First time they faced the putties, they got washed. They finally morphed, became one with the power grid and proceededto no longer get washed by the putties.
Jason was having hand to hand combat with a sword wielding flying dog.
And everytime the Rangers lost their powers they always got washed by the putties.
They had powers unmorphed.
Then what was the purpose of "morphin time"?
The reason they were chosen to be rangers in the first place is because they had qualites and traits that other teens there age didn't have. Honest, truthful, sense of justice, smart and they all had some type of martial arts background. A normal teen is getting washed by a putty. A kid who knows martial arts might hold up a better fight. There were no powers outside the suits