Why is the Defense Not-So-Dominant Anymore?

by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 16, 2010 5:27 PM EST

Coming into this season, my expectations for the Jets defense in 2010 were through the roof, and for good reason. The addition of Antonio Cromartie, Jason Taylor, and Kyle Wilson, combined with another year of experience in the system, could only mean for an even better defense than the top-ranked unit in 2009, right?

While the 2010 Jets "D" has been good, currently ranked 5th overall, seems to have been missing something over the past few weeks. While the defense had lapses earlier in the seaosn, it was easy to pin the issue on Darrelle Revis' hamstring injury. Now, Revis is playing "vintage" Revis football, but the defense still seems to give up more yards and points, often to far inferior talent.

In fact, this Jets defense is giving up 57 more yards per game than in the previous season. When you combine that fact with the reality that the Jets offense is much better and and hold onto the ball for much longer drives compared to 2009, something is clearly wrong with this unit.

Let's examine possible reasons for this decline:

Teams know to exploit the safties:

As an offensive coordinator preparing for the Jets, it does not make sense to try to get the ball to the outside to the WR's. As good of a CB tandem Revis and Cromartie are, they can only cover one guy at a time. Coordinators are learning that Leonhard and Smith/Pool aren't stellar in coverage, and tight ends and slot receivers account for a large portion of passing yards against the Jets.

Linebacking Core is too Slow:

Whether you like it or not, this linebacking core is better suited to stopping the run than dropping into coverage. While guys like David Harris are thumpers, they are not a good matchup against Reggie Bush-types. On the other hand, if you have ever wondered why the Jets are so good at run defense without a dominant inside defensive lineman, look no further than this group.

Blitzes are becoming Predictable:

Rex's first game as a head coach against the Texans in 2009 was the most dominant defensive performance I have seen against such a good offensive team like the Texans. The biggest reason was the Texans probably spent too much time watching 2008 Jets tape rather than 2008 Ravens tape. All season, teams had no idea what was coming. Now, teams have learned these blitzes and have figured out a way to pick them up. If a 7-man rush doesn't hit home in about three seconds, it is easy to get exposed.

No 4-man Pass Rush

This was a problem last year, but Rex was able to overcome it with his exotic blitzes. Now, the Jets expect at least an average rush with guys like Jason Taylor now in the mix. Now, this works in theory, but with the exception of a few key plays, the Jets' pass rush is nothing to fear, while Rex and co. are relying on it way too much.

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Comments

agree on all points.

   The middle of the field has been open all year. Any te is going to have about half a foot and about 30lbs on Leonhard, and this has been exploited. Jim’s a scrappy player, but there’s only so much you can ask for. Also, havent seen any big hits out of Pool to discourage people going over the middle.
    Bryan Thomas is servicable at best, and Calvin Pace is having a down year to say the least. Teams that run a 3-4 almost always have big time playmakers/pass rushers, and the Jets have sorely lacked production in that area. The best efforts have come from 99.
     The blitzes rarely get through untouched, and when they do players take poor angles at the qb. They have become relatively predictable and dont seem to be disguised as well. They’ve been running a delayed safety blitz with some effectiveness the past few weeks, but I feel its only a matter of time before they get burned with it.
      As far as the front four, I feel a big reason is that they’re missing big Kris. They got by last year without his presence, but asking the same again this year may be asking too much from the players in question.

by Ozone on Nov 16, 2010 5:42 PM EST reply actions

Players are taught to strip sack rather than just take down the quarterback, and sometimes they end up missing the guy altogether, especially outside the pocket. I also feel like blitzers are thinking too much about getting flagged, which affects their agressiveness.

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by dvdvil on Nov 16, 2010 5:54 PM EST reply actions

I think we still blitz too much. Rex is too stubborn that the league has adjusted and he can't beat it.

I think we should get away from blitzing on 3rd downs. We should go with a 4-man front and bluff the blitz, but we should drop 7 into coverage.

