An interesting nugget came out from NJ.com about the defensive playcalling for the Jets.
Pettine is the lead play-caller this season. Rex Ryan held that role in his first year as head coach, and the two shared duties last season, before shifting to this arrangement in Year Three.
"We’ve collaborated some, but I’ve handled the majority of it," Pettine said. "A lot of them are pre-set based on the situation, and he and I have been around each other enough, and he trusts me enough, because we think the same thing a lot anyway, that he’s given me that freedom."
Pettine was reportedly one of the driving forces behind the Jets scaling back their blitzes and playing more coverage last postseason. They have continued that tendency this year so this all adds up. As much as I would love to see Rex Ryan take on an extraordinarily active role in the defense, I think Pettine is a good coach and perfectly capable of doing the job well. I think we are all a bit happy to not have to watch all out blitzes on third and twenty under Pettine.