to the locker room. While the receiver is known for being injury-prone, he only missed one series before returning to the game with seemingly no health concerns.
The next drive Harvin was on the field for was Vick's first, which resulted in a touchdown. However, Harvin's only touch came when he returned the kickoff to the Jets 24-yard line. Once the Bills replied with a touchdown of their own, Harvin was able to get his first touch on offense for his new team.
Once again, Harvin was put in motion before the snap. This time the offense allowed him to settle at the top of the screen before snapping the ball.
Due to Harvin's ability with the ball in his hands, he's always a threat on screen plays. This kind of play is typically useful as a drive-starter, and that's what it proved to be on this occasion. Harvin had some initial space, but unblocked defensive back closed on him just one yard past the line of scrimmage.
Even though Harvin couldn't cut past the defender, he was able to drag him forward for a five-yard gain with his strength and balance.
Just like his first two targets, Harvin's second two came together. Vick immediately looked for Harvin deep down the field on 2nd-and-5. The receiver did well to get away from a double-team of defensive backs, but Vick's pass was overthrown and cost Harvin a chance at a potential big play and maybe even a touchdown.
A fumble from Vick prematurely ended that drive.
The veteran QB's inability to execute effectively wasn't causing the offense to stall completely, but it was stunting the unit's potential as a whole. Early on the next drive, Harvin ran a curl route against off-coverage and was left wide open at the first-down marker.
His quarterback located the recently acquired weapon but flung the ball over the sideline instead of giving Harvin an opportunity to take advantage of the space available. Harvin can't control the accuracy of his quarterback. He can help with adjustments and good hands, but he needs some semblance of accuracy to do that.
Three of Harvin's four rushing attempts in this game came on this drive.
The first saw Harvin line up in the backfield alongside Vick and take the ball up the middle as a traditional running back. The former Seattle Seahawks player accelerated quickly into space and aggressively finished the play to gain six yards on 2nd-and-7.
After that play, the Jets went straight back to Harvin with a pitch outside on 3rd-and-1. Harvin made a defender miss before finishing the play, moving forward aggressively for a good gain and an easy first down.
His final carry on this drive was more typical of what you'd expect from a receiver. Harvin ran an end-around that was well-defended by the Bills, but he turned it into a nine-yard gain with his athleticism. When met by a linebacker behind the line of scrimmage, Harvin accelerated around him, initially conceding ground before turning the corner.
The most noteworthy aspect of this drive wasn't Harvin's effectiveness on these carries but rather the Jets' willingness to use him in different ways.
Throughout this game, Harvin lined up in a variety of spots and did different things. He wasn't only being used as a "gadget" receiver or only lining up in the slot. He was repeatedly running routes down the field while also lining up in the backfield to have an impact on the game.
During that specific trip to the red zone, Harvin was used on a fake end-around before being given the ball on the same play. After that, he lined up in the backfield and ran a route into the end zone that was well-read by the defense.
NFL.com's Conor Orr tweeted that after the game Rex Ryan was asked if playing Harvin so much disrupted other aspects of the offense.
Ryan said, "I guess, maybe."
In the third quarter, Harvin caught a short pass before he couldn't corral a difficult pass from Vick deep down the seam when he was well-covered by a defensive back.
He wouldn't need to wait much longer for his first big play with his new team.
For his fourth carry of the game, Harvin was lined up in the backfield alongside Vick and running back Chris Ivory. Using Vick's speed to hold the defense on a read-option play, Harvin is sent running to the outside once he brushes off the attention of the edge defender.
Once Harvin got to the outside, he was able to accelerate into space by the sideline. After tiptoeing his way past the first-down marker, he extended the play down the field for 21 yards. Based on how the offense used him in this game, it should be the first of many big plays for the receiver moving forward.
Unfortunately for Harvin, that play didn't count because of a holding penalty. He followed up soon after with another 11-yard play, but that was also negated by a penalty.
Even before the Seahawks traded him to the Jets, Harvin was meeting much misfortune with his production. Against Washington alone a few weeks ago he had three touchdown plays called back because of penalties that appeared questionable at best.
In New York, he is at least being used in a more expansive way and looks set to get a greater workload. The quality of that workload may be the more important question if this game is anything to go by. So long as Harvin is healthy, he should be able to be productive, though.
This game was a reminder of his talent but also a reminder that he doesn't solve all the problems in New York—of which there are many.
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