Let Ellis, DeVito, Pryce, and Taylor go to work. Then when teams re-adjust and stop max-protecting, then we can switch back to blitzing. I think we can get to QBs with these guys if we let them rush consistently. They’ll never get into a flow and set up moves if all theyre doing is trying to occupy blockers and creating blitzing lanes.

We should bring a safety up, crowd the box, and make teams try to attack our corners deep.

by Crackback on Nov 16, 2010 6:19 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

could someone explain why the Jets don't miss Kerry Rhodes

I really would like to hear why?

by BIG OH!!!!! on Nov 16, 2010 6:26 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

We miss his coverage on TEs. But thats about it.

We definitely don’t miss his malcontent, cancerous attitude or his reluctance to stick somebody or his penchant for being just a step too late to make a play.

by Crackback on Nov 16, 2010 6:32 PM EST up reply actions

We also don't need as many mirrors in the locker room without Rhodes.

by Putnan Prince on Nov 17, 2010 9:39 AM EST up reply actions

I like it

Darrelle Revis once won a game of Connect Four in three moves.

by bm01bath on Nov 16, 2010 6:32 PM EST up reply actions

I like this plan

I think the 4 man is probably enough to at least hurry the QB, and if nothing else we need to shake things up a bit. I liked whatever changes they made coming into the 3rd quarter in Cleveland.

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by blueandorange4life on Nov 16, 2010 7:31 PM EST up reply actions

Actually, I don’t think we blitz enough. We keep trying to get away with four and 5 man rushes, and its not working. I haven’t seen us get really beat by an all out blitz too much this season.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 8:56 AM EST up reply actions

Its dissapointing...

But yah, I agrree on all of your points. Wondering the same thing. One thing though; why can’t our backs pick off any passes? They’ve been getting challenged it seems but they can never come away with the big turnover.

by JetKing55 on Nov 16, 2010 6:21 PM EST reply actions

Well, people just don’t throw to Revis and Cro often enough. When they do, it’s to single coverage, which is difficult to make INTs on. It’s not like e have 7 men in coverage to go after the ball, it’s more like five or 6 guys.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 8:57 AM EST up reply actions

The Jets are not getting to the QB at all

Almost no pressure on the opposing QB’s the past few weeks, this needs to be top priority in the offseason/draft. The defensive play-calling has also been poor (especially on 3rd down). Ryan has blitzed with 7-8-9 guys, and not gotten to the QB on 3rd down, they need to be less aggressive.

by Adam F. on Nov 16, 2010 6:46 PM EST reply actions

your defense can’t be dominate if you can’t hurry the QB bottom line.

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by BL3ACH on Nov 16, 2010 7:02 PM EST reply actions

much like the 4-6 defense, once you get enough tape of it you find ways to exploit it. rex and the jets need to switch it up and play 4-3 for several plays eachh quarter to keep the opposition honest. i mean with jenkins out you can throw JT at the left and have Pouha and devito right up the middle. our backers are slow and having a little help up front to eat up space would make our blitz much more effective…plus we have been riding the free agent train too long, we need to start developing young talent NOW! lest we get gray and have to build over again.

by servantofchrist on Nov 16, 2010 7:10 PM EST reply actions

I forgot this. The League has changed.

You cant hit the qb or receivers any more. Its a sissy league. That hit that Scott put on McCoy (which was flagged for “being a football player”) was a prime example. I can see why James Harrison contemplated retirement. The middle of the field is more open because receivers no longer fear going over it. Intimidation and violence is part of the game, and in the end what the nfl markets in a lot of respects. Their hypocrisy, of course, is largely to do with not wanting their cash cows to get sent to the slaughterhouse. Pettine and Co. should just get ahead of the game and start teaching their d how to properly grab a flag out of a receiver’s/qb’s waist.
Also, more interceptions would be nice.

by Ozone on Nov 16, 2010 7:51 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Priceless...

“Pettine and Co. should just get ahead of the game and start teaching their d how to properly grab a flag out of a receiver’s/qb’s waist.”

by cult hero on Nov 16, 2010 8:56 PM EST up reply actions

I’ve heard a lot of people say the league has caught up to the blitzes, but I’m not sure I agree. This scheme was great for years in Baltimore. The league had a long time to catch up with it.

