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New Jersey – Clearly the Jets have their hands full in their battle for a Wildcard spot against Kansas City and Pittsburgh (and whatever team re-emerges into the hunt).
The Jets clearly need Pittsburgh too lose a game or two in the next couple of contests at Cincinnati and then home for Denver. They close against Baltimore and Cleveland.
While anything can happen in this crazy league, the Chiefs certainly look like they are in the catbird seat for a Wildcard spot with three of their last four games at home, and those contests are against San Diego, Cleveland and Oakland. Their only road game is at Baltimore.
But the Jets biggest opponent in their Wildcard hunt might be their own secondary.
Another sloppy outing for the Jets’ deep patrol in their win against the Giants, and they dodged a bullet in overtime when a wide open Odell Beckham couldn’t come down with a pass down the deep right side. They might have been all she wrote for Gang Green, but it was a little over target. They also dodged a bullet when Eli Manning threw a little behind a wide open Hakeem Nicks and he was stopped at the one, and the Giants had to settle for a field goal.
And if the Giants’ offensive line wasn’t such a disaster area, Eli could have done a lot more damage.
The $150 million spending spree on four defensive backs has not reaped the rewards expected.
Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, the two starting corners, have been wildly inconsistent and have contributed to losses. Buster Skrine has been a major disappointment. I think people got too caught up in his great speed and quickness (including me). His instincts aren’t great, and his ball tracking skills need work. Marcus Gilchrist has been serviceable, but nothing special.
A lot of wasted money here – there is no way around it. I’m sorry, I’m not in the sugar-coating business.
And I don’t want to hear about how they missed Revis against Giants. Maybe to cover Reuben Randle or Nicks, but not Odell Beckham, who the Jets struggled with.
I suspect when Revis comes back from his concussion, Todd Bowles is going to re-unite Revis and Cromartie as his starters.
That is a mistake, but there is a lot of ego and money involved here. And when an owner spends that kind of money on players, it often leads to coaches rolling with them for a long time.
Marcus Williams should start once his MCL sprain heals, but that isn’t going to happen.
I think offensively and in most other areas, the Jets have what it takes to make a run, but if they don’t get better secondary play, they might come up short. Derek Carr isn’t nearly as good as they made him look.
What was supposed to be a strength entering the year, has become a weakness.
Perhaps going to a lot of zone coverage is the answer.
And what hasn’t helped the defensive backs is the lack of a consistent pass rush.
There is no question the Jets have a talented defensive line – one of the best in football. They are great against the run, and they do put pressure on the quarterback. However, the lack of a dominant pass rusher at outside linebacker is really hurting this team. One of the reasons Denver has the NFL’s top defense is they have three of them – Von Miller, Shane Ray and DeMarcus Ware (when healthy). In the 3-4 defense, this is generally where the lion’s share of the sacks come from. Mr. Coffee might need to address this in the first round next year.
But as a defensive back and a secondary coach is how Bowles made his name. It’s got to be ticking him off seeing what is going on in his wheelhouse.
December 7, 2015
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