First, in an uncapped season what the Jets need to do to get better in 2010

by Russ H on Feb 19, 2010 10:05 AM EST

Thanks to their appearance in the AFC Championship game in what may become the final year of a salary cap in the NFL the Jets could find themselves playing under a stringent set of rules when it comes to finding the players necessary to take the next step towards becoming one of the elite teams in the NFL.

Just days before the beginning a new season on the NFL books the specter of playing the 2010 season without a CBA and a salary cap is looming and to the teams playing in both the Divisional & Championship rounds of the 2009 NFL playoffs that means operating under a completely different set of rules then the other 24 NFL teams.

The Jets areas of need are limited but obvious. The Jets need an edge pass rusher and a CB to start opposite of Darrelle Revis but there is a symbiotic relationship between the two needs. The better the pass rusher they sign the lesser the need for a top flight CB simply because the Jets won't have to blitz so much (57% of their defensive snaps) if they can acquire a QB killer. By blitzing less the Jets wouldn't be depending nearly as much on their CB's ability to cover opposing WR's without help.

Conversely if the Jets acquire a top flight CB, one who like Revis can take a starting WR away from the QB, then the Jets don't have to expend great resources to find a top flight QB killer.

Apart from needing both a pass rusher and a #2 CB the Jets also need at least one and perhaps two WR's. Regardless of whether or not you see Cotchery and Edwards as #1 or #2 WR's one thing is clear. The Jets need another WR to open up their passing offense. What practically leapt off the screen watching the SB was that the Saints defensive players were totally unafraid of making a defensive mistake against Peyton Manning because they knew if they did their offense could go right down the field and get that score back for them.

Having that kind of an offense allowed the Saints Terry Porter to jump the route for what became the game ending Pick-6. Porter knew that if he misread the pass and his mistake was returned for a TD that Brees could get that TD back. Those kinds of daring defensive gambles were not something we saw a lot with of the Jets this season because as good as Revis was last year he didn't take many chances out there because he knew mistakes with that Jets offense were at a premium.

For the Jets to begin to become that kind of a potent offense they must find another WR to compliment Cotchery, Edwards and TE Dustin Keller. The Jets also need to improve the depth at the WR position, preferably with a burner who can keep the defensive secondary honest while also giving the Jets offense a quick strike TD capability they so sorely missed. Having a dominant running game is a great thing to have, especially during the regular season in the Northeast, but it's a strong passing game that takes over once the playoffs begin, particularly the deeper you go in the playoffs.

The Jets needed to score their TD's as a result of long drives covering many yards way too many times last season, they need to have the capability to score quickly to better compliment their ground and pound running game. Knowing an offense can score in many ways from any spot on the field gives opposing defenses more options to cover, making things easier for 2nd year QB Mark Sanchez.

Later, we'll be looking at just who the Jets may go after and what steps Tannenbaum and the Jets may take this off season to get better under the current restrictions being placed upon them in the event of an uncapped 2010 NFL season.

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Comments

Couple of things

1. I like the blitzing mentality. By just becoming a 4-rush team, you lose some of that ferocity that comes along with a Ryan defense. Bart Scott said it best, scheme can create a mentality. Id rather have a #2 corner than spend tons of money and picks on a pass rusher. The “organized chaos” is something that creates an identity for the defense; it makes them unique.

2. I can’t understand why everyone thinks we need another WR so badly. Edwards is the same guy he was in 2007. He can be a #1 threat, he just drops some passes. But its the threat that he will catch at least most of the balls thrown his way that opened things up for everyone else. Not to mention hes a great blocker.

Keller is basically a WR in a TE body. Leon can catch passes and line up in the slot sometimes. Clowney was inconsistent, but he makes plays from time to time. Hes also a “burner” than can stretch the field. Brad Smith isn’t great, but serviceable.

3. You can when playoff time comes, the passing game takes over. I think most would agree that its the other way around, where a passing game is usually not enough to carry you deep in the postseason. It was evidenced in the superbowl; The team that never abandoned the run won the game. Indy refused to run the New Orleans was daring them to.

by Ryan Alfieri on Feb 19, 2010 10:17 AM EST reply actions

Re: couple of things

I like the blitz to NJDevil, but not as the ONLY means of pressuring the QB. The Jets have to be able to pressure the QB without having to rely exclusively on the blitz to be
kind of defense capable of taking over games even against high scoring offenses.

About the Jets WR situation? They MUST get a WR. They don’t need to sign TO or use a first round pick to get one but Cotchery, Edwards and Keller simply are not productive enough as a group to allow the Jets to win shootouts on days when the defense cannot deliver. The Jets lost EVERY game where their defense didn’t perform up to snuff and a couple where their defense was outstanding.

