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There is a lot of screaming and yelling by Jets podcasters about the team’s season and their recent loss, but I’m not into emotional analysis; I prefer more measured, even-keeled takes, sans histrionics for attention.
So sometimes you have to leave the market for that.
I thought film analyst NFL.com’s Brett Kohlmann summed up the 2-7 Jets succinctly and perfectly – “This team is way more talented than the results on the field. And I’m not saying they are the most talented team (but) they are not this. They are not supposed to be this.”
That sums things up perfectly.
Nobody expected a Super Bowl run this year, but nobody expected it to be this bad.
Kohlmann brought up a wild stat from the Jets’ 35-12 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday that is quite frankly hard to believe.
“203 yards of 228 passing yards came after the catch,” Kohlmann said. “How is that even possible for a defensive coach to give up that many yards after the catch?”
That is obviously a horrific stat that points to bad tackling. When a team has that kind of RAC (run after catch) against them, that is a disaster from a tackling and play-recognition standpoint.
I’m not going to lie, writing over and over again about how bad this defense is is getting tedious.
It’s not a lack of effort.
One of the sea of Jets podcasters claims the Jets “quit” on Sunday. I didn’t watch the podcast, just saw a headline.
They didn’t quit.
As we have written ad infinitum, the biggest issue with the run defense is having too many undersized defensive linemen who fit a 4-3 front, but are playing in a 3-4 front. It’s not just Jowon Briggs and Harrison Phillips, but you could throw in Jack Heflin and Payton Page.
This isn’t meant as a shot at anyone, just saying it’s a square-peg, round-hole issue.
The only defensive lineman currently on the roster who fits the ideal template for a 3-4 lineman is Darrell Jackson (6-5, 315) with 35-inch arms.
You are asking too many guys to be two-gapping 3-4 defensive linemen who are not built for it.
Not sure what is going on here, and love to asked Darren Mougey or Robbie Paton what is going on here. I want to be fair. Perhaps I’m missing something. Was there some kind of disconnect between the head coach and the personnel department here?
If you look at the Green Bay Packers, a 3-4 team, they are loaded with depth on their line, featuring guys who look like Jackson.
Now some will be quick to point to the injuries to David Onyemata and T’Vondre Sweat. The Onyemata injury hurt, but the Jets’ run defense was bad in most games Sweat played, like the Chicago Bears’ 232-yard rushing day, and the Patriots eating up about six minutes of clock late in the game, running the ball down the Jets’ throats with three backup offensive linemen and a reserve running back, Corey “Ralph” Kiner. This clock-killing drive at the end of the game basically iced the game for New England.
What is going on with Briggs is sad.
He is a good man, but they are asking a player to do something he can’t do: a short-armed, squatty DT playing in a 3-4 defense.
This isn’t on him.
The other big issue with the Jets defense is that opposing offensive coordinators are winning the chess match against the Jets in almost every game this year.
Not to belabor the point, but whoever put the kibosh on Aaron Glenn hiring a veteran defensive coordinator, like Wink Martindale, in January, did the coach a disservice.
He’s clearly not great at managing the game and calling plays on the onside of the ball. Some coaches can do it. Some can’t. It’s a mixed bag.
Look, I’m not making Martindale into Buddy Ryan, but with several close losses this year, do you think that the Jets are 2-7 this year if “Wink” was calling the defense, and things were a little more organized?
Probably. Hey, maybe they are 3-6 or 4-5.
This Jets defense is flat-out broken, and emergency measures are needed. You have half a season left. Something needs to be done.
The way this team is playing defense is denting the soul of the entire team and organization.
Glenn was asked what the message is for the player after the team’s loss to KC, dropping the club to 2-7.
“Well, it’s all about our process to be honest with you,” Glenn said.
And the process on defense needs to change now. It’s broken.
Not after the season, but now.
As that old coaching expression goes, “You are either coaching it, or letting it happen.”
Either a defensive consultant needs to be brought in, or Glenn probably needs to assign somebody else to call the defense.
Making him handle both jobs is making him less effective at both.
November 9, 2026
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