Todd Bowles: Jets Aren’t Changing Any Starters on Defense

Yesterday Jets head coach Todd Bowles ruled out changing any of his starters on defense for the Week 3 game against the Dolphins.

On if he is considering any defensive lineup changes…

No.

On why he is not considering any defensive lineup changes…

Because I have my starters.

The questions were not out of line considering the extent to which many of the defensive starters have struggled.

Lineup changes are always a difficult balance. Backups are generally inferior even to bad starters. That’s why they are backups in the first place. You also do not want to overreact as a coach to a bad game or two.

At the same time, you do have to show that there is accountability for poor play, and sometimes a change does improve a situation. There are definitely spots on the team where a lineup change could be justified, namely linebacker. The Jets don’t have much choice but to ride things out with Darron Lee and hope he figures things out. It would be difficult to imagine a replacement for his partner, Demario Davis, being a downgrade at this point, however.