After generating 196 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the team’s first two games, Jets running back Matt Forte has seen his production drop significantly in four straight losses -- from 65 yards to 27 to 53 to 19. He also has a career-low 3.5 yards per carry.
Those numbers prompted reporters to ask coach Todd Bowles whether Forte’s struggles are due to the fact that he’ll turn 31 in early December.
“No, I don’t,” Bowles said Friday. "[H]e can still run the ball. We knew his age when we signed him. It’s not about age in this league, it’s about production. There are a lot of older players that can play. If things are going well, you’re good on the plus side of 30. If things aren’t going well, they say you’re old on the plus side of 30. That’s just part of the business.”
Bowles sees the problem as being more basic.
“We got to open up some holes for him,” Bowles said. “It’s really simple. We have to block better. We have to call better plays and we have to execute better.”
Bowles added that Forte bears some of the responsibility for the struggles.
“Matt can break some tackles. He can run through some people and run through some arm tackles,” Bowles said. “He can do better too.”
Unless Forte is, you know, simply getting old.
