The New York Jets, as everyone knows, are led by a head coach who guided one of their foremost rivals last season. Adam Gase didn't coach Quincy Enunwa in 2018, but that doesn't mean he lacks a keen understanding of what the receiver can do.
In item No. 6 of this piece by ESPN's Rich Cimini, Gase voiced his desire to liberate Enunwa within the structure of the Jets' offense.
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“I don't want to put him in a box,” Gase said of Enunwa. “I want him to be able to try to do as many things as he possibly can.”
The Jets' offense has been handcuffed in recent seasons — not just by opposing defenses, but by the Jets' coaches and coordinators.
Todd Bowles was a defense-first head coach who couldn't fundamentally transform the Jets on the offensive side of the ball. His 2018 offensive coordinator, Jeremy Bates, did not make the grade, a reality confirmed by a downward move in the NFL pecking order. Bates gained a job as quarterback coach with the Washington Redskins, a sign that he was not in demand as a coordinator after his 2018 season under Bowles.
Gase brought Dowell Loggains from the Miami Dolphins to New York to lead an offensive renaissance for the Jets. Gase's familiarity with the AFC East enables him to get a head start in self-scouting and making adjustments he hopes will bear fruit in the 2019 season.
Figuring out how to unlock Enunwa's talents will give Gase and Loggains a better chance of maximizing Sam Darnold's formidable arsenal of skills. Succeeding in that one project — developing Darnold to the fullest extent — is the cornerstone of the larger effort to bring the Jets back to playoff-level relevance in the AFC.