Bart Scott was asked if the Jets could be the best defense ever next year. You're response, Mr. Scott?
"You try to be the No. 1 defense — ever," he said during OTAs this week. "Why not?"
So, why not see if we can actually pull this off. Read those words above carefully, though: POTENTIAL. I just want to be sure we all understand that this is all taking into account that the typical Jets curse of Namath (or whatever we call it nowadays) is just lurking right around the corner.
Let's compare the Jets to another great defense, the 2000 Ravens. I consider them to be the reigning champs, along with the '85 Bears, Steelers of the 70's and Steelers of 2008.
Defensive Line: Kris Jenkins, when healthy, as about as bad a dude there is a NT. The guys around him; Ellis, Devito, etc., make this line above average, I would say top 5 or 6 in the league, out of 3-4 lines. The 2000 Ravens had a 4-3 scheme, with Siragusa and Sam Adams, along with Adailius Thomas. The front 7 of the Ravens was their true strength, as opposed to the 2010 Jets, with the core of the team resting on the defensive backs.
Advantage: 2000 Ravens
Linebackers: Ray-Ray sort of gives the Ravens the edge here by default, but Peter Boulware, the Raven's all-time sack leader, along with Jamie Sharper, were no slouches. the '10 Jets got a future star in David Harris, and a beast in Bart Scott. Calvin Pace is a border-line pro-bowler, and Jason Taylor could be headed for Canton one day. Since Taylor will be on a rotational basis, and Ray Lewis was THAT good, however, I gotta give the edge to the Ravens.
Advantage: 2000 Ravens
Secondary: Make no mistake about it, the heart and soul of the Jets defense lies in the back end. This is not your traditional defense, where the big men make it all happen with sack artists and gap-blowing freaks of nature, it is about relying of your corners to cover. Revis is pretty much the 2000 Ray Lewis of CB's, if you will. Cromartie would be a number 1 on any other team. Wilson would be a number 1 on most teams. He's a friggin' nickel corner here. All Jim Leonhard does is make plays, and Brodney Pool is a great fit a FS. The Ravens did have Rod Woodson, but nothing there screams greatness.
Advantage: 2010 Jets
Coaching: Now, don't get me wrong, I like Marvin Lewis. It's just, well, he's not Rex. Just look at the consistency of the Ravens under Rex and the Bengals defense under Marv. Rex is just on another level in terms of X's and O's. We all know that energy Rex brings to the team too.
Advantage: 2010 Jets
Now, judging by what we got, and how it fits what the Jets do, I say why not. We have our once-in-a-decade player in Revis. We have our system. We have our leaders. It's just a matter of getting it done.