I’m thinking it has more to do with Pettine calling more of the plays instead of Rex. Bill Walsh and Paul Hackett both ran the West Coast Offense, but one guy ran it much better. One guy could see matchups to exploit and had an intuitive sense of how to surprise the other guy.

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by John B on Nov 16, 2010 9:49 PM EST reply actions

The theory that other teams have simply adjusted with max-protects and rolling protection to the overload blitz side has been evident in many cases. It’s the only reasoning I could come up with to explain the non-existent pass rush this year. Our lack of QB pressure illustrates why the pass defense has gone from ranking 1st to 14th, and thereby answers the question as to where those extra 57 yds per game are coming from.

Maybe Pettine handling play calling and/or design is a contributing factor, but if it was that simple wouldn’t Rex just address it himself?

by nationalist88 on Nov 17, 2010 12:06 AM EST up reply actions

Is Pettine calling most of the plays, though? Still seems like its Rex to me.

teams have simply adjusted with max-protects and rolling protection to the overload blitz side has been evident in many cases.

I agree with this. Other than Miami, I don’t recall anybody really going max protect against us a whole lot last. And that seems to be the formula when beating facing us this year.

by Crackback on Nov 17, 2010 12:14 AM EST up reply actions

This is happening more, but even when teams are not doing it, the Jets are having trouble getting to the QB.

It’s getting better now that Revis is back. That brings me to another point. There were a lot of times last year when the blitz wasn’t effective, and people just didn’t notice because Revis’ coverage covered it.

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by John B on Nov 17, 2010 6:41 AM EST up reply actions

Perhaps, or maybe we just don't have the personel

We don’t have a Suggs or Ngata rushing the QB.

by Evan_S on Nov 17, 2010 4:39 AM EST up reply actions

We actually miss Kerr Rhodes as well

by Atronic on Nov 16, 2010 10:48 PM EST reply actions

Jason taylor, trevoe pryce are way too old to rush anybody. rex is relying on names but other teams are relying on physiclity. have you guys noticed that jets players dont look buff at all. watch the lions games and see how big and strong they look and played same with cleveland players. the jets just believe in hype… oh we have LT, oh we have jason taYlor, oh trevor pryce im tired of these guys. look at LT, no muscles how can he break tackles even shonn greene looks less intimidating. this is gonna catch up with the jets soon watch and mark my words

by overloadblitz on Nov 16, 2010 11:18 PM EST reply actions

Lol. Are you serious?

by Crackback on Nov 17, 2010 12:15 AM EST up reply actions

Ever see Marshall Folk body

what does muscles have to do with playing football.

by BIG OH!!!!! on Nov 17, 2010 6:17 AM EST up reply actions

Marshall Faulk, not Folk

If muscles matter Vernon Gholston would be defensive player of the year, Sorry Crack

by BIG OH!!!!! on Nov 17, 2010 6:46 AM EST up reply actions

Yes. We literally need more muscle on our team. That’s the problem.

Contributing Writer - GangGreenNation.com
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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 8:58 AM EST up reply actions

muscle definition matters in mr olympia competions, not so much here.

by jaxopguy on Nov 17, 2010 10:26 AM EST up reply actions

We might not have muscles, but we sure know how to use proper spelling and grammar!!!

by Down Since '86 on Nov 17, 2010 10:31 AM EST up reply actions

Agree 100%

Blitzes are often what shoot us in the foot and as much as I love Jim and Brodney they just arn’t good pass coverage safteys. Combine that with our lack of a pass rush and we’re bound to get toasted sooner or later. The rest of our schedule is choc full of good QB’s who I doubt fear our D anymore. Things need tweaking for sure.

by GangGrizzle on Nov 16, 2010 11:31 PM EST reply actions

they have the best record in the league!!!!!!!!!abd had 3 sacks last week.

by dreaux on Nov 17, 2010 2:23 AM EST reply actions

The best record because our offense has much improved. If it weren’t for a Chansi Stuckey fumble and a Ndamukong Suh missed extra point, we could be looking at 5-4

Contributing Writer - GangGreenNation.com
Marty Brodeur - Stealing Rangers' lunch money since 1990

by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 8:55 AM EST up reply actions

Our D is stil pretty good as far as points allowed. Right now we’re at 16.7 p/g, which is pretty good. And I think its only a point off of where we finished last year.

