That would be beyond sick... now just imagine if our offense clicked the way our defense did this year? I didn't think our D could get any better but it's clear the Rex and Mike and the other Mike apparently feel that it can get better and will do what they need to do to make it better.
Now, imagine the behemoth #77 eating up the interior of Pats OL - quite possibly 3 guys up front. Imagine, with top two WRs locked down, and the flood gate has opened for the defense. Wouldn't that be some scene to watch? Yes. I am drooling.
Consistency is the key word. We could also turn the ball over a bit more. Rhodes and Lito picked the ball off 3 times last year between the 2 of them. Pool and Cro (especially Cro) seem to be handpicked by Rex so hopefully they will fit what we are doing a bit better.
With Cromartie back there and Jenkins back in the mix, we should be able to repeat our No. 1 rating on defense. Now if they can grab a pass-rusher, that could move us to an "Elite" status. Either way, I am very optimistic for our upcoming season. The team, coach, new stadium, hard knocks, the whole organisation is really moving to the next level.
Just for clarification, you're saying last year's #1 defense, wasn't already elite? :wink: I know everyone is enamored with the idea of a pass-rushing beast in the draft, but I think people are making more out of it than they should. Sure, it would be nice to bring in a guy who can destroy QBs, but chances are, even if we do, he won't. At least not in year 1. We have a top defense. I want to bring in players during the draft that can be groomed for the future. If Jenkins is healthy all of next season people aren't going to be worrying about who we drafted on defense.
Our defense was elite in the stats, but Rex's superior coaching on that side of the ball helped mask a lot of our weaknesses. We were missing our Pro Bowl NT, we had ugly holes in the secondary, and as much as I like Pace, I'd like him a lot better on the strong side with a pure speed rusher on the blindside. You look at most elite defenses in the past decade, you see that they have the ability to apply pressure with a 4 man rush. We weren't able to do that a whole lot in 2009. That's a testament to Rex.
Last years D was great but it wasnt perfect. Our stats were nice but that doesnt mean we should just say ok D does not need any more help. Theres obvious room for improvement and if we can draft some impact players at any position you will see the difference.
oh man if jenks can stay healthy next year....mannnn if he had been health this year...gggg...this is probably gonna be the longest offseason ive had since 1998, or 2002.
As much as I love me some Jenkins, hoping that he will stay healthy for an entire season is a luxury that we aren't going to be able to afford for long. We need to find a long-tern answer at NT, and in addition having sets with a young NT lined up next to 77 in 4-down sets would be a hell of a thing to throw at opposing offenses, especially with the upgrades we're trying to do in the secondary.
If I were the Jets, I'd try and rest him as much as possible up to opening day. He's seasoned enough now to know when he's ready to go.
Jenkins just needs to lose weight. He's has injuries on both legs. His weight is going to just injure them again.
They did that last season, and he wasn't even used a fraction as much as he had been under Mangini. The ACL was a freak occurrence, but now he's going to be playing on 2 repaired ACLs. And he's a big mofo to be putting that much stress on repaired ligaments. We need to find an answer at NT.
Pouha did a good job filling in but you are correct, we are in need of our future NT. I just hope Jenkins has at least one great season still left in the tank.
So you honestly don't feel our defense was elite last year? Even with our weaknesses we were the top defense. I'd argue that it isn't the method but the result that counted last year. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we can't improve on last year (and we already have at CB, S, and NT-with Big Jenks' return.) All I'm saying is that I think it's silly to say we didn't/don't have an elite defense. How many teams' defenses would you take over the Jets' D, even without any further changes? If you can name 5 teams I'll say "Okay, maybe they're not elite" but I can't think of that many teams I'd rather have the defense of.
If you listen to Mike Pettine, he doesn't believe the defense was elite last season either. 3 part interview: http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/mul...pettine-interview-part-1-on-antonio-cromartie http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/mul...e-pettine-interview-part-2-changes-on-defense http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/mul...e-pettine-interview-part-3-keys-to-transition
I think we were average against the run last year. Through eights games, especially in regard to that debacle in Miami, I'd say we were barely average, maybe a notch below. We did well later in the season, but we also were scorched by Cedric Benson in the playoffs. We were very, very good against the pass last season, at times great. Our pass defense was definitely our strength. We came into the AFCCG with a very, very good pass defense. If we entered that game with an elite pass defense, we wouldn't have been torn to pieces by a one-dimensional offense.
I don't believe the defense was 'elite' either. Was it the best last year? Yeah, but not elite. Number 1 ranked defensed aren't elite. We are close though.
In my mind, an elite defense is able to play base sets against division competition and win. The only way we were able to really keep our opponents on their heels was by a ton of misdirection and exotic blitz schemes. Revis was the key to the defense this year. He freed up a safety on almost every down and we were able to send Leonhard, Rhodes and Smith on blitzes constantly. But only by doing that was the D able to take advantage of the opponent. Look at the truly elite defenses of the recent past - the Ravens, the Bucs, the Bears... they forced far more turnovers and got much more pressure on opponents and allowed far less chippy passing gains because they didn't have to devote 5-6 men to the offensive backfield on every given play. And conversely, look at what pathetic pressure we put on QBs this year when we rushed only 3-4 men... QBs were able to take their time and pick apart the holes in out secondary. People liked to blame Coleman and Sheppard and Lowery for being taken advantage of against passign teams, but if our front 4 (that's 4 DL in 4-3 sets and 3DL+1LB in 3-4 sets) had been able to get decent pressure on the QB during coverage sets, the Jets would have fared a lot better than their 9-7 record showed. Yes, they played well in the playoffs, but even with a rookie QB, we should have won 2 more games in my estimation in 2009 if we had a strong base personnel package. We were just too dinged up or inexperienced in Ryan's scheme or just plain untalented in enough areas on D that I can't possibly call this defense elite. The coaching on the defensive side, however, was beyond elite. And that will be our edge once Rex gets the players that he truly wants for his scheme. What teams would I take over the Jets? I know that there are a lot with more talent on the field. But none with better coaching.
