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This was a huge problem for the Jets the last few years that nobody is talking about.
And that is setting the edge against the run.
Too many runners took the edge on the Jets the last couple of years, getting outside their ends.
A perfect example of that problem was a play against the Kansas City Chiefs, when DE Michael Clemons went inside the left tackle and RB Isiah Pacheco went off left tackle for a 48-yard TD run.
In last year’s Jets 34-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Black Friday, there was some very poor edge-setting. There was a 13-yard TD run by Raheem Mostert early fourth off right tackle that was handled very poorly in this regard.
Later in the fourth quarter, there was a 13-yard run off left tackle by Darrynton Evans, where the end on that side went inside the left tackle, and Evans took the edge.
This is unacceptable.
“If you are not going to set the edge against the run, you not going to win many games,” said ESPN analyst Matt Bowen recently, not about the Jets, but in general.
“From Pop Warner through to the NFL, this coaching point remains the same, the one player responsible for not allowing the running back outside of him is the most important player in that particular defense,” wrote John Harris, a former high school coach, who writes for the Texans website. “Over the years, the one responsibility for any outside linebacker or defensive end against the run was condensed down to three important words. Set. The. Edge.”
The best defensive end in this draft at setting the edge is probably Darius Robinson.
“A true edge-setter is Darius Robinson, the defensive lineman from Missouri,” Bowen told ESPN’s John Keim. “Extra physical at the line of scrimmage. You need that in your defense. I had heard this from every coach I’ve played for every successful coaches on the high school level. You need an edge-setter.”
Do the Jets have one?
John Franklin-Myers is built to do it, but is also inconsistent in this area.
While Jermaine Johnson improved as a player in Year Two, his edge-setting was up and down last year.
Will McDonald, a wiry 6-4, 240 pounds isn’t built for this, and one of the reasons that the Philadelphia Eagles were willing to trade Haason Reddick to the Jets, even though he had 27 sacks over the last two years, was his run defense. At 6-1, 240, he’s not built to be an edge-setting. Hell of a pass rusher, though, which will help the Jets on obvious passing downs, but if he’s on the field on running downs, teams might look to run at him.
Nobody really talks about the Jets issues setting the edge against the run in the echo chamber, but it must be fixed, if they want to take the next step as a defense.
I know it’s in fashion to beat up Bill Belichick these days, but his defense was actually good last year in New England, his last year with the Patriots.
And over the years, if you couldn’t set the edge against the run, your ass was the bench.
To play top-shelf run defense, you need to set a hard edge, and funnel the runs inside, where there is more help from interior defensive linemen and linebackers.
April 17, 2024
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