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One of the keys
to dealing with Tom Brady is inside pass rush pressure.
He’s so good at seeing guys coming off the edge, and when he sees it, he usually does a wonderful job stepping up in the pocket, and hitting a receiver or throwing it away.
But quick wins up the middle can give him fits, and get him “off his spot” to borrow an overused phrase when talking about Brady.
So interior pressure from Sheldon Rankins and Quinnen Williams (if he’s cleared) would be very helpful to the Jets. They can’t play defensive linemen this week who have a tendency to stay “velcroed” to blocks for long periods of time. That isn’t going to work.
And maybe they should even move John Franklin-Myers inside more than usual, and let him rush from the interior . . .
One reason this is a bad matchup for the Jets’ pass defense, is Brady’s ability to read the whole field. He’s a full field-reader. A lot of quarterbacks aren’t. Why do you think so many teams run bootlegs all the time. To cut the field in have, and allow the QB to just read half the field.
While the Jets’ young secondary played okay last week against Trevor Lawrence, the rookie still managed to throw for 280 yards. He is not a full field-reader. At least not yet.
This Jets young Jets secondary is given to missed coverages on occasions and allowing guys to flash wide open. Quarterbacks with limited field visions don’t always make you pay for these kinds of mistakes. Full field-readers do. Theis young Jets’ secondary also has a tendency to play a very soft zone. What I mean by that is, they sometimes aren’t great at passing guys off to other guys in the zone concept, sometimes leaving opposing quarterbacks big windows to throw into. These two issues could lead to a big day for Brady, who doesn’t miss “free plays” as they say in the football world about easy throws to open guys . . .
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without both starting edge-rushers Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul but don’t sleep on rookie first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shiyonka, who has four sacks in a reserve role, and has Pro Bowl potential. Also keep an eye on defensive tackles Vita Vea and William Gholston rushing from the interior. The Jets are starting a backup center, Dan Feeney, with Connor McGovern going on injured reserve this week.
Vea, a 6-4, 340-pound freak of nature, with the movement skills of a much smaller man, could be a matchup issue for the Feeney, who isn’t as big as McGovern, who has a thicker build to help deal with massive nose tackle.
The Vea-Feeney matchup is one to keep an eye on.
By the way, Vea, who is of Tongan descent, did us a favor by shorting his name. If we had to pronounce his full name, it’s quite a tongue twister:
Tevita Tuliʻakiʻono Tuipulotu Mosese Vaʻhae Fehoko Faletau Vea.
Speaking of defensive tackle-center matchups, the Jets’ defensive tackles will have their hands full with Buccaneers center Ryan Jenson, who Robert Saleh had high praise for today.
Jensen was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2013 draft by Baltimore out of Colorado State-Pueblo. Joe Douglas worked for the Ravens at the time, and this is another example of Douglas’ keen eye for offensive line talent. He was very involved with picking this guy late, and he’s turned into one of the best centers in football.
Joe knows offensive linemen.
December 31, 2021
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