Bears game - 2 long drives by Bears to start the game where they scored a TD and a FG. We shut them down later and they didn't score any points after these 2 drives. Vikings game - First half, we surrendered 20 points first half but second half we only allowed them a TD. We have a Top 10 Defense in most categories and our defense is stingy later in the game. Am I crazy to be concerned about our slow start for the remainder of the season? What do you think is the reason for our slow start in defense lately?
I think the defense will have a huge game this weekend particularly since the last two weeks haven't been up to par. The Jets played down to the Bears level and played Tortoise and the Hare for the first half but, turned up the heat after the break. Not sure what the deal was with the Vikings, seems like they bought into "Minnesota has a crummy defense". The killer was that late score to push the Vikes tally to 27. No room for error this week. Beat the Bills. Playoffs or Bust. Go Jets.
Maybe they're not really a top 10 defense. Consider who they've played and the QBs they've faced. Cousins - who isn't headed for the HOF - was one the best QBs they faced and looked very effective and efficient. They did shut down Rodgers but he was missing a lot of pieces on offense, and then there was Cincy who carved them up. And while NE didn't roll over them, BB found a way to beat them. I'm not saying they're terrible, and I'm impressed with how well they've done on balance, but I think many Jets fans are over rating the "D" because we've been so starved for success for so long. They're good enough to get us to the playoffs, but I don't think they're quite at the point of being dominant enough to make up for an inconsistent offense - at least against playoff caliber teams. The good news is that for the most part they're young and they have a system that works and they believe in so they should continue to improve and get to the point of being able to shut down anyone, including the Burrows, Mahomes, et. al. To get back to your original question Brook, if the offense can jump out to a 3 score lead it will make the defense look much better.
I think our D is good enough to always keep us in the game. We might well be one speedy stud LB and safety from being top five. The thing this D is lacking and special teams for that matter,IMO is the consistent ability to win the turn over battle. Damned we missed a lot of opportunities there. This offense is structured to be efficient not explosive with come from behind miracle wins.
I don’t know if I would call the other team getting an interception in gimme field goal range, then giving up 1 total yard before the field goal constitutes a slow start. Second drive was only 5 plays before a punt.
They did very well because the Jets running game kept the defense off the field and used up clock. They haven't run as well since that game. If they want to beat the Bills again they're going to have to be able to run it well.
A lot of people on TV that I saw picking the bills to win big this week are saying it's because of that very reason. The Jets defense has definitely showed some cracks the last few weeks. Lot of people are expecting the dam to outright break this week.
