OK, first of all, let me preface this by saying I think we're one of the top three teams in football and I'm extremely proud of my team. More than that, I'm proud of my fellow fans. The New York Jets football culture has changed. With that said, I couldn't help but notice a major weak link on our team Sunday and the past few games despite the Jets' dominance. That weak link is Bryan Thomas. Thomas had one tackle and one assist yesterday. He had two assists against the Patriots. He had one tackle and one assist against the Rams. That's six tackles in the last three games, two more than Vernon "the Ghost" Gholston has accumulated in that span. Despite the monster presence of Kris Jenkins, the resurgence of Sean Ellis and the fresh threat of Calvin Pace, Thomas hasn't had a sack in the last six games. But those are just stats. Our biggest weakness on defense is the short passing game and I think Thomas is the culprit there. The first time I noticed Thomas the entire game yesterday was when he was burned, badly, in coverage, by a FULLBACK, for a touchdown. There are no stats for that. I do not know if Vernon Gholston is ready to play. But I would like to see David Bowens replace Thomas once Harris is healthy. Teams often make the mistake of leaving well enough alone as long as the team is doing well. I think that's a losing mentality. Mangini says, "the best players play." I'd like to see him hold to that maxim by benching Bryan Thomas and turning a good defense into a great defense. Go Jets.
Have you been watching the games? Barton is all over the place and is having a career year. He single-handedly destroyed the screen against the Titans, which is something you don't see in the stats but was a big part of the win.
For what its worth barton has been solid all year. Its no secret that defending the pass isnt one of his strong points. But the guy had something like 17 tackles against the pats two weeks ago. Sounds pretty good to me...
Thomas has become a bit more invisible the past few weeks but overall he is still doing a very good job stuffing the line against the run and putting pressure on the QB. The stats aren't there but football is not a game of statistics.
I like Barton. I feel that what Barton lacks in pass defense, he makes up for in run defense. He's got pretty good size and has good gap containment. I also feel like he has done an excellent job leading the defense since Harris went down. Maybe that's a mistake in my judgmental critique of Bryan Thomas. Maybe he has excellent gap containment, and occupying blockers all game frees up the rest of the defense to make plays. I'm really not watching him close enough.
Part of the problem is the OLB's are very big for their positions, which helps in other areas but can be a detriment in pass coverage. On Barton, I thought he was leading the team in tackles.
I always believe in using their players in the role they are meant to play, and in our system that means right up on the line of scrimmage. This may leave some guys open here and there, but our corners are good enough to play man on the outside, which should free up our safeties to move up a bit... or at least Elam who always seems to fly to the guy with the ball underneath. Having the linebackers attacking the QB increases the chances that the other team will make mistakes and turn the ball over, not to mention dominating the running game, like we did against the Titans.
On attacking the Qb they were rushing at least one OLB on most passing plays, and sometimes sent two.
Thomas might not be getting the stats these past few weeks but watch him on the field and you'll see why he's still valuable. He's been doing a good job of taking on blockers and controlling the line of scrimmage which is helping Barton make all of the plays he has been making.
Barton has been excellent this year. I actually think he has been the Jets' BEST linebacker IN pass-coverage. (David Harris was actually one of the linebackers really struggling in pass-coverage)
It would be nice to see B. Thomas hustle a little bit more --- it certainly wouldnt kill him. Does he take on blockers well? -- sure. Does he hold the line of scrimmage well? -- sure. Is he getting pressure on the QB? -- I guess. Whats the bad? --- he just isnt shredding the blockers off & chasing the play hard if it gets past him or goes to the other side of the field. There's no sense of urgency.....no fire under his ass. Watch David Bowens play --- I like him......he plays angry.
Thomas also caught Chris Johnson from behind on a play that may/may not have swung momentum in the game.
I completely agree. One thing I dont think you mentioned is Calvin Pace in coverage. How can they expect our pass rusher to do back there?
Really? I must've missed that. Was it the play Elam stripped the ball? I also saw Kris Jenkins catch the fastest man at the combine from behind on another play. I also saw Kris Jenkins catch the fastest man at the combine from behind on another play. Sorry for the repetition. Just felt really good to say that twice.
yes, thomas has been somewhat invisible lately, but that may have more to do with how mangini is using him (vs earlier in the season) and how other teams are handling him. he might be seeing a few double teams on plays to his side when he never did early on. not sure though. his pass coverage on that TD to the full back was unfortunate, but really the play was running 'away' from him at a steep angle and thomas was kinda sorta close. but that goes to the point i made in the first sentence. can't sack the qb if you covering the fullback in the endzone.