The Jets must get better offensively and for them that starts with their passing attack and that means an infusion of talent at the WR position. Clowney is fine as a #4 or #5 WR but he’s not a consistent WR nor does he create seperation enough to be counted upon to step up and be the WR the Jets need.

As for your thinking the running game is what carries you in the postseason, especially in the later rounds of the playoffs, all you have to do is look at what happened this year to see that’s just not true.

In the AFC title game Peyton Manning threw for 377 yards and 3-TD’s while running for just 99 yards. In the NFC title game Brees threw 3-TD’s while the Saints ran for just 68 yards.

In the SB Brees threw for nearly 300 yards and 2-TD, while the Saints ran for just 99 yds.
The Colts threw for 333 yards and ran for just 51 yards.

The running game, especially in the Northeast, is very valuable in the regular season and in cold weather playoff games but once you get into the later rounds of the playoffs and when games are played in warm weather sites you have GOT to be able to throw the ball effectively and be capable of getting a quick score to win higher scoring games.

In games when their opponents scored 23 or fewer points the Jets were a combined
11-2. In games where their opponents scored 24 or more points the Jets were 0-6.
Put simply, if the Jets offense had scored just three more TD’s over the entire season
at the right times they could’ve finished with a record of 14-2. Five of the seven regular season losses were by 4 points, 3 points, 5 points, 2 points and 3 points.

JMHO

by Russ H on Feb 19, 2010 12:16 PM EST reply actions

There were more to the low-scoring offense the Jets have had this season than simply WR production.

1. You have a rookie QB. This is obvious, but not only does he need time to develop into a pro passer but its a huge reason why the Jets did so much running. Not only did they run on 1st and 2nd downs, Shotty as willing to simply “give up” on some drives and run on 3rd and mid-long to prevent mistakes.

2. Therefore, all of this running meant longer possession times. More possession times leads to a shorter game and a fewer number of possessions, which leads to lower scoring games. This was the plan all along- keep the games low scoring and in reach – you throw a lot of passes, you give the otehr guy more possessions, more chances to score. The Jets just aren’t built to win shootout games- and theres no reason to just change their identity. If you can make it to 30 minutes of the superbowl with a rookie QB and leading the leauge in rushing and points allowed, you can only go up in my opinion.

But consistiency on defense is historically difficult to continue; you see Peyton manning and Drew brees lighting it up year after year. But how good were the Steelers on defense this year? Good, but no great. Yeah, they had injuries, but so did Indy on offense. In my opinion, you should be always draft more defensive players because theyre production is always less consistient and dependent on the players aroung them For example, your LT is going to play as well as he always is no matter who the QB is. Your corners, however, as you stated, play better as the pass rush increases.

by Ryan Alfieri on Feb 19, 2010 3:44 PM EST up reply actions

The Steeler/Colt correlation is a bad one. The Steelers lost their defensive stud in Polamalu. You see just as drastic a drop in the Colts if they lost Manning.

by Crackback on Feb 19, 2010 8:13 PM EST up reply actions

agreed

but in these day I helps to have a multifaceted offense to win a championship. Look at the Saints, they pass and run with equal effectiveness. It means they can slow the pace of the game down if they need to, or they can win in a shootout. In addition you need to be able to throw the ball in order to come back from large deficits.

by secret defense on Feb 19, 2010 4:50 PM EST reply actions

NJ Devil

NJ Devil wrote:

<the Jets just aren’t built to win shootout games- and theres no reason to just change their identity. If you can make it to 30 minutes of the superbowl with a rookie QB and leading the leauge in rushing and points allowed, you can only go up in my opinion.

I’m not suggesting that the Jets need to change their identity by rebuilding the offense, far from it. In fact like you I’m expecting Sanchez, barring injury, to improve this season. So why not try to expedite that improvement by giving him more weapons to work with?

What I’m suggesting here is that the Jets try to turn a noted weakness into a possible area of strength by adding a WR into the mix. I’m not suggesting the Jets should start trying to win shootouts. What I’m saying here is that IMO the Jets need to be more efficent offensively in their passing attack and that adding a WR would give Sanchez another option to work with, it would help him in his development as a QB and it may help the Jets win some of those close games they lost so many of last season.

Don’t forget that in regular season games decided by five or less points that the Jets were a dreadful 0-5, with three of those losses coming in the AFCE and four coming in the AFC.

Giving Sanchez another WR to work with may, along with his expected improvement, be a difference maker for the Jets next season.

by Russ H on Feb 19, 2010 8:57 PM EST reply actions

+1

Its all about exploiting match-ups. And a big part of that is keeping the opposing Ds from cheating towards our strength and our O being able to expose bad pass Ds.

by Crackback on Feb 19, 2010 9:03 PM EST up reply actions