The Jets’ run defense last year was not good.
The last time we saw Gang Green in a real game, a loss at Buffalo in Week 18, Bills backup running back Ray Davis ran for 151 yards on 21 carries behind an offensive line playing four backups.
One of the Jets’ first signings in free agency, to help fix this glaring issue, was free agent defensive tackle David Onyemata, a former New Orleans Saint and Atlanta Falcon known for his stout run defense.
Jets linebacker Demario Davis, who played with Onyemata in New Orleans, calls the Lagos, Nigeria-native, “One of the five best run defenders I’ve played with.”
In Onyemata’s mind, what are some of the keys to a good run defense?
“It’s fundamentals and techniques – those are big things to be good,” Onyemata said recently.
And having good “fundamentals and technique” can help defenders shed blocks effectively, which was a problem for the Jets’ front seven last year.
“You have to have the right fundamentals and techniques for the double teams and for certain kinds of blocks,” Onyemata said, not in reference to last year’s Jets, but in general. “For double teams and certain kinds of blocks, you have to have a feel for that and know how to get off blocks and make plays.”
And a huge key is when defensive tackles like Onyemata and T’Vondre Sweat get double-teamed, Jets linebackers need to take advantage of that,
“The linebackers – you see the defensive tackles get doubled – you gotta hit the gap,” Onyemata said.
And expect Onyamata and Sweat, one of the better Jets defensive tackle combos in recent memory, on paper at least, to get a lot of double teams.
And if the linebacker can take advantage of that, the Jets’ run defense certainly should improve from last year.
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