New York Jets Run Defense vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Run Offense

Jacksonville has one of the game's most explosive backs, Maurice Jones-Drew. He reminds me a lot of Tennessee's Chris Johnson (or Leon Washington if he was a full time back). Jones-Drew is small, but his blazing speed makes him a dangerous weapon. He's already got 737 yards on the ground, a 5.1 average, and 11 touchdowns. To combat him, we may see more of the big 4-3 with Ellis and Douglas at end, Pouha and Green at tackle, and Scott, Harris, and Pace at linebacker the Jets showed against Miami to slow down the run. The good news is this run defense won't necessarily take the teeth or aggression from the pass rush. The Jets did have 6 sacks while focusing on the run against Miami.

Jones-Drew's backup, Rashad Jennings, is a rookie from Liberty. For my money, he was one of the steals of the Draft. He has a very similar skill set to Shonn Greene, big and bruising between the tackles with a surprising second gear of speed. He's only averaging between 2 and 3 carries a game, but he can be dangerous.

Jacksonville's offensive line is much better run blocking than pass blocking. The rookie tackles, Eugene Monroe and Ebon Britton, who have struggled at times in pass protection, have been good opening holes for Jones-Drew. So have guards Uche Nwaneri and Vince Manuwai. Backup Maurice Williams has been arguably better than they have so we could see him in the lineup. Center Brad Meester has had problems, though. He'll have a tough time handling Pouha on his own, which means we'll likely see the Jaguars try and swing Jones-Drew outside plenty.