I'm sitting here thinking to myself.. "Is our defense a little over rated on this board?" I personally think the majority agree that we have the talent to be very good on defense, as do I, but I also believe that our defense is seriously sucking it up in the first four weeks of the season. I look at the AFC East teams "Points for Vs. Points against" (JETS 115 PF - 116 PA) and it bothers me a lot. Hell, even looking at the rest of the league's numbers (compared to the Jets) bother me. Obviously this is a collective and doesn't represent the true defensive stats, regardless, this team is allowing hella points to be put up against us. Scary. How far can we really continue at that rate? I highly doubt we are consistently able to put up 50+ points on the scoreboard, hell, I would bet we don't score that high again for a very long time. So obviously something needs to change. What do all of you feel would be some of the "Top" keys to success for this team? How does this team start holding other teams from scoring those dreaded points against our team? Will it happen or do we keep getting blown up on the scoreboard?
I think one of the top keys they must have through out the season is a good pass rush, also they must maintain their run stopping attitude.
Out of the 116 Points we allowed, 83 were allowed in the last 2 wks. 48 against Chargers, one of the best offenses in the league. 35 against AZ, all of them in second half while we gave about a 10 yard cushion on every play. 33 against Patriots and Dophins combined. We were in the top 10 before last wk. We gave huge cushion to their WRs and gave up around 500 yards, bumping it from 280+ to 340+. Im not too concerned about that as we were just protecting the lead. 3rd most fumbles forced and recovered, 5th in yards allowed per carry, 5th in rushing yards allowed, 4th in sacks, 6th in interceptions, 3rd in defensive TDs and 15 in yards allowed per game. PA may be the only bad thing, but its excusable considering the circumstances ... although we could have done better against Chargers.
To me, the first half means a TON more than the 2nd half for the Arizona game. The 2nd half was mostly garbage time on defense, though it certainly wasn't encouraging. The 1st half was the best I've seen this defense in many years. That's the potential this defense has. The defense isn't super yet: teams can dink and dunk us and move down the field, and the one elite offense we faced tore us apart. Having said that, I have all the confidence in the world that we'll have a top 10 defense come week 17.
top key to success??? Mangini once again takes over the defense from Bob Sutton. Fire Sutton, hire someone new.
Sutton is a cool scapegoat and all.. So, if only it were really that easy. Just fire Sutton and we instantly improve this season. I'm thinking highly improbable. People calling for this guys head may or may not be off base. I don't care to be honest. I personally think we can do better at DC myself, yet, that doesn't really hold any weight towards this thread. At what point does firing this guy help us this season?????????? Seriously.. I think we play to basic on Defense. It seems like Mangini/Sutton need to make a higher quality effort at these defensive adjustments mid-game. Especially in the second half, it just seems we are getting killed with this predictable routine that teams usually pick up on. Coverage seems to be an issue as well. I wouldn't place the blame everywhere on this defense but there are several players that are having no real success this season in coverage. Mostly seems like our LB's and (insert SS here). Pass rush, run stopping, and turnovers will hopefully continue to stay a consistent strength against opposing teams.
I'd say the key to a successful defence is a healthy Jenkins. The 3-4 needs his bulk in the middle for the rest of the front 7 to work from.
I'm torn as hell when it comes to our defense. It's easy to blame Sutton, but Mangini stepped in last season and then they apparently decided that it was Rob Ryan or bust in offseason 2008. Ryan didn't come free and they pissed themselves and maintained status and ran out to sign playmakers. I'm not sold on Ryan at all, but the whole situation stinks. You don't wait for your solution to come to you; you go out and find it. Mangini and Ryan are buddies, and Mangini was hired as a buddy. I don't want a network of buddies, I want a team of ferocious football addicts that care only about winning. If Mangini had correctly identifed Sutton as a weakness last season, he should have fired him and then either hired from within or targeted multiple solutions. This is all on Mangini in my mind.
Here's the Thing: In the NFL the 3 most important factors on defense that help you win games are the following: You stop the run, you pressure the QB and you create turnovers. W/ that said, Currently the jets are 4th in the NFL at stopping the run, top 10 in sacks and top 10 in takeaways.And that's w/ alot of new faces that are still gelling together. If we keep those numbers up...this defense will be top 10 overall by year's end. People forget that we just played 2 of the best passing attacks in the NFL. One against a pissed off team that we simply weren't gonna beat on the road given the circumstances, and the other that racked up all of their points/stats during garbage time when back-ups were inserted and certain players let their guard down. I'd like to see some improvements in the D's second half performance, but even w/ that, if you look closely the CS is mixing up the defensive play-calls. It isn't all deep zones..there are plenty of blitzes mixed in and the line is GETTING pressure. It just seems like we've faced some high octane offense's w/ QB's that happend to get in a rythym. When that happens in the NFL it's hard to stop. I also think that we're gonna see the CS figure out the best way to take advantage of Revis becomming a shut down corner. He's basically shutting down an entire side of the field. Team's have taken advantage of Lowery now and again..but I think the CS will figure out a way to change that. REvis gives them alot of flexibility..as does having an athletic safety like Rhodes who can man up in a pinch. I have alot of confidence in this defensive unit..and I think it will come together very soon.
Easiest way for Mangini to clamp down and tighten up the defense is to have everyone watch game film of their weakest, shittiest, most recent performances. Like the 3rd quarter of the Arizona game, for instance. Make them provide commentary on their own sloppy play... missed tackles, blown coverages, stupid penalties that gift-wrapped a ton of extra yards, let-down and laid back attitude on pass-rush, etc. This would be about the best lesson you could ever have in the consequences of letting your guard down. I'm sure this has all been thought of and gone over this week. It's the only extra time you've got throughout the year to really sit down and discuss general preoblems.
If we can somehow hang a steak around the opposing QBs neck, I think Jenkins will require a triple or quadruple team on every play and thus freeing up the rest of the defense to make plays.
if an certain defensive scheme is working, do not change it. if the jets had come out and played the same style of defense they did in the first half against the cardinals we would not all be so worried about the defense. we all saw what this defense can be in that first half. it was smothering, the cardinals didnt have rook to breath they could do nothing. with a big lead they called of the dogs and allowed the cardinals to get in a rhythm. hopefully from now on when a scheme is working it is stayed with throughout the entire game no matter what the score.
They were more aggressive in the 3rd quarter in terms of sending additional pass rushers than they were at any other point in the game. They also had a lot more d-backs on the field in the 3rd (and 4th) expecting the pass.
The biggest lesson to be learned from the Arizona game is to play 60 minutes no matter what the score. There was a serious let-down until we caught ourselves napping. Even the announcer made a wise crack like, "The Jets are saying to themselves, 'What? We have to play another half?'"
