Hey first & second down we have 2 of the best edge setters in football including a 6'6 285 LBer...Good luck running outside the flanks against that.Yeah we sacrifice alittle w/ the edge rush..but look what we have playing up front. Stopping the run via setting the edge should be priority #1. Take away the running game & let the DL tee off on QBs. 3rd down the Jets could go a few different ways.Bowles showed a lot of 4 man fronts on 3rd down in preseason. I thought both Reilly & Mauldin both looked good playing the 9-technique. Reilly has a good motor & can set the edge if needed..Mauldin has an intriguing knack for disrupting the pocket from the edge. He's very good at forcing the QB to step up which is a worse case scenario against our DL. Mauldin needs some work setting the edge before he starts.He wouldn't be a complete liability but it's not his strength. In this defense it has to be. This could all be thrown out the window as well. Bowles blitzes a ton...even more than Rex. That could change the OLB's role &who is there on any given play.
I also thought Mauldin was solid in the pre-season. Does he need some work? Yes. But the cap space and getting younger at the position outweighs what Babin brings to the table (dirty plays and all).
Pace is just lucky he worked with Bowles in the past. He's to Bowles what Bart Scott was to Rex Ryan. Scott was actually a damn good player when Rex brought him over so that comparison doesn't even make sense. Pace is more like Dawan Landry or Jim Leonhard. But worse. And older.
