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The Jets got some bad news on the injury front on Friday when they were forced to list defensive tackle Leki Fotu as “doubtful” with a hamstring injury.
Fotu told Jets Confidential on Thursday when asked if he was on pace to return on Sunday: “We will know more about practices.”
Clearly the hamstring didn’t respond well to the practice or the London flight because he was “limited” in practice on Friday after being listed as “full” in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
This is really bad news for the Jets.
Their run defense up the middle was a problem against Denver with undersized defensive linemen getting engulfed by blockers.
The return of the 6-5, 330-pound Fotu could have helped.
Using defensive tackles in the 6-2, 280 area can be problematic against 320-pound interior offensive linemen.
It was last year, and it is this year.
What I’m about to write isn’t easy because many consider it taboo to criticize the player because he’s held in high regard, and rightfully so, but they need a little more from Quinnen Williams.
He finished with one tackle against Denver, and was on the field for a few of the big runs up the middle. People are quick to say he is always double-teamed, but on some of these runs he wasn’t.
He’s not a huge guy by defensive tackle standards. Not his fault. He’s built like he’s built. It is what it is.
He’s a terrific interior pass rusher, but his run defense could be a little better at times.
The Jets’ run defense last week was bad, just like it was bad in San Francisco and Nashville.
So this Foti news is not good for the Jets.
Expect the Vikings to pound the rock up the middle, which they actually did in December, 2022 in a win over the Jets. In that game, their center Garrett Bradbury, who is still the center, was a tough matchup for Williams, on a few runs up the middle.
I’m not saying they can’t win this game. They certainly can. But they need better run defense from Williams and the rest of their defensive line.
There is no way around it . . .
One of the keys to Sam Darnold’s resurgence and the Minnesota Vikings’ 4-0 start is their ability to get in front and stay in front. They have only trailed for about four minutes the entire season.
Kevin O’Connell is a brilliant play-caller and is dialing up some really good stuff for Darnold early in games, and this has helped them build some big leads, like 28-7 over Green Bay last week.
Not to take anything away from Darnold, who is has done a nice job in his Minnesota reboot, but if the Jets get in front, it will certainly help their cause dealing with O’Connell and Darnold.
When he’s succeeding, Darnold is best served in a game-manager role. You don’t want to put the team on his back. You don’t want to force him to engineer big comebacks. You want your running game and defense to flourish, and just allow him to compliment that, and do his part.
And O’Connell’s Vikings have done that so far. But if the Jets force them to stray from this formula, especially if they get a lead, that will help the Jets chances of winning this game.
Another factor that can help them win this game is what Green Bay did in the second half last week. They stormed back and lost 31-29. Packers QB Jordan Love, who learned under Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, threw four touchdown passes in this game.
The Jets essentially play the same offensive system as Green Bay, where Rodgers and Jets OC Nate Hackett used to work. When you throw four touchdown passes, clearly you have found some things to exploit in the Minnesota defense. The Jets will take a lot from that, and Rodgers and the Jets receivers should be able to get a lot done against a secondary, which is good, not great.
So the Jets have a chance in this game.
But if they lose, that loss could be spearheaded by their run defense against Aaron Jones, if they don’t play a lot better than they did against San Francisco, Tennessee and Denver.
October 4, 2024
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