Aaron Rodgers-haters in the media can point a finger at the Jets quarterback and blame him for the team’s 2-5 start.
But when it comes to issues on this team, he certainly isn’t near the top of the list.
The biggest issue, and it’s not a new one, is their run defense.
For the second week in a row, the Jets gave up 149 yards rushing. This week against a Pittsburgh Steelers team ravaged by injuries on the offensive line and using a patchwork group. It was hard to tell with how they pushed the Jets around up front.
And this isn’t a new problem. It was a problem last year as well.
And when you get consistently dominated on the ground, it can demoralize your entire football team. It’s a bad optic.
While it’s hard to change systems in the middle of the season, they might need to change schemes in the off-season, because this “all gas, no brakes” style of run defense isn’t working.
Guys are consistently running themselves out of plays. Playing the run, you need to have good brakes, so you don’t overrun plays.
Hustling is important, but so is discipline and playing with sophisticated eyes.
Also, the concept of going with smaller, quicker guys up front, to beat offensive linemen off the snap, isn’t working, either, with players too often getting engulfed by huge offensive linemen.
So if you are looking for the biggest issue with the 2-5 Jets, you might want to start with their run defense.
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