The Leonhard factor is huge, too. I know we won without him in the playoffs, but he's so important in the secondary. Honestly, defense is not my concern right now. Even though it is the Pats and they're a top offense. I'm worried more about OUR offense.
Revis will be on Welker.....because we'll need the other CBs, 2 Safeties, 4 LBs and a prayer on Gronkowski. /apocalypse
I don't think we're going to see Wilson on Welker...I expect Revis to blanket that guy. Wilson has been playing well thus far.
I think they'll man up Revis on Branch, Cromartie on Gronk, and Wilson on Welker with zone help from the LB and Smith in the middle. Leonhard will free-roam.
I think a bigger factor than how they decide to cover the receivers is whether they can get to Brady. If we see an anemic pass rush like we have too often in the past and Brady gets 10 seconds to sit back and survey the land on every play it won't matter what kind of coverage we're playing - he will find the open guy and kill us. That said, if they actually do put Wilson on Welker and he shuts him down I'm buying a Kyle Wilson jersey :up:
Branch has been more or less invisible for two weeks. One catch (albeit a TD) during that span. I'm not sure you need the league's best corner covering him right now. Cromartie isn't physical enough for Gronk unless he has safety help. He can run with him and leap with him, but he won't be able to slow him down at the line at all. Welker would dominate Wilson at this point, I think. He's a bitch to cover in man for anyone, and is playing the best ball of his career right now. If I'm game-planning for the Jets, I would not play sandlot defense (this guy covers that guy, etc). The Jets' defense is more than good enough to just line up and take the man across from them. Maybe you move Revis around a little, but other than that, I don't think they'll make things too complicated. Play it safe a bit and throw out some zones, and try to prevent the Patriots from getting big chunks of yardage (they lead the league in 20+ yard pass plays). The more snaps you force the offense into, the more chance that someone will make a mistake or that one of your playmakers creates a game-changing play.
Calvin Johnson? No problem. Jennings, Marshall, Moss...Shut down. 5' 9", 185lb Wes Welker? Can't cover the little bastard. Just doesn't make sense.
Good luck to Kyle hes really stepped it up this year. Its nice to see the whole family decked out in Wilson jerseys filling up a whole row in our section!!! You guys must of had atleast 20 friends and family at the Jacksonville game. Im already a believer, he's worked his butt off this offseason and was the top cover corner in all of football 2 years ago. Its all coming together for him, hopefully he can snag a ball from brady this week.
Welker is such a tough guy to cover because he makes defenders miss with his 2nd and 3rd moves. Him and brady are always on the same page. The reason we shut him down in the playoffs was because we disguised our coverages, which made it near impossible for him or brady to get the correct read. I think we need to hit him at the line on every play to disrupt timing, and have someone (wilson/strickland) as a spy on every play. This way when he goes for his 2nd or 3rd cut, or the his little drag across the middle he does not have those 3-4 yards of seperation. Also we really need to clock him the first time he comes across the middle. E. Smith rung his bell in the first Quarter of the playoff game when the pats were in the redzone and it really got to his head.
Differently as in the way they've been playing D for years? Man coverage? I think it'll be a combination of both, with a lot of jamming at the line. Revision is really good at it and I would pike for him to take out Welker from the game while Wilson covers Gronkowski.
I know Smith is our starter but I feel like it might be beneficial to utilize Brodney Pool on their TE's. Smith is a solid player but he's horrible in coverage, he's way too slow to cover their constantly crossing tight ends.
agreed. Wilson will get to cover welker at least early on. If Welker manages to beat Kyle, then we will see a change. But Wilson has been so solid this year, I find it hard to believe even Welker will be able to torch him. Welker will certainly beat him, but I find it hard to believe that he can go for another 180 like he has the last two weeks... Byz, here's a thought... Revis on Gronk in the redzone. You have to like the Cro vs. Branch matchup, and Strickland can cover the non-existant Ochocinco. If the staff thinks Wilson can handle Welker's underneath routes, I would have to put Revis on a TE, at least in the redzone.
This is true...or Eric Smith covering anyone for that matter. Break out the jam and the butter knife.
The last 3-4 games the Jets have physically abused Welker. He has taken some big hits. I wouldn't imagine that will change. Look for the jets to play "junk ball" disrupt the timing etc. Lots and lots of jamming and such......... I do not think Revis will be on Welker all that much. Rehashing what Abyzmul said, BB moved Welker around so much and in so many bad spots for Revis, that it was the case of the tail wagging the dog. I do not think Rex wants to get into that losing proposition again.
Welker isn't a great matchup for Revis. The one iffy part of his game is coverage out of the slot. It's much tougher for him to get physical on a quick inside slant.
Agreed, I don't understand why corners don't jam welker at the line more often. His whole game is about timing. If you play physical with him at the line and disrupt the timing patterns, his effectiveness drops tremendously.
This seems like the most likely scenario. I'm not sure what I hate more, that Belichick specifically designed an offense to limit Revis, or that it's actually an effective approach. Of course, he didn't count on the rest of the team stepping up so well in January.
Don't think for a moment that corners haven't tried to play physical with him at the line. The much better suggestion was the one about shadowing him with Eric Smith to give him a pop after the catch.