We also could be 9-0 if not for a terrible PI call against Wilson in the Ravens game, and if Holmes doesn’t drop what clearly would have been a TD against the Packers.

by Crackback on Nov 17, 2010 11:17 AM EST up reply actions

We also gave up a LOT of non-offensive points from returns, turnovers, etc.

There’s still a substantial dropoff from this season to last season, while I believe the talent level has increased, which doesn’t make sense.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 11:23 AM EST up reply actions

How much worse are they really?

Last year, the Jets averaged 14.8 points a game on defense; this year, it’s 16.6. Not a huge difference. Considering Revis was out for a few games, and iffy in another few games, it’s wholly plausible that the Jets will return to their 14.8 level from last year. (In the four games when he was healthy; week 1, 8-10 – the Jets gave up 14.5 points)

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by OldProspects on Nov 17, 2010 2:49 AM EST reply actions

Woops, should have read one more post before reponding to the one above. Brilliant point, btw. ; )

by Crackback on Nov 17, 2010 11:18 AM EST up reply actions

And we're still third in points against

by Evan_S on Nov 17, 2010 4:40 AM EST reply actions

Great Article

That was spot on analysis. Better than what you see or hear from newspapers or on tv. As were all the other comments. I’ll just say that I completely agree about how much leaving the middle of the field open has been hurting us all season.

by OldJetsFanatic on Nov 17, 2010 8:21 AM EST reply actions

Agreed, great posting, great points. I still think the best is yet to come for this defense. I don’t see it’s total meshing or being in sync like last year. Effective, but not totally there. I also agree about the middle of the field coverage. I bet the oppositions YAC in this area is higher than most. And one last thing I’d love to see is teams absolutely fearful coming to play in NY

by jaxopguy on Nov 17, 2010 11:02 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks guys, appreciate the kind words.

Contributing Writer - GangGreenNation.com
Marty Brodeur - Stealing Rangers' lunch money since 1990

by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 11:15 AM EST up reply actions

The other thing to look at...

is the last 6 games from last year the Jets defense gave up an average of 8 ppg in the last 6 games of the year. Still a lot of football left to play and I am sure the best has yet to come.

by stwrtchrs on Nov 17, 2010 8:29 AM EST reply actions

I like how you guys put Leaonhard in the pic…I like the guy, but Ive seen him get beat to many times, and get to the QB on a blitz about 45 minutes too late. Something needs to be done about this, pronto..Those blitzes do not seem to be working period, let alone with someone as slow as him. Can we put Ihedgibo in there some more, atleast he’ll get a nice hit on the QB..Cmon rex, work your magic..I want us to be Numero Uno, once again..7-2 is not so bad though, lol

Bingo!

by Shawamar on Nov 17, 2010 11:31 AM EST reply actions

I agree. Leonard has been a bit exposed this year. And it seems like Dig blitzed a lot more last year than he is this year; or maybe he’s just not getting there this year.

by Crackback on Nov 17, 2010 12:04 PM EST up reply actions

bad drafting for a win now team

i think rex wanted wilson because after colts game it showed we needed better cb’s ,but our main need was pass rush especially after getting cro. we let leon go because of his injury and replaced him with mc knight (shocking move) . we kept faith that kris was going to be ok after his injury but had no back up plan if he wasn’t . we should have traded back into the 2nd round and drafted nate allen at S and picked up cody as well . why waste a pick on a cb after picking up cro? bottom line we screwed up on defence b4 the season started . without revis and cro we would be bottom 10 in the league on pass defence.

by tinley24 on Nov 17, 2010 1:29 PM EST reply actions

Well, they took the best player available in the draft, which they thought was Kyle Wilson. I would agree with them , because Kyle was so highly rated almost went 7th overall to the Browns.

