Jets vs. Titans: Make Jake Locker Sling It Deep

Jake Locker's statistics look pedestrian, but he is off to a good start in certain areas this year. Despite his sub 60% completion percentage, he has shown solid accuracy on short and intermediate routes. He's passing a shade under 75% on passes that travel between 0 and 10 yards from the line of scrimmage and over 65% on throws between 10 and 20. Where he's struggling is on deep passes. Despite having a reputation for a big arm, Locker is under 20% on throws over 20 yards. The Titans despite this have given him a heavy diet of deep throws. Locker is tossing it deep at the third highest rate of quarterbacks.

On paper, this could mean good things for the Jets. They have quality cornerbacks whom they trust to cover deep without much help. Despite the promises of a more aggressive defense with Rex Ryan taking things over, the Jets have in some ways been much less attacking than they were when Mike Pettine had a say. That probably has something to do with the defensive line play requiring less blitzing to generate pressure.

With this in mind, it might not be a surprise to see the Jets play Tennessee straight up on Sunday and load the short and intermediate zones with defenders while trusting the cornerbacks to be able to cover deep. This is always a risky plan because losing once deep one on one can bring some really bad results, but based on the Titans' strengths, it might be the best way to stall them offensively. It tends to be the way the Jets play anyway.