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Looking back over it – they have a lot of work
to do on defense.
Did you know they gave up 13 first downs in the fourth quarter to the Cleveland Browns?
Of course they deserve credit for winning the game in miraculous fashion with an amazing comeback at the end, but you can’t sugarcoat it – their defensive performance in Cleveland was substandard.
They gave up almost 200 yards rushing and 5.0 per carry.
They actually played the run very well in their Week 1 loss to Baltimore, but their run defense took a step back in Week 2?
What happened?
The answer to that is simple. Cleveland has much better offensive line than Baltimore, and also better running backs. The Ravens were without their starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley against the Jets, and then his backup tore his Achilles in the second quarter. So they played over a half of that game with a third-string left tackle. The Ravens are also starting a rookie center.
The Browns have one of the best offensive lines in the league, with a franchise left tackle in Jedrick Wills, two of the best guards in the league in Wyatt Teller and Joe Bitonio, and while their starting right tackle is out, their backup right tackle, James Hudson, a third-round pick last year, is playing really well, and is going to make a lot of money when he hits free agency.
This line dominated the game.
At running back, the Ravens’ top two backs were out, J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards, and the Browns have the best one-two combination in the NFL in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
So the Jets run defense took a step back when they had to step up in competition.
A few issues of note led to this rough outing against the Browns’ rushing attack.
First of all, the Jets did a poor job of setting the edge, allowing Chubb and Hunt to take the corner too often. It’s possible the Jets have rushed their two rookie defensive ends into too many reps. Maybe they need to pull back a little. Both guys struggled setting the edge against the Browns. Some rookies are ready to play a lot immediately (see Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall), but some aren’t. Don’t paint them all the same bush.
Another issue was the Jets’ undersized defensive tackles getting locked up on some big runs up the middle. In their scheme, they like to go with smaller, faster, quicker defensive tackles to shoot into gaps, but if opposing guards and centers get their hands on them before they shoot into a gap, they can get engulfed at times, since they are often outweighed by 30-40 pounds. Their one bigger DT Nathan Shepherd, I got into that on Monday.
LB Quincy Williams had a rough game. He must have been really sore after this game. The poor guy was getting pounded on the second level by the Browns’ outstanding linemen pulling to the second level. It’s never a lack of effort or toughness from Williams, but he’s an undersized linebacker by NFL standards at 5-11, 225.
Not sure why he’s playing ahead of Kwon Alexander, who plays some, but clearly Williams is ahead of him on the pecking order.
As for the pass, to allow a journeyman QB like Jacoby Brissett, who is now on his fourth team, to go 22-27 for 229 yards and a touchdown, that’s a problem.
There seemed to be some communication issues on the backend. Sauce Gardner, primarily a man-to-man coverage guy in college, is still getting used to playing more zone, and this led to a few issues, but he had plenty of company.
The Jets’ defense struggled mightily last year, and aside from some decent run defense against the Ravens, these struggles continue.
Look, not looking to take away from their amazing win on Sunday, but if they don’t fix this defense, it could be a long year for Gang Green.
September 21, 2022
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