Why “waste” a pick on a CB? Because Rex’s system is not about big ol’ pass rushers. It is about lining up, man to man, and blitzing everyone else. For some reason, the blitzes are just not hitting home, whether it is prepeation from the opponet or just bad execution on the Jets.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 2:03 PM EST up reply actions

It is about lining up, man to man,

if that was the case they wouldn’t play leonard , he is too small to pick up every tight end in the league . most fans would agree our pass rush needed the biggest upgrade and we also needed to replace rhodes with somebody with his skill set . we really didn’t do either . bottom line we drafted 3 players who weren’t nfl ready and by the looks of mc knight i doubt he will ever be . mc knight shouldn’t even made the team before chauncy washington . i agree that wilson was a good pick long term but rex never addressed our pass rush . the 2010 draft with the exception of conner was terrible for a win now team and might go down as 1 of our worst drafts ever

by tinley24 on Nov 17, 2010 7:17 PM EST up reply actions

Alright. Worst Draft EVER? Kyle Wilson is going to be a good player in this league. John Conner is a great young fullback. Yeah, Ducasse is struggling a bit and McKnight isn’t a regular starter. But how many 4th round picks even start? Besides, It’s not easy to beat out guys like Shonn Greene and LT.

Even if Mike T (not Rex, he doesn’t have final say on the roster) grabbed a jerry hughes or something, is he really better than what we have now in the short run? Hughes is barley on the field in Indy. Pass rushers take a WHILE to develop. Guys like Merriman are abnormal, developing an NFL pass rush is ectreamly difficult to do.

If Mike T thinks we need a pass rush, there’s always this years draft to get that guy.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 17, 2010 9:21 PM EST up reply actions

But how many 4th round picks even start?

i can think of Hernandez this year and Perrish Cox was taken in the 5th round . my point about the draft was it didn’t heip our defence at all so far this year . if you had a choice between wilson and cox as our nickle back who looks a better bet ? its ok taking chances in the draft if you have 7 to 10 picks like the pats but with only 4 picks we needed to be on the money . like i said already wilson and conner will be good but vlad and mc knight were wasted picks in my opinion . mc knight didn’t beat out chauncy washington .

by tinley24 on Nov 18, 2010 4:12 AM EST up reply actions

would take Wilson. Cox may have more picks, but Wilson has more talent. Not too many rookie corners are being asked to play single coverage every play.

Regarding McKnight, don’t look too much into Hard Knocks. They made him look bad because it was good TV. McKnight has way more talent than washington. Just a reminder, washington is now on the Rams practice squad. So he’s really nothing special.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 18, 2010 12:38 PM EST up reply actions

safeties

Our safeties are being exposed more because of the lack of a pass rush. Yes they are not real stellar by NFL standards and last year we covered it up with pressure. Almost any decent QB in the NFL with time will pick apart any secondary.
We need a decent pass rush. Would Rhodes look good this year with us or did he look good because we gave pressure last year. Haven’t followed him but is he kicking ass in Arizona?

by ocjet on Nov 18, 2010 2:03 AM EST reply actions

He’s recoved a lot of fumbles and stuff, but that’s not a great indicator of play. I haven;t watched a lot of Arizona, but I think they’re pleased with Kerry out there.

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by Ryan Alfieri on Nov 18, 2010 12:40 PM EST up reply actions

Great article

The only significant point left out was that we are committing a ton of penalties this year that have allowed our opponents to keep drives alive and score more points. Pace isn’t playing as well as he did last year (probably due to his injury) and that has hurt us as well.

In regard to the other comments, I think it’s unfair to judge a draft during the first year. Sometimes it takes a while to see how it will all play out. Although I was surprised that Ducasse hasn’t progressed enough to make it into the lineup with the injury to Slauson.

by OldJetsFanatic on Nov 18, 2010 10:06 AM EST reply actions